The Eastern Cross/Orthodox Calendar
Orthodox Calendar
Today in the
Orthodox Church
Fasting, feasts and saints for any day of the year, on the New or the Old Calendar.
Questions about the fast? The week ahead
Seven days at a glance
Month view
Plan the month
Tap any day to see its fast, feasts and saints. Colours show the fasting rule, and gold dots mark the great feasts.
What the colours mean
- Fast-freeEverything allowed, even Wed and Fri
- No fastAn ordinary day
- No meatDairy, eggs and fish allowed
- Fish allowedFish, wine and oil
- Wine and oilNo meat, dairy or fish
- Strict fastNo meat, dairy, fish, wine or oil
- Total fastHoly Friday
- Great feastPascha and the Twelve Great Feasts
The Church year
Every fast and feast
Outside these seasons, most Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days too. The month view above shows each one.
Pascha dates
When is Orthodox Easter?
Pascha falls on the same day for every Orthodox Christian, on both calendars. Here it is for the coming years, next to the Western date.
| Year | Orthodox Pascha | Western Easter |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | April 12 | April 5 |
| 2027 | May 2 | March 28 |
| 2028 | April 16 | April 16 |
| 2029 | April 8 | April 1 |
| 2030 | April 28 | April 21 |
| 2031 | April 13 | April 13 |
| 2032 | May 2 | March 28 |
| 2033 | April 24 | April 17 |
| 2034 | April 9 | April 9 |
| 2035 | April 29 | March 25 |
| 2036 | April 20 | April 13 |
A short guide
How Orthodox fasting works
Orthodox Christians fast to make room for God: simpler food, less of it, and more prayer and almsgiving. The Church has kept this rhythm from the very beginning. The Didache, written around the end of the first century, already tells Christians to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays.
On a fast day, certain foods are set aside. The rule for each day says which ones:
- MeatAll meat and poultry.
- Dairy and eggsMilk, cheese, butter, yogurt and eggs.
- FishFish with a backbone. Shellfish, octopus and squid are traditionally allowed even on strict days.
- WineTraditionally understood to mean all alcoholic drinks.
- OilTraditionally olive oil. Some apply it to every cooking oil, so ask your priest what your parish keeps.
Go gently
The fasting rules describe the Church's ideal, and each person keeps them with the guidance of their priest or spiritual father. Children, the elderly, the sick, pregnant and nursing mothers, and anyone with a medical condition are given relief. If you're new, start small, perhaps by keeping Wednesdays and Fridays, and grow from there with your priest's blessing.
The fast also reaches past the plate. It goes together with prayer, almsgiving, confession and kindness, and it is never a reason to judge anyone else's plate.
“Do you fast? Give me proof of it by your works. If you see a poor man, take pity on him. If you see an enemy, be reconciled to him.”St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues
The four fasting seasons
Great Lent
40 days, then Holy Week
The longest and strictest fast, leading to Pascha. It begins on Clean Monday, seven weeks before Pascha.
Apostles' Fast
Monday after All Saints to June 28
Its length follows the date of Pascha. In some years on the New Calendar it is very short or disappears.
Dormition Fast
August 1 to 14
Two weeks with the Mother of God before the feast of her falling asleep, kept nearly as strictly as Lent.
Nativity Fast
November 15 to December 24
Forty days preparing for the birth of Christ, gentler at first and stricter in the final week.
On the Old Calendar, the fixed dates above fall 13 days later on the civil calendar: the Dormition Fast runs August 14 to 27 and the Nativity Fast November 28 to January 6.
The Twelve Great Feasts
Holy PaschaThe Resurrection of Christ stands above every feast, the Feast of Feasts. Its date moves each year.
- Nativity of the TheotokosSeptember 8
- Exaltation of the CrossSeptember 14
- Entrance of the TheotokosNovember 21
- Nativity of ChristDecember 25
- TheophanyJanuary 6
- Meeting of the LordFebruary 2
- AnnunciationMarch 25
- Palm SundayOne week before Pascha
- Ascension40 days after Pascha
- Pentecost50 days after Pascha
- TransfigurationAugust 6
- Dormition of the TheotokosAugust 15
Listed in the order of the Church year, which begins on September 1.
Old Calendar or New?
Every Orthodox Church celebrates Pascha on the same day. The calendars differ only on the fixed feasts. Churches on the Revised Julian (New) Calendar keep Christmas on December 25. Churches on the Julian (Old) Calendar keep it on their own December 25 too, but the Julian calendar currently runs 13 days behind, so on a civil calendar it falls on January 7.
New CalendarChristmas on December 25
- Ecumenical Patriarchate, including the Greek Orthodox Archdioceses of America and Canada
- Church of Greece and Church of Cyprus
- Antioch (Antiochian Archdiocese)
- Alexandria, Romania and Bulgaria
- Orthodox Church in America (most parishes)
Old CalendarChristmas on January 7
- Russian Orthodox Church, including ROCOR
- Serbian Orthodox Church
- Church of Georgia
- Jerusalem
- Mount Athos
Not sure? Your parish website or bulletin will say, or just ask your priest. The Church of Finland is the one exception on Pascha: it keeps the Western date.
Questions
Common questions
Is today a fast day for Orthodox Christians?
The card at the top of this page shows today's rule. Most Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days, along with the four fasting seasons and a few single days like the Exaltation of the Cross. A handful of weeks are fast-free, Wednesday and Friday included.
Why is Orthodox Easter on a different date?
Both East and West keep the early Church's rule: Pascha is the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the spring equinox. The Orthodox Church works that out with the Julian calendar and its old tables, while the West moved to the Gregorian calendar in 1582. The two dates sometimes match, as in 2025 and 2028, and are otherwise one, four or five weeks apart.
Why do some Orthodox celebrate Christmas on January 7?
They celebrate it on December 25 of the Julian calendar, which currently lines up with January 7 on the civil calendar. Use the Old Calendar switch at the top of this page to follow those dates.
Can I eat shellfish on a fast day?
Traditionally, yes. Shrimp, octopus, squid and other seafood without a backbone are allowed even on strict fast days. Some people still keep them simple, so the fast stays a fast.
What if I can't keep the full fast?
Talk to your priest. Health, work, pregnancy, age and family life are all taken into account, and he can give you a rule that fits your life. Keeping a smaller rule faithfully is better than starting a heroic one and burning out.
How accurate is this calendar?
Pascha and every movable day are calculated exactly. The fasting rules follow the common practice of the Typikon as kept in most parishes in North America. Customs differ between jurisdictions, monasteries and even parishes, so your own parish calendar and your priest have the final word.
Keep the fast together.
The Eastern Cross is a Discord server for Orthodox Christians and people looking into Orthodoxy. Get the fasting rule, saints and readings every morning in #daily-bulletin, talk the fasts through with other members, or put your question to Pater in #ask-pater.
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