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Feasts and Fasting

Church Twelve Great Feasts (according to the Julian calendar)

  1. September 8, the Nativity of the Theotokos.
  2. September 14, the Exaltation of the Cross.
  3. November 21, the Presentation of the Theotokos.
  4. December 25, the Nativity of Christ/Christmas.
  5. January 6, the Baptism of Christ - Theophany, also called Epiphany.
  6. February 2, the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
  7. March 25, the Annunciation.
  8. The Sunday before Pascha (Easter)- the Entry into Jerusalem or Palm Sunday.
  9. Forty Days after Pascha (Easter) - the Ascension of Christ.
  10. Fifty Days after Pascha (Easter) - Pentecost.
  11. August 6, the Transfiguration.
  12. August 15, the Dormition (Falling Asleep) of the Theotokos.
  13. This is beside the Greater feast of Pascha (Easter).

Major periods of fasting during the year:

  1. The Lenten Fast: begins seven weeks before and until Pascha.
  2. Apostles' Fast: begins on Monday eight days after the Pentecost, and ends on June the 28th, the eve of St. Peter and Paul Feast. Hence, could last between one and six weeks.
  3. Dormition Fast: The two-week from the 1st to the 14th of August.
  4. Nativity Fast: 40 days, from November 15 to December 24.

In addition to the above periods of fasting, every Wednesday and Friday are days of fasting (except for the periods: between Christmas and Epiphany, the week following Pascha directly, and during the week following Pentecost). The Exaltation of the Cross day, Beheading of St. John the Baptist day, and on the eve of Epiphany are also days of fasting.