Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church ::: The Church Year

The Church (Ecclesiastical) Year

The ecclesiastical year, which according to Byzantine practice begins on the first of September, is divided between movable and immovable or fixed holy days. The movable holy days are determined by the date of Easter, the most important of all feast days, which is in a class by itself. The determination of the date of Easter was definitively regulated by the decision of the First Ecumenical Synod, held in Nicaea (325). Next in importance to Easter are the "twelve great feasts," of which three are movable. Eight of these feasts are devoted to Christ and four to the Virgin Mary. There are also a number of feast days of varying importance, most of which commemorate the more popular saints.

September 8	The Nativity of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary)
September 14	The Exaltation of the Precious and Life-Giving Cross
November 21	The Presentation of the Theotokos to the Temple
December 25	The Nativity of Christ
January 6	Epiphany: The Baptism of Christ
February 2	The Presentation of Christ to the Temple
March 25	The Annunciation of the Theotokos
August 6	The Transfiguration of Christ
August 15	The Dormition of the Theotokos
*Sunday before Easter	Palm Sunday: The Entry into Jerusalem
*40 days after Easter	The Ascension of Christ
*50 days after Easter	Pentecost: The Descent of the Holy Spirit

* denotes moveable feast days

Pascha, the day of Christ's Resurrection, is regarded as the Highest of all Holidays and therefore, is not included among the twelve great feasts. According to the ruling of the First Ecumenical Synod in 325, Easter Sunday should fall on the Sunday which follows the first full moon after the vernal equinox. If the full moon happens to fall on a Sunday, Easter is observed the following Sunday. The day taken to be the invariable date of the vernal equinox is March 21.

Fasting Days

Begins on a Monday 7 weeks before Easter	The Great Fast (Lent)
Begins on a Monday, 8 days after Pentecost, and ends on June 28--the eve of the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.	Fast of the Apostles
August 1 to 14	Fast of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary
November 15 to December 24	Christmas Fast

Individual fast days include the feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross (September 14), the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (August 29), and the eve of Epiphany (January 5), as well as all Wednesdays and Fridays. There is no fasting, however, between Christmas and Epiphany, during the tenth week before Easter, the week after Easter and the week after Pentecost.

-source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America