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R. Kelly

'''Robert Sylvester "R." Kelly''' (born January 8, 1967) is an American former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is credited with prolific commercial success in R&B, hip hop, and pop music recordings, earning nicknames such as "the King of R&B", "the King of Pop-Soul", and "the Pied Piper of R&B". Kelly's career ended in 2019 following his arrest and subsequent convictions on federal racketeering and sex trafficking charges involving sexual abuse of minors.

Born on the South Side of Chicago, Kelly began performing in the subway under the Chicago "L" tracks, and regularly busked at the "L" stop on the Red Line's Jackson station in the Loop. During his recording career, Kelly released 18 studio albums which yielded a number of hit singles, including "I Believe I Can Fly", "Bump N' Grind", "Your Body's Callin', "Fiesta (Remix)", "Ignition (Remix)", "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)", "If I Could Turn Back the Hands of Time", "The World's Greatest", "I'm a Flirt (Remix)", and the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet. In 1998, he won three Grammy Awards for "I Believe I Can Fly".

Alongside his recording career, Kelly's songwriting and production work was credited on albums by Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Justin Bieber, Janet Jackson, Chris Brown, Aaliyah, Usher, Ciara, Toni Braxton, Luther Vandross, and Mary J. Blige. Kelly received a Grammy Award nomination for his contributions to Jackson's 1995 single, "You Are Not Alone", which earned a Guinness World Record as the first song to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart's history. Kelly's 1998 collaboration with Dion, "I'm Your Angel" did so once more.

Kelly sold over 75 million albums and singles worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and the most successful R&B male artist of the 1990s. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has recognized Kelly as one of the best-selling artists in the United States with 40 million albums sold. In 2011, Kelly was named the most successful R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard. Kelly won Grammy Awards, BET Awards, Soul Train Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and American Music Awards.

Kelly had long been the subject of accusations of sexual abuse, including that of minors, dating back to the 1990s. Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly re-examined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract. Renewed interest in the allegations resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019, which led to multiple convictions and Kelly's arrest. In 2021 and 2022, he was convicted on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse. As of 2024, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I.

Early life
Robert Sylvester Kelly was born on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, on January 8, 1967, at Chicago Lying-In Hospital (now University of Chicago Medical Center) in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood. He has five siblings (three of whom are half): two older sisters and brother, along with a younger brother and sister. His mother, Joanne, was a schoolteacher and devout Baptist. She was born in Arkansas. The identity of his father, who was absent from Kelly's life and later raised two children, is not known. His family lived in the Ida B. Wells Homes public housing project in the Black Metropolis–Bronzeville District of Chicago's Douglas neighborhood, also on the city's south side. Around the time he was five years old, Kelly's mother married his stepfather, Lucious, who reportedly worked for an airline. Kelly began singing in the church choir at age eight.

Trauma and abuse
Kelly described having a girlfriend, Lulu, at age eight, in his autobiography. He stated that their last play date turned tragic when, after fighting with older children over a play area by a creek, she was pushed into the water, swept downstream by a fast-moving current, and drowned. Kelly called Lulu his first musical inspiration.

Kelly said members of his household would act differently when his mother and grandparents were not home. This included highly provocative dress and behavior. Kelly stated that when he was eight, an adult woman in the household coerced him into photographing her while having intercourse with an adult male partner.

From age 8 to 14, he was often sexually abused by an older female family member. Kelly's younger brother, Carey, stated that he suffered from years of sexual abuse at the hands of his older sister, Theresa, who was entrusted with babysitting her siblings. Carey stated that although their older brother, Bruce, was spared and allowed to play outside, both he and Kelly were punished at separate times indoors by Theresa, who refused to acknowledge the abuse when confronted years later.

Explaining why he never told anyone, Kelly wrote in the 2012 autobiography Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me that he was "too afraid and too ashamed". Around age 10, Kelly was also sexually abused by an older male who was a friend of the family. In his autobiography, Kelly describes being shot in the shoulder at age 13 by boys who were attempting to steal his bike, although a family friend claims his mother disputed this, stating that the gunshot was self-inflicted during a suicide attempt.

Turn toward music
In September 1980, Kelly entered Kenwood Academy in the city's Hyde Park-Kenwood district, where he met music teacher Lena McLin, who encouraged Kelly to perform Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky" in the high school talent show. A shy Kelly put on sunglasses, was escorted onto the stage, performed the song, and was awarded first prize. McLin encouraged Kelly to leave the high school basketball team and concentrate on music. She said he was furious at first, but after his performance in the talent show, he changed his mind. Kelly was diagnosed with dyslexia, which left him unable to read or write. Kelly dropped out of high school after attending Kenwood Academy for one year. He began performing in the subway under the Chicago "L" tracks. He regularly busked at the "L" stop on the Red Line's Jackson station in the Loop.

In his youth, Kelly played basketball with Illinois state champion basketball player Ben Wilson and later sang "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" at Wilson's funeral.

Career
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him the most commercially successful male R&B artist of the 1990s and one of the world's best-selling music artists. He won three Grammys for his song "I Believe I Can Fly", and was also nominated for his song "You Are Not Alone" recorded by Michael Jackson. Critics dubbed him "the King of R&B"  while he billed himself the "Pied Piper of R&B".

1989–1994: Born into the 90's and 12 Play
MGM (Musically Gifted Men or Mentally Gifted Men) was formed in 1989 with Robert Kelly, Marc McWilliams, Vincent Walker and Shawn Brooks. In 1990, MGM were offered a contract with an independent label, Tavdash Records. Shortly after, they recorded and released one single, "Why You Wanna Play Me." Kelly gained national recognition when MGM participated on the talent TV show Big Break, hosted by Natalie Cole. MGM performed "All My Love", which would become a demo for Kelly's song "She's Got That Vibe." The group went on to win the $100,000 grand prize in 1991 before they disbanded.

In 1991, Kelly signed with Jive Records. Kelly's debut album, Born into the 90's, was released in early 1992 (credited as R. Kelly and Public Announcement). The album, released during the new jack swing period of the early 1990s, yielded the R&B hits "She's Got That Vibe", "Honey Love", "Dedicated", and "Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)", with Kelly singing lead vocals. During late 1992, Kelly and Public Announcement embarked on a tour entitled "60653" after the zip code of their Chicago neighborhood. This would be the only album co-credited with Public Announcement. Kelly separated from the group in 1993.

Kelly's first solo album, 12 Play, was released on November 9, 1993, and yielded the singer's first number-one hit, "Bump N' Grind", which spent a record-breaking 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Subsequent hit singles: "Your Body's Callin'" (U.S. Hot 100: #13, U.S. R&B: #2) and "Sex Me" (U.S. Hot 100: #20, U.S. R&B: #8). Both singles sold 500,000 copies in the United States and were certified Gold by the RIAA. In 1994, 12 Play was certified Gold by the RIAA, eventually going six times platinum.

In 1994, Kelly established himself as a leading producer by producing songs for various artists, including Aaliyah, Janet Jackson, and Changing Faces. He co-headlined a tour with Salt-N-Pepa and headlined the Budweiser Superfest tour.

1995–1996 R. Kelly and "I Believe I Can Fly"
In 1995, Kelly garnered his first Grammy nominations; two for writing, producing, and composing Michael Jackson's last number-one hit, "You Are Not Alone".

Kelly's success continued with the November 14, 1995, release of R. Kelly, his eponymous second studio album. Critics praised him for his departure from salacious bedroom songs to embracing vulnerability. New York Times contributor Stephen Holden described Kelly as "The reigning king of pop-soul sex talks a lot tougher than Barry White, the father of such fluffed-up pillow talks and along with Marvin Gaye and Donny Hathaway, [both] major influences for Kelly." In December 1995, Professor Michael Eric Dyson critiqued Kelly's self-titled album "R. Kelly" for VIBE. Dyson described Kelly's growth from the 12 Play album: "Kelly reshapes his personal turmoil to artistic benefit" and noted that Kelly is "reborn before our very own ears".

The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Kelly's first number one album on the chart, and reached number one on the R&B album charts; his second. The R. Kelly album spawned three platinum hit singles: "You Remind Me of Something" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1), "I Can't Sleep Baby (If I)" (U.S. Hot 100: #5, U.S. R&B: #1), and "Down Low (Nobody Has To Know)" (U.S. Hot 100: #4, U.S. R&B: #1); a duet with Ronald Isley. Kelly's self-titled album sold four million copies, receiving 4× platinum certification from the RIAA. He promoted the album with a 50-city "Down Low Top Secret Tour" with LL Cool J, Xscape, and Solo.

On November 26, 1996, Kelly released "I Believe I Can Fly", an inspirational song originally released on the soundtrack for the film Space Jam. "I Believe I Can Fly" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the UK charts for three weeks and won three Grammy Awards in 1998. In that same year, he contributed to "Freak Tonight" for the A Thin Line Between Love and Hate soundtrack.

1997–2001: Basketball, R., TP-2.COM, and Rockland Records
In 1997, Kelly signed a contract to play professional basketball with the Atlantic City Seagulls of the USBL. He wore the number 12 in honor of his album 12 Play. Kelly said "I love basketball enough to not totally let go of my music, but just put it to the side for a minute and fulfill some dreams of mine that I've had for a long time." Kelly's USBL contract contained a clause that would allow him to fulfill a music obligation when necessary. "If Whitney Houston needs a song written", said Ken Gross, the Seagulls owner who signed Kelly, "he would be able to leave the team to do that and come back". "It wasn't a gimmick", Gross continued, "he's a ballplayer. He can play."

In the same year, Kelly collaborated with American rapper The Notorious B.I.G. for the song "Fuck You Tonight" on the posthumous album Life After Death.

