Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios of America for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year and Day for the Protection of Our Natural Environment
On this Feast of the Indiction at the beginning of the ecclesiastical new
year, we are led by His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to
observe the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment. The
relationship of this observance and our commemoration of the Feast was
established in 1989.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical of Archbishop Demetrios for the Feast of the Indiction and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment - September 1, 2017
At the inception of a new Ecclesiastical Year, we are invited through our
commemoration of the Feast of the Indiction to come before the Lord in
worship and prayer. We are encouraged to renew our offering of our life to
Him and to enhance our communication with Him through prayer and worship.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Ecclesiastical New Year and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2016)
We give thanks to our merciful and holy God for this blessed opportunity to
begin another ecclesiastical year, and we anticipate the witness of His
presence and power in our lives and in our worship and work of spreading
His Gospel. In addition to the observance of this day as the beginning of a
new liturgical cycle, it has also been designated by our beloved Ecumenical
Patriarchate as the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2015)
On this Feast of the Indiction which marks the beginning of the New
Ecclesiastical Year, we are led by our beloved Ecumencial Patriarchate in
observing the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment. The
relationship of our commemoration and observance is significant due to the
changing of the seasons, our agrarian heritage in relation to marking time,
and the strong foundations of our worship and theology in the relationship
of our Creator to His creation.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Ecclesiastical New Year and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2014)
As we commemorate this Feast of the Indiction, the beginning of the new
ecclesiastical year, we ask our great and merciful God to “bless the crown
of this year which His goodness has allowed us to begin” (Hymn of Orthros).
It is His goodness and grace that has brought us to the beginning of one
more ecclesiastical year and to another blessed cycle of the feasts and
observances of our Holy Orthodox Faith. In anticipation of the marvelous
and wonderful things our Lord will accomplish in our lives, parishes, and
families, we look forward to the blessings that will come through our
worship, prayer, and service.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Feast of the Indiction and the New Ecclesiastical Year (09/01/2013)
This sense of beginning that we share in many aspects of our lives is
essential to our relationship with God and how we live our Orthodox faith
each and every day. Just as we begin a new ecclesiastical year in
anticipation of the blessings to come through our worship and service, we
are also called to begin each day in faith and with expectations of what
God will accomplish in and through our lives.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the New Ecclesiastical Year and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2012)
On this feast we ask our Lord, “Bless the crown of this year with Your
goodness” (Psalm 65:11). We know that His goodness is true and enduring.
His goodness is rooted in His love for us, and in this goodness He nurtures
and sustains our lives. Through our trust in God, our lives are filled with
His goodness, and consequently we become witnesses of the joy He has
granted us.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2011)
On this day, September 1, we begin this new ecclesiastical year in the
blessed anticipation of the saving and wondrous works that will be
accomplished by God in the days and months before us. Each new annual cycle
of worship and ministry in our Orthodox Faith offers opportunities for our
spiritual growth, for transformation in the lives of those who find faith
and hope, for fellowship with one another as brothers and sisters in
Christ, and for compassionate service offered to those in need.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Ecclesiastical New Year and the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2010)
We begin this Ecclesiastical New Year as we should begin every year and
each day of our lives, with hope in the promises of our Lord Jesus Christ
for our salvation and a blessed life with Him for all eternity. The Apostle
Paul in his Epistle to the Romans links this hope in the glory which shall
be revealed in us (Romans 8:18) to another attribute that should be
characteristic of our Christian lives, “hope with perseverance.” He states,
“But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with
perseverance” (8:25).
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2009)
We give thanks to God for the beginning of this Ecclesiastical New Year and
for His abundant blessings, which fill our hearts with gratitude, deepen
our faith, and strengthen our souls. The date of September 1 on our
calendars marks the beginning of many things in our lives. For some, it
presents the beginning of another academic year filled with worthy goals
and challenges. For others, it is the return from summer vacation with
refreshed bodies and minds, and renewed commitment to vocation and
responsibilities. For those who work in agriculture, this date marks the
beginning of the agrarian year and the tasks of planting, nurturing, and
harvesting.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year and Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment (09/01/2008)
With the Church as our spiritual home, our concern and care for others
logically extends also to our care for all of God’s creation. This is a
fitting issue to address on this day, the beginning of a New Ecclesiastical
Year, because our Ecumenical Patriarchate has designated September 1 of
each year as the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment, and its
survival for posterity. Although we witness the effects of evil and sin
upon the natural world, we have faith in God’s promise that He will redeem
and renew all things. As we await the coming of a new heaven and a new
earth at the end of time, we have been given the sacred task of being
stewards of the existing heaven and earth, the Creation of God. This is the
awareness and truth that we celebrate as Orthodox Christians on this first
day of a New Ecclesiastical Year.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2007)
Once again we are blessed to enter our Ecclesiastical New Year on this date
of September 1, 2007. Also known as the Feast of the Indiction, this date
begins the calendrical cycle of our Holy Orthodox Church. As such, it is a
date that marks new beginnings and renewed opportunities for our spiritual
growth through our worship of the Triune God. It is also a date that our
revered Ecumenical Patriarchate has fittingly established for the Orthodox
Church as the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment. As we
begin our cycle of worship and praise to the Lord on this date, it is only
appropriate that we pause to consider the majesty of our universe and the
infinite love of God for all of us as His children.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2006)
We enter the Ecclesiastical New Year on this day of September 1, 2006, in
the aftermath of our very blessed 38th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress, held
this last July in Nashville, Tennessee. Together, during our time in
Nashville, we contemplated and witnessed the tremendous power of the theme
of this Congress, "Sharing the Truth of the Gospel and the Love of Christ,"
for it inspired us to produce tangible and lasting work products for the
strengthening of the ministries of our Archdiocese.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical Year (09/01/2005)
It is very appropriate as we enter the new Ecclesiastical Year on September
1 to remember the words of the Lord, as recounted here by the prophet
Isaiah. The passage is a clear expression of the uniqueness, supremacy and
omnipotence of God. It also communicates the indisputable truth that God
alone created our world with the specific purpose that it be inhabited by
us, whom He created out of His love. Indeed, there is no other God.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical on the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2003)
The commencement of the Ecclesiastical New Year on September 1 is a welcome
occasion for us to consider the abundant blessings of God in our daily
lives. In the liturgical calendar of the Orthodox Church this day
inaugurates an annual cycle of worship, which complements our lives with
order and structure, and reflects and informs the teaching of the Church
concerning the relationship of humanity to God, our Creator, and to the
natural world.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2002)
It is with heartfelt joy in the Lord that I communicate with you at the
beginning of a new ecclesiastical year. Much like our natural world, our
Church follows a cycle of growth and renewal, setting aside one day out of
each liturgical year where we as Orthodox Christians mark new beginnings
and define new challenges. Our Orthodox faith is not static, but dynamic,
with the power to transform our lives, our relationships with one another,
and the society in which we live.
Read More »
Read More »
Encyclical for the Beginning of the Ecclesiastical New Year (09/01/2001)
It is not by chance that this beginning, September 1, coincides with the
process of harvesting and preparing the tilled soil for a new cycle of
cultivation, nurturing and production of the fruit of the earth. Throughout
human history this vital, agrarian labor has been intertwined with
religious belief and practice—a relationship that is often unrecognized by
the people of a modern, technologically—advanced society.
Read More »
Read More »