Orthodox Ecclesiastical New Year
Categories: feast-days
Date: 01 September 2008 10:56:42
Troparion (Tone 2):
Creator of the universe,
setting times and seasons by Your sole authority,
bless the cycle of the year of Your grace, O Lord,
guarding our rulers and Your nation in peace,
through the intercessions of the Theotokos, and save us.
Kontakion (Tone 4):
You who created all things in Your infinite wisdom,
and set the times by Your own authority,
grant Your Christian people victories.
Blessing our comings and goings throughout this year,
guide our works according to Your divine will.
September 1 is the first day of the Orthodox Church's Calendar; from the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia we learn that "the start of a new year with autumn[*] was common to the lands of the Bible and to all the lands around the Mediterranean. The summer harvest was at an end, the crops were stored, and people prepared for a new agricultural cycle."
[*] of course, we down here get the new year starting in spring; and we did have a beautiful day today as an introduction to spring...
The same website also provides some of the beautiful hymns for today:
O faithful, having learned true prayer from the very words and divine teachings of Christ, let us cry out to the Creator each day: Our Father, who dwells in heaven, give us always daily bread, and forgive us our transgressions. [Vespers Hymn]
Christ our Lord, You who provide the rains and fruitful seasons, and hear the prayers of those who humbly seek You, accept also our requests about our needs and concerns and deliver us from worry, danger and sin. Your mercies are as abundant as Your works. Bless all our activities, direct our steps by Your Holy Spirit, and forgive our shortcomings. Lord, bless the year with Your goodness and make it a year of grace for all of us. Amen. [Matins Hymn]
The Bible reading for the Divine Liturgy today is Luke 4:16-22, where Christ reads and teaches from Isaiah in the Synagogue in Nazareth, the beginning of his public ministry and recorded by Luke. Thus, as we celebrate the beginning of the Church's New Year, we remember and celebrate the beginning of Christ's ministry.
We also remember today, among many others, St Simeon Stylites, the Elder. I know many find him odd, offensive, or cannot understand why he should be set as an example; while respecting their opinions, I do disagree. Yes, he was crazy, perhaps a fool even, to climb the tower [but Orthodoxy has a great number of fools-for-Christ], but his teachings, healings and his conversion of many is remembered to this day, and he is a Saint I truly have a fondness for. As we chant at the Vespers for St Simeon:
O holy Father, imitating your own Lord, you ascended on a pillar as if on a cross by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Lord wiped away the ancient sentence against us whereas you destroyed the rebellion of corruptive passions; He became as a lamb and you as a victim; He ascended a cross and you a pillar. Holy Simeon, intercede with Him for the salvation of our souls.
A blessed Feast Day and Church New Year to you all, and my prayers for you all this ecclesiastical year that the love, joy and peace of Christ may be with you all. I do humbly ask for your prayers for me also.