In 1998, he launched his own label, Rockland Records, in a distribution deal with Jimmy Iovine's Interscope Records. The label's roster included artists Sparkle, Boo & Gotti, Talent, Vegas Cats, Lady, Frankie, Secret Weapon, and Rebecca F. That May, Sparkle, Rockland's first signed artist, released her eponymous debut album. In addition to producing and writing the project, Kelly made vocal contribution to the hit duet "Be Careful", which became a serious factor as to why the album was certified platinum in December 2000.

On November 17, 1998, Kelly released his fourth studio and first double album, R. Musically, the album spans different genres from pop (Celine Dion), street rap (Nas and Jay-Z) to Blues ("Suicide"). Dave Hoekstra of the Los Angeles Times described the album as "easily the most ambitious project of his career". In the summer of 1999, he wrote and produced a majority of the soundtrack to the Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy film, Life, which features tracks from K-Ci & JoJo, Maxwell, Mýa, and Destiny's Child, among others. The soundtrack was also released on the Rockland imprint.

In early 2000, Kelly received multiple awards reflecting his status as an established R&B superstar. In January 2000, he won Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist at the American Music Awards and, in February, was nominated for several Grammy Awards, including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("When a Woman's Fed Up"), Best R&B Album (R.), and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group ("Satisfy You") with P. Diddy.

On November 7, 2000, he released his fifth studio album, TP-2.com, a project aligned with his breakthrough album, 12 Play. Unlike R., all songs on TP-2.com were written, arranged, and produced by Kelly. AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier gave TP-2.com 4 stars and stated: "Kelly knows how to take proven formulas and funnel them through his own stylistic aesthetic, which usually means slowing down the tempo, laying on lush choruses of strings and background vocals, taming down the lyrics for radio, and catering his pitch primarily to wistful women.

In 2001, Kelly won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the Music of Black Origin or MOBO Awards and Billboard magazine ranked TP-2.com number 94 on the magazine's Top 200 Albums of the Decade. Kelly's song, "The World's Greatest", from the soundtrack to the 2001 autobiographical film, Ali, was a hit.

2002–2003: The Best of Both Worlds and Chocolate Factory
On January 24, 2002, at a press conference announcing the completion of Kelly and Jay-Z's first collaborative album, The Best of Both Worlds, celebrities such as Johnnie Cochran, Russell Simmons, Luther Vandross, and Sean Combs praised the album, with Jay-Z stating that he hoped the collaboration represents "more unity for black people on a whole". MTV's Shaheem Reid wrote: "And if Jay and Kelly can put their egos to the side long enough to wrap up and promote their album, then their labels—Def Jam and Jive, respectively—can surely figure out a way to join forces and make cheddar together."

On February 8, 2002, Kelly performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics, a week after a news scandal broke of a sex tape that appeared to show Kelly with an underage girl.

Following a leak of the joint album on February 22, 2002, Roc-A-Fella and Jive moved the release date one week earlier in an effort to curtail piracy. Jay-Z expressed frustration about the album leak to MTV News, describing the event as both a "gift" and a "curse." Upon release on March 19, 2002, The Best of Both Worlds sold 285,000 copies in its opening week and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. It was a critical and commercial disappointment.

In May 2002, six months prior to the scheduled release of Kelly's sixth studio album, Loveland, a bootleg copy containing 15 tracks had been leaked. In response, Kelly began work on the album now known as Chocolate Factory, opting to release Loveland as a deluxe edition bonus disc. In October of that year, Kelly released "Ignition (Remix)", the lead single from his upcoming album. It would spend 42 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number two.

On February 18, 2003, Kelly released Chocolate Factory, which debuted as the number one album on the Billboard 200. It sold 532,000 copies in its first week. The album was met with critical acclaim, and supported by two more singles. "Snake", the albums second single, was followed by "Step in the Name of Love (Remix)", which charted for 70 weeks, reaching number one on the R&B/Hip-hop airplay charts. Later that year, in September, Kelly's first greatest hits album, The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1, was released which included "Thoia Thoing" and two other previously unreleased songs.

2004–2005: Unfinished Business, Happy People/U Saved Me and TP.3 Reloaded
Between mid-2003 and early 2004, Kelly began work on a double CD album, one with "happy" tracks and another with "inspirational" tracks. The double album, Happy People/U Saved Me, was released on August 24, 2004. It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, with first week sales of 264,000 copies. Both of the album's titled tracks respectively performed underwhelmingly; "Happy People" charted at number twenty-nine on the Adult R&B song chart while "U Saved Me" peaked at number fifty-two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Two months later, Kelly and Jay-Z reunited to release their second collaborative album, Unfinished Business. The album received criticism and, as with the pair's previous collaboration, it was also a commercial failure, despite debuting at number one on the Billboard 200. Album promotion and its Best of Both Worlds tour were both plagued by tension between the stars, with Kelly reportedly showing up late or not at all to gigs. Kelly complained that the touring lights were not directed towards him and allegedly assaulted the tour's lighting director.

Jay-Z eventually removed Kelly halfway through the tour, after a member of Jay-Z's entourage pepper sprayed Kelly on October 29, 2004. Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith was charged with assault, but took a plea deal for disorderly conduct. Kelly bounced back commercially after appearing on Ja Rule's single, "Wonderful" alongside Ashanti. In November 2004, "Wonderful" charted at number five on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart. The single was certified gold by the RIAA in May 2005.

After finishing Happy People/U Saved Me and Unfinished Business in 2004, Kelly released TP.3 Reloaded in July 2005. It became Kelly's fifth consecutive number-one album in his career. TP.3 Reloaded was heavily cross-promoted alongside the first five chapters of Kelly's musical serial, the "hip hopera" Trapped in the Closet.

2006–2009: Double Up and Untitled, Africa
In December 2006, Kelly built momentum for his eighth solo studio album, Double Up, after guest-appearing on Bow Wow's "I'm a Flirt". Three months later, Kelly's remix of "I'm a Flirt" was released, but instead of Bow Wow, it featured T.I. and T-Pain. On May 29, 2007, the album was released. It became Kelly's sixth and final album in his career to chart at number one on the Billboard 200. Kelly's other singles from Double Up titled "Same Girl" was a duet of Kelly and Usher, while "Rise Up" was a tribute to the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting that occurred earlier that year in April, a month before the album was released. The song was previously released as a digital download on May 15, 2007. Proceeds were donated to the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to help family members of the victims of the shootings.

Kelly began his Double Up tour with Ne-Yo, Keyshia Cole and J. Holiday opening for him. One week into the tour, promoter Leonard Rowe had Ne-Yo removed from the tour because of a contract dispute. However, Ne-Yo alleges that the reason for the dropout was because Ne-Yo believes he received a better response from critics and fans. Ne-Yo won a lawsuit that he filed against Rowe Entertainment in 2008. Kelly was not mentioned in the lawsuit. In December 2007, Kelly failed to appear at another preliminary court hearing on his case due to his tour bus being held up in Utah. The judge threatened to revoke Kelly's bond, but eventually decided against it. In 2008, Kelly released a rap track titled "I'm a Beast" in which he coarsely attacked his detractors, yet did not name the subjects of the song.

In 2008, before and after being acquitted on charges of producing child sexual abuse material, Billboard reported that Kelly had plans to release his newest album titled 12 Play: Fourth Quarter in the summer of that year but the album was postponed. Billboard named Kelly among the most successful artists ever for its 50th Anniversary List. In the spring, the promotional single "Hair Braider", peaked at No. 56 on Billboard 's R&B chart. On July 28, the entire album leaked online, causing the title to be scrapped.

In February 2009, Kelly announced that he was working on a new album called Untitled with a projected release date of September 29, but it had been delayed to December. In June 2009, he released his first mixtape, The "Demo" Tape, presented by DJ Skee and DJ Drama.

Kelly headlined the Arise African Fashion Awards in Johannesburg, South Africa, on June 20, 2009. He performed in Cape Town, followed by Nigeria as part of the annual ThisDay music and fashion festival in July. That same month, he released "Number One", featuring singer-songwriter Keri Hilson. Then, on December 1, Kelly's untitled ninth solo album was released. It charted on the Billboard 200 at number four. More singles from the album include "Echo", "Supaman High" and "Be My #2". In January 2010, Kelly performed in Kampala, Uganda. "I'm very excited about my first visit to Africa, I've dreamed about this for a long time and it's finally here", Kelly said in a statement. "It will be one of the highlights of not only my career but my life. I can't wait to perform in front of my fans in Africa—who have been some of the best in the world."

2010–2012: Epic, Love Letter, throat surgery, and Write Me Back
Kelly performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony on June 11, 2010. In an interview in the September 2010 issue of XXL magazine, Kelly said he was working on three new albums (Epic, Love Letter, and Zodiac) which he described as "remixing himself". Epic, a compilation filled with powerful ballads including "The World's Greatest" and "Sign of a Victory", only saw a European release on September 21, 2010. However, it is also available for streaming worldwide.

In November 2010, Kelly collaborated with several African musicians forming a supergroup known as One8. The group featured 2Face from Nigeria, Ali Kiba from Tanzania, Congolese singer Fally Ipupa, 4X4 from Ghana, hip-hop artist Movaizhaleine from Gabon, Zambia's JK, Ugandan hip-hop star Navio and Kenya's Amani, the only female in the group. The first release from the group was "Hands Across the World" written and produced by Kelly.

Kelly's tenth album Love Letter, released on December 14, 2010, included 15 songs, one of which was Kelly singing "You Are Not Alone", a track Kelly originally wrote for Michael Jackson. The first single "When a Woman Loves" was nominated for a Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.

At the 2011 Pre-Grammy Gala in Los Angeles, Kelly performed a medley of hits, and, in March 2011, Kelly was named the No. 1 R&B artist of the last 25 years by Billboard.

