THE MINOR FESTIVALS OF THE CHURCH.

Of the" red letter" Festivals, that is, the Festivals for which Special Services are provided, notices will be found under the Epistle and Gospel of each.

The minor or" black letter" Festivals were selected by a Com­mission appointed in 1561, and, with few changes, have been since included in all editions of the Prayer Book. They were taken mainly from the old Sarum Calendar, which differs considerably from the Roman. The principle of selection is not always easy to discern, and in many cases may have been affected by deference to old custom, general or local, and even by connection with secular anniversaries. But, on the whole, the commemorations incline to do special honour to martyrs, and to saints connected either with the English or the Gallican Church. It is to be noted that they are not marked in the Church of England by any special religious observance, and therefore stand on an altogether different footing from the" red letter days."

JANUARY.

8th. Lucian, Priest and Martyr. -A Gallican saint, of Roman birth, sent as a priest to be one of the companions of St. Denys in his mission from Rome to Gaul in A.D. 245. He is said to have become Bishop of Beauvais, and to have suffered martyrdom there A.D. 290.

13th. Hilary, Bishop( of Poi­tiers) and Confessor( Nite.- The title of" Confessor" is usually given to those who bore for Christ suffering short of mar­tyrdom; but occasionally to those who had witnessed for Christ by special sanctity and austerity of life).- An eminent Gallican prelate and writer, con­verted from Paganism in man­hood, and( like St. Ambrose) raised by acclamation from a lay position to the see of Poitiers ( A.D. 350). His life was chiefly devoted to the struggle against Arianism and Semi- Arianism, both in the East and in the West; for this service he was exiled by Constantius, but restored to his see for three years before his death in A.D. 368. He was one of the earliest of the greater Latin Fathers, both in exe­getical and dogmatic works. From his day" Hilary Term is named.

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18th. Prisca, Virgin and Martyr. -A Roman lady, martyr in the

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3rd century, unknown except by legend.

20th. Fabian, Bishop and Martyr. -Fabianus was Bishop of Rome A.D. 236-250; designated to the office while still a layman, and, according to legend, selected by miracle; a man of high character and energy; celebrated by St. Cyprian as having improved the organization of the Church, and ruled it with great integrity. He suffered martyrdom in the persecution of Decius; and a tombstone bearing his name was recently found in the crypt of an ancient cemetery on the Appian Way.

21st. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr. -A young Roman maiden, vow­ed to purity, vilely assailed by lust, and, in revenge for her stedfast resistance, brought be­fore the tribunal in the persecu­tion of Diocletian( A.D. 304), and put to death with torture. Her memory is celebrated by St. Am­brose, St. Jerome, and St. Au­gustine( in whose time her holy­day was already kept), as a type of chastity and innocence.

22nd. Vincent, Martyr.-A Spanish Deacon, of Saragossa, martyred with torture under Diocletian( A.D. 304); cele­brated as" the invincible" early as the time of St. Ambrose and St. Augustine.

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