Momentum grows for Anglican observance of the Feast of Creation in Christ

Posted on: July 21, 2026 9:33 AM

Related Categories: Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Church of southern Africa, Church of England, Creation care, Creationtide, Feast of Creation in Christ, Scottish Episcopal Church, Season of Creation, The Episcopal Church

Several Anglican Churches around the world are preparing to observe the Feast of Creation in Christ this September. In July, the Church of England General Synod approved the adoption of the festival into its liturgical calendar. Several other Anglican churches have already begun to institute the festival, including the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Episcopal Church (TEC), the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

The growing momentum for this new liturgical festival was reflected in a resolution from the Anglican Consultative Council, passed during ACC-19, which met in Belfast from 28 June – 4 July. It encourages the adoption of the Feast of Creation in Christ in Member Church calendars, while also leaving space for churches to draw on ecumenical materials or develop their own.

What is the Feast of Creation in Christ?

The Feast of Creation in Christ will be celebrated annually on the first Sunday of September, close to the start of the Season of Creation (also called Creationtide) - an ecumenical season of prayer and action for the environment that runs through to 4 October, the Feast of St Francis of Assisi.

This new liturgical festival elevates the doctrine of creation to a more prominent position in Christian worship, filling a gap in the liturgical calendars of churches that previously did not celebrate Christ's role in the creation of the world. 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.’

In turn, this renewed theological impetus is expected to inspire broader and deeper Christian commitment to protect the environment.

Adoption of the Festival to the Revised Common Lectionary

An ecumenical body - the Consultation on Common Texts (CCT) - has officially adopted the festival, adding it to the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL).

The RCL shapes the liturgical calendar of the majority of Anglican and Protestant churches worldwide. The announcement marks the first addition of a new feast to the common lectionary since its release in 1983.

This new liturgical festival will elevate the doctrine of creation to a more prominent position in Christian worship, filling in a gap in the liturgical calendar of churches that previously did not celebrate Christ’s role in the creation of the world.

In the announcement about this in May 2026, Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm, the World Council of Churches moderator who chaired 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. At the World Council of Churches 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.’

The ecumenical process shaping the Feast of Creation in Christ

The Feast of Creation in Christ is the fruit of a theological process with the participation of various Christian global bodies in recent years. It has involved academic conferences with liturgical scholars, theologians from other disciplines, and church leaders. This included a series of ecumenical dialogues in Assisi, Italy, between 2024 and 2025.

The Feast is inspired by an ancient tradition 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 in Christ, or ‘Creation Day’ as it is also known, with the World Council of Churches and many churches adopting the day of prayer throughout the decades.

On the Roman Catholic side, September 1 has been celebrated as the ‘World Day of Prayer for Creation’ since 2015, when Pope Francis instituted the observance following the Eastern Orthodox invitation. A promising novelty was the Holy See’s 2025 promulgation of the new ‘Mass for the Care of Creation’, which enabled the liturgical celebrations of the day of prayer.

The Anglican Consultative Council

In early July 2026, the nineteenth meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC-19) passed a resolution encouraging Anglican Member churches to observe the Feast of Creation. The full Resolution states that the Council:

1. welcomes the work being done across the ecumenical spectrum to institute the Feast of Creation in Christ into the calendar of many churches; and

2. asks the Secretary General to ensure continuing Anglican participation in the working group chaired by the World Council of Churches; and

3. encourages all Member Churches to adopt the Feast (on 1 September) in their own calendars, and draw on liturgical materials being produced ecumenically, or write resources to reflect their own culture and context.

The Church of England Synod

On July 12, the Church of England’s General Synod approved the official adoption of the Festival of Creation in Christ in the liturgical calendar. The approved liturgical texts are now being shared with local parishes to prepare for their first-ever celebrations this September.

Bishop Graham Usher of Norwich, chair of the committee working on the new festival, explained: ‘The festival does more than look back to the beginning of the world. It places the first creation within the whole sweep of God's purposes. The one through whom all things were made, Jesus Christ, is also the one through whom all things are reconciled and renewed.’

Likewise, the Chairman of the Liturgical Commission, Bishop Michael Ipgrave of Lichfield, explained during the General Synod discussion that the festival ‘recognises the placing of Christ's role in creation at the very centre: creation made through Christ, held together in Christ and destined for renewal in Christ.’