The church year and its dates

Two calendars in one Church

The Julian calendar, by which the Church lived for centuries, lags behind the solar year and now differs from the civil calendar by thirteen days. That is why Christmas on 25 December Julian fell on 7 January by the ordinary calendar.

On 1 September 2023 the Orthodox Church of Ukraine adopted the Revised Julian calendar: the fixed feasts moved onto the same dates as the civil calendar. Christmas is 25 December, Saint Nicholas 6 December, the Protection of the Theotokos 1 October, Saint Volodymyr 15 July.

The Paschalion, however, stayed as it was. Pascha and the whole movable cycle — Great Lent, Ascension, Pentecost — are still reckoned in the old way, which is why Orthodox Pascha usually does not coincide with Western Easter.

In the diaspora the calendar may differ from parish to parish. Some communities in the USA and Canada have long served by the new style, others keep the old. Check your own parish schedule — the tables below follow the Revised Julian calendar.

The great feasts of the year

The twelve greatest feasts of the church year, together with several days especially honoured in the Ukrainian tradition. The dates of the fixed feasts are the same every year.

Pascha and what moves with it

The date of Pascha sets the beginning of Great Lent, Palm Sunday, Ascension and Pentecost. Here are the coming years, with Western Easter for comparison.

The fasts

Four multi-day fasts a year, plus Wednesday and Friday through most of the year. The Apostles' Fast depends on Pascha: when Pascha is late the fast shortens to a few days, and in some years it disappears altogether.

Besides the multi-day fasts, Wednesdays and Fridays are fast days — except in the fast-free weeks: the days from 25 December to 4 January, the week before Great Lent, Bright Week after Pascha and the week after Pentecost.