Church Calendar

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The Church Calendar consists of a series of cycles by which feasts are celebrated in the Orthodox Church. There are currently three calendars in use in the Church, the Julian Calendar ("Old Calendar"), Revised Julian Calendar ("New Calendar"), and Gregorian Calendar ("New Calendar").

Usage

A number of the above churches also have some parishes and dioceses which are on a different calendar than their respective primates, most especially the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in the diaspora, which has many Julian Calendar parishes.

In terms of population, most Orthodox Christians follow the Julian Calendar (roughly 144 million to 41 million) but in terms of numbers of autocephalous and autonomous church bodies, the majority use one of the New Calendars (12 to 8).

Calendar fixed feast days

The following list of dates links only to fixed feasts of the Orthodox Church. The Church's year begins with the Indiction on September 1.

September 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
December     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
January 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 (29)
March 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
April 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
July 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
August 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Calendar movable feast days

All dates are Gregorian. Dates in ( ) are Gregorian dates of movable feasts on the Julian Calendar when different.

Movable feast day Date this year Date next year Date in two years
Sunday before Theophany. December 31, 2023

(January 14, 2024)

January 5, 2025

(January 12, 2025)

January 4, 2026

(January 18, 2026)

Sunday after Theophany January 7, 2024

(January 21, 2024 )

January 12, 2025

(January 26, 2025 )

January 11, 2026

(January 25, 2026 )

Zacchaeus Sunday (Slavic Tradition) February 18, 2024 February 2, 2025 January 25, 2026
Publican & Pharisee Sunday - fast free week February 25, 2024 February 9, 2025 February 1, 2026
Sunday of the Prodigal Son March 3, 2024 February 16, 2025 February 8, 2026
Meat Fare Sunday (Sunday of Last Judgement) March 10, 2024 February 23, 2025 February 15, 2026
fast for 6 days Mon, March 11, 2024 Mon, February 24, 2025 Mon, February 16, 2026
Cheesefare (Forgiveness) Sunday

Expulsion from Paradise

March 17, 2024 March 2, 2025 February 22, 2026
Great Lent begins - fast for 6 weeks Mon, March 18, 2024 Mon, March 3, 2025 Mon, February 23, 2026
Sunday of Orthodoxy

1st Sunday of Lent

March 24, 2024 March 9, 2025 March 1, 2026
Sunday of St. Gregory Palamas

2nd Sunday of Lent

March 31, 2024 March 16, 2025 March 8, 2026
Sunday of the Holy Cross

3rd Sunday of Lent

April 7, 2024 March 23, 2025 March 15, 2026
Sunday of St. John Climacus

4th Sunday of Lent

April 14, 2024 March 30, 2025 March 22, 2026
Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt

5th Sunday of Lent

April 21, 2024 April 6, 2025 March 29, 2026
Lazarus Saturday Sat, April 27, 2024 Sat, April 12, 2025 Sat, April 4, 2026
Palm Sunday April 28, 2024 April 13, 2025 April 5, 2026
Holy Week starts - fast all week Mon, April 29, 2024 Mon, April 14, 2025 Mon, April 6, 2026
Holy Thursday Thu, May 2, 2024 Thu, April 17, 2025 Thu, April 9, 2026
Holy Friday Fri, May 3, 2024 Fri, April 18, 2025 Fri, April 10, 2026
Holy Saturday Sat, May 4, 2024 Sat, April 19, 2025 Sat, April 11, 2026
Pascha - fast free week May 5, 2024 April 20, 2025 April 12, 2026
Sunday of St. Thomas

2nd Sunday of Pascha

May 12, 2024 April 27, 2025 April 19, 2026
Sunday of Myrrh-bearing Women

3rd Sunday of Pascha

May 19, 2024 May 4, 2025 April 26, 2026
Sunday of the Paralytic

4th Sunday of Pascha

May 26, 2024 May 11, 2025 May 3, 2026
Midfeast of Pentecost Wed, May 29, 2024 Wed, May 14, 2025 Wed, May 6, 2026
Sunday of the Samaritan Woman

5th Sunday of Pascha

June 2, 2024 May 18, 2025 May 10, 2026
Sunday of the Blind Man

6th Sunday of Pascha

June 9, 2024 May 25, 2025 May 17, 2026
Leavetaking of Pascha Wed, June 12, 2024 Wed, May 28, 2025 Wed, May 20, 2026
AscensionThursday June 13, 2024 May 29, 2025 May 21, 2026
Fathers of the 1st Ecumenical Council

7th Sunday of Pascha

June 16, 2024 June 1, 2025 May 24, 2026
Pentecost Sunday - fast free week June 23, 2024 June 8, 2025 May 31, 2026
Day of the Holy Spirit Mon, June 24, 2024 Mon, June 9, 2025 Mon, June 1, 2026
Sunday of All Saints

1st Sunday after Pentecost

June 30, 2024 June 15, 2025 June 7, 2026
Apostles fast begins July 1, 2024

for no fast Days ( 11 Days OC)

June 16, 2025

for 13 Days ( 26 Days OC)

June 8, 2026

for 21 Days ( 34 Days OC)

All Saints of North America

2nd Sunday after Pentecost

July 7, 2024 June 22, 2025 June 14, 2026
Fathers of the First Six Councils July 14, 2024

(July 28, 2024)

July 13, 2025

(July 27, 2025)

July 19, 2026

(July 26, 2026)

Sunday before Elevation of the Cross September 8, 2024

(September 22, 2024)

September 7, 2025

(September 21, 2025)

September 13, 2026

(September 20, 2026)

Sunday after Elevation of the Cross

- Lukan Jump next day -

September 15, 2024

(September 29, 2024 )

September 21, 2025

(September 28, 2025 )

September 20, 2026

(October 4, 2026 )

Fathers of the 7th Ecumenical Council October 13, 2024

(October 27, 2024 )

October 12, 2025

(October 26, 2025 )

October 11, 2026

(October 25, 2026 )

2nd Sunday before Nativity December 15, 2024

(December 29, 2024)

December 14, 2025

(December 28, 2025)

December 13, 2026

(December 27, 2026)

Sunday before Nativity December 22, 2024

(January 5, 2025)

December 21, 2025

(January 4, 2026)

December 20, 2026

(January 3, 2027)

Sunday after Nativity December 29, 2024

(January 12, 2025 )

December 28, 2025

(January 11, 2026 )

December 27, 2026

(January 10, 2027 )

See also

Guidance on style

External links

Calendar use