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“See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”
Isaiah 43:19
RESOURCES:
1. Introduction to "The Assisi Process"
Since the 1989 invitation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate to pray together on September 1, many churches and ecumenical networks have adopted the Creation Day observance and collaborated to encourage its celebration. In 2023, various global Christian bodies began to dialogue about the ancient roots of Creation Day in the Byzantine liturgical calendar and its potential to enrich non-Byzantine calendars even more meaningfully. Since then, a series of theological dialogues has taken place in what came to be known as “The Assisi Process,” with the participation of 13 Christian world communions and various ecumenical bodies.
More process details
Three major conferences took place in Assisi, Italy, informed by various other academic dialogues elsewhere. Conference after conference, a growing ecumenical convergence has surfaced about the pressing need to recover the centrality of the doctrine of Creation in Christian theology and the potential of the Feast of Creation – or Feast of Creation in Christ – to enrich the Christological nature of the liturgical year, filling a gap in the calendar.
The process is led by a steering committee comprising the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, the Consultation on Common Texts, and various Christian world communions.
A cornerstone of the process has been the 2025 commemoration of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, particularly the Creed’s proclamation of our faith in Christ as “true God from true God… through [whom] all things were made”, as well as in the creative role of the other persons of the Holy Trinity – “the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth”, and the Holy Spirit, “the giver of life”. Noting how this Christological and Trinitarian mystery of Creation is central to the Creed, the hope has been to mark the Nicaea centenary with a tangible step towards Christian unity that goes beyond mere proclamations.
Building on its original Byzantine symbolism as the day symbolizing God's act of creation of the world, the process has articulated the larger set of themes entailed in that symbolism, particularly Christ's role in that creative act, to reveal its relevance to non-Byzantine liturgical calendars. In a process of “receptive ecumenism”, some churches have already begun to embrace this gift and formally adopt the feast in their liturgical calendars, while others might keep marking it as a world day of prayer with enhanced liturgical resources. The renewed appreciation about the rich theological foundations of September 1 is a major gift for all churches in this third millennium.
Below is an overview of the theological resources flowing from the Assisi dialogues, including the various conference reports.
2. Introductory Webinar – "The Feast of Creation: A Gift for the Third Millennium"
In March 2026, various Christian global bodies co-convened a webinar to introduce the Assisi process and the outcomes of the theological dialogues. Watch the recording:
Speakers: Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (WCC): “Introduction”; Dr. Louk Andrianos (WCC): “Brief History of the Feast”; Rev. Dr. Antoine Al Ahmar (MECC): “Theological Overview of the Feast”; Rev. Dr. Cheryl Lindsay (CCT): “From Dream to Bloom: Resources”.
See also: Written summary of the webinar.
Recording available in other languages.
3. Theological Synthesis Reports
Two reports synthesize the key outcomes of the Assisi dialogues, outlining the theological themes entailed in the observance while explaining the complementarity of the titles ‘Feast of Creation’ (traditional name of recent decades) and ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ (enhanced name for official liturgical books of churches adopting it).
(I) “Theological Overview of the Feast of Creation”
The report outlines four interrelated themes contained in the Feast:
Creation as God’s creative act (the feast’s core)
Creation as a Christological mystery (the feast’s entry point)
Creation as a Trinitarian mystery, and
Creation as a sacramental and covenantal gift.
(II) “The ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’: Rationale for its Christological Title”
The report outlines the rationale for the enhanced Christological title, ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ (as adopted by the Revised Common Lectionary, for example).
4. Assisi Conference Reports
Nearly 150 papers have been presented by liturgical scholars, theologians from other disciplines, and church leaders, exploring the feast from multiple angles and denominational perspectives. Highlights from the papers are summarized in the following reports:
May 2025 conference (Assisi):
“An Ecumenical Dream for the Third Millennium”March 2025 seminar (Santa Croce University, Rome):
“Indagine teologico-liturgica sulla celebrabilità del Mistero della Creazione”December 2024 conference (Assisi):
“The Feast of Creation in Christ: A Historical, Theological, and Pastoral Exploration”March 2024 conference (Assisi):
“A Liturgical Opportunity, an Ecumenical Kairos”
A subset of the Assisi papers will be published as a special issue in the academic journal ‘Liturgy’ in February 2027.
5. History of the Feast of Creation
Since the 7th century, September 1 has symbolized the day of the creation of the world in the Byzantine tradition and has been the opening feast of their liturgical year (known as the Feast of the Indiction), in a parallel with the feast of Rosh Hashanah marking the Jewish New Year also in September.
Building on that symbolism, in 1989 the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople invited "the entire Christian world" to pray together for creation on that day. It then came to be known as "Creation Day" or "Feast of Creation", eventually inspiring the Assisi Process.
6. A Notable Fruit: Adoption by ‘Revised Common Lectionary’
The ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ was officially added to the Revised Common Lectionary used by many Protestant churches.
Flowing from its participation in the Assisi Process, the Consultation on Common Texts made the announcement in April 2026.
See RCL readings
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