For a long time, the Orthodox Church has decided to allocate days dedicated to the remembrance of the most significant biblical events, as well as popularly revered saints and miraculous icons. They are called Orthodox holidays, on which, according to the catechism compiled by Metropolitan Philaret (Drozdov), all believers are obliged, leaving their daily affairs, to indulge in prayers and reading religious literature. In this article, we will analyze which holidays according to the church calendar are provided for during the year. Let us also dwell on what fasts help believers direct their thoughts towards God.
The main Christian holiday
In the calendar of church holidays, the most honorable place is given to Easter, also called the Bright Sunday of Christ. This is explained by the significance that the event celebrated on this day has acquired for the entire world history. According to the testimonies of the holy evangelists, the Son of God Jesus Christ, who suffered martyrdom on the cross and then rose from the dead, opened the way to the Kingdom of Heaven for people. Belief in the reality of what happened is the mainChristian doctrine.
According to tradition, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday following the spring full moon, but not before the spring equinox. That is why its date changes annually in accordance with the lunar and solar cycles. The method of calculating the date related to each particular year is called Paschalia and is common to both Alexandrian and Gregorian calendars. In 2018, this main church holiday falls on April 8.
Transitional Orthodox holidays
In terms of significance, Easter is followed by the twelfth church holidays, three of which are transitional. They are associated with the annually changing date of Easter. The remaining nine are called non-transitory and are always celebrated on the same days. Let's start the review with those church holidays of 2018 that change their date every year. To do this, let's turn to the Orthodox calendar.
On the Sunday preceding Easter, according to the calendar of church holidays, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem is celebrated. In the people it is also called Palm Sunday. According to the Gospel, on this day the Savior arrived in the capital of Judea, where he completed his earthly ministry and received the pains of the cross. In 2018, this holiday falls on April 1.
On the fortieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, his return to the throne of the heavenly father is celebrated. This holiday is called the Ascension, and in 2018 it falls on May 17.
The Holy Trinity is a holiday established in honor of that great momentwhen, according to the prophecy of Jesus Christ, after fifty days after his resurrection, the holy spirit rested on the apostles. It is also called Pentecost. It is called the Trinity because on that day three divine hypostases were revealed to the world at once. According to the calendar of church Orthodox holidays for 2018, May 27 is celebrated.
Christmas, the Presentation of the Lord and the Annunciation
The rest of the twelfth holidays have fixed dates and are called non-transferable. There are nine of them. The second most important after Easter in the calendar of church Orthodox holidays is the Nativity of Christ, celebrated annually on January 7th. This celebration was established in honor of the earthly incarnation of the son of God Jesus Christ, immaculately conceived by the holy spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born in Bethlehem.
Further along the calendar, among church holidays and fasts, comes the Meeting of the Lord. On this holiday, Christians remember the day when the baby Jesus was first brought into the temple. The word "meeting" from the Church Slavonic language is translated as "meeting". This church holiday is celebrated on February 15.
April 7, the entire Orthodox world celebrates the day when the holy archangel Gabriel, having appeared to the Virgin Mary, announced the good news that from her womb the Son of God Jesus Christ was destined to incarnate into the world. The holiday established in honor of this event is called the Annunciation.
The Transfiguration of the Lord, as well as the Assumption and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The holy Gospel tells how, having ascended Mount Tabor with his disciples and prayed there,the Lord was transformed, revealing to them his divine appearance. In memory of this significant day, a church holiday was established, celebrated annually on August 19.
Shortly after that - on August 28 - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin comes. This is a memory of the day when the Mother of God, having completed her earthly journey, ascended into the heavenly chamber of her son Jesus Christ. The holiday is preceded by the Assumption Fast, established in honor of the fact that the Mother of God herself until the last day led an ascetic life and prayed unceasingly. The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the name of the holiday established in honor of the birth of the future mother of Jesus Christ - the Virgin Mary. It is celebrated on September 21.
Ex altation of the Cross, Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos and Baptism of the Lord
In the 4th century, the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Empress Elena, having gone to Jerusalem, showed the world the cross, which had once become the instrument of execution of the Savior. This event served as the basis for the holiday celebrated on September 27 and called the Ex altation of the Holy Cross, or the Ex altation of the Cross.
The feast is celebrated on December 4 and is called the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. Its establishment is associated with the day when the mother and father of the Virgin Mary - Saints Joachim and Anna - dedicated her to serving God.
On January 19, there is a celebration called the Baptism of the Lord. It takes place in honor of the great day when Jesus Christ was baptized in the waters of the Jordan River. The same holiday is called the Epiphany.
This completes the list of the twelfthOrthodox holidays, each of which is a reminder of the most important events of sacred history. These days it is customary to attend church and take part in festive worship.
Circumcision of the Lord and the Nativity of John the Baptist
In addition to the above solemn days, the church calendar also provides for five holidays that belong to the category of great and have a constant date.
