Epiphany Season - Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England has observed an Epiphany season since the adoption of the Common Worship calendar and liturgies in 2000. The Epiphany season begins at Evening Prayer on the Eve of the Epiphany (which may be celebrated on 6 January or the Sunday between 2 and 8 January) and ends at Evening Prayer (or Night Prayer) on the Feast of the Presentation (which may be celebrated on 2 February or on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February). The Epiphany season is seen as a continuation of the Christmas season, and together they last forty days. The three events focused on during the Epiphany season are the visit of the Magi, the baptism of Jesus, Jesus's miracle at the marriage at Cana. The visit of the Magi is traditionally interpreted as symbolic of God's revelation of himself to the Gentiles, and so one of the themes of the season is mission. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity also falls within the season, allowing another seasonal theme to be that of unity. The season culminates at the Feast of the Presentation, after which the liturgy stops looking back to Christmas and begins looking forward to the Passion. The colour for the season is white.

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