Cloud of Witnesses

Feasts & Fasts

The Great Feasts, fast seasons, and observances that shape the Orthodox year — each one a turning of the whole Church toward Christ.

Today

Saints commemorated today

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Open the liturgical calendar to see today's commemorations.

The Year at a Glance

Every feast, fast & observance together — open a month to see its days
Great FeastFeastFastObservanceThe Church year opens on September 1.
SeptemberThe Church New Year6
Sep 1FixedBeginning of the Indiction — the Church New YearSeptember 1 opens the Orthodox liturgical year. The day recalls the Lord's entrance into the synagogue at Nazareth, where He read from Isaiah and proclaimed 'the acceptable year of the Lord,' and in the Byzantine era it also marked the start of the civil tax cycle, the indiction.ObservanceSep 6FixedCommemoration of the Miracle of the Archangel Michael at ChonaeRecalls the miracle at Chonae (Colossae) in Phrygia, where the Archangel Michael saved a healing spring-shrine and its devout guardian Archippus by opening a channel in the rock, turning aside a flood that pagans had loosed to destroy the holy place.FeastSep 8FixedNativity of the TheotokosThe birth of the Virgin Mary to the aged and childless Joachim and Anna, who conceived her after long prayer. It opens the Church year (which begins Sep 1) with the coming into the world of the one who would bear Christ.Great FeastSep 14FixedExaltation of the Holy CrossCommemorates the finding of the True Cross in Jerusalem by the Empress Helen and its solemn elevation before the people, together with its later recovery from Persia. The Cross is lifted up and venerated as the instrument of salvation.Strict FastGreat FeastSun before Sep 14AnchoredSunday before the Exaltation of the CrossThe Sunday preceding the Exaltation of the Cross prepares the faithful for that feast, reading of the Son of Man who must be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should have eternal life.ObservanceSun after Sep 14AnchoredSunday after the Exaltation of the CrossThe Sunday following the Exaltation reads the Lord's call to take up one's cross and follow Him, drawing out the meaning of the feast for the Christian life.Observance
October2
Oct 1FixedProtection of the Most Holy TheotokosCommemorates the vision at the Blachernae church in Constantinople, where St Andrew the Fool-for-Christ and his disciple Epiphanius beheld the Theotokos spreading her veil (omophorion) in protection over the faithful at prayer. It is kept as a feast of the Mother of God's unfailing shelter and intercession.FeastSat before Oct 26AnchoredSaturday of Souls before Saint DemetriusA memorial Saturday for the departed kept before the feast of the Great-martyr Demetrius. Established in Russia after the Battle of Kulikovo (1380) as a remembrance of fallen soldiers, it grew into a general commemoration of all the reposed.Observance
November3
Nov 8FixedSynaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless PowersThe principal feast of the holy angels, gathering the commemoration of the Archangel Michael, commander of the heavenly hosts, together with Gabriel and all nine ranks of the bodiless powers who stand before God and guard His people.FeastNov 15→ Dec 24Nativity FastA forty-day fast preparing the faithful for the Nativity of Christ, calling for repentance and almsgiving as the world awaits the Incarnation.Fish AllowedFastNov 21FixedEntry of the Theotokos into the TempleThe presentation of the child Mary in the Temple at Jerusalem by her parents Joachim and Anna, where by tradition she was received by the priest Zechariah and dwelt in preparation for her role as the living temple of God.Great Feast
December6
Sun before Dec 18AnchoredSunday of the Holy ForefathersThe second Sunday before the Nativity commemorates the forefathers of Christ according to the flesh — the patriarchs and righteous of the Old Testament from Adam onward — together with the Three Holy Youths and the Prophet Daniel, honoring the whole lineage that awaited the Messiah.ObservanceDec 25FixedNativity of ChristThe birth of Jesus Christ in the flesh in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary, God taking on human nature for the salvation of the world. It is called by the Church the "mother of all feasts."Fast-FreeGreat FeastDec 25→ Jan 4Nativity-to-Theophany Fast-Free PeriodThe joyful fast-free days from the Nativity of Christ through the eve of Theophany, when the Church sets aside fasting to rejoice