συνοδικός
FORGIVENESS IS BETTER THAN REVENGE
NO ONE HEALS HIMSELF BY WOUNDING ANOTHER
14.9.2022 oo:oo 84\203 #συνοδικός #synodikos WEDNESDAY
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• συνοδικός • September 14 / September 1 • συνοδικός •
2022 (7531)
dedicated in honor of the DORMITION : 宿舍斋戒 : sùshè zhāijiè of the Most Holy Theotokos .
Let God’s will abide in everything, but we shall ask for His mercy towards us who are sinful .
ECCLESIASTICAL NEW YEAR — Indiction — 教会历法周年起始日（教历新年）
Ἀρχὴ τῆς Ἰνδίκτου
On this day, when the Jews celebrated the new summer, the Savior, came to Nazareth where He was brought up and entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day as was His custom, and read these words of the Prophet Isaiah: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed Me ... to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord" (Luke 4, 18:19). On the first of September 312 the Emperor Constantine the Great won a victory over Maxentius. After this Christians were granted complete freedom to confess their faith. In commemoration of these two events the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council decided to begin the New Year on the first of September (See January 1, March 1 and the Paschalia). In its hymns for this day the Holy Church prays "Creator and Fashioner of all things visible and invisible" "bless the crown of the year", "grant fruitful seasons and rains from heaven for those on earth", "bless our comings and goings, direct the works of our hands and grant us forgiveness of offences", "grant peace to Thy churches", "overthrow heresies", "protect our cities unbesieged, make glad our faithful Sovereigns by Thy power, giving them victories against enemies".
Tradition says that the Hebrews entered the Promised Land in September.
FEASTS and MIRACLES of OUR VIRGIN MARY THE HOLY THEOTOKOS
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• Synaxis of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Monastery of MIASENA is celebrated in honor of a miraculous icon of the Virgin which was thrown into the pond of Ghazour for fear of the Iconoclasts. It was subsequently rediscovered intact and was venerated in the Monastery of Miasena, near Melitene in Armenia (864)
Θαῦμα τῆς Θεοτόκου στὴν Μονὴ τῶν Μιασηνῶν
• Celebration of the first miracle of the Eletskaya Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos at CHERNIGOV-GETHSEMANE (1869) 切尔尼格夫•格特塞玛尼
The Chernigov-Gethsemane Icon of the Mother of God is a copy from the famed Chernigov-Il'insk Icon of the Mother of God, which was to be found at the Trinity Il'insk monastery near Chernigov on Mount Boldina, and where in the XI Century for a certain while the Monk Antonii of Pechersk pursued asceticism. To the description of the miracles from this icon, beginning with 16-24 April 1662, Sainted Dimitrii of Rostov in his book "The Bedewed Fleece" (Oroshennoe Runo) wrote in conclusion: "The end of the booklet, but not of the miracles of the MostHoly Mother of God, since who is it that can count them". The grace-bearing power of this icon is manifest also in its copies.
• Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Alexandria (568)
• Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos named APPEARANCE IN AUGUST (1914)
• Synaxis of Panagia PAMMAKARISTOS in Constantinople
The Virgin is portrayed in the established iconographic type of the Hodegetria. A dark red omophorion adorned with a gold border and gold stars covers the head and shoulders. The face is oval, with large almond eyes, marked eyebrows, straight nose and small mouth. The light and shade effects on the cheeks and the round chin, the red hues under the eyes, enhance the modelling of the face and disclose affinities with the classicizing forms of the post-Iconoclast period, predominant in the so-called Macedonian and Comnenian art. With the right hand the Virgin "points" towards her Son whom she holds in the left arm. Comfortably sitting on His Mother's arm, Christ is dressed in a brown-red tunic highlighted with gold streaks. With the right hand He makes the sign of blessing towards the Virgin and in the left He holds a rolled-up scroll. His face, with pronounced features, lively eyes and a wide forehead crowned with sparse hair, is turned towards the Holy Mother of God, who gazes at the onlooker, indicating with her gesture the Savior of the World. In this way a close spiritual connection is established between the Virgin, the Christ Child and the worshipper - a silent communication of the devout Christian with Panagia Pammakaristos, the All-Blessed one, interceding between man and God. The participation of the heavenly powers is denoted by the presence of the angel depicted in a medallion in the upper right-hand corner. The dark-gold color of the Virgin's and Christ's halos harmonizes well with the gold reflections of the garments and the light-gold background of the composition. Despite the damages the icon has suffered and the occasional repairs, not all of them successful, the delicate workmanship, careful combination of warm colors, simple unaffected drawing and, above all, the profound spirituality of expression point to the great art of the 10th and 11th centuries. The serious, composed, pensive and wistful countenance of the Holy Virgin with the almost human expression and classic form suggests rather the mid-llth century, particularly the trends developed in the late years of the Macedonian dynasty. "There was at this time a new blossoming of intellectual activity in Byzantium" (Ostrogorsky) with men of great learning, like Constantine Lichoudes, Michael Psellus, John Xiphilinus, John Mauropus et al. It may therefore be maintained that the famous icon, which had been the most venerated and prized possession of the Church of Panagia Pammakaristos, is to this day one of the rarest and finest surviving examples of the great tradition of Byzantine art.
