‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ Adopted by Common Lectionary of Protestant Churches

Unprecedented since 1983, the adoption of a new feast for trial use in the ‘Revised Common Lectionary’ marks a historic milestone in Christian ecumenism and Liturgical attention to the doctrine of Creation. The ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ is a fruit of nearly four decades of ecumenical celebrations inspired by an ancient Eastern Orthodox tradition, developed further through a multi-year Theological process of various Christian global bodies.

The Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) has officially adopted the festival of ‘Creation in Christ’, also known as ‘Feast of Creation’, by adding it to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for a three-year period of trial use. As the lectionary shaping the calendar of many Protestant Churches, this is a historic breakthrough in Christian ecumenism given its inspiration in the Eastern tradition.

The enhanced version of this feast, which will begin to be celebrated in September 2026, is the fruit of a Theological process with the participation of various Christian global bodies in recent years. By expanding the feast’s Theological symbolism with a rich set of Biblical Readings, this proposal elevates the doctrine of creation to a more prominent position within Christian worship, filling a gap in the Liturgical calendar of Churches who previously did not celebrate Christ's role in the creation of the world.

The announcement marks the first addition of a new feast to the common lectionary since its release in 1983, when two new observances were adopted — the festivals of the Baptism of the Lord and Christ the King, also known as Reign of Christ — inspired by Roman Catholic practice.

This new festival of ‘Creation in Christ’ is inspired by another tradition: that of the Eastern Orthodox Church, for whom September 1 is a Liturgical feast since the 8th century. Given its ancient symbolism as the day marking God’s creation of the world, the Eastern Orthodox invited “the entire Christian world” in 1989 to celebrate this observance together in view of the ecological crisis. Since then, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew has been a vocal advocate of the annual celebration of the Feast of Creation, or ‘Creation Day’ as it is also known, with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and many Churches adopting the day of prayer throughout the decades.

Now, following scriptural recommendations from an ecumenical working group, the Consultation on Common Texts has taken it one step further by expanding its Theological symbolism and adding the feast to the common lectionary that shapes the Liturgical calendar of many Protestant Churches.

His Eminence Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, who chairs the Feast of Creation ecumenical process, said: “The official adoption of the ‘Feast of Creation in Christ’ in the Revised Common Lectionary is a huge milestone, a truly historic step in the journey towards Christian unity. We rejoice in seeing how an ancient tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church has inspired a major group of Western Churches to adopt this festival in their Liturgical calendars. It is Theologically profound, Liturgically sound, pastorally urgent, and ecumenically unprecedented.”

Materials released by the Consultation on Common Texts include biblical texts that will be used in Liturgical celebrations of the festival, as well as Theological reports by the ecumenical committee that outline the feast’s Theological themes. These themes span a Theological spectrum beginning with the act of creation of the universe as a Christological and Trinitarian mystery, extending to the sacredness of the natural world, which is regarded as revelatory of God and is nowadays desecrated by human abuse. Biblical readings and details are available at www.bit.ly/readings-feast-creation.

The festival’s title, grounded in the expression “Creation in Christ”, signals that Christ’s role in the act of creation is the starting point for this celebration in line with the Christological nature of Liturgical calendars of Christian traditions. This central Christian doctrine is iconically expressed by the opening lines of the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word... All things came into being through him.” The new festival translates the foundational place of this tenet into adequate expression in the Liturgical year, reverting its prior absence and enriching the calendar’s Christological span.

This announcement is the fruit of several years of ecumenical collaboration and academic conferences in Assisi with Liturgical scholars, Theologians from other disciplines, and Church Leaders exploring the potential of this ancient feast and seeking to restore the centrality of creation Theology in the Christian tradition. The process was anchored in and inspired by the recent commemorations of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

Observed annually on the first Sunday of September, the inaugural celebrations of the festival of Creation in Christ will be aided by the RCL lectionary readings and various materials published at the website www.FeastOfCreation.com.

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Resources:

●       Official lectionary readings: www.bit.ly/readings-feast-creation

●       Theological report - “Overview of the Feast of Creation”: www.bit.ly/feast-of-creation-theology

●       Lectionary Methodology report

●       Feast of Creation Introductory Overview

●       Ecumenical and Liturgical resources: www.FeastOfCreation.com‍ ‍