Feast of saint Robert Capon
Robert Farrar Capon (1925-2013) is one of our heroes. If you’ve made your way to our humble site, chances are he is one of your heroes too. Father Capon (CAY-pahn) was an Episcopal priest, canon theologian, food writer, and champion of God’s grace. For all who hold a fondness for both the church and the kitchen, he remains their patron saint.
Throughout the history of the church, saints have been celebrated through various feasts in the liturgical calendar. These commemorations inspire us to imitate the most faithful qualities of the saints who have gone before us. Here at Host Collective, we believe it’s time to add a feast day for Robert Farrar Capon to the calendar. Since we’re protestants, we’ll simply declare it ourselves and make it so!
From this year forward, we will set aside October 26—the day of Capon’s birth—as the Feast of St. Capon. How will we observe it? By inviting all fans of Father Capon everywhere to join us in hosting a night of food, drinks, and readings from Capon’s works.
The meal or setting need not be elaborate—a happy hour of beer and salami on the back patio is just as sufficient as a seven course meal. What matters is that you gather others around the table and raise a glass to Father Capon and the Supper of the Lamb to come.
If you join us below, we will send you a guide with a curated selection of Capon readings set within a dinner liturgy. We ask that you would take photos and share them on social media to help promote Capon and his writings (please tag @host.collective and #keepthefeast).
I’m not sure if Father Capon would have approved of a feast day (albeit a fabricated one!) in his name. But I’m absolutely confident he would have approved of a dinner party at your home for any reason. As he wrote,
“The dinner party is a true proclamation of the abundance of being — a rebuke to the thrifty little idolatries by which we lose sight of the lavish hand that made us.”
So gather your friends, make plans for food and drinks, and join us on October 26th for the first annual Feast of saint Robert Capon!
