The common or common of saints (Latin: ''commune sanctorum'') is a part of the
Christian liturgy
Christian liturgy is a pattern for Christian worship, worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Christian congregation or Christian denomination, denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work ...
that consists of texts common to an entire category of
saints
In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...
, such as
apostles or
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
s. The term is used in contrast to the ''
ordinary'', which is that part of the liturgy that is reasonably constant, or at least selected without regard to date, and to the ''
proper'', which is the part of the liturgy that varies according to the date, either representing an observance within the
liturgical year
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be obse ...
, or of a particular
saint
In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...
or significant event.
Commons contain
collect
The collect ( ) is a short general prayer of a particular structure used in Christian liturgy.
Collects come up in the liturgies of Catholic, Lutheran, or Anglican churches, among others.
Etymology
The word is first seen as Latin ''collēcta'' ...
s,
psalm
The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament.
The book is an anthology of H ...
s, readings from
scripture,
prefaces, and other portions of services that are common to a category of saints.
[Donald S. Armentrout, Robert Boak Slocum, eds. (2000)]
An Episcopal dictionary of the church
Church Publishing Incorporated. pp. 111-112. This contrasts with propers, which contain the same elements as commons, but are tailored to specific occasions or feasts. Commons may be used to celebrate lesser feasts and observances in the Church calendar.
References
Order of Mass
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