On September 1 in the Holy Orthodox Church we celebrate the Beginning of the Indiction—the Ecclesiastical (Church) New Year.

The First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325 decreed that the Church year should begin on September 1.  The month of September was, for the Hebrews, the beginning of the civil year, the month of gathering the harvest and of the offering of thanks to God.  It was on this feast that the Lord Jesus entered the synagogue in Nazareth, and opened the book to read from the Prophet Isaiah, as found in today’s Liturgy Gospel reading.  The month of September is also important in the history of Christianity, because Emperor Constantine the Great was victorious over Maxentius, the enemy of the Christian Faith, in September.  Following this victory, Constantine granted freedom of confession to the Christian Faith throughout the Roman Empire.

O Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy upon us, and save us. Amen.