September 1:  The beginning of the Church year - The new Church year does not begin on January 1, but on September 1.  With the new year comes the repetition of the exciting litergical life of the Church.  Just as we make resolutions for the new calendar year, we should make resolutions for this new Church year to attempt to experience as much of the rich life of the Church as we can.

September 8:  Nativity of the Theotokos - The first major feast of the new year is the feast celebrating the birth of Mary.  Mary's birth is not mentioned in Scripture, but it is part of the tradition of the Orthodox Church.  According to tradition, Mary's parents, Joachim and Anna, were childless into their old age.  In the Jewish tradition, this was thought to have been a curse from God if one were not able to have children.  Joachim and Anna both prayed and God heard their prayer and Anna conceived and bore Mary.  Because of their thankfulness to God for hearing their prayer, Joachim and Anna promised to devote their child to God's service.  Placing the feast at the beginning of  the Church year reminds us of Mary's role in salvation history.  It is through her that the eternal Son of God took on flesh in order to save humanity.  While one could make the argument that the beginning of man's salvation was in the Garden of Eden, the birth of Mary is the event that we point to in order to show the beginning of Christ's life on earth.  Mary's birth is celebrated with joy because the womb that will bear Christ and bring light into all the world is now present on earth.

September 14:  Elevation of the Holy Cross - At the center of the Christian life is the Cross of Jesus Christ.  This has been the case since Christ's death and resurrection.  St. Paul even wrote, "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14).  Since the early Church, the cross has existed as a major symbol of Christ's salvific work. When Christianity became an accepted religion under the Emperor Constantine in the fourth century, so great was the emphasis on the cross that an effort was made to find this holy relic.  The tradition of the Orthodox Church informs us that Helen, Constantine's mother, found the true cross in Jerusalem around the year 347.  In order to ensure that the Cross they found was the true cross, Helen took the Cross and placed it on top of a coffin in a funeral procession that was passing that way.  Immediately, the man in the coffin was raised from the dead by the power of Christ through the True Cross.  From that time, the Church has celebrated a feast of the elevation of the Holy Cross.  In this feast, a procession is made with the Cross.  At the end of the procession, the cross is elevated towards the four corners of the world showing that "through the Cross joy has come into all the world!"

September 24:  St. Thekla, Equal to the Apostles - St. Thekla was a companion of the Holy Apostle Paul.  She was born around the year 18 AD to a pagan family in the city of Iconium.  When Paul began to preach the gospel of Christ, Thekla heard his words and was converted in the faith against the wishes of her family.  Attempts were made to force her to renounce her new faith, including tortures and attempts on her life.  Through the miraculous help of Christ, she was able to escape being eaten by a bear and 2 lions.  In frustration, the ruler sent her away.  She found Paul and continued to follow him, enduring much to her faith.  She lived into old age in a cave in Syria.  Towards the end of her life, a marauder attempted to assault her.  Through the help of Christ, the rock split in two and allowed her safe passage away from her intruder.  Because of her many sufferings, Thekla is given the title Protomartyr; because of her teachings she is called equal to the Apostles.