One of them is the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord, established in honor of how, on the eighth day of his birth, the baby Jesus was brought to the temple, where, according to Jewish custom, he was circumcised. This event, celebrated on January 14, became a sign of the unity of the son of God with the people, among whom he was incarnated in his earthly form.
The next great holiday falls on July 7th. This is the Nativity of John the Baptist. As you might guess, the holiday is based on the birth of St. John, the closest predecessor (forerunner) of Jesus Christ, who predicted the appearance of the Savior in the world and then performed the rite of baptism on him in the waters of the Jordan River.
Petrov Day and the Beheading of John the Baptist
Five days after that - on July 12 - Orthodox believers gather in churches to honor the memory of the two supreme apostles Peter and Paul during worship. These servants of God were awarded such a high title for the labors they put in in spreading and establishing the faith of Christ on earth. This holiday is popularly known as Petrov.day.
Every year on September 11, services are held in all Orthodox churches, during which they remember the sad event of sacred history that gave the name to this great holiday - the Beheading of John the Baptist. According to the testimony of the holy evangelists Matthew, Mark and Luke (the Gospel of John does not mention this), the baptizer of our Lord Jesus Christ was beheaded at the command of the impious Herod, the ruler of Galilee.
Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The last of the annual great holidays is the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, celebrated on October 14th. Sacred tradition tells how, on an October day in 910, Constantinople was captured by the Saracens, and when its inhabitants, seeking salvation, gathered in the Blachernae Church, the Queen of Heaven herself appeared and spread her omophorion over them. The enemies retreated and the city was saved. The holiday established in memory of this event symbolizes the intercession of the higher powers for the entire Orthodox people.
Lent
In addition to the church holidays mentioned above, the Orthodox calendar also prescribes a cycle of fasts covering the entire year. In accordance with their duration, they are divided into one-day and multi-day. Let's start with the latest.
Lent is the longest and strictest. It includes two stages. The first of these is the Great Forty Day - forty days, established in memory of how exactly during this time the Savior fasted in the wilderness. Then comes the passionateWeek - six days preceding Easter and dedicated to the memory of the last stage of the earthly life of Jesus Christ, culminating in the pains of the cross and death. Since Great Lent is associated with Easter, the dates of its beginning and end change. According to the calendar of church holidays and fasts in 2018, it covers the period from February 19 to April 7.
Petrov Post and Assumption
Following is Peter's Fast, which precedes the feast of the holy chief apostles Peter and Paul (July 12). It begins on the Monday following the ninth Sunday after Easter and ends on July 11th. Thus, depending on the date of Easter, its duration can vary from 8 to 42 days. Every year from August 14 to 27, the Assumption Fast continues, established in honor of the great event of sacred history - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which became the end of the earthly life of the Virgin Mary.
Christmas post
And finally, the final calendar year is the Nativity Fast, which lasts from November 28 to January 6 and was established in honor of the greatest event of sacred history - the incarnation from the earthly Virgin Mary of the son of God Jesus Christ, immaculately conceived in her womb by the power of the holy spirit. Like the Dormition Fast, it has fixed start and end dates.
One day posts
Among the Orthodox Church holidays and fasts, there are also separate days on which, throughout the entire annual cycle (except for continuous weeks, which will be discussed below), believers are prescribed to abstain from quick food,marital relations and all sorts of entertainment. First of all, these are Wednesdays, since it was on this day of the week that the wicked Judas committed his betrayal, and Fridays, established in memory of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ.
In addition, a one-day fast is prescribed to be observed on Epiphany Eve, preceding the feast of the Epiphany. In the people this day is also called the Eve of the Epiphany. Christmas Eve got its name from a special Lenten dish served at the table on this day. It consists of boiled grains of rice, wheat or lentils with the addition of almond or poppy seed juice, sweetened with honey.
One-day fast is also the feast of the Beheading of John the Baptist. On this day, the martyrdom of the forerunner of the Lord is remembered, and abstinence is an expression of sadness and sorrow associated with this event.
Finally, we should remember another day on which believers give up worldly pleasures. This is the feast of the Ex altation of the Cross, or the Ex altation of the Holy Cross, celebrated, as mentioned above, every year on September 27th. This post is set as a sign of the great importance attached to this event.
Continuous weeks
Concluding the conversation about what church holidays and fasts are provided for by the Orthodox calendar, it remains only to mention those periods of time during which Wednesdays and Fridays are not fast days. There are five of them in a year, and they are called continuous weeks.
First of all, it's Christmas time, continuing from ChristmasChrist until the Baptism of the Lord and including festive festivities and fortune-telling. In addition, fasting restrictions are canceled on the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee. It runs from January 28 to February 3. A continuous week is also everyone's favorite Maslenitsa - the week preceding the beginning of Lent. However, during this period, meat food is already forbidden, while milk, eggs and fish are still on the tables.
Food restrictions have been completely abolished on Bright Week - the first week after Easter. During all this time, Orthodox Christians are satiated enough after the end of Great Lent.
And finally, the last continuous week, included in the annual cycle, begins on the day of the Holy Trinity and continues throughout the week.