• PAMMAKARISTA named "ALL-BLESSED" Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos of Alexandria (1905) at Kazan
The "All-Blessed" or "Pamamkarista" Icon of the Mother of God was sent in 1905 by His Holiness the Patriarch of Constantinople Joakim III in blessing and solace to the city of Kazan. This icon – an exact copy from a particularly venerated icon of the Mother of God situated in the Constantinople Patriarchal church, which is an uniquely ancient holy thing at Constantinople remaining intact from various plunderings.
• Synaxis of Panagia KATAPOLIANI (i.e. Hundred Gates or Lower Town church) in Tinos
• OUR LADY OF MONTEVERGINE of the so-called Black Madonnas
The image is quite large, with a height of over 12 feet and width of over 6 feet, showing the Blessed Virgin seated on a throne with the Divine Infant Jesus seated on her lap. The image is dark, so the icon is often referred to as one of the “Black Madonnas”.
SYNAXIS OF ALL SAINTS OF VINNYTSA in west-central Ukraine
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• Venerable ANTHONY of the Caves founder of monasticism in Rus (1073) Co-founder Kiev Pechersk Lavra (Kiev Monastery of the Caves) // JUL 10 // SEP 2 //
• Prince THEODOR of Ostrog (Teodor, Fedko or Frederic, monk Theodosy of Kiev Monastery of the Caves) (1360–1446) a powerful magnate in Volhynia of Rurikid stock, son of Daniil of Ostrog // AUG 11 //
• Sainted PETER Mogila , Metropolitan of Kiev, Halych and All Rus' (1646) theologian and reformer // DEC 31 //
• Sainted THEODOSY Polonitski-Ouglitski Archbishop of Tchernigov (1696) // FEB 5 // SEP 9 //
• Venerable hieroschemamonk THEOPHIL (Foma Gorenkovsky) of Kiev Monastery of the Caves, Fool for Christ (1853) // JUL 14 // OCT 28 //
• Hieroconfessor AMVROSY (Alexander Polyansky) bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi (1932) // OCT 14 // DEC 7 //
• New Hieromartyr ALEKSIY Vorobjov, presbiter (1888-1937) // AUG 7 //
• Hieromartyr IOANN (Flavian Laba) hieromonk (1863-1937) // AUG 22 //
• New Hieromartyr IOANN Mel’nichenko, presbiter (1889-1937) // SEP 2 //
• New Hieromartyr INNOCENTIY (Boris Tikhonov) archbishop of Vinnytsia (1889-1937) // NOV 16 //
• New Hieromartyr PORFIRIY (Polikarp Goulevich) bishop of Simferopol (1864-1937) // NOV 19 //
• Hieromartyr GRIGORIY (Gennadij Rebeza) archmandtite (1937) // NOV 19 //
• Hieromartyr EVTIHIY (Evfimiy Kachour), hegumen (1891-1937) // NOV 20 //
• Hieromartyr VASILIY Mazourenko, hieromonk (1877-1938) // DEC 26 //
• New Hieromartyr ALEXANDER Petrovskiy, archbishop of Kharkov (1851-1940) // MAY 11 //
SAINT MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS before the 20th century
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• Righteous AARON the First High Priest, and his sister MIRIAM (Mariam) (1453 B.C.)
• EVODIA (Euhodia, Euodias or Euodia) and SYNTCHE, Dcn. (1st cent.)