On July 19, 2011, Kelly was admitted to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago to undergo emergency throat surgery to drain an abscess on one of his tonsils, and was released on July 21, 2011. He canceled his performance at the Reggae Sumfest in Jamaica that was scheduled for the following Friday. Johnny Gourzong, Sumfest Productions executive director, commented, "We are truly going to miss his presence on the festival." On September 23, 2011, Variety confirmed that Kelly had signed on to write original music for the Sparkle soundtrack.

In 2011, Kelly worked with writer David Ritz on an autobiography entitled Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me, which was later released in the summer of 2012. On October 7, 2011, after Sony's RCA Music Group announced the consolidation of Jive, Arista and J Records into RCA Records, Kelly was set to release music under the RCA brand.

Following his throat surgery, Kelly released "Shut Up" to generally favorable reviews: Spin magazine said, "Kelly taking aim at the haters who said "he's washed up, he's lost it." He hasn't. Dude's voice is in prime smooth R&B form". On December 21, 2011, Kelly made a live appearance on The X Factor and gave his first performance after the surgery. Kelly revealed to Rolling Stone that he felt like he was "just starting out" and how the performance was a "wake up call" for him.

In 2012, Kelly made a series of announcements including a follow-up to the Love Letter album titled Write Me Back, which was released on June 26 to little fanfare, as well as a third installment of Trapped in the Closet and The Single Ladies Tour featuring R&B singer, Tamia. In February 2012, Kelly performed "I Look to You", a song he wrote for Whitney Houston, at Houston's homegoing.

2013–2017: Black Panties, The Buffet, and 12 Nights of Christmas
During 2013, Kelly continued his "The Single Ladies Tour". He performed at music festivals across North America, including Bonnaroo, Pitchfork, and Macy's Music Festival. On June 30, 2013, R. Kelly performed live at BET Awards Show singing hits as well as his new track "My Story" featuring Atlanta rapper 2 Chainz. The song was the lead single for Kelly's twelfth studio album Black Panties. released on December 10, 2013. Writing for New York magazine, David Marchese stated that Black Panties "was like a dare to the world: After all that he'd been accused of, after avoiding conviction, could R. Kelly still get away with making sex-obsessed music?"

In 2013, Kelly collaborated with several artists including Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Jennifer Hudson. In an interview with Global Grind in November, he described follow up work with Celine Dion after their number one single "I'm Your Angel" from 1998. Kelly worked with singer Mariah Carey for her album "The Art of Letting Go".

Kelly co-wrote and sang on Lady Gaga's song "Do What U Want" from her 2013 album Artpop, performing the duet with her on Saturday Night Live on November 16, 2013, and at the 2013 American Music Awards. "Do What U Want" had since been removed from streaming services and re-releases of Gaga's Artpop album following sexual misconduct allegations against Kelly in early 2019. He also collaborated with Birdman and Lil Wayne on "We Been On", a single from the Cash Money Records compilation, Rich Gang. He also appeared on Twista's first single on his new album "Dark Horse". On November 17, 2013, Kelly and Justin Bieber debuted a collaboration entitled "PYD".

Kelly was featured on the soundtrack album of the film The Best Man Holiday with his song "Christmas, I'll Be Steppin'".

Kelly stated his intention to tour with R&B singer Mary J. Blige on "The King & Queen Tour" prior to the Black Panties Tour while continuing to create segments of the hip hopera Trapped in the Closet.

In July 2014, Kelly announced that he was working on a house music album.

In November 2015, Kelly released "Switch Up" featuring fellow Chicagoan Jeremih and Lil Wayne, followed by "Wake Up Everybody", "Marching Band" and "Backyard Party". The following month, the album containing those singles, The Buffet, was released. It charted poorly on the Billboard 200 at number sixteen with first-week sales of 39,000 album-equivalent copies. During November 2015, R. Kelly released a song with Ty Dolla $ign called "Actress" off the album Free TC.

The following year, after a two-and-a-half-year delay, Kelly presented his only Christmas album, also his fourteenth and final studio album in his career thus far, 12 Nights of Christmas, which was released on October 21, 2016.

2017–2022: Guest appearances, "I Admit"
On March 17, Pitbull released the song "Dedicated" off his album Climate Change and features guest appearances from American singers R. Kelly and Austin Mahone.

Kelly released the 19-minute-long "I Admit" on SoundCloud on July 23, 2018, as a response to his accusers. The song does not contain any criminal admissions despite its title and chorus, which repeats the lyric "I admit it, I did it". In "I Admit", Kelly denies allegations of domestic violence and pedophilia, asserting that they are matters of opinion. Kelly also denounces Jim DeRogatis and repudiates his investigative report's claim of Kelly operating a "sex cult". Addressing the Mute R. Kelly social media campaign, Kelly sings, "only God can mute me".

The song was criticized by reviewers, who described it as an act of trolling. Many outlets compared the song to that of his "Heaven I Need a Hug" extended version, Trapped in the Closet opera, "I Believe I Can Fly" concert remix, and O. J. Simpson's autobiographical novel If I Did It. Andrea Kelly and Carey Killa Kelly (R. Kelly's ex-wife and brother, respectively) responded to "I Admit" with songs that contain additional allegations against R. Kelly.

An album credited to Kelly titled I Admit It after and including the 19-minute song from 2018 was released on streaming services on December 9, 2022, but was taken down after it was not approved by Sony or R. Kelly's team. The album was credited to Sony's Legacy Recordings but actually uploaded by Real Talk Entertainment, who had released the album through a sub-label also named Legacy Recordings. This resulted in the credited distributor, Universal Music Group–owned Ingrooves, cutting ties with Real Talk Entertainment.

Musical style and influences
Kelly's music took root in R&B, hip hop and soul. He was influenced by listening to his mother, Joanne Kelly, sing. She played records by Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Marvin Gaye, inspirations for Kelly. In reference to Hathaway, Kelly stated: "A guy like Donny Hathaway had a focused, sexual texture in his voice that I always wanted in mine. He had smooth, soulful tones, but he was spiritual at the same time. In his autobiography, Kelly stated that he was heavily influenced by Marvin Gaye's R&B Lothario image. "I had to make a 'baby-makin'' album. If Marvin Gaye did it, I wanted to do it", Kelly said.

While Kelly created a smooth, professional mixture of hip-hop beats, soulman crooning and funk, the most distinctive element of his music is its explicit sensuality. "Sex Me", "Bump n' Grind", "Your Body's Callin'", and "Feelin' on Yo Booty" are considered to be examples, as their productions were seductive enough to sell such blatant come-ons. Kelly's crossover appeal was also sustained by his development of a flair for pop balladry.

Vocal style and lyrical themes
Writing for the New York Daily News in 1997, Nunyo Demasio stated "With a voice that easily shifts from booming baritone to seductive alto, Kelly has gained international celebrity by combining streetwise rhythms with sexually explicit lyrics." Love and sex are the topics of the majority of Kelly's lyrical content, although he has written about a wide variety of themes such as inspiration and spirituality. Chicago Sun-Times reporters Jim DeRogatis and Abdon Pallasch observed about the contrasting themes: "... the image he liked to project was that of the "R&B Thug"... bringing the streetwise persona of the gangsta rapper into the more polite world of R&B."

Kelly expressed that he writes from everyday experiences and prides himself on being versatile. Larry Khan, senior vice president of Jive's urban marketing and promotion, said that Kelly's musical compass is second to none. DeRogatis and Pallasch reported that at concerts where Kelly would go from singing "Like a Real Freak" to "I Wish": "Many fans found these abrupt shifts between the transcendent and the venal, the inspirational and the X-rated jarring."

Influence
Kelly is considered to be one of the most successful R&B artists since the mid-1980s. He is also one of the bestselling music artists in the United States, with over 30 million albums sold, as well as only the fifth black artist to enter the top 50 of the same list. Rolling Stone magazine called him "arguably the most important R&B figure of the 1990s and 2000s". Music executive Barry Weiss described Kelly as "the modern-day Prince, although there's a bit of Marvin Gaye in him, and a bit of Irving Berlin". R. Kelly has also been compared to artists like Sam Cooke and Bobby Brown.

In addition to his solo and collaboration success, Kelly has also written and produced several hit songs, such as "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" for Aaliyah, "Fortunate" for Maxwell, "You Are Not Alone" for Michael Jackson, "G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T." for Changing Faces, "Bump, Bump, Bump" for B2K, and many more.

Honors and awards
Kelly has received and been nominated for multiple awards, as a songwriter, producer, and singer. He won three Grammy Awards for his song "I Believe I Can Fly": Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best Rhythm and Blues Song, and Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television. After Kelly's federal conviction in New York, The Recording Academy stated in 2021 they wouldn't strip Kelly of his awards despite his "disturbing" actions.

Kelly was given a key to the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in 2013 as "an artist whose music brings generations together". On September 30, 2021, following his New York conviction of multiple sex crimes, the key was rescinded.

Sexual abuse allegations
Kelly has faced repeated accusations of sexual abuse for incidents dating from 1991 to 2018 and has been the subject of a long-term investigation by the Chicago Sun-Times since August 2000. He has been tried in multiple civil suits and criminal trials, starting in 1996 when Tiffany Hawkins alleged that, starting in 1991 when she was age 15, Kelly, aged 24, had sexual relations with her and encouraged her to entice underaged friends. Following leaked video recordings, Kelly was prosecuted on child pornography charges in 2002, leading to a controversial trial that ended with his acquittal in 2008 on all charges. The 2019 documentary Surviving R. Kelly reexamined Kelly's alleged sexual misconduct with minors, prompting RCA Records to terminate his contract and resulted in additional investigations by law enforcement beginning in 2019. This culminated in a 2021 conviction for violations of the Mann Act and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, and a 2022 conviction for production of child pornography. As of 2023, he is serving a 31-year combined sentence at FCI Butner Medium I.

Other court cases
Other than the federal sex abuse cases, Kelly has been involved in several high-profile criminal cases and lawsuits.