in the Incarnation.Fast-FreeObservanceSun before Dec 25AnchoredSunday of the Holy Fathers before the NativityThe Sunday immediately before the Nativity commemorates all the righteous well-pleasing to God from Adam onward and reads the genealogy of Christ, gathering the ancestors and prophets who prepared and foretold His coming.ObservanceSun after Dec 25AnchoredSunday after the Nativity of ChristThe Sunday following the Nativity commemorates the kinsmen and companions of the newborn Christ — the Righteous Joseph the Betrothed, the Prophet-King David, and James the Brother of the Lord.ObservanceDec 26FixedSynaxis of the Most Holy TheotokosOn the day after the Nativity the Church gathers to honor the Most Holy Theotokos, through whom the Word was made flesh — one of the most ancient of the feasts of the Mother of God.Feast
January5
Jan 1FixedCircumcision of the LordOn the eighth day after His Nativity the Lord Jesus Christ was circumcised according to the Law of Moses and received the name Jesus, willingly submitting to the Law He had given in order to fulfill it and to show the reality of His human nature.FeastJan 5FixedEve of TheophanyThe strict fast day preceding the feast of Theophany, marked by the Royal Hours and the first Great Blessing of Waters.Strict FastFastJan 6FixedTheophanyThe baptism of Christ in the Jordan by John the Forerunner, at which the voice of the Father and the descent of the Spirit as a dove revealed the Holy Trinity. "Theophany" means the shining-forth of God.Fast-FreeGreat FeastSun before Jan 6AnchoredSunday before the TheophanyThe Sunday preceding the Theophany prepares the faithful for the feast of the Lord's Baptism, reading of the beginning of the Gospel and the preaching of John the Baptist in the wilderness.ObservanceSun after Jan 6AnchoredSunday after the TheophanyThe Sunday following the Theophany reads of the Lord's withdrawal to Galilee and the beginning of His public preaching after His Baptism — 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'Observance
February2
Feb 2FixedMeeting of the Lord in the TempleThe presentation of the forty-day-old Christ in the Temple, where the aged Simeon received Him in his arms and Anna the prophetess proclaimed Him, forty days after the Nativity.Great FeastSun before Feb 8AnchoredSynaxis of the New Martyrs and Confessors of RussiaCommemorates the great host of bishops, clergy, monastics, and laypeople of the Russian Church who suffered and died for Christ under the atheist persecution of the twentieth century, anchored to the martyrdom of Hieromartyr Vladimir, Metropolitan of Kiev, the first among them.Observance
The Paschal CycleMovable — dates shift each year with Pascha50
P−77MovableZacchaeus SundayThe Sunday whose Gospel (Luke 19:1-10) recounts the tax-collector Zacchaeus, who climbed a sycamore tree to see Christ and welcomed Him with joy. In Slavic usage it opens the approach to the Triodion, setting the tone of longing for God that precedes repentance.ObservanceP−70MovableSunday of the Publican and the PhariseeThe first Sunday of the Lenten Triodion. Its Gospel parable (Luke 18:10-14) contrasts the self-righteous Pharisee with the humble, repentant publican, teaching that God justifies the lowly of heart.ObservanceP−69→ P−63Week after the Publican and the PhariseeThe first fast-free week of the pre-Lenten season, following the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, when the customary Wednesday and Friday fast is lifted to teach humility over outward observance.Fast-FreeObservanceP−63MovableSunday of the Prodigal SonThe second Sunday of the Triodion, whose Gospel (Luke 15:11-32) tells the parable of the prodigal son and the Father's merciful embrace of the returning sinner.ObservanceP−57MovableSaturday of SoulsThe great universal commemoration of all the faithful departed, kept on the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday. The Church prays for all Orthodox Christians fallen asleep in the hope of resurrection, on the eve of the theme of the Last Judgment.ObservanceP−56MovableMeatfare SundayThe Sunday whose Gospel (Matthew 25:31-46) proclaims Christ's Last Judgment, when the sheep are parted from the goats according to their works of mercy. It is the last day meat is eaten before Pascha.ObservanceP−55→ P−49Cheesefare WeekThe final pre-Lenten week, following Meatfare Sunday, in which the Church withdraws meat while still permitting dairy, gently preparing body and soul for the Great Fast.Dairy AllowedFastP−50MovableCheesefare SaturdayThe