• Martyrdom of MOSES (Moisees) and his sister SARAH a nun, at Alexandria
• Martyrdom of AGABIUS the soldier, and his sister THECLA
• 12 Holy Brothers (Martyrs of the South) (290/303) : ARONTIUS (Orontius), HONORATUS, FORTUNATUS and SABINIAN in Potenza in the Basilicata, SEPTIMINUS, JANUARIUS and FELIX in Venosa in Apulia, VITALIS, SATOR (Satyrus) and REPOSITUS in Velleianum in Apulia, DONATUS and another FELIX in Sentianum in Apulia
• Virgin Martyrissis CALLISTA (Kalliste or Kallista) 卡利斯塔, AGATHOCLEA and their brothers Martyrs EVODIUS (Evodus or Evodos) 埃佛多 and HERMOGENES 埃尔默格尼 at Nicomedia (309) cut down by the sword
Οἱ Ἅγιοι Εὔοδος, Καλλίστη, Ἀγαθοκλεία καὶ Ἐρμογένης οἱ Μάρτυρες
• Hieromartyr AMMOUN 阿蒙 the Deacon and The 40 Holy Virgin Martyrissis and Fasters at Heraclea, in Thrace (321) from Adrianopolis in Macedonia : CELSINA 凯尔西纳, THEOCLIA 德奥克利亚, THEOCTISTA 德奥克提斯塔, DOROTHEA 多若德亚, EUTYCHIA 艾弗提希亚, THECLA 特克拉, ARISTAINETA 阿里斯泰奈塔, PHILADELPHIA 斐拉德尔斐亚, MARY 玛利亚, VERONICA 维若尼卡, EUTHYMIA 艾弗提弥亚, LAMPROTATIA 朗普若塔提亚, EUPHEMIA 艾弗斐弥亚, THEODORA 德奥多拉, THEODOTA 德奥多塔, TETEIA 特提亚, AQUILINA 阿桂利纳, THEODULIA 德奥杜利亚, APLODORA 阿普罗多拉, LAMPADIA 朗帕迪亚, PROCOPIA 普若科彼亚, PAULA 帕弗拉, JUNILLA 犹尼拉, AMPLIANA 盎普利亚纳, PERSISSA 佩尔基萨, POLYNICIA 颇利尼基亚, MAURA 玛弗拉, GREGORIA 格里高利亚, CYRIA 基里亚, BASSA 瓦萨, CALLINICA 卡利尼卡, BARBARA 瓦尔瓦拉, CYRIACIA 基里雅基, AGATHONICA 阿伽托尼卡, JUSTA 犹斯塔, IRENE 伊里尼, MATRONA 玛特若纳, TIMOTHEA 提摩德亚, TATIANA 塔提亚纳, ANNA安纳 and LAURENCIA (Laurentia) 劳伦基亚 Deaconissis ; their teacher AMMOUN and 8 of the Virgins were beheaded, 10 Virgins were burned, 6 of Them died after heated metal balls were put into their mouths, 6 were stabbed with knives, and the rest were struck in the mouth and stabbed in the heart with swords
Οἱ Ἁγίες 40 οἱ Παρθενομάρτυρες
Ἀδαμαντίνη, Καλλιρόη, Χαρίκλεια, Πηνελόπη, Κλειὼ , Θάλεια, Μαριάνθη, Εὐτέρπη, Τερψιχόρη, Οὐρανία, Κλεονίκη, Σαπφώ, Ἐρατώ, Πολύμνια, Δωδώνη, Ἀθηνᾶ, Τρωάδα, Κλεοπάτρα, Κοραλία, Καλλίστη, Θεονόη, Θεανώ, Ἀσπασία, Πολυνίκη, Διόνη, Θεοφάνη, Ἐρασμία, Ἑρμηνεία, Ἀφροδίτη, Μαργαρίτα, Ἀντιγόνη, Πανδώρα, Χάϊδω, Λάμπρω, Μόσχω, Ἀρηβοΐα, Θεονύμφη, Ἀκριβῆ, Μελπομένη, Ἐλπινίκη καὶ Ἀμμοῦν ὁ διδάσκαλος αὐτῶν
• PRISCUS a bishop in North Africa and of Capua and his priests CASTRENSIS, TAMMARUS, ROSIUS, HERACLIUS, SECUNDINUS, ADJUTOR, MARK, AUGUSTUS, ELPIDIUS, CANION and VINDONIUS (5th cent.) // SEPT 1 // FEB 11 //
• Bishop VINCENT of Xaintes, and LAETUS one of his deacons (5th cent.)
