2026
Year A
The Calendar, etc., with readings and Psalms for The Holy Communion and Morning and Evening Prayer
An Australian Prayer Book with Tables, Alternative Tables of Lessons 1985, The Collects and Readings for the Holy Communion on Weekdays, and Alternative Collects 1985.
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The material taken from An Australian Prayer Book with Tables is © 1978, The Anglican Church of Australia Trust Corporation, General Synod Office, St Andrew’s House, Sydney Square, NSW 2000. The material taken from The Collects and Readings for the Holy Communion on Weekdays is © 1977, The Liturgical Commission of the Anglican Church of Australia.
National Library of Australia
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Introduction
The Australian Lectionary is based on the tables and rules of An Australian Prayer Book with Tables (AAPB), together with the Alternative Tables of Lessons Canon 1985. These tables are supplemented by The Collects and Readings at The Holy Communion on Weekdays and Alternative Collects 1985, which are reports of the Liturgical Commission published for use under Section 4 of The Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia.
The Calendar
The Calendar in AAPB includes days for which a collect and readings are provided at The Holy Communion (red-letter days). These are printed in this Lectionary in capital letters and bold type. The Collects and Readings report provides for the optional observance of other days listed in the Calendar of AAPB. In this Lectionary, some of these days are printed in light type and others (those indented in the Calendar of AAPB) are printed in light type within square brackets.
In addition to these listings, the variations in the services permitted in AAPB are printed for each day; optional variations are printed in square brackets. The letters after each day indicate the appropriate liturgical colour for the observance or season.
The first and second columns
These columns contain the readings for The Holy Communion. On Sundays and red-letter days, ‘III’ indicates the Three Year Series as amended in 1985 and ‘BCP’ the One Year Series (the 1662 Prayer Book epistles and Gospels together with an Old Testament reading and a psalm). Where the former have been amended, the original AAPB readings are indicated in round brackets. On the other days the readings for The Holy Communion are taken from the Collects and Readings report. Special readings are not normally given except for redletter days. Where it is desired to mark a particular day, not being a red-letter day, by special readings at The Holy Communion, these may be selected from the tables printed in the Collects and Readings report. Where the tables provide for a shorter selection of verses for a particular reading, this is indicated in the Lectionary by *.
In response to comments and suggestions regarding the psalms chosen for Holy Communion for Ember Days, an alternative has been provided by way of a suggestion only.
Readings from the One Year Series are normally printed in the second column.
The third and fourth columns
The third and fourth columns contain the psalms and readings for Morning and Evening Prayer taken from AAPB as amended in 1985. Where a complete psalm is appointed to be read in the Tables, it is shown as such and not in psalm portions. This does not preclude the application of Rule 4 on page 638 of AAPB.
Shortened forms of Morning and Evening Prayer on weekdays
Rule 4 on page 638 of AAPB with Tables states: ‘On weekdays it is permissible to use only one psalm portion at each service. Where this is done regularly, care should be taken that the two psalm portions are used alternately. (The psalmcycle begins when Psalms 1 and 2 are appointed for Monday evening.)’
By the same rule, on weekdays from Advent Sunday 2025 to the week before Advent 2026 the psalms and readings appointed for Morning Prayer may be used at Evening Prayer and vice versa, but from Advent Sunday 2026 they should be used as appointed.
On those same weekdays, one reading only may be used at each service. Where this is done regularly, the Old Testament reading alone should be used at Morning Prayer and the New Testament reading at Evening Prayer. Where only one service a day is used, it is suggested that the psalms and readings for Evening Prayer be used (but from Advent Sunday 2026, those for Morning Prayer). Where the psalms and readings appointed for Evening Prayer are inappropriate for use at Morning Prayer (as indicated by the Table itself) these are marked #.
References are to the Revised Standard Version of the Bible and to the version of the Psalms printed in AAPB. Where other versions are used (see below), some adaptations will be necessary. Verses are stated inclusively. The letter ‘a’ after the number of a verse indicates the first part of the verse and the letter ‘b’ the second part.
From Advent Sunday 2025, the readings in the Three Year Series are for Year A. The second set of readings is used at Morning and Evening Prayer on Sundays and at The Holy Communion on weekdays.
Psalm-portions when set to be read from the NIV
Please consult the tables at the end of the Lectionary to align the verse division found in most standard Bible readings with those in the AAPB.