Saturday before Forgiveness Sunday, commemorating all the venerable and God-bearing ascetic Fathers and Mothers who shone in the monastic life, set before the faithful as guides on the threshold of Great Lent.ObservanceP−49MovableForgiveness SundayThe last Sunday before Great Lent, recalling the expulsion of Adam from Paradise; the Gospel (Matthew 6:14-21) teaches mutual forgiveness and hidden fasting. The faithful enter the fast reconciled to one another.ObservanceP−48→ P−9Great LentThe chief penitential season of the Church year, a springtime of the soul preparing the faithful for Pascha through intensified prayer, almsgiving, and fasting in imitation of Christ's forty days in the wilderness.VariesFastP−48MovableClean MondayThe first day of Great Lent, so named for the 'clean' beginning of the fast and the spiritual house-cleaning of repentance it inaugurates.ObservanceP−43MovableSaturday of St Theodore the RecruitThe Saturday of the first week of Great Lent, keeping the memory of the miracle of St Theodore the Recruit, who warned the faithful of the emperor Julian's plot to defile the market food and bade them eat boiled wheat instead.ObservanceP−42MovableSunday of OrthodoxyThe first Sunday of Great Lent, commemorating the restoration of the holy icons in 843 and the final triumph over iconoclasm, a celebration of the Church's confession of the true faith of the Ecumenical Councils.ObservanceP−36MovableSecond Saturday of Souls of Great LentThe first of the three Lenten Soul Saturdays, on which the Church again prays for all the departed faithful, extending the mercy sought in the fast to those who have fallen asleep.ObservanceP−35MovableSunday of St Gregory PalamasThe second Sunday of Great Lent, honoring St Gregory Palamas, archbishop of Thessalonica, who defended the reality of the uncreated divine light and the prayer of the heart. His commemoration is seen as a continuation of the triumph of Orthodoxy.ObservanceP−29MovableThird Saturday of Souls of Great LentThe second of the three Lenten Soul Saturdays, continuing the Church's prayer for all the departed through the weeks of the fast.ObservanceP−28MovableSunday of the Veneration of the CrossThe third Sunday of Great Lent, at the midpoint of the fast, when the Cross is brought out for veneration to strengthen and encourage the faithful for the remainder of Lent as the Lord's Passion draws near.ObservanceP−22MovableFourth Saturday of Souls of Great LentThe last of the three Lenten Soul Saturdays (of the second, third, and fourth weeks), on which the Church makes her final Lenten commemoration of all the departed faithful.ObservanceP−21MovableSunday of St John ClimacusThe fourth Sunday of Great Lent, honoring St John Climacus, abbot of Sinai and author of 'The Ladder of Divine Ascent,' whose steps of virtue are held before the faithful as the pattern of ascetic struggle in the second half of the fast.ObservanceP−15MovableSaturday of the AkathistThe Saturday of the fifth week of Great Lent, on which the whole Akathist Hymn to the Most Holy Theotokos is chanted in thanksgiving for her protection of the Church.ObservanceP−14MovableSunday of St Mary of EgyptThe fifth Sunday of Great Lent, honoring St Mary of Egypt, the former harlot who repented utterly and lived forty-seven years in the desert beyond the Jordan, set before the faithful as the supreme image of repentance as the fast nears its end.ObservanceP−8MovableLazarus SaturdayThe day the Church commemorates Christ raising his friend Lazarus from the tomb after four days, a foreshadowing of the general resurrection and the Lord's own rising. It falls the day before Palm Sunday and marks the close of Great Lent proper before Holy Week begins.ObservanceP−7MovableEntry of the Lord into JerusalemChrist's triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, greeted by crowds spreading their garments and palm branches and crying "Hosanna," days before His Passion.Fish AllowedGreat FeastP−6→ P−1Holy Week FastThe week following Palm Sunday in which the Church accompanies Christ through His Passion, Crucifixion, and burial, culminating at the threshold of Pascha.Strict FastFastP−6MovableGreat and Holy MondayThe first day of Holy Week recalls Joseph the all-comely Patriarch, sold by his brothers as a type of the suffering Christ, and the barren fig tree that the Lord cursed as an image of a fruitless soul.ObservanceP−5MovableGreat and Holy TuesdayThis day brings to mind the parable of the Ten Virgins, calling the faithful to keep the lamp of