The Church of England commemorates many of the same saints as those in the General Roman Calendar, mostly on the same days, but also commemorates various notable (often post-Reformation) Christians who have not been canonised by Rome, with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on those of English origin. There are differences in the calendars of other churches of the Anglican Communion (see Saints in Anglicanism).
The only person canonised in a near-conventional sense by the Church of England since the English Reformation is King Charles the Martyr (King Charles I), although he is not widely recognised by Anglicans as a saint outside the Society of King Charles the Martyr. The Church of England has no mechanism for canonising saints, and unlike the Roman Catholic Church it makes no claims regarding the heavenly status of those whom it commemorates in its calendar. For this reason, the Church of England avoids the use of the prenominal title "Saint" with reference to uncanonised individuals and is restrained in what it says about them in its liturgical texts. In order not to seem to imply grades of sanctity, or to discriminate between holy persons of the pre- and post-Reformation periods, the title "Saint" is not used at all in the calendar, even with reference to those who have always been known by that title, for example the Apostles.
No Old Testament figures are commemorated in the Church of England calendar, but the litany "Thanksgiving for the Holy Ones of God" (included in Common Worship: Times and Seasons on pp. 558–560, immediately after "The Eucharist of All Saints") includes ten names from before Christ, so they are presumably not excluded on principle, and could be considered among the saints.
The ninth Lambeth Conference held in 1958 clarified the commemoration of Saints and Heroes of the Christian Church in the Anglican Communion. Resolution 79 stated:
There is no single calendar for the various churches making up the Anglican Communion; each makes its own calendar suitable for its local situation. As a result, the calendar here contains a number of figures important in the history of the English church. Calendars in different provinces will focus on figures more important to those different countries. At the same time, different provinces often borrow important figures from each other's calendars as the international importance of different figures becomes clear. In this way the calendar of the Church of England has importance beyond the immediate purpose of supporting the liturgy of the English Church. It is, for example, one of the key sources of the calendar for the international daily office Oremus.Oremus calendar
Holy Days are variously categorised as Principal Feasts, Festivals, Lesser Festivals, or Commemorations. In order to minimise problems caused by the ambivalence regarding the manner of commemoration of uncanonised persons, all such days are Lesser Festivals or Commemorations only, whose observance is optional.
The following table lists the Holy Days in the calendar of Common Worship, the calendar most generally followed in the Church of England (though the calendar of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer is still authorised for use). This calendar was finalised in 2000, with some further names added in 2010. Individual dioceses and societies may suggest additional observances for local use, but these are not included here. The table includes the feast date, the name of the person or persons being commemorated, their title, the nature and location of their ministry or other relevant facts, and year of death, all in the form in which they are set out in the authorised Common Worship calendar. The level of the observance is indicated as follows: boldface denotes Principal Feasts and Principal Holy Days a dagger (†) denotes Festivals an asterisk (*) denotes Lesser Festivals italics denote unclassified observances entries with none of the above are Commemorations.