• Venerable brothers GEORGE the Bishop of Mytilene, SYMEON the New Stylite and DAVID a Monk
• GILES and ARCANUS (1050)
Giles was born in Spain and together with the Italian St Arcanus, founded a monastery to enshrine relics which they had brought from Palestine. This later grew into Borgo San Sepulcro in central Italy.
• Sons of Caiman
NEW MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS before the 20th century
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• Hosiosmartyress TATIANA Gribkova, nun (1879-1937)
• Martyress NATALIA Kozlova (1937)
• Hieromartyr ALEXANDER Lübimov, presbiter (1884-1918)
• Hieromartyr VLADIMIR Dvinskij, deacon (1858-1918)
MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS before the 20th century
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• ABIGAIL the Matriarch (1000-950 BC) Jewish laywoman. Wife of King David. Old Testament matriarch. One of the seven women considered a prophet by the Talmudic scholars
• AGIA (Austregildis, Agie, Aia or Aye) Matrona of Orléans, France (708) Mother of Saintt Lupus of Sens in France
• AEGIDIUS of Camargue (640-720) hermit, founder of the monastery St Gilles
• Martyr AEITHALAS 阿伊塔拉 of Persia, deacon (380) suffered martyrdom in Persia, under King Sapor II
• New Martyr ANGELIS 安格利斯 of Constantinople (1680)
Ὁ Ἅγιος Ἀγγελὴς ὁ Νεομάρτυρας
• Righteous ANNA (Hannah, Anne or Ann) the Prophetess (1st cent.)
• ANTONIUS of Verroia/Verriola
Ὁ Ὅσιος Ἀντώνιος ὁ ἐν Ἀγυιᾷ
• ARCANUS founded a monastery that later grew into Borgo San Sepulcro in central Italy
• Virgin Martyrissa CHARITOSA at Einsiedeln, Switzerland
• CONSTANTIUS (520) Bishop of Aquino in Italy
• CUIMMEN a Son of Cuanna (Cuanach); probably Abbot of Druim-Snechta, now Drumsnat, County of Monaghan
• DEBORAH the Prophetess (1200-1000 B.C.) in the Ephraim range between Rama in Ephraim, also Ramathaim-Zophim (possibly today Rantis in Palestine) and Bethel (today Baytin in Palestine)
• DRITHELM (700) Hermit of Maelros (Melrose)
• Venerable EVANTHIA (Evanthe, Anthe, Eva, Euanthia or Evie)
Ἡ Ὁσία Εὐανθία
• FIRMINUS II (4th cent.) 3rd Bishop of Amiens in France and Confessor
• GILES (8th cent.) abbot of a monastery on the Rhône, patron-saint of cripples and beggars
• New Martyrissa HAIDO of Stanos in Halkidiki (1820-1821) ascetic on the island of Thasos
• Righteous JOSHUA 伊稣斯 the Son of Navin 纳维, Forefather, Leader of the people of Israel, appointed with a solemn appointment by Moses the Lawgiver as successor (1370 B.C.)
Ὁ Ἅγιος Ἰησοῦς ὁ Δίκαιος
• LUPUS (Leu ) (623) Archbishop of Sens in France, Confessor
• LYTHAN (Llythaothaw) of Llandaff, Wales
• MARTHA 玛尔塔 Matrona of Antioch (428) mother of Symeon Stylites (the Elder)
Ἡ Ὁσία Μάρθα
Saint Martha lived in Cilicia of Asia Minor during the fourth and fifth centuries, and came from a poor family. She and her husband Sisotion were the parents of Saint Simeon the Stylite. At the age of eighteen, Simeon received the monastic tonsure without his parents’ knowledge. Many years later, Martha came to the saint’s pillar in order to see him. Simeon sent word to her not to come, for if they were worthy, they would see each other in the life to come. Martha insisted on seeing him, and he had someone tell her to wait for a while in silence. Saint Martha agreed to this, and waited at the foot of the hill where her son’s pillar stood. There she departed to the Lord. When he heard that his mother had died, Saint Simeon ordered that her body be brought to the foot of his pillar. He prayed over his mother’s body for some time shedding many tears, and witnesses said that a smile appeared on Saint Martha’s face.
