Trinity Sunday
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Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christian liturgical calendar. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, the three persons of God: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Trinity Sunday also represents the beginning of the Church part of the liturgical year, continuing until Advent, where green vestments are worn by Roman Catholic celebrants.
In the Eastern Churches, Pentecost itself is considered the feast of the Trinity.
Other liturgical churches such as Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist also celebrate Trinity Sunday.
Roman Catholic practice
In the Roman Catholic Church it is officially known as the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. Prior to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, it marked the end of a three-week period when church weddings were forbidden. The period began on Rogation Sunday, the sixth Sunday in Easter (five weeks after Easter). Trinity Sunday was established as a double of the second class by Pope John XXII to celebrate the Trinity. It was raised to the dignity of a primary of the first class by Pope Pius X on 24 July, 1911.
The Thursday after Trinity Sunday is observed as the Feast of Corpus Christi, except in the United States and Spain, when it falls on the following Sunday instead. After Corpus Christi, Ordinary Time resumes, and green vestments are worn by the priest and celebrants for the rest of the liturgical year, except on certain special days, including those designated as a holy day of obligation. The first Sunday of Advent marks the beginning of the new liturgical year.
Other times when church weddings were forbidden included:
- The first Sunday of Advent through January 13, the end of the Octave of Epiphany.
- Septuagesima through Low Sunday (the first Sunday after Easter).