On September 1, 1989 His All-Holiness, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I, issued a message on the environment marking the first annual “Day of Prayer for Creation.

Each September 1st our “Green Patriarch” His All Holiness Bartholomew asks us to work and pray to protect our earthly home on the Day of Prayer for Creation.

Since that time, messages on the care of God’s creation have been issued each year by the Ecumenical Patriarchate.  This year’s message was recently released by His All-Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TEXT OF THE MESSAGE

Our “Green Patriarch” Bartholomew  asks us to work to protect our earthly home.

CLICK HERE TO LOOK FOR ACTIVITIES IN YOUR AREA 

Say a prayer:

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. Matin Hymn, September 1st

In A Year of the Lord, Vol. 1 Professor Theodore Stylianopoulos explains that while we now celebrate the beginning of the secular New Year on January 1st, in ancient times September 1st was the beginning of the Church year and remains so for the Orthodox to this day. The tradition of computing 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. It was an appropriate time to begin a new year.

Christ our God, Your kingdom is an everlasting one and Your lordship is over all. 
You have made all things with wisdom and have established proper times and seasons for our lives. We give thanks to You in all circumstances and for all things. Grant that this liturgical year be for all of us a year of grace. Make us worthy with purity of heart always to praise you. Lord, glory to You!  Matin Hymn, September 1st

                            

Bishops from all over the world assemble at the Phanar in Constantinople  to sign the Book of Indiction to start the Ecclesiastical Year.  Photos by Archon Dimitrios Panagos.