Bible Dictionaries
Lectionary

The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia

The Tables to be found in the Prayer Book setting forth the portions of Scripture to be read daily in Public Worship throughout the year, also the Proper Lessons for Sundays and the Holy Days of the Church. The word is derived from the Latin lectus, from lego, to gather, to read. From this origin we have the word lection, meaning a reading or lesson read; he who reads was called lector, a name given to one of the minor orders in the ancient Church. The Lectionary as found in the Prayer Book contains most ample provision for the reading of God's Holy Word. By this appointment the Old Testament is read once during the year, and some portions of it more frequently. The New Testament is read three times, while the Book of Psalms is read twelve times or once a month. No other religious body makes so large provision for the public reading of the Scriptures, and the Episcopal Church has been appropriately called a "Bible Reading Church." The Lectionary as it now stands was set forth by the General Convention of 1883, being a revision of the old Lectionary which had been in use since 1789, the time of the first setting forth of the American Prayer Book. (See LESSONS; also SCRIPTURES IN PRAYER BOOK.)

Bibliography Information
Miller, William James. Entry for 'Lectionary'. The American Church Dictionary and Cyclopedia. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​acd/​l/lectionary.html. 1901.