Abbreviations
Ath.Cr. The Athanasian Creed (AAPB page 624), indicated for those using Morning and Evening Prayer from the 1662 Prayer Book
B Black
BCP Indicates a ruling of the 1662 Prayer Book
c. circa, indicating an approximate date
Coll. Collect
d. died
EP Evening Prayer
G Green
HC Holy Communion
MP Morning Prayer
OS Ordinary Sunday
Pr.Coll. Proper Collect, as set for the day
Pr.Pref. Proper Preface in the First Order of The Holy Communion or the Seasonal addition to Section 20 in the Second Order.
For some occasions, where no proper preface is provided in the First Order, a seasonal addition is provided in the Second Order; this is indicated by Pr.Pref.
R. Red
S.Bl. Seasonal Blessing in the Second Order of The Holy Communion
V Violet
W White
* See page 2; this symbol also indicates that the psalm passage is an alternative for a passage from another part of the Hebrew Scriptures listed in Collects and Readings
# See page 3
Sundays and red-letter days
Rule 1 on page 304 of AAPB requires that certain days are always observed on their due date, and rule 3 provides for the observance of other red-letter days that fall on these days in any year to be transferred to the next available Tuesday.
Other days listed in this Lectionary require no special observance. Some or all of them may be observed by using an appropriate collect as provided in the Collects and Readings report or in Alternative Collects 1985. Where the weekday readings are customarily used at The Holy Communion, it is not appropriate to interrupt the sequence of readings by special readings (other than on red-letter days) unless the day is of special significance to the congregation. The use of the Advent Sunday and Ash Wednesday collects after the one of the day in Advent and Lent is not required by the rules of AAPB, and their use with the services of AAPB is optional.
J.R.
TABLE
TABLE OF SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS FOR 2026
TABLE OF SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS FOR 2026
TABLE OF SUNDAYS AND HOLY DAYS FOR 2026
DECEMBER,
2025
30 ADVENT SUNDAY Pr.Pref.; S.Bl. V III BCP
Isa 2.1-4 (5) Isa 2.2-5
Ps 122 Ps 50.1-6
Ps 18.1-31 Ps 68
Isa 51.1-11 Isa 52.1-2
Rom 13.8-14 Rom 13.8-14 Mtt 25.31-end 1 Thess 5 (11-14) Mtt 21.1-13 Mtt 24.37-44
Note: From today, Advent Sunday, the readings for the Three Year Series are those for Year A; at MP and EP for Sundays, Year 2 begins today; at The Holy Communion on weekdays Year 2 begins tomorrow.
DECEMBER,
2025
1 Monday V; [Charles de Foucauld, hermit and servant of the poor (1858-1916) Coll. of a Holy Person W]; at EP: St Andrew R
Isa 2.1-5
Ps 119.129-144 #Pss 87; 92
Ps 122 Isa 1.21-end Sir 14.20-27
Mtt 8.5-11 Mtt 13.18-33 or Zech 8.20-23 Jn 12.20-32
At EP of the day: Pss 1; 2 Isa 42.10-17 Rev 22.6-end
2 Tuesday SAINT ANDREW, APOSTLE AND MARTYR (trsfrd from 30 Nov) Pr.Coll.; Pr.Pref.; S.Bl. [BCP: Ath.Cr.] R III BCP
Deut 30.11-14 Zech 8.20-23 Pss 47; 48 Pss 67; 96
Ps 19.1-6 Ps 117 Isa 49.1-9a Ezek 47.1-12 Rom 10.8-18 Rom 10.9-21 1 Cor 1.18-end Jn 1.35-42
Mtt 4.18-22 Mtt 4.18-22
Of the day: V
Isa 11.1-10
Pss 3 [& 4]; 5 Pss 6; 7
Ps 72.1-7 Isa 2.1-11 Isa 42.18-end
Lk 10.21-24
Mtt 13.34-43 1 Thess 1
3 Wednesday V; [Francis Xavier, Portuguese missionary to the Far East (1506-1552) Coll. of a Missionary W]
Isa 25.6-10
Pss 8; 10 Ps 9
Ps 23 Isa 3.1-5 Isa 43.1-13
Mtt 15.29-37 Mtt 13.44-end 1 Thess 2.1-12