Feast of feasts
Pascha — the Feast of Feasts
The Resurrection of Christ, the centre of the Church year.
The Church year
Orthodox feasts and their dates
The twelve great feasts, Pascha and the major holy days — what each one celebrates and when it falls on the New and Old Calendars.
Great feast
Nativity of the Theotokos
The birth of the Virgin Mary to the righteous Joachim and Anna. It is the first great feast of the Church year, which begins on September 1.
Great feast
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Commemorates the finding of the Cross in Jerusalem by St. Helen and the dedication of the Church of the Resurrection in the fourth century. It is kept as a fast day, with wine and oil, whatever the weekday.
Major feast
Protection of the Theotokos (Pokrov)
Remembers the vision in the Blachernae church of Constantinople in which the Mother of God spread her veil over the faithful in prayer. Especially loved in the Slavic churches.
Great feast
Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple
The child Mary is brought by her parents to the Temple in Jerusalem and dedicated to God. It falls in the Nativity Fast; fish is permitted.
Great feast
Nativity of Christ (Christmas)
The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. It follows the forty-day Nativity Fast and opens the Twelve Days, which are fast-free.
Major feast
Circumcision of the Lord and St. Basil
The eighth day after the Nativity, when the Child was named Jesus, together with the memory of St. Basil the Great of Caesarea.
Great feast
Holy Theophany (Baptism of the Lord)
The baptism of Christ in the Jordan, when the Holy Trinity was revealed. Water is blessed in the Great Blessing of Waters; the eve is a strict fast day.
Great feast
Meeting of the Lord in the Temple
Forty days after His birth the infant Christ is brought to the Temple, where the elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna recognize Him.
Great feast
Annunciation of the Theotokos
The Archangel Gabriel announces to the Virgin Mary that she will bear the Son of God. It usually falls in Great Lent, when fish is permitted for the feast.
Major feast
Nativity of St. John the Baptist
The birth of the Forerunner to the aged priest Zachariah and Elizabeth. It usually falls within the Apostles’ Fast.
Major feast
Holy Apostles Peter and Paul
The feast of the two chief apostles, which ends the Apostles’ Fast.
Great feast
Transfiguration of the Lord
Christ shines with divine light on Mount Tabor before Peter, James and John, with Moses and Elijah beside Him. It falls in the Dormition Fast; fish is permitted, and grapes and fruit are blessed.
Great feast
Dormition of the Theotokos
The falling-asleep of the Mother of God and her translation into heaven. It ends the two-week Dormition Fast.
Major feast
Beheading of St. John the Baptist
The martyrdom of the Forerunner under Herod. It is a strict fast day of mourning, with wine and oil, whatever the weekday.
Great feast
Palm Sunday (Entrance into Jerusalem)
The Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, one week before Pascha, which opens Holy Week. Fish is permitted.
Great feast
Ascension of the Lord
Forty days after Pascha — always a Thursday — the risen Christ ascends into heaven before His disciples.
Great feast
Holy Pentecost (Trinity Sunday)
Fifty days after Pascha the Holy Spirit descends on the apostles. The following week is fast-free.