• Venerable MELETIUS 麦勒提 the Younger of Thebes (1095-1124) Ascetic of Kithaironi on the mountain of Myopolis
Ὁ Ὅσιος Μελέτιος ὁ νέος
• NEMAN Bishop of Cill Bia
• Venerable NICHOLAS of Courtaliatis, the Ascetic of Crete, monk (1670)
Ὁ Ὅσιος Νικόλαος
• NIVARD (670) Archbishop of Rheims in France
• Martyr PELAGIUS of Aemon (283)
• Martyr PRISCUS (66) the 1st Bishop of Capua in Italy, where he was sent by the Apostle Peter; by tradition he was martyred under Nero
• Martyr REGULUS (545) martyred under Totila
Born in North Africa, he was exiled by the Arian Vandals. He landed in Tuscany in Italy and was martyred under Totila.
• SCEALLAN the Leper, of Armagh, County of Armagh
• SILIN (6th cent.)
• Venerable SYMEON 西面 Stylites the Elder长者 of Antioch, archmandrite (459)
Ὁ Ὅσιος Συμεὼν ὁ Στυλίτης
• SYMEON Stylites of Lesbos (844)
Ὁ Ὅσιος Συμεὼν ὁ Στυλίτης ὁ Λέσβιος
• SIXTUS (Xystus) (300) 1st Bishop of Rheims in France 290-300
• TERENTIAN (118) Bishop of Todi in Umbria in Italy. He was racked, had his tongue cut out and finally was beheaded under Hadrian
• Sainted VICTORIUS (490) disciple of Saint Martin of Tours who became Bishop of Le Mans in France in 453
• Venerable Virgin VERENA of Soloturn, related to a soldier of the Theban Legion (Egypt) travelled to Switzerland in search of him and settled as an anchoress near Zurich (344)
• Virgin Martyrissa VIBIANA (Bibiana or Viviana) at Rome, Pat. of Los Angeles
A Virgin Martyrissa in Rome whose relics are now venerated in Los Angeles, of which she is the main Patron-saint.
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COMMEMORATION OF THE GREAT FIRE AT CONSTANTINOPLE about 470 A.D.
Μνήμη τοῦ μεγάλου ἐμπρησμοῦ στὴν Κωνσταντινούπολη
We commemorate the great fire in Constantinople that occurred during the reign of Leo the Great about the year 470. It was a terrible fire that continued for six months. The Emperor frightened by the disaster left for the sea and built a Temple of St Mamas in Sigma. The Great Fire of Constantinople took place in 461, under Emperor Leo the Great. For four days it devoured the greater part of the city, and did not cease completely until the seventh day.
THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
September is derived from the Latin septem, which means "seven", because originally it was the seventh of ten months on the oldest known Roman calendar, with March being the first month of the year until perhaps as late as 153 BC. After the calendar reform that added January and February to the beginning of the year, September became the ninth month, but retained its name. It had 29 days until the Julian reform, which added a day. Thus today the month of September contains 30 days. The September equinox also takes place in this month, and certain observances are organized around it. It is the Autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere; the dates can vary from 21 September to 24 September.
September marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical and liturgical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is due to the Roman dating of the Indiction. An indiction is any of the years in a 15-year cycle used to date documents in Roman times. Indictions originally referred to the periodic reassessment for an agricultural or land tax in late third-century Roman Egypt. These were originally in 5-year cycles beginning in 287 AD, then in a non-cyclic series which reached number 26 by 318 AD. But by 314 AD, the 15-year cycle had appeared. The Chronicon Paschale (c. 630 AD) assigned its first year to 312–313 AD, whereas a Coptic document of 933 AD assigned its first year to 297–298 AD, one cycle earlier. Both of these were years of the Alexandrian calendar whose first day was Thoth 1 on August 29 in years preceding common Julian years and August 30 in years preceding leap years, hence each straddled two Julian years. The reason for beginning the year at that time was that the harvest would be in, and so it was an appropriate moment to calculate the taxes that should be paid.
The indiction was first used to date documents unrelated to tax collection in the mid-fourth century. By the late fourth century it was being used to date documents throughout the Mediterranean. In the Eastern Roman Empire outside of Egypt, the first day of its year was September 23, the birthday of Augustus. During the last half of the fifth century, probably 462 AD, this shifted to September 1, where it remained throughout the rest of the Roman Empire until its fall in 1453. In 537 AD, Justinian decreed that all dates must include the indiction via Novella 47, which eventually caused the Roman year to begin on September 1. But in the western Mediterranean, its first day was September 24 according to Bede, or the following December 25 or January 1, called the papal indiction.
