Nominations for next year’s field of 32 saints are currently being accepted by the Supreme Executive Committee. Yes, in addition to Eastertide, today begins Nominationtide.

But before we get to the main attraction, we encourage you to visit the Lentorium. You can prove your love for Lent Madness by loading up on Lent Madness merchandise, including the Lent Madness 2014 tote bag, the Lent Madness wall clock, some Lent Madness 2014 coasters, a Lent Madness 2014 magnet, and much, much more. And, of course, don't forget to stock up on Charles Wesley or Lent Madness perpetual purple mugs.

And now, on to the main attraction, the call for nominations for Lent Madness 2015!

As always, we seek to put together a balanced bracket of saints ancient and modern, Biblical and ecclesiastical representing the breadth and diversity of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Inevitably, some will disagree with certain match-ups or be disappointed that their favorite saint didn’t end up in the official bracket. If you find yourself muttering invective against the SEC, we implore you to take a deep cleansing breath. Remember, there’s always Lent Madness 2029.

While the SEC remains responsible for the formation of the final bracket, we encourage your participation in the nominating process. As in past years, we might even listen to some of your suggestions.

As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smack down.” This includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2014, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2013 and 2012, and those from the 2011 Faithful Four. Here is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations — which you can do by leaving a comment on this post.

Also, please note that the saints you nominate should be in the sanctoral calendar of one or more churches. We’re open minded. To a point.

Remember that when it comes to saints in Lent Madness, many are called yet few are chosen (by the SEC). So leave a comment below with your (eligible) nomination!

The Field from 2014 (all ineligible)
Mary of Egypt
David of Wales
Ephrem of Edessa
Catherine of Siena
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Alfred the Great
Lydia
Catherine of Alexandria
Antony of Egypt
Moses the Black
Thomas Gallaudet
Joseph of Arimathea
John Wesley
Charles Henry Brent
Christina the Astonishing
Alcuin
Julia Chester Emry
Charles Wesley
FD Maurice
SJI Schereschewsky
Phillips Brooks
Harriet Bedell
JS Bach
Anna Cooper
John of the Cross
James Holly
Nicholas Ridley
Aelred
Louis of France
Thomas Merton
Basil the Great
Simeon

Past Golden Halo Winners (ineligible)
George Herbert, C.S. Lewis, Mary Magalene, Frances Perkins, Charles Wesley

From 2011 — 2013 (ineligible)
Jonathan Daniels
Harriet Tubman
Hilda of Whitby
Luke
Dorothy Day
Li-Tim Oi
Oscar Romero
Enmegahbowh
Emma of Hawaii
Margaret of Scotland
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Evelyn Underhill
Jerome
Thomas Cranmer
Clare of Assisi
Thomas Beckett
Perpetua

By the way, it's worth remembering that all the talk you hear these days about transparency and accountability is moot for the SEC. We reveal little and answer to no one. So if you don't like the choices that we'll announce at an unspecified future date known only to us (see what we did there?), start your own online devotional.

For now, we wish you a joyous Eastertide and Nominationtide.

As predicted in yesterday's Oscar worthy video by Scott, Tim, and a host of surprise guests, the Lent Madness 2014 bracket has arrived. This is the moment you've been waiting for since Spy Wednesday.

Go ahead and print out your bracket. Start researching the saints who appear in there. Predict who will win. Set up a Lent Madness 2014 command bunker in your living room. Plan your entire Christian education program at church around these holy people. Yes, friends, the fun begins again on Ash Thursday 2014. That's March 6, 2014 to regular people.

While you wait, why not pass the time sipping your coffee from your very own Frances Perkins coffee mug?

The Supreme Executive Committee has released a statement for the world's media on this occasion: "You're welcome."

In our first "Major Announcement" since the end of Lent, we're pleased to share our line-up of 2014 Celebrity Bloggers. There are four newly minted CBs to go along with six wizened veterans. Click here to read their bios and meet the personalities who will bring Lent Madness to the masses next year.