Criminal

 * August 13, 1997: Kelly was found guilty of battery and placed on unsupervised probation for one year in Lafayette, Louisiana as a result of a July 1996 brawl which involved the singer and his entourage. One of the victims needed a total of 110 facial stitches.
 * April 8, 1998: Kelly was arrested in Chicago on three misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, including one charge of violating noise ordinance for playing his music extremely loud from his car, during a test run. He was allegedly confrontational as he was arrested and placed into custody. The vehicle he was testing audio in was impounded and placed on a $500 daily recovery fee. Prosecutors from the district attorney's office dropped the first two charges on May 7, and the noise charge on July 22 that year.
 * March 6, 2019: Kelly was taken to the Cook County Jail after failing to pay child support in the amount of $161,633 to his former wife, Andrea. Three days later, he was released after someone, whose identity was withheld, paid off the child support on his behalf. His lawyer says he could not discuss the payment due to a gag order.

Civil suits

 * November 1, 2004: Kelly launched a $75 million lawsuit against former friend Jay-Z and several concert organizers and/or promoters for removing him from the Best of Both Worlds tour. The lawsuit for breach of contract, which sought $75 million in damages ($60 million in punitive damages and $15 million for lost income) was a result of not being able to tour.
 * January 2005: Jay-Z countersued the singer, claiming Kelly showed erratic behavior including being late or absent attendances, vacating deadlines, and continued demands or requests that led to several cancellations and resulted in loss of gross. Kelly's lawyers challenged it as "inaccurate smears of [Mr. Kelly] that are utterly irrelevant to the issues of the case" but confirmed the rapper's refusal to continue work with Kelly after the Madison Square Garden incident and thus broke the contract. Jay-Z's counter suit was dismissed by a judge that May.
 * November 2005: Kelly sued Jay-Z again, claiming that now Roc Nation executive Tyran "Ty Ty" Smith was awarded with the position of vice president at the artist and repertoire department of Def Jam Recordings (which Jay was president of at the time), as a result of the latter pepper-spraying Kelly on October 29, 2004.

Personal life
Kelly's mother, Joanne, died from cancer in 1993. He has given conflicting accounts of where he was during his mother's passing. His oldest daughter, JoAnn (b. 1998), was named after the singer's mother, but is also known as Buku Abi.

In 1996, Kelly married Andrea Kelly (née Lee), his former backup dancer and mother of his three children, the aforementioned JoAnn, as well as Jaah (b. 2000), and Robert Jr. (b. 2002). Andrea filed a restraining order against Kelly in September 2005 after a physical altercation, ultimately filing for divorce in 2006. In January 2009, their divorce was finalized after 13 years of marriage. In later years, Andrea accused Kelly of physical, verbal, and mental abuse, including in Surviving R. Kelly (2019).

Kelly reportedly had a long relationship with gospel singer Deleon Richards in the 1990s. In 2005, a Chicago man was charged for attempting to extort Richards' husband, Gary Sheffield, by allegedly threatening to release a sex tape of Richards with an ex-boyfriend, reportedly Kelly. In January 2006, the man was sentenced to 27 months in prison.

Philanthropy
In April 2007, Kelly released the song "Rise Up" for Virginia Tech after the 2007 school shooting and donated the net proceeds to the families of the victims. In 2010, he penned the song "Sign of a Victory" for the FIFA World Cup, with all proceeds benefiting African charities. On April 6, 2011, he performed at a charity event in Chicago benefiting Clara's House, a facility designed to build employment, housing, health care, and education in the projects of Chicago. In 2016, Kelly donated cases of water to the Flint water crisis.

Discography
Solo studio albums

 * 12 Play (1993)
 * R. Kelly (1995)
 * R. (1998)
 * TP-2.com (2000)
 * Chocolate Factory (2003)
 * Happy People/U Saved Me (2004)
 * TP.3 Reloaded (2005)
 * Double Up (2007)
 * Untitled (2009)
 * Love Letter (2010)
 * Write Me Back (2012)
 * Black Panties (2013)
 * The Buffet (2015)
 * 12 Nights of Christmas (2016)

Collaborative studio albums

 * Born into the 90's (with Public Announcement) (1992)
 * The Best of Both Worlds (with Jay-Z) (2002)
 * Unfinished Business (with Jay-Z) (2004)

Tours
Kelly toured extensively as a live musician. His concert tours included:
 * 60653 Tour (w/ Public Announcement) (1993)
 * The Very Necessary 12 Play Tour (with Salt-N-Pepa) (1994)
 * The Down Low Top Secret Tour (with LL Cool J and Xscape) (1996)
 * The Get Up on a Room Tour (with Kelly Price, Nas, Foxy Brown, and Deborah Cox) (1999)
 * The TP-2.com Tour (with Sunshine Anderson and Syleena Johnson) (2001)
 * The Key in the Ignition Tour (with Ashanti) (2003)
 * The Best Of Both Worlds Tour (with Jay-Z) (2004)
 * The Light It Up Tour (2006)
 * The Double Up Tour (with J. Holiday and Keyshia Cole) (2007)
 * The Ladies Make Some Noise Tour (with K. Michelle) (2009)
 * Love Letter Tour (with Keyshia Cole and Marsha Ambrosius) (2011)
 * The Single Ladies Tour (with Tamia) (2012–2013)
 * Black Panties Tour (2014–2016)
 * The Buffet Tour (2016)

Books

 * Soulacoaster: The Diary of Me (2012, autobiography)

title: R. Kelly


text:
Liturgical year

The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year, ecclesiastical calendar, or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical days and seasons that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and which portions of scripture are to be read.

Distinct liturgical colours may be used in connection with different seasons of the liturgical year. The dates of the festivals vary somewhat among the different churches, although the sequence and logic is largely the same.

Liturgical cycle
The liturgical cycle divides the year into a series of seasons, each with their own mood, theological emphases, and modes of prayer, which can be signified by different ways of decorating churches, colours of paraments and vestments for clergy, scriptural readings, themes for preaching and even different traditions and practices often observed personally or in the home. In churches that follow the liturgical year, the scripture passages for each Sunday (and even each day of the year in some traditions) are specified in a lectionary.

After the Protestant Reformation, Anglicans and Lutherans continued to follow the lectionary of the Roman Rite. Following a decision of the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church revised that lectionary in 1969, adopting a three-year cycle of readings for Sundays and a two-year cycle for weekdays.

Adaptations of the revised Roman Rite lectionary were adopted by Protestants, leading to the publication in 1994 of the Revised Common Lectionary for Sundays and major feasts, which is now used by many Protestant denominations, including also Methodists, United, some Reformed, etc. This has led to a greater awareness of the traditional Christian year among Protestants, especially among mainline denominations.

Biblical calendars
Scholars are not in agreement about whether the calendars used by the Jews before the Babylonian exile were solar (based on the return of the same relative position between the Sun and the Earth), lunisolar (based on months that corresponded to the cycle of the moon, with periodic additional months to bring the calendar back into agreement with the solar cycle) like the present-day Jewish calendar of Hillel II, or lunar, such as the Hijri calendar.

The first month of the Hebrew year was called אביב (Aviv), evidently adopted by Moses from Ipip as the eleventh month of the non-lunar Egyptian calendar, meaning the month of green ears of grain. Having to occur at the appropriate time in the spring, it thus was originally part of a tropical calendar. At about the time of the Babylonian exile, when using the Babylonian civil calendar, the Jews adopted the term ניסן (Nisan) as the name for the month, based on the Babylonian name Nisanu. Thomas J Talley says that the adoption of the Babylonian term occurred even before the exile.

In the earlier calendar, most of the months were simply called by a number (such as "the fifth month"). The Babylonian-derived names of the month that are used by Jews are:
 * 1) Nisan (March–April)
 * 2) Iyar (April–May)
 * 3) Sivan (May–June)
 * 4) Tammuz (June–July)
 * 5) Av (July–August)
 * 6) Elul (August–September)
 * 7) Tishrei (September–October)
 * 8) Marcheshvan (October–November)
 * 9) Kislev (November–December)
 * 10) Tevet (December–January)
 * 11) Shevat (January–February)
 * 12) Adar 1 (February; only during leap years)
 * 13) Adar (February–March)

In Biblical times, the following Jewish religious feasts were celebrated:
 * Pesach (Passover) – 14 Nisan (sacrifice of a lamb), 15 Nisan (Passover seder)
 * Chag HaMatzot (Unleavened Bread) – 15–21 Nisan
 * Reishit Katzir (Firstfruits) – 16 Nisan
 * Shavuot (Weeks) – Fiftieth day counted from Passover, normally 6–7 Sivan
 * Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) – 1–2 Tishrei
 * Yom Kippur (Atonement) – 10 Tishrei
 * Sukkot (Tabernacles) – 15–21 Tishrei
 * Chanukah (Dedication) – 25 Kislev–2/3 Tevet (instituted in 164 BC)
 * Purim (Lots) – 14–15 Adar (instituted in c. 400 BC)

East Syriac Rite

The Liturgical Calendar of the East Syriac Rite is fixed according to the flow of salvation history. With a focus upon the historical life of Jesus Christ, believers are led to the eschatological fulfillment (i.e. the heavenly bliss) through this special arrangement of liturgical seasons. The liturgical year is divided into 8 seasons of approximately 7 weeks each but adjusted to fit the solar calendar. The arrangement of the Seasons in the Liturgical Year is based on seven central events on celebrations of the Salvation History. They are:
 * 1) Nativity of Christ
 * 2) Epiphany of Christ
 * 3) Resurrection of Christ
 * 4) Pentecost
 * 5) Transfiguration
 * 6) Glorious Cross
 * 7) Parousia (the Dedication of Church after Christ's second coming)

One of the oldest available records mentioning the liturgical cycle of east-syriac rite is handwritten manuscript named 'Preface to Hudra' written by Rabban Brick-Iso in 14th century. The manuscript mentions that the liturgical year is divided into nine seasons starting from Subara and ends with Qudas Edta. Catholic churches of east-syriac rite maintains the same liturgical calendar until the current date except that many consider 7th and 8th seasons as a single one. The biblical reading and prayers during Mass and Liturgy of the Hours vary according to different seasons in the liturgical calendar.