Moveable dates †The Baptism of Christ, the Sunday following the Epiphany (when the Epiphany is kept on 6 January) Ash Wednesday, the Wednesday 46 days before Easter Day Maundy Thursday, the Thursday in the week before Easter Day Good Friday, the Friday in the week before Easter Day Easter Day, the first Sunday after the Paschal full moon Ascension Day, the Thursday forty days after Easter Day Day of Pentecost, the Sunday fifty days after Easter Day Trinity Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost †The Day of Thanksgiving for the Institution of Holy Communion (Corpus Christi), the Thursday after Trinity Sunday †Dedication Festival, the first Sunday in October or the Last Sunday after Trinity, if date unknown †Christ the King, the Sunday next before Advent
January 1 †The Naming and Circumcision of Jesus 2 *Basil the Great and Gregory of Nazianzus, Bishops, Teachers of the Faith, 379 and 389 2 Seraphim, Monk of Sarov, Spiritual Guide, 1833 2 Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah, Bishop in South India, Evangelist, 1945 6 The Epiphany – may be celebrated on the Sunday between 2 and 8 January 10 William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1645 11 Mary Slessor, Missionary in West Africa, 1915 12 Aelred of Hexham, Abbot of Rievaulx, 1167 12 Benedict Biscop, Abbot of Wearmouth, Scholar, 689 13 *Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, Teacher of the Faith, 367 13 Kentigern (Mungo), Missionary Bishop in Strathclyde and Cumbria, 603 13 George Fox, Founder of the Society of Friends (the Quakers), 1691 17 *Antony of Egypt, Hermit, Abbot, 356 17 Charles Gore, Bishop, Founder of the Community of the Resurrection, 1932 18–25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18 Amy Carmichael, Founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship, Spiritual Writer, 1951 19 *Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, 1095 20 Richard Rolle of Hampole, Spiritual Writer, 1349 21 *Agnes, Child Martyr at Rome, 304 22 Vincent of Saragossa, Deacon, first Martyr of Spain, 304 24 *Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva, Teacher of the Faith, 1622 25 †The Conversion of Paul 26 *Timothy and Titus, Companions of Paul 28 *Thomas Aquinas, Priest, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1274 30 *Charles, King and Martyr, 1649 31 John Bosco, Priest, Founder of the Salesian Teaching Order, 1888
February 1 Brigid of Kildare, Abbess of Kildare, c.525 2 The Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas) – may be celebrated on the Sunday between 28 January and 3 February 3 *Anskar, Archbishop of Bremen, Missionary in Denmark and Sweden, 865 4 Gilbert of Sempringham, Founder of the Gilbertine Order, 1189 6 The Martyrs of Japan, 1597 10 Scholastica, sister of Benedict, Abbess of Plombariola, c.543 14 *Cyril and Methodius, Missionaries to the Slavs, 869 and 885 14 Valentine, Martyr at Rome, c.269 15 Sigfrid, Bishop, Apostle of Sweden, 1045 15 Thomas Bray, Priest, Founder of the SPCK and the SPG, 1730 17 *Janani Luwum, Archbishop of Uganda, Martyr, 1977 23 *Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr, c.155 27 *George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633
Alternative dates: Matthias may be celebrated on 24 February instead of 14 May.
March 1 *David, Bishop of Menevia, Patron of Wales, c.601 2 *Chad, Bishop of Lichfield, Missionary, 672 7 *Perpetua, Felicity and their Companions, Martyrs at Carthage, 203 8 Edward King, Bishop of Lincoln, 1910* 8 Felix, Bishop, Apostle to the East Angles, 647 8 Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy, Priest, Poet, 1929 17 *Patrick, Bishop, Missionary, Patron of Ireland, c.460 18 Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, Teacher of the Faith, 386 19 †Joseph of Nazareth 20 *Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Missionary, 687 21 *Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, Reformation Martyr, 1556 24 Walter Hilton of Thurgarton, Augustinian Canon, Mystic, 1396 24 Paul Couturier, Priest, Ecumenist, 1953 24 Óscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador, Martyr, 1980 25 The Annunciation of Our Lord to the Blessed Virgin Mary 26 Harriet Monsell, Founder of the Community of St John the Baptist, 1883 31 John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631
Alternative dates: Chad may be celebrated with Cedd on 26 October instead of 2 March. Cuthbert may be celebrated on 4 September instead of 20 March.
