Tomorrow, 29 July, Roman Catholics celebrate the Memorial of Sts Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. On 26 Jan 2021 Pope Francis expanded the memorial of St Martha to include Mary and Lazarus.
Anglicans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia move the celebration to today and have expanded this to Mary and Martha of Bethany. There is a separate feast day for Mary Magdalene on 22 July.
The Church of England (29 July) has also expanded beyond Martha and Mary to include their brother, Lazarus. The celebration in the CofE’s Common Worship is “Mary, Martha and Lazarus, Companions of Our Lord”. Benedictine Daily Prayer celebrates “St. Martha, St. Mary, and St. Lazarus – Hosts of the Lord”. [Future revisers of the Calendar for Anglicans in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia take note!]
The Episcopal Church’s Holy Women Holy Men puts “[and Lazarus]” (29 July) in square brackets. But there’s no brackets in its collect:
Generous God, whose Son Jesus…