With the close association between the Church and the State in the Eastern Roman Empire, the Church also adopted September 1 as the beginning of its ecclesiastical and liturgical year, having gathered the spiritual harvest of the previous ecclesiastical year. And in the month of September the beginning of the entire cycle of major fixed feast days begins, specifically on September 23rd with the Conception of John the Baptist. Since the Conception of John the Baptist took place during the Jewish Day of Atonement, as indicated in the Gospel of Luke, we know that Zechariah received the revelation from the angel Gabriel that his wife Elizabeth would conceive and give birth to John the Baptist around the time of September 23. When you count nine months, we are brought to the Birth of John the Baptist on June 24th (with a day added to show that he was not the Lord Jesus Christ, whose perfection alone is indicated by having a perfect nine-month period in the womb). Since the Gospel of Luke indicates that the Virgin Mary visited Elizabeth after she received the Annunciation by the angel Gabriel of the conception of Christ, when Elizabeth was already six months pregnant, we know that the Annunciation took place some time around March 25th. And when you calculate exactly nine months of pregnancy for the Virgin Mary, we know that the Birth of Christ took place on December 25th. Thus the major fixed feast days of the Church are first indicated to us by the Conception of John the Baptist on September 23.
We begin the ecclesiastical year by setting up on a pedestal, literally, the ultimate model of dedication to Christ - Saint Symeon the Stylite. When we read the life of Saint Symeon on September 1st, we see a man who left everything to devote his entire life to being pleasing to the Lord, to the point that when great crowds came to visit him in the remote wilderness, his only option was to mount a tall column, in order to flee the praises of the people which he saw as a danger for himself falling into the sin of pride. He did not do this because he disdained people, but did everything to preserve virtue and purity for the Lord, in order to make himself a worthy temple of the Holy Spirit, to the point that he suffered much for it, but the suffering was greatly rewarded. His humble feat of mounting the column to flee every form of vice became known throughout the world, to the point that the Roman emperor even sought his counsel. It was a feat that proclaimed the gospel like no other, and showed by example that the love of God is shown by keeping His commandments, no matter what the cost.
We also begin the ecclesiastical year on September 1 by commemorating a scene from the Gospel of Luke in the fourth chapter, when Jesus entered a synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth, after having been tempted forty days in the wilderness by the devil, and He read before the Jews the prophecy of Isaiah, which described the mission of the Messiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” This event sparked the entire ministry of the Lord on earth, a ministry which we will follow over the course of the liturgical year. And in our prayers this day, we also pray that it will likewise be "an acceptable year of the Lord."
The next major event commemorated in the month of September is the Birth of the Mother of God on September 8th. The reason this feast is celebrated on September 8th is due to the fact that the liturgical year is also a cycle of feasts honoring the life of the Virgin Mary, who played a great and pivotal role in our salvation. For this reason, the first major feast to be celebrated in the new ecclesiastical year is the Birth of the Mother of God, which preceded the events of the New Testament, while the last major feast of the ecclesiastical year is her Dormition on August 15th, which came after the events of the New Testament. The reason we do not celebrate the Conception of Saint Anna in September is because this feast was established by the Church a few centuries later, therefore when you calculate back nine months, you come to December 9th, which is the feast of the Conception of Saint Anna (also not a perfect nine month period, like John the Baptist, and a liturgical indictment on the concept of an Immaculate Conception).
The first established liturgical fast of the year falls on September 14th for the Exaltation of the Honorable and Life-Giving Cross. In the month of September, we also lift up the Cross before the congregations while keeping a strict fast, to remind us that we also must bear our crosses in order to indeed make each year an "acceptable year of the Lord." Exalting the Cross before all in the first liturgical month of the year, we are reminded what our Lord did for our salvation, and we are to work towards this salvation throughout the year by being focused on the rich meaning of the Cross of our Lord.
With the Conception of John the Baptist on September 23rd, the Birth of the Mother of God on September 8th, the first proclamation of Christ that He was the Messiah to the Jews on September 1st, and the Exaltation of the Honorable Cross on September 14th, we observe that September is a month in which we commemorate events that indicate a beginning of our salvation. We also are therefore called in September to renew our efforts towards salvation, after evaluation our failures of the previous year. To inspire us and inflame our zeal for this new effort, the Church presents us with the lives of the saints each and every day, men and women like you and me who fought the good fight to the end. September is thus a month of our own personal renewal.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
愿上帝怜恤我罪人
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
for the sake of the prayers
of Thy most pure Mother,
our holy and God-bearing fathers and all the saints, have mercy on us.
Amen .
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Blessed be God .