Before we get to the names, we thought we'd let you peek behind the purple Lent Madness curtain for a peek at how the Supreme Executive Committee recruits new Celebrity Bloggers. We tell them the following:

1. The global adulation of being part of the "World's Most Popular Lenten Devotion" © will transform your life.

2. There are  groupies. The church nerd variety but groupies nonetheless.

3. The definition of "celebrity" has never been looser but in a good, holy, and life-giving way.

4. Your "reward' is in heaven. And it's spiritual so don't get your hopes up.

5. Free mugs cover a multitude of sins.

6. Obedience to the Supreme Executive Committee makes you a better Christian.

7. No meetings!

8. The opportunity to base your entire self-worth on the number of votes your saint gets.

9. Adding more deadlines to your life during Lent is good for the soul.

10. Did we mention the free mugs?

The rookies (there's no behind-the-scene hazing in case you were wondering) are:

The Rev. Amber Belldene

Dr. David Creech

The Rev. Robert Hendrickson

The Rev. Maria Kane

Returning Celebrity Bloggers are Laurie Brock, Megan Castelan, Penny Nash, Heidi Shott, David Sibley, and Laura Toepfer. Adam Thomas remains the Lent Madness Bracket Czar and we've added the mysterious Maple Anglican to the Celebrity Blogger page for his yeoman's video work. Retiring Celebrity Bloggers Neil Alan Willard and Chris Yaw now reside on our Wall of Fame page (and may well make a return engagement at some point).

We're delighted with our lineup of 2014 Celebrity Bloggers and look forward to another exciting, fun-filled(!), engaging Lent Madness next year.

PS. Look for a "Major Major Announcement" regarding a certain bracket later this month...

Nominations for next year’s field of 32 saints are currently being accepted by the Supreme Executive Committee.

As always, we seek to put together a balanced bracket of saints ancient and modern, Biblical and ecclesiastical representing the breadth and diversity of Christ’s One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

Inevitably, some will disagree with certain match-ups or be disappointed that their favorite saint didn’t end up in the official bracket. If you find yourself muttering invective against the SEC, we implore you to take a deep cleansing breath. Remember, there’s always Lent Madness 2029.

The 2013 bracket was the first time we included nominations from the Lent Madness faithful and a number of your suggestions made it in. While the SEC remains responsible for the formation of the final bracket, we encourage your participation in the nominating process.

That’s not to say the (usually) benevolent dictatorship that is the SEC is showing cracks in its junta-like Lenten power. The only time true democracy rears its ugly head in Lent Madness is during the actual voting. However, nominations from the floor mean that if you are unhappy with the 2014 bracket you can transfer your angst away from the SEC and toward one another. As for us, we can always blame the ancient Greeks.

We may have play-in rounds again this year, depending on where the mystical dove lands on our blank bracket as we discern which saints to include. Play-ins allows everyone to get a small foretaste of the Madness that is to come as eight saints vie for four spots in the official bracket on to-be-determined dates. On the other hand, play-ins cause endless confusion for those who are new to bracketology.

As you discern saints to nominate, please keep in mind that a number of saints are ineligible for next year’s “saintly smack down.” This includes the entire field of Lent Madness 2013, those saints who made it to the Round of the Elate Eight in 2012 and 2011, and those from the 2010 Faithful Four. Here is a comprehensive list of ineligible saints. Please keep this in mind as you submit your nominations -- which you can do by leaving a comment on this post.

Also, please note that the saints you nominate should be in the sanctoral calendar of one or more churches. Anglican calendars are a bonus, but we're open minded. To a point. Fred Rogers is not eligible, despite the royal pleas of King Friday XIII. If you are looking for lists of actual saints, you might check here, here, here, or here, among other places.

Remember that when it comes to saints in Lent Madness, many are called yet few are chosen (by the SEC). So leave a comment below with your (eligible) nomination!

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