the soul filled and to watch for the coming of the Bridegroom.ObservanceP−4MovableGreat and Holy WednesdayThe Church contrasts the sinful woman who anointed Christ's feet with costly myrrh and her tears against Judas, who on this day went to the chief priests to betray the Lord for silver.ObservanceP−3MovableGreat and Holy ThursdayOn this day the Church commemorates the Mystical Supper, at which Christ instituted the Eucharist, together with His washing of the disciples' feet, the prayer in Gethsemane, and the beginning of the betrayal.ObservanceP−2MovableGreat and Holy FridayThe Church keeps the Passion of Christ — His trial, crucifixion, death, and burial. No Divine Liturgy is served on this most solemn day of the year.Strict FastObservanceP−1MovableGreat and Holy SaturdayThe Church keeps the Sabbath of Christ's rest in the tomb and proclaims His descent into Hades to free the souls held there, on the eve of the Resurrection.ObservancePaschaMovablePaschaThe Resurrection of Christ from the dead, the center and crown of the whole Church year, celebrated as the passage from death to life. It is not counted among the Twelve Great Feasts but stands above them as the "Feast of Feasts."Fast-FreeGreat FeastP+1→ P+6Bright WeekThe seven days following Pascha Sunday, kept as one continuous day of Resurrection joy. The Paschal greeting 'Christ is risen! Truly He is risen!' is exchanged throughout.Fast-FreeObservanceP+5MovableBright FridayOn the Friday of Bright Week the Church honors the Most Holy Theotokos under her title of the Life-Giving Spring, recalling the miraculous healing fountain near Constantinople associated with her intercession.ObservanceP+7MovableThomas SundayThe first Sunday after Pascha, when the Church recalls the risen Christ appearing to the Apostle Thomas, who passed from doubt to the confession "My Lord and my God" (John 20:19-31). It is called Antipascha ("in place of Pascha") because it renews the paschal joy on the eighth day.ObservanceP+9MovableRadonitsaA Slavic commemoration of the departed on the Tuesday after Thomas Sunday, when the paschal proclamation of the Resurrection is carried to the graves of the faithful. Its name derives from the word for joy, for the Church announces Christ's victory over death even at the tomb.ObservanceP+14MovableSunday of the Myrrhbearing WomenThe third Sunday of Pascha honors the women who came at dawn bearing myrrh to anoint the Lord's body and were the first to learn of His rising (Mark 15:43-16:8), together with the righteous Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who took Him down from the Cross and buried Him.ObservanceP+21MovableSunday of the ParalyticThe fourth Sunday of Pascha recalls Christ's healing of the man paralyzed for thirty-eight years at the Sheep's Pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15), a sign of the risen Lord who raises up the infirm and forgives sin.ObservanceP+24MovableMid-PentecostFalling on the Wednesday midway between Pascha and Pentecost, this feast recalls Christ teaching in the Temple at the middle of the feast and calling the thirsty to come to Him for living water (John 7:14-30), joining the theme of the Resurrection to the coming gift of the Spirit.ObservanceP+28MovableSunday of the Samaritan WomanThe fifth Sunday of Pascha tells of Christ's meeting with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4:5-42), to whom He revealed Himself as the Messiah and the giver of living water; she later evangelized and died a martyr, honored as St. Photini.ObservanceP+35MovableSunday of the Blind ManThe sixth Sunday of Pascha recounts Christ giving sight to the man born blind (John 9:1-38), who came to confess Him as Lord -- an image of the light of Christ opening the eyes of the soul.ObservanceP+38MovableApodosis of PaschaThe leavetaking of Pascha on the Wednesday before Ascension, when the paschal services are celebrated one last time in their fullness and the Church bids farewell to the feast of the Resurrection before the Lord's ascent into heaven.ObservanceP+39MovableAscension of the LordForty days after Pascha, Christ's ascent into heaven from the Mount of Olives in the presence of the Apostles, taking up human nature to the right hand of the Father.Great FeastP+42MovableSunday of the Fathers of the First Ecumenical CouncilKept on the Sunday after Ascension, this day honors the 318 God-bearing Fathers who gathered at Nicaea in 325 to confess the Son as consubstantial with the Father and gave the Church the Creed. The Gospel is Christ's