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INTRODUCTION
The liturgical celebration of September 1, officially known as the Feast of the Indiction, has deep roots in our Byzantine tradition. Since the 7th century, September 1 has symbolized the day of God's creation of the world in Byzantine churches, following the adoption of the Anno Mundi calendar system in Constantinople. By the 8th century, the feast had already acquired liturgical status in the calendar with hymns highlighting God’s role as creator and texts proclaiming the new year. To this day, this continues to be the opening feast of the liturgical year, the Ecclesiastical New Year. The liturgical texts that define the theology of a feast, the Troparion and Kontakion, outline the centrality of the Creation theme: "The troparion and kontakion devote special attention to some immutable truths of creation: The Lord is the Creator of all creation."
Building on that ancient symbolism as the day of the creation of the world, and following various pan-Orthodox theological dialogues about creation in the 1980s, the Ecumenical Patriarchate issued an encyclical in 1989 that expanded its scope for September 1 to also be a day of prayer for creation, in light of the ecological crisis. In other words, given that this day has historically brought our attention to God’s act of creation, it is an opportune time to also reflect on and pray for the fruit of that divine act: this precious world that was gifted to us. Thus, as Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I explained in his 1989 encyclical, September 1 became a time to “offer prayers and supplications to the Maker of all, both as thanksgiving for the great gift of Creation and as petitions for its protection and salvation.”
PAN-ORTHODOX ADOPTION
In 1992, at the historic first-ever Synaxis of the Primates of the Orthodox Churches, all Orthodox Primates jointly endorsed September 1 as day of pan-Orthodox prayer for creation. Through a joint statement, the Primates made the following invitation:
“The Orthodox Church, through us, invites all the Orthodox to dedicate the first day of September of each year, the day of the beginning of the ecclesiastical year, to the offering of prayers and supplication for the preservation of God’s creation.”
As part of the implementation of this day of prayer, which still is a work in progress, some Orthodox churches transferred the celebration to the following Sunday for pastoral practicality (see example). In subsequent years, other Christian churches also accepted the invitation to pray together on this special occasion. Eventually, it came to be informally known as "Creation Day" or the "Feast of Creation".
LITURGICAL TEXTS FOR CREATION DAY
DIVINE LITURGY
The ancient texts of the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of the Indiction are the usual ones already available in liturgical books of all parishes.
“O Christ our King Who livest in the highest, Creator and Maker of all things, visible and invisible, Who hast fashioned days and nights, seasons and years: bless Thou now the crown of the year.”
— Kontakion, Feast of the Indiction (Slavic rubrics)
ENCYCLICALS FOR CREATION DAY
Encyclicals of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
OTHER RESOURCES
Library of creation resources by the Orthodox Fellowship of the Transfiguration, containing articles, writings of saints, homilies, lectures, and more.
Parish resources by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Timeline of the Orthodox Church’s Leadership on Creation Care, by Rev. Fr. Nicholas Anton.
The submission of new resources and translations of any of the above materials is warmly welcome at CreationFeast [at] gmail.com
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