On Tuesday, September 1^st, 2009, Orthodox Christians begin the New Ecclesiastical Year. Our Church computes the start of the New Year not on January 1^st, but September 1^st, because it was the practice common in the lands in the Biblical times, especially in the areas surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. This practice was also based on the fact that the harvest of the summer season was completed, and the crops were collected and stored as the farmers were prepared to start a new agricultural cycle once again. Our Church has designated September 1^st as a day of the beginning of a new cycle of spiritual life, a new life of ecclesiastical activities, a new opportunity for spiritual growth and experience. For this reason, many of the hymns which are used by the Church on September 1^st We ask God Almighty to bless the new Ecclesiastical Year with His blessings saying, “Bless, O Lord the Crown of the Year with Your Goodness.” We ask the Lord to bless the New Year with His love, mercy, and grace. As we begin this New Year, we ask our parishioners to join us together with the activities and work of our parish and community. We pray that our parishioners will participate in the Liturgical Life of our Church, to attend our Sunday and weekday services. Now is the time to attend our Bible Studies and Book Club meetings, and to enroll your children for Sunday School.  As most of us begin the New Year on January 1^st with special New Year’s Resolutions, we should begin our New Ecclesiastical Year with resolutions that involve the building of a relationship with God and His Church, for He is the sustainer of the universe and the Creator of all. Now that the summer months are coming to an end, our vacations come to an end, and now we must begin the new Fall Season renewing our Spiritual lives and commitment to God, to our Church, and to our Faith.   declare that the New Year belongs to God, for he is giving it to us and we ask Him to bless it and to sanctify it.

During this New Ecclesiastical Cycle, the Church observes the “Nativity of the Virgin Mary” on September 8^th, 2009. According to our Church Tradition, which was accepted by the Fathers of the Church, the parents of the Theotokos were two pious people who were Joachim and Anna. St. Anna had no children, but she prayed for a miraculous intervention of God for she prayed for a child and her prayers were answered. She gave birth to her daughter and she named her “Maria,” or Mariam, a Hebrew name which means Lady, Mistress, and Princess. Accordingly, in the birth of the Virgin Mary, our Church visualizes the beginning of the salvation of the human race, because the Theotokos, (God Bearer) became the mother of Jesus Christ Himself, the Savior of the World. Today, we hope that God will answer your prayers and that He will intervene in your lives, for in order for this to happen, you need to make an effort to pray and attend Church. The prayers of Joachim and Anna were answered because they made a solid effort. Are your efforts just as solid? St. Paul said to the Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me.” As we begin our Ecclesiastical New Year, we are reminded to renew our faith in God, for we should ask ourselves, “does Christ live in me?”

Father Paul C. Bebis