09/12/2026
Remembering September 11 : Opening Prayer for the 61st Middle Eastern Festival
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. One God, Amen.
O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, Who art everywhere present and fillest all things, treasury of blessings and giver of life, come and abide in us, cleanse us from every stain, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (three times)
Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ,
We gather today to open the sixty-first annual Middle Eastern Festival — a celebration of our heritage, our faith, our food, and our fellowship, rooted in the ancient and enduring traditions of the Christian East.
As we begin this celebration, we cannot pass over in silence the day the world remembers: September the eleventh. Even as our hearts turn with joy to this festival, we pause to hold in our prayers all who perished on this day, their families, and all who still carry the weight of that loss.
We are Orthodox Christians, and we believe — not as those who have no hope — but as sons and daughters of the Resurrection and of Life. We entrust all who have fallen asleep, on that day and always, into the hands of our Risen Lord, believing firmly in the General Resurrection and the life of the world to come. “I am the Resurrection and the Life, saith the Lord; he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).
And now, according to our liturgical calendar, as the sun has set and evening has come, a new day has already begun for us — for in the Church, as at the beginning of creation, “the evening and the morning were the first day.” So even as the world still counts this day September 11, we, the Church, already stand within the new day, carrying forward both our sorrow and our hope, our remembrance and our thanksgiving, in the light of the Resurrection.
Let us pray:
O Lord our God, Who art rich in mercy and abundant in loving-kindness, bless this festival and all who have gathered here in Thy name. Bless the hands that have prepared this feast, the hearts that have organized this gathering, and the community that sustains it.
Remember, O Lord, in Thy heavenly Kingdom, the souls of all who died on this day, September the eleventh, of every nation and every faith, and grant them rest in the land of the living, where there is no pain, sorrow, or sighing, but life everlasting.
Comfort, O Lord, all who mourn, and grant them the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Bless this festival, that it may be a witness to unity, joy, and hospitality in this community, a bridge of friendship among all peoples, and an occasion of glory to Thy Holy Name.
Through the intercessions of the all-immaculate, glorious, blessed Lady, the Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, and of the great Martyr Saint George, and of all the Saints, have mercy on us and save us, for Thou art good and the Lover of mankind. Amen.