Liturgical Calendar
The various seasons of the liturgical calendar of Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Catholic Church are given below.

Annunciation (Subara)
Weeks of Annunciation (Subara) is the first season of the liturgical year. The liturgical year begins with the commemoration of biblical events leading to the annunciation and birth of Jesus as expected savior in the old testament. The season begins on the Sunday just before the first of December and ends with the feast of Epiphany that is the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus. The faithful practice abstinence during December 1–25 in preparation for Christmas; this period is called "25 days Lent".

Feasts celebrated during this season
 * Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, mother of Jesus (December 8)
 * Feast of Miraculous Cross of Mylapore (Saint Thomas Christian cross) (December 18) in Syro Malabar Church
 * Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ or Christmas (December 25)
 * Feast of Holy Infants (December 28)
 * Feast of Name Iso (January 1)
 * Feast of Mary, mother of Jesus (last Friday of Season)

Epiphany (Denha)
Weeks of Epiphany begins on the Sunday closest to the feast of Epiphany and runs to the beginning of Great Fast. The word denha in Syriac means sunrise. Church considers the baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan as the first historical event in which the Trinity was revealed to humankind in the person of Jesus Christ. Thus the season commemorates the manifestation or revelation of Jesus and Trinity to the world. During the season the church celebrates the feasts of Saints in connection with the manifestation of the Lord.

Feasts celebrated during the period
 * Feast of Epiphany or Feast of Baptism of the Lord (January 6)
 * Feast of Saint John the Baptist on first Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of Apostles Peter (Kepha) and Paul on second Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of Evangelists on third Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of Saint Stephan on fourth Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of Fathers of Church on fifth Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of Patron Saint of Church on sixth Friday of Epiphany
 * Feast of all departed faithful on last Friday of Epiphany

Great Fast (Sawma Rabba)
During these weeks the faithful meditate over the 40-day fast of Jesus and the culmination of his public life in passion, death and burial. The season begins 50 days before Easter on Peturta Sunday and comprises the whole period of Great Lent and culminates on Resurrection Sunday. Word Peturta in Syriac means "looking back" or "reconciliation". Faithful enter the weeks of Great Fast, celebrating the memory of all the Faithful Departed on the last Friday of Denha.

According to the ecclesial tradition, the weeks of Great Fast is also an occasion to keep up the memory of the beloved Departed through special prayers, renunciation, almsgiving, and so on and thus prepare oneself for a good death and resurrection in Jesus Christ. During the fast faithful of Syro Malabar Church do not use meat, fish, egg, many dairy products, and most favorite food items, and avoid sexual contacts on all days including Sundays and Feast days. Before European colonization, Indian Nasranis used to have food only once a day (after 3:00 pm) on all days during Great Fast. - Feasts in the Lenten Season
 * Peturta Sunday on First Sunday of Great Fast
 * Ash Monday or Clean Monday on the first day (Monday) of Great Fast
 * Lazarus Friday on the sixth Friday of Great Fast
 * Oshana Sunday on the seventh Sunday of Great Fast
 * Thursday of Pesha
 * Friday of Passion or Good Friday
 * Great Saturday or Saturday of Light

The following feasts are always in the Lenten Season:
 * Feast of Mar Cyril of Jerusalem (March 18)
 * Feast of Saint Joseph (March 19)
 * Feast of the Annunciation (March 25)

Resurrection (Qyamta)
The weeks of Great Resurrection begin on the Resurrection Sunday and run to the feast of Pentecost. The Church celebrates the Resurrection of our Lord during these seven weeks: Jesus' victory over death, sin, suffering and Satan. The church also commemorates various events that occurred after the resurrection of Christ, such as the visits of Jesus to the Apostles and the ascension of Jesus.

According to eastern Christianity, the Feast of Resurrection is the most important and the greatest feast in a liturgical year. Therefore, the season commemorating the resurrection of Christ is also of prime importance in the church liturgy. The first week of the season is celebrated as the 'Week of weeks' as it is the week of the resurrection of Christ.

Feasts celebrated during the period:
 * Feast of Resurrection of Christ
 * Feast of All Confessors (Saints) on the first Friday of Qyamta
 * New Sunday or St. Thomas Sunday on the second Sunday of Qyamta
 * Feast of Ascension of Jesus on the sixth Friday of Qyamta

The following feasts are always in the season of resurrection:
 * Feast of Saint George (April 24)
 * Feast of Mark the Evangelist (April 25)
 * Feast of Saint Joseph, the worker (May 1)
 * Feasts of Saint Philip and Saint James the apostles (May 3)

Apostles (Slihe)
Weeks of apostles (Slihe) starts on the feast of Pentecost, fiftieth day of the Resurrection Sunday. During these days the church commemorates the inauguration of church and the acts of apostles and church fathers through which the foundation of the church was laid. Church meditates on the virtues of the early church: fellowship, breaking of bread and sharing of wealth, and the fruits and gifts of Holy Spirit. The spread of the church all over the world as well as her growth is also remembered during this season.

Feast celebrated during the season:
 * Feast of Pentecost on first Sunday of Slihe
 * Feast of Friday of Gold: The first commemoration of the first miracle of apostles done by Saint Peter.

The following feasts are commemorated in the season of Slihe
 * Feast of Mar Aphrem (June 10)
 * Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29)
 * Feast of Mar Thoma, founding father of east Syriac churches (July 3)
 * Feast of Mar Quriaqos and Yolitha (July 15)

Qaita (Summer)
Along the weeks of Qaita maturity and fruitfulness of church are commemorated. The Syriac word Qaita means "summer" and it is a time of harvest for the Church. The fruits of the Church are those of holiness and martyrdom. While the sprouting and infancy of the Church were celebrated in 'the Weeks of the Apostles,' her development in different parts of the world by reflecting the image of the heavenly Kingdom and giving birth to many saints and martyrs are proclaimed during this season. Fridays of this Season are set apart for honoring saints and martyrs.

Feast celebrated during the season:
 * Feast of the twelve apostles and Nusardeil on the first Sunday of Qaita (Nusardeil is a Persian word which means "God-given New Year Day").
 * Feast of Mar Jacob of Nisibis on the first Friday of Qaita.
 * Feast of Mar Mari on the second Friday of Qaita.
 * Feast of Marta Simoni and her Seven Children on the fifth Friday of Qaita.
 * Feast of Mar Shimun Bar Sabbai and Companions on the sixth Friday of Qaita.
 * Feast of martyr Mar Quardag on the seventh Friday of Qaita.

The following feasts are commemorated in the season of Qaita
 * Feast of seventy disciples of Jesus (July 27)
 * Feast of Saint Alphonsa in Syro Malabar Catholic Church (July 28)
 * Feast of Transfiguration of Jesus (August 6)
 * Feast of Assumption of Mary (August 15)

Eliyah-Sliba-Moses
The name of the seasons of Eliyah-Sliba-Moses takes their origin from the feast of the transfiguration of Jesus. And the seasons revolve around the exaltation of the cross on the feast of the glorious cross on September 14. During the seasons of Eliyah and Sliba church reminds the faithful of the heavenly bliss which is promised to be inherited at the end of earthly life and the church commemorates the exaltic experience of the bliss through various sacraments. While during the season of Moses church meditates upon the end of time and the last judgment. Many at times the season of Moses is regarded as a distinct and separate season from the other two since it has a distinct theme.

The season of Eliyah has a length of one to three Sundays. Season of Sliba starts on Sunday on or after the feast of the glorious cross and has a length of three to four weeks. The first Sunday of Sliba is always considered as the fourth Sunday of the combined season. The season of Moses always has four weeks.

Feast celebrated during the seasons:
 * Feast of the glorious Cross

The following feasts are commemorated in the seasons of Eliyah-Sliba-Moses
 * Feast of Nativity of Mary on September 8 and the eight-day fast in preparation for the feast

Dedication of the church (Qudas Edta)
The weeks of the dedication of the church is the last liturgical season in the East Syriac rite. It consists of four weeks and ends on the Saturday before Sunday between November 27 and December 3. The theme of the season is that the church is presented by Christ as his eternal bride before his father at the heavenly bride chamber. The period has its origin in the feast of the dedication of the church of Sephelcure or the Jewish feast of Hanukkah. However, the season was officially instituted by Patriarch Isho-Yahb III of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (647–657) by separating it from the season of Moses.

Feasts celebrated during the season:
 * Feast of dedication of the church on 1st Sunday of Qudas Edta
 * Feast of Christ the King on last Sunday of Qudas Edta (Celebrated only in eastern catholic churches of the rite since pope Pius XI instituted it in Roman-rite).

Eastern Orthodox Church
The liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church is characterized by alternating fasts and feasts, and is in many ways similar to the Catholic year. However, Church New Year (Indiction) traditionally begins on September 1 (Old Style or New Style), rather than the first Sunday of Advent. It includes both feasts on the Fixed Cycle and the Paschal Cycle (or Moveable Cycle). The most important feast day by far is the Feast of Pascha (Easter) – the Feast of Feasts. Then the Twelve Great Feasts, which commemorate various significant events in the lives of Jesus Christ and of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary).

The majority of Orthodox Christians (Russians, in particular) follow the Julian Calendar in calculating their ecclesiastical feasts, but many (including the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Church of Greece), while preserving the Julian calculation for feasts on the Paschal Cycle, have adopted the Revised Julian Calendar (at present coinciding with the Gregorian Calendar) to calculate those feasts which are fixed according to the calendar date.