high-priestly prayer for the unity of His disciples (John 17:1-13).ObservanceP+48MovableSaturday of Souls before PentecostThe universal commemoration of all the departed on the eve of Pentecost, when the Church prays for the repose of the faithful of every age as she prepares to celebrate the descent of the life-giving Spirit.ObservanceP+49MovablePentecostFifty days after Pascha, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in tongues of fire, the birth of the Church and the completion of the Paschal season. The following day honors the Holy Spirit.Fast-FreeGreat FeastP+50→ P+56Trinity WeekThe fast-free week following Pentecost, when the Church rejoices in the gift of the Holy Spirit before resuming the fasting cycle with the Apostles' Fast.Fast-FreeObservanceP+50MovableMonday of the Holy SpiritThe day after Pentecost is dedicated to the All-Holy Spirit, honoring the third Person of the Holy Trinity who descended upon the Apostles and continues to sanctify the Church.ObservanceP+56MovableSunday of All SaintsThe first Sunday after Pentecost gathers into one commemoration all the saints of every time and place, known and unknown -- the fruit of the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost, and a witness to the holiness to which every Christian is called.ObservanceP+57→ Jun 28Apostles' FastA fast in honor of the chief apostles Peter and Paul, following the descent of the Holy Spirit and preparing the faithful for their feast on June 29.Fish AllowedFastP+63MovableSunday of All Saints of the Local ChurchOn the second Sunday after Pentecost many local Churches keep a synaxis of their own saints -- the holy men and women of a particular land or monastic mountain -- following the commemoration of all the saints the week before.Observance
March2
Mar 25FixedAnnunciation of the TheotokosThe archangel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would conceive and bear the Son of God, and her free assent, "Be it unto me according to thy word." It falls nine months before the Nativity.Fish AllowedGreat FeastMar 26FixedSynaxis of the Archangel GabrielKept on the day after the Annunciation, this synaxis honors the Archangel Gabriel, who announced to the Theotokos the conception of Christ and who bears God's tidings to His people throughout the Scriptures.Feast
July2
Jul 2FixedDeposition of the Robe of the Most Holy Theotokos at BlachernaeCommemorates the enshrinement of the robe (maphorion) of the Theotokos in the church at Blachernae in Constantinople in the fifth century, a relic to which the imperial city ascribed its protection in times of siege.FeastJul 10FixedPlacing of the Precious Robe of the Lord at MoscowCommemorates the enshrinement in Moscow in 1625 of a portion of the Robe (Chiton) of the Lord, sent as a gift from the Shah of Persia and received by the Patriarch and Tsar with great honor; it became a source of many healings.Feast
August6
Aug 1→ Aug 14Dormition FastA two-week fast honoring the Most Holy Theotokos in preparation for the feast of her Dormition on August 15.Strict FastFastAug 1FixedProcession of the Precious and Life-Giving CrossOn August 1 the Precious Cross was carried in procession through Constantinople for the health of the city during the sickly late-summer season, with a lesser blessing of water. The day also opens the two-week Dormition Fast.Strict FastFeastAug 6FixedTransfiguration of the LordChrist's transfiguration on the mountain before Peter, James, and John, His face and garments shining with uncreated light while Moses and Elijah appeared with Him and the Father's voice was heard.Fish AllowedGreat FeastAug 15FixedDormition of the TheotokosThe falling-asleep (repose) of the Virgin Mary and, by the Church's tradition, the taking up of her body to her Son. It is the last of the Twelve Great Feasts in the Church year.Fish AllowedGreat FeastAug 29FixedBeheading of St John the BaptistA feast that is at the same time a strict fast, commemorating the unjust beheading of St John the Baptist and Forerunner at the command of Herod.Strict FastFastAug 31FixedDeposition of the Precious Cincture of the Most Holy TheotokosCommemorates the enshrinement of the cincture (sash, belt) of the Theotokos in Constantinople. The relic, a portion of which is kept on Mount Athos, is honored for many healings, and the feast closes the Church year on its final day.Feast

Fasting is described here at the season-summary level and differs by jurisdiction and person — please consult your parish priest about how to keep the fasts.