Feast of Creation
The Feast of Creation, also known as Creation Sunday, Creation Day or the World Day of Prayer for Creation, is celebrated in Christianity on September 1 or the subsequent Sunday to honour the creation of the universe by God and commemorate the "mystery of creation in Christ".
The Feast of Creation heralds God as Creator. On the Feast of Creation, the faithful offer "prayers and supplications to the Maker of all, both as thanksgiving for the great gift of Creation and as petitions for its protection and salvation," as proposed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1989. The readings for this day include the Genesis creation narrative in the Bible. In addition to partaking in liturgies of the Feast of Creation, Christians exercise environmental stewardship on the feast day through the caring for the world with activities such as planting trees or picking up litter. In addition to formal liturgies, ecumenical prayer services are common on the Feast of Creation as well.
The Feast of Creation has long been observed by Christian denominations such as the Eastern Orthodox Churches and since the 1990s, the Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Churches, Anglican Communion, and Baptist Churches have celebrated the holy day. The feast is recognized by the World Council of Churches. The month of September is regarded by many Christian Churches as Creationtide or Season of Creation, which concludes on the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi as he is the patron saint of ecology.
Date
The calendar used by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople from the 7th to the 18th century stipulated that God initiated the creation of the world on September 1, with that symbolism retained nowadays by being the feast marking the beginning of the Byzantine liturgical year. This day has thus been observed, since ancient Christian times, as a day symbolizing the beginning of Creation.The oldest preserved Byzantine liturgical calendar, the Menologion of Basil II, explains: “Indikton is celebrated by the Church of God, from the ancients, because it is thought to be the beginning of time... Therefore, the first day of September is also a defining month and the beginning of the whole year.”
On 6 May 2025, at a gathering of the World Council of Churches, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Evangelical Lutheran, Anglican and Baptist leaders met to prepare an "ecumenically shared feast of creation as such a witness for unity, so that this ecumenical dream for the third millennium may come true".
The Feast of Creation inaugurates the Season of Creation that concludes on the Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, which is marked by the blessing of animals.