The Beginning of a New Church Liturgical Year

It is hard to believe that summer is closing in on us and a new school year has begun. The Church also begins its liturgical year at this time. On September 1, the Orthodox Church begins its Church calendar year as it incorporates the various feast days and services. The purpose of the Church year is to bring the teaching of the Gospel and some of the main events of Christian church history into some order. Through the prayers and Liturgy of the Church, it is intended for us to experience and recall the mystery of Christ.
Through the various feasts of the year, we allow the Holy Spirit to manifest within the community and to remember the promise of our Lord “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). We are to experience again the life of Christ
and are stimulated to unite ourselves to Christ, in His birth, His growth,suffering and death to His Resurrection. The liturgical year renews the events and feasts of the Church and allows us to live in prayer with the Holy
Spirit.
The year commemorates not only the life events of Christ but also the saints that lived their life in Christ. The saints are the spiritual models who can inspire and teach us how they were imitators of Christ. They can assist us in
remembering who we are and who we can become with their faith, courage and endurance.
The Church has established twelve Great Feasts besides Pascha which is referred to as the “greatest Feast” and the “feast of feasts”. There are eight Feasts of our Lord, Jesus Christ:
1. The Exaltation of the Cross (September 14)
2. Christmas (December 25)
3. Theophany (January 6)
4. The Meeting of our Lord in the Temple (February 2)
5. Palm Sunday
6. The Ascension (40 days after Pascha)
7. Pentecost (50 days after Pascha)
8. The Transfiguration of our Lord (August 6)
There are also four Feasts of the Theotokos:
1. The Birth of the Theotokos (September 8)
2. The Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple (November 21)
3. The Annunciation (March 25)
4. The Dormition of the Theotokos (August 15)
Besides these Great Feasts, some of the saints are commemorated each day and also each day of the week
remembers a special occasion:
- Sunday commemorates the Resurrection of Christ and referred to as a “little Pascha”
- Monday is dedicated to the archangels and angels
- Tuesday is dedicated to the memory of St. John the Baptist
- Wednesday commemorates the Theotokos and the day Judas betrayed Christ
- Thursday is dedicated to the Holy Apostles and Church Fathers
- Friday is remembered for the day Christ was crucified
- Saturday is dedicated to the holy martyrs and for those departed from this world
The Church provides us with a liturgical calendar to offer us opportunities with a framework and support for our
spiritual growth towards Christ. The liturgical life is a means to incorporate ourselves into striving in our journey
to reach our ultimate goal of the Kingdom of God.
Wishing you a blessed 2008-09 Liturgical Year,
Fr. Robert O`Loughlin, HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, Tallahassee, FL

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Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta
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