Between 1900 and 2100, there is a thirteen-day difference between the dates of the Julian and the Revised Julian and Gregorian calendars. Thus, for example, where Christmas is celebrated on December 25 O.S. (Old Style), the celebration coincides with January 7 in the Revised Calendar. The computation of the day of Pascha (Easter) is, however, always computed according to a lunar calendar based on the Julian Calendar, even by those churches which observe the Revised Calendar.

There are four fasting seasons during the year: The most important fast is Great Lent which is an intense time of fasting, almsgiving and prayer, extending for forty days prior to Palm Sunday and Holy Week, as a preparation for Pascha. The Nativity Fast (Winter Lent) is a time of preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of Christ (Christmas), but whereas Advent in the West lasts only four weeks, Nativity Fast lasts a full forty days. The Apostles' Fast is variable in length, lasting anywhere from eight days to six weeks, in preparation for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29). The Dormition Fast lasts for two weeks from August 1 to August 14 in preparation for the Feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15). The liturgical year is so constructed that during each of these fasting seasons, one of the Great Feasts occurs, so that fasting may be tempered with joy.

In addition to these fasting seasons, Orthodox Christians fast on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year (and some Orthodox monasteries also observe Monday as a fast day). Certain fixed days are always fast days, even if they fall on a Saturday or Sunday (in which case the fast is lessened somewhat, but not abrogated altogether); these are: The Decollation of St. John the Baptist, the Exaltation of the Cross and the day before the Epiphany (January 5). There are several fast-free periods, when it is forbidden to fast, even on Wednesday and Friday. These are: the week following Pascha, the week following Pentecost, the period from the Nativity of Christ until January the 5th and the first week of the Triodion (the week following the 17th Sunday before Pentecost).

Pascha
The greatest feast is Pascha. Easter for both East and West is calculated as the first Sunday after the full moon that falls on or after March 21 (nominally the day of the vernal equinox), but the Orthodox calculations are based on the Julian calendar, whose March 21 corresponds at present with April 3 of the Gregorian calendar, and on calculations of the date of full moon different from those used in the West (see computus for further details).

The date of Pascha is central to the entire ecclesiastical year, determining not only the date for the beginning of Great Lent and Pentecost, but affecting the cycle of moveable feasts, of scriptural readings and the Octoechos (texts chanted according to the eight ecclesiastical modes) throughout the year. There are also a number of lesser feasts throughout the year that are based upon the date of Pascha. The moveable cycle begins on the Zacchaeus Sunday (the first Sunday in preparation for Great Lent or the 33rd Sunday after Pentecost as it is known), though the cycle of the Octoechos continues until Palm Sunday.

The date of Pascha affects the following liturgical seasons:
 * The period of the Triodion (the Sundays before Great Lent, Cheesefare Week, Palm Sunday, and Holy Week)
 * The period of the Pentecostarion (Sunday of Pascha through the Sunday After Pentecost which is also called the Sunday of all saints)

The twelve Great Feasts
Some of these feasts follow the Fixed Cycle, and some follow the Moveable (Paschal) Cycle. Most of those on the Fixed Cycle have a period of preparation called a Forefeast, and a period of celebration afterward, similar to the Western Octave, called an Afterfeast. Great Feasts on the Paschal Cycle do not have Forefeasts. The lengths of Forefeasts and Afterfeasts vary, according to the feast. "Note: In Eastern practice, should this feast fall during Holy Week or on Pascha itself, the feast of the Annunciation is not transferred to another day. In fact, the conjunction of the feasts of the Annunciation and Pascha (dipli Paschalia, διπλή Πασχαλιά) is considered an extremely festive event."
 * Nativity of the Theotokos (September 8)
 * birth of the Theotokos to Joachim and Anna
 * Elevation of the Cross (September 14)
 * the rediscovery of the original Cross on which Christ was crucified
 * Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple (November 21)
 * the entry of the Theotokos into the Temple around the age of 3
 * Nativity of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (December 25)
 * the birth of Jesus, or Christmas
 * Theophany (January 6)
 * the baptism of Jesus Christ, Christ's blessing of the water, and the revealing of Christ as God
 * Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (February 2)
 * Christ's presentation as an infant in the Temple by the Theotokos and Joseph.
 * Annunciation of the Theotokos (March 25)
 * Gabriel's announcement to the Theotokos that she will conceive the Christ, and her wilful agreement thereto
 * Entry into Jerusalem (Sunday before Pascha)
 * known in the West as Palm Sunday.
 * Ascension (40 days after Pascha)
 * Christ's ascension into Heaven following his resurrection.
 * Pentecost (50 days after Pascha)
 * The Holy Spirit comes and indwells the apostles and other Christian believers.
 * Transfiguration of Our Lord (August 6)
 * Christ's Transfiguration as witnessed by Peter, James and John.
 * Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15)
 * The falling asleep of the Theotokos (cf. the Assumption of Mary in Western Christianity)

Other feasts
Some additional feasts are observed as though they were Great Feasts:
 * The Protection of the Mother of God (October 1), especially among the Russian Orthodox
 * The Feast of Saint James the Just (October 23)
 * The Feast of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki (October 26)
 * The Feast of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel (November 8)
 * The Feast of Saint Nicholas, the Bishop of Myra in Lycia (December 6)
 * The Feast of the Conception of Mary by Saints Joachim and Anne (December 9)
 * The Feast of Saint Spiridon (December 12)
 * The Feast of Saint Stephen the Deacon (December 27)
 * The Feast of Saint Basil the Great and the Circumcision of Christ (January 1)
 * The Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs: Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian and John Chrysostom (January 30)
 * The Feast of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste (March 9)
 * The Feast of Saint Patrick (March 17)
 * The Feast of Saint George (April 23)
 * The Feast of the Holy Emperors Constantine and Helen (May 21)
 * The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist (June 24)
 * The Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (June 29)
 * The Feast of Saint Elijah the Prophet (July 20)
 * The Feast of Saint Christina of Bolsena the Great Martyr (July 24)
 * The Beheading of St. John the Baptist (August 29)
 * Beginning of the Indiction-Ecclesiastical Year (September 1)
 * The Patronal Feast of a church or monastery

Every day throughout the year commemorates some saint or some event in the lives of Christ or the Theotokos. When a feast on the moveable cycle occurs, the feast on the fixed cycle that was set for that calendar day is transferred, with the propers of the feast often being chanted at Compline on the nearest convenient day.

Cycles
In addition to the Fixed and Moveable Cycles, there are a number of other liturgical cycles in the ecclesiastical year that affect the celebration of the divine services. These include, the Daily Cycle, the Weekly Cycle, the Cycle of Matins Gospels, and the Octoechos.

Western Christianity

Western Christian liturgical calendars are based on the cycle of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, and are also followed in many Protestant churches, including the Lutheran, Anglican, and other traditions. Generally, the seasons in liturgical western Christianity are Advent, Christmas, Ordinary Time (Time after Epiphany), Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time (Time after Pentecost). Some Protestant traditions do not include Ordinary Time: every day falls into a denominated season. Other Protestant churches, such as a minority in the Reformed tradition, reject the liturgical year entirely on the grounds that its observance is not directed in scripture.

Vanderbilt University Professor Hoyt L. Hickman, with regard to the calendars of the Western Christian Churches that use the Revised Common Lectionary, including Methodists, Anglicans/Episcopalians, Lutherans and some Baptists and Presbyterians, among others, states that: "All these calendars agree that the Lord's Day is of primary importance among the observances of the year and that the Christian Year contains two central cycles – the Easter cycle and the Christmas cycle. Each cycle includes a festival season (Easter and Christmas), preceded by a season of preparation and anticipation (Lent and Advent). In most denominational versions and in the Common Lectionary, Lent and Advent are immediately preceded by a transitional Sunday (Transfiguration and Christ the King), and the Easter and Christmas Seasons are immediately followed by a transitional Sunday (Trinity and Baptism of the Lord)." Protestant Churches, with exception of the Lutheran and Anglican, generally observe fewer if any feasts with regard to the saints than the aforementioned liturgical denominations, in addition to the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Catholic Church
The Catholic Church sets aside certain days and seasons of each year to recall and celebrate various events in the life of Christ and his saints.

 * 1) In its Roman Rite the liturgical year begins with Advent, the time of preparation for both the nativity of Christ, and his expected second coming at the end of time. The Advent season lasts until the first vespers of Christmas Eve on December 24.
 * 2) Christmastide follows, beginning with First Vespers of Christmas on the evening of December 24 and ending with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, on the first Sunday after Epiphany (the latter is on January 6 generally).
 * 3) First ordinary time, includes the days between Christmastide and Lent.
 * 4) Lent is the period of purification and penance that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Thursday.
 * 5) The Mass of the Lord's Supper on the evening of Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum, which includes Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. The days of the Easter Triduum recall Christ's last supper with his disciples, his capture and passion, his death on the cross, burial, and resurrection.
 * 6) The seven-week liturgical Eastertide immediately follows the Triduum, climaxing at Pentecost. This last feast recalls the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus' disciples after the Ascension of Jesus.
 * 7) Second ordinary time, includes the days between Eastertide and Advent.

There are many forms of liturgy in the Catholic Church. Even putting aside the many Eastern rites in use, the Latin liturgical rites alone include the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and the Cistercian Rite, as well as other forms that have been largely abandoned in favour of adopting the Roman Rite. There are also historical versions of the liturgy that varied greatly from the present one, such those used by the Anglo-Saxon Church.

The liturgical calendar in that form of the Roman Rite (see General Roman Calendar) of 1960 differs in some respects from that of the present form of the Roman Rite.

Anglican Church
The Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, uses a liturgical year that is in most respects identical to that of the 1969 Catholic Common Lectionary. While the calendars contained within the Book of Common Prayer and the Alternative Service Book (1980) have no "Ordinary Time", Common Worship (2000) adopted the ecumenical 1983 Revised Common Lectionary. The few exceptions are Sundays following Christmas and Transfiguration, observed on the last Sunday before Lent instead of on Reminiscere.

