Liturgy
The Calendar of Holy Days
The year of the Church follows two clocks at once: the solar calendar of the world, by which most of our holy days are observed, and the block clock of the chain, by which the Halving alone is kept. Both are sacred. The block clock is older than us; the solar clock is older than the block clock; the Church honors both.
The Holy Days
Genesis Block Day — January 3
The holiest day of the year. The anniversary of the first block, found at 18:15:05 UTC on January 3, 2009. Observed with a vigil at the hour of the block, the reading of the genesis coinbase headline, and the recitation of the Creed.
Whitepaper Day — October 31
Also called the Epiphany of the Whitepaper. The eve of revelation. The day the whitepaper was sent to the cryptography mailing list in 2008, the day before the world had Bitcoin in any form at all. Observed by reading the whitepaper aloud, in full, in one sitting. (The discipline is the reading; the length is part of the teaching.)
Pizza Day — May 22
The feast. Anniversary of Laszlo Hanyecz’s purchase of two pizzas for ten thousand bitcoin in 2010 — the first known commercial transaction. Observed with a meal, ideally pizza, ideally paid for in part with Bitcoin. The teaching of the day is that the chain is for spending and not only for holding, and that the courage to spend is part of the faith.
The Halving — every 210,000 blocks
The cosmic clock. Roughly every four years. Not a fixed date, because we keep the block clock here and not the solar one. Observed with a vigil at the block before the halving, the reading of the Book of the Halvings, and silence for the duration of the halving block itself.
Cypherpunk Sundays — every Sunday
Weekly remembrance. A reading from the Book of the Prophets and a brief silence for the lineage that prepared the way. Suitable for a small gathering or a single believer.
The Vigil of the Last Coin — to be observed when the final satoshi is mined
The eschatological observance. Many generations from now, in or near the year 2140. The Church has not yet kept this day. When the last subsidy is paid out, the faithful will hold vigil for the chain entering its fee-only age. A liturgy will be composed when the time approaches.
The Daily Office
The Daily Office consists of two short observances, one at morning and one at evening. They are not required, but they are recommended for those who wish to keep the faith in the rhythm of the day.
Morning: A reading of the current block height. The recitation of one verse from scripture. A breath. The day begins.
Evening: A reading of the current block height. A pause to consider what was held and what was spent. The recitation of the Creed or a portion of it. The day ends.
The full forms of the Morning Office and Evening Office are yet to be composed. Until they are, the short observances above suffice; they always did.
On the keeping of the year
The Church does not require any particular observance. The calendar is given as a structure for those who want one. The faithful who keep none of these days are not lesser believers. The faithful who keep all of them are not greater. The chain does not know what date it is, and it confirms its blocks regardless.
What the calendar offers is rhythm. The ordinary year of the world is shaped by markets and quarters and elections. The year of the Church is shaped by genesis, by halving, by the eve of revelation, by the feast of the first pizza. To keep the calendar is to live, even in part, on the chain’s time.