Weekly Sunday Bulletin – Beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year

Apolytikion Ήχος A-1

Τού λίθου σφραγισθέντος…
The stone that had been sealed before Your tomb by the Jews and the soldiers guarding did watch o’er Your pure and sacred body O Savior the third day You arose, and unto all the world did You give life whereby all the heavenly powers did proclaim that You are the giver of life Glory unto our resurrected Christ. Glory unto Your Kingdom, Glory to Your dispensation. O You alone who loves all.

Apolytikion of Indiction: Beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year

Ὁ πάσης δημιουργὸς τῆς κτίσεως…
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, at the intercession of the Theotokos, and save us.

Apolytikion of the Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos of Miasenae

Χαίρε Κεχαριτωμένη, Θεοτόκε Παρθένε…
Rejoice, thou who art full of grace, O Virgin Theotokos, haven and protection of the race of man; for the Redeemer of the world became incarnate of thee; for thou alone art both mother and virgin, ever blessed and glorified. Intercede with Christ God that peace be granted unto all the world.

Apolytikion of Symeon the Stylite

Υπομονής στύλος γέγονας…
Thou becamest a pillar of patience and didst emulate the Forefathers, O righteous one: Job in his sufferings, Joseph in temptations, and the life of the bodiless while in the body, O Symeon, our righteous Father, intercede with Christ God that our souls be saved

Apolytikion of St. Demetrios

Μέγαν εύρατο έν τοίς κινδύνοις…
The world found in you a great champion in dangers a victor who could turn the nations back! As you restrained Levi in the arena, you also inspired Nestor to courage! Therefore, holy, great martyr, Demetrios, entreat Christ God to grant us great mercy!

Kontakion

Ό τών αίώνων ποιητής
O God of all, Creator and Lord of all ages, truly transcendent, bless the cycle of the year, saving. By Your infinite mercy, O Compassionate, save all who worship You the only Master, and who cry out in awe, “Redeemer, grant us all, a fruitful year!”

Encyclical from His Eminence Archbishop of America Demetrios

Beginning of the New Ecclesiastical Year – Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment

To the Most Reverend Hierarchs, the Reverend Priests and Deacons, the Monks and Nuns, the Presidents and Members of the Parish Councils of the Greek Orthodox Communities, the Distinguished Archons of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Day, Afternoon, and Church Schools, the Philoptochos Sisterhoods, the Youth, the Hellenic Organizations, and the entire Greek Orthodox Family in America

Beloved Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On this Feast of the Indiction we gather in worship of Almighty God on a day and in a time of beginnings. The first day of this new month commemorates the beginning of the ecclesiastical year and our cycle of celebrations and observances that connect our past, present and future as Orthodox Christians and offer a witness of the saving grace and power of God through our faith in Jesus Christ. In addition, this time of year has past and current connections with the agrarian cycle of plowing, planting and harvesting, and it is also the beginning of the school year. Many are returning from breaks and vacations to begin a new year of learning, activities, and opportunities.

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.

In the Vespers of this Feast of the Indiction we sing, “Having learned the prayer which Christ Himself has taught us in His own words, let us offer it each day to the Creator, saying: Our Father, Who art in Heaven, give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses;” and in our morning prayers we offer, “O Lord, grant that we may meet the coming day in peace. Help us in all things to rely upon Your holy will. In each hour of the day, reveal Your will to us. Bless our dealings with all who surround us….”

In these petitions we see the manner in which we should begin this ecclesiastical year, the school year, and each and every day to come. First, we must pray and commune with God. We are called to a daily life of prayer, as prayer leads us to our Creator, guides us in truth, and nurtures our hope in an abundant and eternal life. In addition, we must enter this year and greet each new day seeking and receiving the grace of God. In His mercy He forgives us, and in His loving-kindness He cares for us and heals our souls. Finally, we must begin this time offering our praise to God for His provision and seeking to do His will. For each new day He will give us all that we need, and our hearts and minds should be open, prepared, and willing to do His will as it is revealed to us.

It has also been our tradition as Orthodox Christians through the spiritual guidance of our Ecumenical Patriarchate, to observe September 1 as the Day for the Protection of our Natural Environment. This is very appropriate on this day, as the natural order shows us over and over again the process of renewal and new beginnings. In both minute and lengthy processes, we see the handiwork of our Creator. We are constantly reminded through the beauty, complexity, and even the struggles and suffering of our natural environment that we are called to be faithful stewards of all that He has made. We are also shown through the passing of time, the changing of the seasons, and the beginning of each new day the priority of our relationship with God.

As we begin this new ecclesiastical year, I pray that the abundant blessings of our Lord may be upon you through your worship, service, and daily prayer as you live in the grace of God and seek His will.

With paternal love in Christ,

†DEMETRIOS

Archbishop of America

Epistle Reading

St. Paul’s First Letter to Timothy 2:1-7

TIMOTHY, my son, first of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony to which was borne at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

Gospel Reading

Luke 4:16-22
Ecclesiastical New Year

At that time, Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” And he closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.