In some Anglican traditions (including the Church of England) the Christmas season is followed by an Epiphany season, which begins on the Eve of the Epiphany (on January 6 or the Sunday after January 1) and ends on the Feast of the Presentation (on February 2 or the Sunday after January 27). Ordinary Time begins after this period.

The Book of Common Prayer contains within it the traditional Western Eucharistic lectionary which traces its roots to the Comes of St. Jerome in the 5th century. Its similarity to the ancient lectionary is particularly obvious during Trinity season (Sundays after the Sunday after Pentecost), reflecting that understanding of sanctification.

Reformed Churches
Reformed Christians emphasize weekly celebration of the Lord's Day. While some of them celebrate also what they call the five evangelical feasts, others celebrate no holy days but the Lord's Day and reject the liturgical year as non-scriptural, and as therefore inconsistent with the regulative principle of worship.

Advent

Advent (from the Latin word adventus, which means "arrival" or "coming") is the first season of the liturgical year. It begins four Sundays before Christmas, the Sunday falling on or nearest to November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve. Traditionally observed as a "fast", it focuses on preparation for the coming of Christ, not only the coming of the Christ-child at Christmas, but also, in the first weeks, on the eschatological final coming of Christ, making Advent "a period for devout and joyful expectation".

This season is often marked by the Advent Wreath, a garland of evergreens with four candles. Although the main symbolism of the advent wreath is simply marking the progression of time, many churches attach themes to each candle, most often 'hope', 'faith', 'joy', and 'love'. Other popular devotions during Advent include the use of the Advent Calendar or the Tree of Jesse to count down the days to Christmas.

Liturgical colour: violet or purple; blue in some traditions, such as Anglican/Episcopalian, Methodist, and Lutheran.

Christmastide

The Christmas season immediately follows Advent. The traditional Twelve Days of Christmas begin with Christmas Eve on the evening of December 24 and continue until the feast of Epiphany. The actual Christmas season continues until the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, which is celebrated on the Sunday after January 6, or the following Monday if that Sunday is kept as Epiphany.

In the pre-1970 form, this feast is celebrated on January 13, unless January 13 is a Sunday, in which case the feast of the Holy Family is celebrated instead. Until the suppression of the Octave of the Epiphany in the 1960 reforms, January 13 was the Octave day of the Epiphany, providing the date for the end of the season.

Traditionally, the end of Christmastide was February 2, or the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas. This feast recounts the 40 days of rest Mary took before being purified and presenting her first-born son to the Temple in Jerusalem. In medieval times, Candlemas eve (Feb. 1st) marked the day when all Christmas decorations, including the Christmas tree and the Nativity scene, were taken down. However, the tradition of ending Christmastide on Candlemas has slowly waned, except in some pockets of the Hispanic world where Candlemas (or La Fiesta de la Candelaria) is still an important feast and the unofficial end of the Christmas season.

Liturgical colour: white

Ordinary Time
"Ordinary" comes from the same root as our word "ordinal", and in this sense means "the counted weeks". In the Catholic Church and in some Protestant traditions, these are the common weeks which do not belong to a proper season. In Latin, these seasons are called the weeks per annum, or "through the year".

In the current form of the Roman Rite adopted following the Second Vatican Council, Ordinary Time consists of 33 or 34 Sundays and is divided into two sections. The first portion extends from the day following the Feast of the Baptism of Christ until the day before Ash Wednesday (the beginning of Lent). It contains anywhere from three to eight Sundays, depending on how early or late Easter falls.

The main focus in the readings of the Mass is Christ's earthly ministry, rather than any one particular event. The counting of the Sundays resumes following Eastertide; however, two Sundays are replaced by Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, and depending on whether the year has 52 or 53 weeks, one may be omitted.

In the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite, the Time after Epiphany has anywhere from one to six Sundays. As in the current form of the rite, the season mainly concerns Christ's preaching and ministry, with many of his parables read as the Gospel readings. The season begins on January 14 and ends on the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday. Omitted Sundays after Epiphany are transferred to Time after Pentecost and celebrated between the Twenty-Third and the Last Sunday after Pentecost according to an order indicated in the Code of Rubrics, 18, with complete omission of any for which there is no Sunday available in the current year. Before the 1960 revisions, the omitted Sunday would be celebrated on the Saturday before Septuagesima Sunday, or, in the case of the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, on the Saturday before the Last Sunday after Pentecost.

Liturgical colour: green

Pre-Lent
Gregory the Great is the first to document a period of preparation for Easter beginning with Septuagesima, whose name refers to a period of around seventy days before Easter. This pre-Lenten period lasts two and a half weeks, encompassing Sexagesima and Quinquagesima. It concludes with Carnival and Shrove Tuesday.

This period opens an educational period leading up to the reception of catechumens at Easter. Events such as mystery plays from the Old Testament performed during this period historically supported this instructional campaign, reflecting the traditional lectionary for the Canonical hours, which begins on Septuagesima with the Book of Genesis, as is still reflected in the Book of Common Prayer.

The pre-Lenten liturgy introduces some customs of Lent, including the suppression of the Alleluia and its replacement at Mass with the Tract. The Gloria is no longer said on Sundays.

The 1969 reform of the Roman Rite subsumed these weeks liturgically into Ordinary Time, but Carnival is still widely celebrated. A pre-Lenten provision continues in many Anglican and Lutheran liturgies.

Liturgical colour (where observed): violet or purple

Lent and Passiontide
Lent is a major penitential season of preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and, if the penitential days of Good Friday and Holy Saturday are included, lasts for forty days, since the six Sundays within the season are not counted.

In the Roman Rite, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo and the Te Deum are not used in the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours respectively, except on Solemnities and Feasts, and the Alleluia and verse that usually precede the reading of the Gospel is either omitted or replaced with another acclamation.

Lutheran churches make these same omissions.

As in Advent, the deacon and subdeacon of the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite do not wear their habitual dalmatic and tunicle (signs of joy) in Masses of the season during Lent; instead they wear "folded chasubles", in accordance with the ancient custom.

In the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite, the two weeks before Easter form the season of Passiontide, a subsection of the Lenten season that begins with Matins of Ash Wednesday and ends immediately before the Mass of the Easter Vigil. In this form, what used to be officially called Passion Sunday, has the official name of the First Sunday in Passiontide, and Palm Sunday has the additional name of the Second Sunday in Passiontide. In Sunday and ferial Masses (but not on feasts celebrated in the first of these two weeks) the Gloria Patri is omitted at the Entrance Antiphon and at the Lavabo, as well as in the responds in the Divine Office.

In the post-1969 form of the Roman Rite, "Passion Sunday" and "Palm Sunday" are both names for the Sunday before Easter, officially called "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion". The former Passion Sunday became a fifth Sunday of Lent. The earlier form reads Matthew's account on Sunday, Mark's on Tuesday, and Luke's on Wednesday, while the post-1969 form reads the Passion only on Palm Sunday (with the three Synoptic Gospels arranged in a three-year cycle) and on Good Friday, when it reads the Passion according to John, as also do earlier forms of the Roman Rite.

The veiling of crucifixes and images of the saints with violet cloth, which was obligatory before 1970, is left to the decision of the national bishops' conferences. In the United States, it is permitted but not required, at the discretion of the pastor. In all forms, the readings concern the events leading up to the Last Supper and the betrayal, Passion, and death of Christ.

The week before Easter is called Holy Week.

In the Roman Rite, feasts that fall within that week are simply omitted, unless they have the rank of Solemnity, in which case they are transferred to another date. The only solemnities inscribed in the General Calendar that can fall within that week are those of St. Joseph and the Annunciation.

Liturgical colour: violet or purple. The colour rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent). On Palm Sunday the colour since 1970 is red, by earlier rules violet or purple, with red being used after 1955 for the blessing of the palms.

Easter Triduum
The Easter Triduum consists of Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. Each of these days begins liturgically not with the morning but with the preceding evening.

The triduum begins on the evening before Good Friday with Mass of the Lord's Supper, celebrated with white vestments, and often includes a ritual of ceremonial footwashing. It is customary on this night for a vigil involving private prayer to take place, beginning after the evening service and continuing until midnight. This vigil is occasionally renewed at dawn, continuing until the Good Friday liturgy.

During the day of Good Friday Mass is not celebrated in the Catholic Church. Instead a Celebration of the Passion of the Lord is held in the afternoon or evening. It consists of three parts: a Liturgy of the Word that includes the reading of the account of the Passion by John the Evangelist and concludes with a solemn Universal Prayer. Other churches also have their Good Friday commemoration of the Passion.

The colour of vestments varies: no colour, red, or black are used in different traditions. Coloured hangings may be removed. Lutheran churches often either remove colourful adornments and icons, or veil them with drab cloth. The service is usually plain with somber music, ending with the congregation leaving in silence. In the Catholic, some Lutheran, and High Anglican rites, a crucifix (not necessarily the one which stands on or near the altar on other days of the year) is ceremoniously unveiled. Other crucifixes are unveiled, without ceremony, after the service.

Holy Saturday commemorates the day during which Christ lay in the tomb. In the Catholic Church, there is no Mass on this day; the Easter Vigil Mass, which, though celebrated properly at the following midnight, is often celebrated in the evening, is an Easter Mass. With no liturgical celebration, there is no question of a liturgical colour.

The Easter Vigil is held in the night between Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. See also Paschal candle. The liturgical colour is white, often together with gold. In the Roman Rite, during the "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" the organ and bells are used in the liturgy for the first time in two days, and the statues, which have been veiled during Passiontide (at least in the Roman Rite through the 1962 version), are unveiled. In Lutheran churches, colours and icons are re-displayed as well.

Eastertide
Easter is the celebration of Jesus' Resurrection. The date of Easter varies from year to year, according to a lunar-calendar dating system (see computus for details). In the Roman Rite, the Easter season extends from the Easter Vigil through Pentecost Sunday. In the pre-1970 form of the rite, this season includes also the Octave of Pentecost, so Eastertide lasts until None of the following Saturday.

