As a follow-up to our post on the seasons, feasts, and festivals in the Church Year, we’ve compiled a list of Church Year commemorations to help deepen your understanding. Read below for more information on the Church Year. Then follow the links to learn about each commemoration.

Today we remember nineteenth-century German pastor Wilhelm Loehe, and we read an excerpt from one of his writings as recorded in The Pastor.

On the commemoration of David, we read an excerpt from Concordia Commentary: 1 Samuel and remember why God chose David to succeed Saul as king of Israel.

Our commemoration today is for the great patriarch Abraham, and we read a devotion adapted from Courageous Fathers of the Bible.

Today we celebrate Elizabeth of Hungary, revered for her charity. We commemorate her by reading a brief biography, words from Martin Luther, and a prayer from Treasury of Daily Prayer.

Today, we remember influential hymnwriters Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and Paul Gerhardt. Our devotional reading about Paul Gerhardt is adapted from Paul Gerhardt as a Hymn Writer and his Influence on English Hymnody by Theodore Brown Hewitt.

Today we celebrate Dorcas (also known as Tabitha), Lydia, and Phoebe, the faithful women of the Bible. Dorcas and Lydia we meet in Acts. Phoebe we learn about in Romans as the woman who delivered Paul’s letters. 

Today we commemorate Ignatius of Antioch, both a pastor and martyr, who wrote many epistles during his last days. We take our devotional reading today from Reconciliation and Justification by Theodore Dierks. 

Today the Church commemorates the great prophet and deliverer of God’s people, Moses. Our devotional reading comes from Celebrating the Saints.

On July 30, the Church commemorates Robert Barnes, Confessor and Martyr. Barnes was a sixteenth-century Protestant born in 1495 in England. Our devotional reading comes from The Protestant Reformation: 1517–1559.