The Beginning of Indictus

Ἴνδικτον ἡμῖν εὐλόγει νέου Χρόνου, 
Ὦ καὶ Παλαιέ, καὶ δι᾿ ἀνθρώπους Νέε. 

Today we celebrate the Beginning of the Indictus, the start of the Ecclesiastical Year. In the East, many calendars defined the first day of the year as September 24 (the day of the autumnal equinox). Since the 23rd was the birthday of the Roman emperor Octavian, beginning of the year was moved and became the Beginning of the Indictus. Thus, Indictus came to mean “the year”  and the “beginning of Indictus” was the first day of the new year. 

The Latin word ‘indicto’ is the root of Indictus and means “definition”, that is, the beginning of the church year. The term comes from the tendency of the Roman Emperors to define for fifteen-year periods the amount of the annual tax they collected for the maintenance of the army. As a result, the designation of fifteen years as “indictions” was established, beginning three years before the birth of Christ under the emperor Caesar Augustus. 

Ἄναρχε τρσήλιε Βασιλεῦ, ὁ καιρῶν καὶ χρόνων, τὰς ἑλίξεις περισκοπῶν, εὐλόγησον τὸν κύκλον, τῆς νέας περιόδου, τὰς ἀγαθάς σου δόσεις πᾶσι δωρούμενος 

The Church gave the first day of the year Christian content, placing it on the day of the conception of the Forerunner, which is one of the first events in the History of the Gospels. It should be noted that the change of the year on January 1 comes from Roman tradition and was adopted by the Orthodox East many years later. 

On September 1, 313 AD, Constantine the Great officially established the use of the Indiction as a calendar. Since then, the church of Constantinople celebrates September 1 as the beginning of the ecclesiastical year. 

Saint Nicodemus of Mount Athos refers to two reasons why the Church celebrates September 1st, in addition to the fact that it is the beginning of the Ecclesiastical year. 

On that day, Christ received in the Synagogue the Book of the Prophet Isaiah and read these words, following the sign of prophecy: 

«Πνεύμα Kυρίου επ’ εμέ, ου ένεκεν έχρισέ με, ευαγγελίσασθαι πτωχοίς απέσταλκέ με, ιάσασθαι τους συντετριμμένους την καρδίαν, κηρύξαι αιχμαλώτοις άφεσιν και τυφλοίς ανάβλεψιν, αποστείλαι τεθραυσμένους εν αφέσει, κηρύξαι ενιαυτόν Kυρίου δεκτόν». 

Finally, on this feast day, we can, through supplication, ask God to be merciful to us and to enlighten us, as well as to thank Him, following His commandments. 

“Kαι ούτω να τύχωμεν των εν Oυρανοίς αιωνίων αγαθών” 

The Agritelis family wishes every reader a blessed and happy new Church year!