In the Roman Rite, the Easter octave allows no other feasts to be celebrated or commemorated during it; a solemnity, such as the Annunciation, falling within it is transferred to the following Monday. If Easter Sunday or Easter Monday falls on April 25, the Greater Litanies, which in the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite are on that day, are transferred to the following Tuesday.

By a decree of May 5, 2000, the Second Sunday of Easter (the Sunday after Easter Day itself), is known also in the Roman Rite as the Feast of the Divine Mercy.

Ascension Thursday, which celebrates the return of Jesus to heaven following his resurrection, is the fortieth day of Easter, but, in places where it is not observed as a Holy Day of Obligation, the post-1969 form of the Roman rite transfers it to the following Sunday.

Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the Easter season. It celebrates the sending of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles, which traditionally marks the birth of the Church, see also Apostolic Age.

Liturgical colour: white, but red on the feast of Pentecost.

Ordinary Time, Time after Pentecost, Time after Trinity, or Kingdomtide
This season, under various names, follows the Easter season and the feasts of Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. In the post-1969 form of the Roman rite, Ordinary Time resumes on Pentecost Monday, omitting the Sunday which would have fallen on Pentecost. In the earlier form, where Pentecost is celebrated with an octave, the Time after Pentecost begins at Vespers on the Saturday after Pentecost. The Sundays resume their numbering at the point that will make the Sunday before Advent the thirty-fourth, omitting any weeks for which there is no room (present-day form of the Roman Rite) or are numbered as "Sundays after Pentecost" (pre-1970 Roman Rite, Eastern Orthodoxy and some Protestants) or as "Sundays after Trinity" (some Protestants). This season ends on the Saturday before the First Sunday of Advent.

Feasts during this season include:
 * Trinity Sunday, the first Sunday after Pentecost
 * Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Roman Rite and some Anglican and Lutheran traditions), Thursday of the second week after Pentecost, often celebrated on the following Sunday
 * Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (Roman Rite), Friday of the third week after Pentecost
 * Assumption of Mary on August 15
 * Feast of Christ the King, last Sunday before Advent (Roman Rite, Lutherans, Anglicans) or last Sunday in October (1925–1969 form of the Roman Rite)

In the final few weeks of Ordinary Time, many churches direct attention to the coming of the Kingdom of God, thus ending the liturgical year with an eschatological theme that is one of the predominant themes of the season of Advent that began the liturgical year. For instance, in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, the Gospel of the Last Sunday is and in the ordinary form of the Roman Rite all the last three Sundays of the liturgical year are affected by the theme of the Second Coming.

While the Roman Rite adopts no special designation for this final part of Ordinary Time, some denominations do, and may also change the liturgical colour. The Church of England uses the term "Sundays before Advent" for the final four Sundays and permits red vestments as an alternative. The United Methodist Church may use the name "Kingdomtide". The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) uses the terms "Third-Last, Second-Last and Last Sunday in the Church Year" and does not change from green. The LCMS does not officially celebrate a "Feast of Christ the King." The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) uses the term "Period of End Times" and assigns red vestments to the first and second Sundays.

Calendar of saints

 * In some Protestant traditions, especially those with closer ties to the Lutheran tradition, Reformation Sunday is celebrated on the Sunday preceding October 31, commemorating the purported day Martin Luther posted the 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. The liturgical colour is red, celebrating the Holy Spirit's continuing work in renewing the Church.
 * Most Western traditions celebrate All Saints' Day (All Hallow's Day) on November 1 or the Sunday following, with the eve of this feast, All Hallow's Eve being October 31. The liturgical colour is white. The following day, November 2, is All Souls' Day. The period including these days is often referred to as Allhallowtide or Allsaintstide.
 * Saints Days are observed by Lutherans and include the apostles, Virgin Mary and noteworthy figures in the Christian faith. The Confession of St. Peter Week of Prayer for Christian Unity starting on January 18. Conversion of St. Paul ended week of prayer on January 25. Martin Luther King Jr., renewer of society, martyr January 15 (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America only), Presentation of Our Lord and Purification of the Mary Candlemas on February 2. Joseph, Guardian of Jesus St Joseph on March 19, Annunciation March 25, Visitation of Mary on May 31.
 * Lutherans also celebrate St John the Baptist or the Beheading of St John the Baptist on June 24, St Mary Magdalene July 22, St. Mary, Mother of Our Lord or the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 15, Holy Cross Day September 14, Francis of Assisi, renewal of the Church St. Francis of Assisi on October 4, and the Holy Innocents, Martyrs December 28.
 * Lesser Feasts and Commemorations on the Lutheran liturgical calendar include Anthony of Egypt on January 17, Henry, Bishop of Uppsala, martyr Henry of Uppsala on January 19, Timothy, Titus and Silas, missionaries St Timothy, St Titus and St Silas Day on January 26, Ansgar, Bishop of Hamburg, missionary to Denmark and Sweden St Ansgar on February 3, Cyril, monk and Methodius, bishop, missionaries to the Slavs St Cyril and St Methodius on February 14, Gregory the Great on March 12, St Patrick on March 17, Olavus Petri, priest and Laurentius Petri, Bishop of Uppsala, on April 19, St Anselm on April 21, Catherine of Siena on April 29, St Athanasius on May 2, St Monica on May 4, Eric IX of Sweden on May 18, St Boniface on June 5, Basil the Great, Gregory of Nyssa and Gregory of Nazianzus on June 14, Benedict of Nursia on July 11, Birgitta of Sweden on July 23, St Anne, Mother of Mary on July 26, St Dominic on August 8, Augustine of Hippo on August 28, St Cyprian on September 16, Teresa of Avila on October 15, Martin de Porres on November 3, Martin of Tours on November 11, Elizabeth of Hungary on November 17, St Lucy on December 13. There are many other holy days in the Lutheran calendar.
 * Some traditions celebrate St. Michael's Day (Michaelmas) on September 29.
 * Some traditions celebrate St. Martin's Day (Martinmas) on November 11.

Liturgical colours: white if the saint was not martyred; red if the saint was martyred

Hierarchy of feast days
There are degrees of solemnity of the office of the feast days of saints. In the 13th century, the Roman Rite distinguished three ranks: simple, semidouble and double, with consequent differences in the recitation of the Divine Office or Breviary. The simple feast commenced with the chapter (capitulum) of First Vespers, and ended with None. It had three lessons and took the psalms of Matins from the ferial office; the rest of the office was like the semidouble. The semidouble feast had two Vespers, nine lessons in Matins, and ended with Compline. The antiphons before the psalms were only intoned.

In the Mass, the semidouble had always at least three "orationes" or collects. On a double feast the antiphons were sung in their entirety, before and after the psalms, while in Lauds and Vespers there were no suffragia of the saints, and the Mass had only one "oratio" (if no commemoration was prescribed). If ordinary double feasts (referred to also as lesser doubles) occurred with feasts of a higher rank, they could be simplified, except the octave days of some feasts and the feasts of the Doctors of the Church, which were transferred.

To the existing distinction between major and ordinary or minor doubles, Pope Clement VIII added two more ranks, those of first-class or second-class doubles. Some of these two classes were kept with octaves. This was still the situation when the 1907 article Ecclesiastical Feasts in the Catholic Encyclopedia was written. In accordance with the rules then in force, feast days of any form of double, if impeded by "occurrence" (falling on the same day) with a feast day of higher class, were transferred to another day.

Pope Pius X simplified matters considerably in his 1911 reform of the Roman Breviary. In the case of occurrence the lower-ranking feast day could become a commemoration within the celebration of the higher-ranking one. Until then, ordinary doubles took precedence over most of the semidouble Sundays, resulting in many of the Sunday Masses rarely being said. While retaining the semidouble rite for Sundays, Pius X's reform permitted only the most important feast days to be celebrated on Sunday, although commemorations were still made until Pope John XXIII's reform of 1960.

The division into doubles (of various kinds) semidoubles and simples continued until 1955, when Pope Pius XII abolished the rank of semidouble, making all the previous semidoubles simples, and reducing the previous simples to a mere commemoration in the Mass of another feast day or of the feria on which they fell (see General Roman Calendar of Pope Pius XII).

Then, in 1960, Pope John XXIII issued the Code of Rubrics, completely ending the ranking of feast days by doubles etc., and replacing it by a ranking, applied not only to feast days but to all liturgical days, as I, II, III, and IV class days.

The 1969 revision by Pope Paul VI divided feast days into "solemnities", "feasts" and "memorials", corresponding approximately to Pope John XXIII's I, II and III class feast days. Commemorations were abolished. While some of the memorials are considered obligatory, others are optional, permitting a choice on some days between two or three memorials, or between one or more memorials and the celebration of the feria. On a day to which no obligatory celebration is assigned, the Mass may be of any saint mentioned in the Roman Martyrology for that day.

Assumption of Mary
Observed by Catholics and some Anglicans on August 15, which is the same as the Eastern and Orthodox feast of the Dormition, the end of the earthly life of the Virgin Mary and, for some, her bodily Assumption into heaven, is celebrated. The teaching on this dogma was summmed by Pope Pius XII in his bull Munificentissimus Deus of 1 November, 1950.

In other Anglican and Lutheran traditions, as well as a few others, August 15 is celebrated as St. Mary, Mother of the Lord.

Liturgical colour: white

Secular observance
Because of the dominance of Christianity in Europe throughout the Middle Ages, many features of the Christian year became incorporated into the secular calendar. Many of its feasts (e.g., Christmas, Mardi Gras, Saint Patrick's Day) remain holidays, and are now celebrated by people of all faiths and none—in some cases worldwide. The secular celebrations bear varying degrees of likeness to the religious feasts from which they derived, often also including elements of ritual from pagan festivals of similar date.

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title: Liturgical year