Editing Lectionary (section)

===In the Latin liturgical rites before the Second Vatican Council===
Before the liturgical reforms of [[Vatican II]], the [[Latin liturgical rite]] used a one-year lectionary consisting of a limited selection of sacred readings from the Scriptures. The reason for these limited selections was to maintain consistency,{{cn|date=December 2024}} as was a true feature in the Roman Rite. There was one reading to be proclaimed before the Gospel, either taken from the Old Testament (referred to as Lesson) or from the letters of Saint Paul, Saint John, or Saint Peter (referred to as Epistle).{{cn|date=January 2023}}

The Lesson (or Epistle) is contained in a book called the {{lang|la|[[wikt:epistolary|Epistolarium]]}}, a [[liturgical book]] containing the epistles that were to be said or sung by a subdeacon at a solemn High Mass. The Gospels are contained in a book called {{lang|la|[[Evangeliary|Evangeliarium]]}}, or more recently called as "Book of the Gospels", that were to be said or sung by a deacon at a solemn High Mass.

However, the Ambrosian Rite and the Mozarabic Rite have two readings to be proclaimed, called {{lang|la|Prophetia}} and {{lang|la|Epistola}}.