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Easter

Also in The Church Year

Sunday, April 5 to Sunday, May 24, 2026

The season of Easter begins in the middle of the Easter Vigil liturgy as the fire of new life is lit and spreads throughout the congregation. For fifty days we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise of healing, reconciliation, and new life that is given to all. Easter is known as The Great Fifty Days. 

Observances throughout the Easter season

Includes liturgical dates from the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) and Sundays and Holy Days from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), as well as select secular and ecumenical observances (in italics).

  • Apr. 5: The Sunday of the Resurrection: Easter Day (BAS, BCP)
  • Apr. 6-11: Monday to Saturday in Easter Week (BAS)
  • Apr. 12: Second Sunday of Easter (BAS); First Sunday after Easter (BCP)
  • Apr. 16: Konwatsijayenni Mollie Brant (BAS)
  • Apr. 19: Third Sunday of Easter (BAS); Second Sunday after Easter (BCP)
  • Apr. 21: Anselm (BAS)
  • Apr. 23: George (BAS)
  • Apr. 24: Martyrs of the 20th Century (BAS)
  • Apr. 25: St. Mark the Evangelist (BAS, BCP)
  • Apr. 26: Fourth Sunday after Easter (BAS); Third Sunday after Easter (BCP)
  • Apr. 29: Catherine of Siena (BAS)
  • Apr. 30: Marie de l’Incarnation (BAS)
Additional background on specific Principal Feasts, Holy Days, Memorials and Commemorations from the the BAS is available in For All the Saints.

Includes liturgical dates from the Book of Alternative Services (BAS) and Sundays, Holy Days and Rogation Days from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), as well as select secular and ecumenical observances (in italics).

  • May 1: St. Philip and St. James (BAS, BCP) and St. James the Brother of the Lord (BCP)
  • May 2: Athanasius (BAS)
  • May 3: Fifth Sunday after Easter (BAS); Fourth Sunday after Easter (BCP)
  • May 5: Red Dress Day
  • May 6: St. John the Evangelist (if not kept on Dec. 27, BAS)
  • May 8: Julian of Norwich (BAS)
  • May 10: Sixth Sunday after Easter (BAS); Fifth Sunday after Easter (BCP)
  • May 11: Rogation Day (BAS, BCP)
  • May 12: Florence Nightingale (BAS); Rogation Day (BAS, BCP)
  • May 13: Rogation Day (BAS, BCP)
  • May 14: Ascension of the Lord (BAS); Ascension Day being the Fortieth Day after Easter sometimes called Holy Thursday (BCP)
  • May 15: St. Matthias (transferred from May 14, BAS)
  • May 17: Seventh Sunday of Easter or Ascension Sunday (BAS); Sunday after Ascension Day (BCP); Jerusalem and the Holy Land Sunday
  • May 19: Dunstan (BAS)
  • May 24: Day of Pentecost (BAS, BCP)
Additional background on specific Principal Feasts, Holy Days, Memorials and Commemorations from the the BAS is available in For All the Saints.

Suggested resources

Acknowledging the land and God’s creation

This acknowledgement is crafted in light of the Principles of Reconciliation by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, as we seek to live faithfully in Christ and in right relationship with all. 

We give thanks to the Creator for this land, its waters, forests and all living beings, and for the abiding presence of Christ among us. From coast to coast to coast, these have been cared for and nurtured by First Nations, Inuit and Métis through countless generations. 

We honour the enduring relationship Indigenous Peoples have cultivated with these lands and waters, and the treaties and agreements that reflect these sacred bonds. We acknowledge the harms caused by colonial expansion, through frameworks like the Doctrine of Discovery and structures like the residential school system. We recognize our past failures as a Church, including disruption of connections to the land and suppression of Indigenous spiritualities. 

Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ, we confess our need for healing. We commit ourselves to seeking truth, pursuing reconciliation and nurturing harmony with all creation. We place our trust in Christ, through whom all things are reconciled to God. 

May God strengthen us to live faithfully as stewards of the Earth. Let us walk in love, justice and reconciliation, joining in God’s work to restore all creation.