Season of Creation: Akathist Prayer of Thanksgiving from the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon

Bishop Bryan Bayda of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon leads an Akathist Prayer of Thanksgiving for the Season of Creation at St. George Cathedral, Saskatoon in 2020. (Image from video)

Posted By: Kiply Lukan Yaworski September 29, 2020

By Chris Pidwerbeski, Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon

An Akathist Prayer of Thanksgiving in the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon has been shared via video during this time of COVID-19.

The prayer service coincides with the Season of Creation, and the upcoming celebration of Thanksgiving Oct. 12. This Akathist hymn can also be viewed/ prayed throughout the year.

The Season of Creation is an annual celebration of prayer and action to protect creation, explains Dr. Lesya Sabada of the Human and Environment Development Program in the Eparchy of Saskatoon.

“It is celebrated by Christians of all traditions, and the leaders of various churches have encouraged the faithful to participate. The season begins on Sept. 1, the World Day of Prayer for Creation, and runs through October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology in many Western traditions,” says Dr. Sabada.

Sept. 1 was first proclaimed as a World Day of Prayer for Creation (or Creation Day) by Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I for the Orthodox Church in 1989, and was embraced by the other major Christian churches in 2001 and by Pope Francis for the Catholic Church in 2015.

The Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon organized the inaugural celebration of the Season of Creation in Saskatoon in 2018, and hosted an inter-faith gathering of prayer and reflection again in 2019.

“The event has invited not only Christians of various denominations but also people of other faith traditions to pray together,” observes Dr. Sabada. 

“In its rich and ancient liturgical traditions, the Eastern Church conveys a profound understanding of creation and the role of humanity. The words in the Akathist hymn capture the heart and soul of the Eastern Church and how She understands our relationship with creation and the Creator,” she explains.

“The Akathist of Thanksgiving is a very moving and poetic hymn of praise written in the severe conditions of a Soviet prison camp in 1940. This service bears witness not only to the depth of the spiritual vision and poetic beauty of Father Gregory Petrov’s soul, but also to an adoration-centered way of being.”

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