Ordinary Time
The long stretches of the church year that aren't a special season — after Epiphany until Lent, and after Pentecost until Advent — when the Sundays are simply numbered and the liturgical color is green.
What they actually mean
“"The church year's 'regular' weeks — no big feast, just numbered Sundays and green."”
Heard in the wild
“We're in Ordinary Time until Advent.”
“It's the twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.”
The Lighter Side
Not "ordinary" as in boring — "ordinal," as in numbered. Though it's also the season with the fewest potlucks, so.
The longer version
What it means
The church year has seasons with a theme — Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter — and then it has Ordinary Time: the weeks in between, with no particular focus, when the church simply reads through the Gospels Sunday by Sunday and lives the faith in ordinary weeks. In the Catholic calendar it's two stretches: a few weeks between Epiphany and Lent, and the long summer-and-autumn run from Pentecost to Advent. The vestments are green, the Sundays are numbered, and the readings follow a Gospel continuously. It's the bulk of the year — more than half of it.
Anglicans and Lutherans have the same stretches under different names — "Sundays after Epiphany," "Sundays after Pentecost" (or "after Trinity") — with the same green.
Why people say it
The word is from ordinal — the Sundays are counted — but Christians embrace the other sense too: most of life is ordinary, and God is in it. The great feasts are peaks; Ordinary Time is the long walk between them, where faith is practiced in the daily and the unremarkable. Priests and pastors who love it say the continuous reading of a Gospel over months does something the feasts can't: it lets a congregation know Jesus in order, teaching by teaching.
How to respond
If a Catholic friend says it's Ordinary Time, they mean the calendar has no special season right now — and possibly that the potluck schedule has slowed. If you see "the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time" in a bulletin, that's the count. If you visit a liturgical church in summer and the color is green and the readings are working through Luke or Mark, you're in it. If the name strikes you as funny, the church thought of that first, and the pun is intentional.
If you hear it in different churches
Catholics: "Ordinary Time," the official name since 1969. Anglicans and Episcopalians: "the Season after Pentecost" (or "Trinity season" in older usage), with numbered Sundays. Lutherans: "the Season after Pentecost" or "Time of the Church." Methodists: "Ordinary Time" or "Kingdomtide" (an older Methodist name for autumn). Presbyterians: "Ordinary Time." Orthodox: no equivalent term, though the Sundays after Pentecost are numbered. Evangelicals and Baptists: no church calendar beyond Christmas and Easter, so no Ordinary Time — and no name for the other fifty weeks.
Where does “Ordinary Time” come from?
The medieval Western church counted "Sundays after Epiphany" and "Sundays after Pentecost" (or Trinity) between its seasons, and the green vestments for those weeks are attested by the 1100s. The term "Ordinary Time" (tempus per annum, "time through the year") was introduced by the Catholic calendar reform of 1969, after Vatican II, which merged the old counted stretches into one season with a continuous Gospel reading. Anglican and Lutheran calendars kept "after Pentecost" and "after Epiphany." The "ordinary/ordinal" pun has been a homily staple ever since.
Good to know
Two stretches: a short one from the Sunday after Epiphany to Ash Wednesday, and a long one from the Monday after Pentecost to the Saturday before Advent — thirty-three or thirty-four weeks total. The Sundays are numbered ("the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time"), the color is green, and the readings walk through a Gospel in order. Anglicans and Lutherans say "Sundays after Pentecost" or "after Trinity"; the idea is the same. The name is from *ordinal*, meaning counted, not from "ordinary" in the sense of plain — though Christians make the pun on purpose.
You might also hear
Advent
Holidays & CalendarThe four weeks before Christmas, kept as a season of waiting and preparation — for the celebration of Jesus' birth and for His return.
“"The countdown to Christmas, with candles and meaning."”
Lent
Prayer & DevotionThe roughly forty days before Easter, from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday, kept as a season of repentance, fasting, and preparation — often by giving something up.
“"The forty days before Easter when you give something up and take faith more seriously."”
Pentecost
Holidays & CalendarThe day, fifty days after Easter, when the Holy Spirit came upon the first Christians with wind and fire, and the church began — often called the church's birthday.
“"The church's birthday. Wear red."”
Feast Day
Catholic & OrthodoxA day on the church calendar honoring a saint or an event in the life of Christ or Mary — marked with special readings, sometimes a Mass or Liturgy, and often, despite the name, no feast.
“"A saint's day, or a holy day, on the church calendar. Food not guaranteed."”
Common questions
What is Ordinary Time?+
The parts of the church year between the special seasons — after Epiphany to Lent, and after Pentecost to Advent — with numbered Sundays, green vestments, and continuous Gospel readings.
Why is it called "ordinary"?+
From "ordinal," meaning counted — the Sundays are numbered. The overlap with "ordinary" in the sense of everyday is a happy accident the church embraces.
How long is it?+
About thirty-three or thirty-four weeks — more than half the year — split into a short winter stretch and a long summer-and-autumn one.
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Written by Rev. Christopher D.F. Warrington, Ordained Minister, M.Div. · Updated September 2026
This entry was compiled with AI assistance and has not yet been reviewed by an ordained pastor.