April 1 Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, Teacher of the Faith, 1872 9 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Lutheran Pastor, Martyr, 1945 10 *William Law, Priest, Spiritual Writer, 1761 10 William of Ockham, Friar, Philosopher, Teacher of the Faith, 1347 11 George Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, 1878 16 Isabella Gilmore, Deaconess, 1923 19 *Alphege, Archbishop of Canterbury, Martyr, 1012 21 *Anselm, Abbot of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, Teacher of the Faith, 1109 23 †George, Martyr, Patron of England, c.304 24 Mellitus, Bishop of London, first Bishop at St Paul's, 624 24 The Seven Martyrs of the Melanesian Brotherhood, Solomon Islands, 2003 25 †Mark the Evangelist 27 Christina Rossetti, Poet, 1894 28 Peter Chanel, Missionary in the South Pacific, Martyr, 1841 29 *Catherine of Siena, Teacher of the Faith, 1380 30 Pandita Mary Ramabai, Translator of the Scriptures, 1922
May 1 †Philip and James, Apostles 2 *Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, 373 4 *English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era 8 *Julian of Norwich, Spiritual Writer, c.1417 12 Gregory Dix, Priest, Monk, Scholar, 1952 14 †Matthias the Apostle 16 Caroline Chisholm, Social Reformer, 1877 19 *Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, Restorer of Monastic Life, 988 20 *Alcuin of York, Deacon, Abbot of Tours, 804 21 Helena, Protector of the Holy Places, 330 24 *John and Charles Wesley, Evangelists, Hymn Writers, 1791 and 1788 25 *The Venerable Bede, Monk at Jarrow, Scholar, Historian, 735 25 Aldhelm, Bishop of Sherborne, 709 26 *Augustine, first Archbishop of Canterbury, 605 26 John Calvin, Reformer, 1564 26 Philip Neri, Founder of the Oratorians, Spiritual Guide, 1595 28 Lanfranc, Prior of Le Bec, Archbishop of Canterbury, Scholar, 1089 30 *Josephine Butler, Social Reformer, 1906 30 Joan of Arc, Visionary, 1431 30 Apolo Kivebulaya, Priest, Evangelist in Central Africa, 1933 31 †The Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth
Alternative dates: Matthias may be celebrated on 24 February instead of 14 May. The Visit of the Blessed Virgin Mary to Elizabeth may be celebrated on 2 July instead of 31 May.
June 1 *Justin, Martyr at Rome, c.165 3 The Martyrs of Uganda, 1885–7 and 1977 4 Petroc, Abbot of Padstow, 6th century 5 *Boniface (Wynfrith) of Crediton, Bishop, Apostle of Germany, Martyr, 754 6 Ini Kopuria, Founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, 1945 8 *Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells, Nonjuror, Hymn Writer, 1711 9 *Columba, Abbot of Iona, Missionary, 597 9 Ephrem of Syria, Deacon, Hymn Writer, Teacher of the Faith, 373 11 †Barnabas the Apostle 14 Richard Baxter, Puritan Divine, 1691 15 Evelyn Underhill, Spiritual Writer, 1941 16 *Richard, Bishop of Chichester, 1253 16 Joseph Butler, Bishop of Durham, Philosopher, 1752 17 Samuel and Henrietta Barnett, Social Reformers, 1913 and 1936 18 Bernard Mizeki, Apostle of the MaShona, Martyr, 1896 19 Sundar Singh of India, Sadhu (holy man), Evangelist, Teacher of the Faith, 1929 22 *Alban, first Martyr of Britain, c.250 23 *Etheldreda, Abbess of Ely, c.678 24 †The Birth of John the Baptist 27 Cyril, Bishop of Alexandria, Teacher of the Faith, 444 28 *Irenæus, Bishop of Lyon, Teacher of the Faith, c.200 29 †Peter and Paul, Apostles
Alternative dates: Peter the Apostle may be celebrated alone, without Paul, on 29 June.
July 1 Henry, John, and Henry Venn the younger, Priests, Evangelical Divines, 1797, 1813 and 1873 3 †Thomas the Apostle 6 Thomas More, Scholar, and John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, Reformation Martyrs, 1535 11 *Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550 14 *John Keble, Priest, Tractarian, Poet, 1866 15 *Swithun, Bishop of Winchester, c.862 15 Bonaventure, Friar, Bishop, Teacher of the Faith, 1274 16 Osmund, Bishop of Salisbury, 1099 18 Elizabeth Ferard, first Deaconess of the Church of England, Founder of the Community of St Andrew, 1883