The Twelve Great Feasts

The Twelve Great Feast days

September 8

The Nativity of the Theotokos

September 14

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

November 21

The Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple

December 25

The Nativity of Christ

January 6

Theophany - The Baptism of Christ

February 2

The Meeting of the Lord in the Temple

March 25

The Annunciation

The Sunday before Pascha

Palm Sunday

The Fortieth Day after Pascha

The Ascension

The Fiftieth Day after Pascha

Pentecost

August 6

The Transfiguration of Christ

August 15

The Dormition of the Theotokos

Fasting Seasons and Days

Fasting Seasons and Days

Pure Monday through Lazarus Saturday

The Great Lent

Palm Sunday evening through Great Saturday

Holy Week

Monday after All Saints through June 28

The Fast of the Holy Apostle

August 1 through August 14

The Dormition Fast

August 29

The Beheading of the Forerunner

September 14

The Elevation of the Precious Cross

November 15 through December 24

The Nativity Fast (Advent)

January 5

The Eve of Theophany

 

Each Wednesday and Friday, except during these four fast-free seasons:

• December 25 through January 4
• The week following the Sunday of the Pharisee & Publican
• The week following Pascha (Bright Week)
• The week following Pentecost

Scripture Readings Throughout the Year

Scripture Readings Throughout the Year

(see readings for this month)

Old Testament Readings are read for Feast Day Vespers,and at Sixth Hour and Vespers during lent. The New Testament Readings are found at Matins and the Divine Liturgy.

The annual cycle of the Gospels is composed of four series:

1. The Gospel of St. John is read from Pascha until Pentecost Sunday
2. The Gospel of St. Matthew readings are divided over seventeen weeks beginning with the Monday of the Holy Spirit (the day after Pentecost). From the twelfth week, it is read on Saturdays and Sundays while the Gospel of St. Mark is read on the remaining weekdays
3. The Gospel of St. Luke divided over nineteen weeks beginning on the Monday after the Elevation of the Holy Cross, interrupting the cycle. The 11th Sunday of Luke is always read 2 Sundays before the Nativity, and that Sunday’s reading from Luke is read on the 11th Sunday of Luke. From the thirteenth week, it is only read on Saturdays and Sundays, while St. Mark's Gospel is again read on the remaining weekdays
4. The Gospel of St. Mark is also read during the Lenten period on Saturdays and Sundays with the exception of the Sunday of Orthodoxy. 

The annual cycle of Apostolic readings 

• The Acts of the Apostles begin on Pascha and continue through Pentecost.
• Epistle readings start on the Tuesday after Pentecost,  Romans begins and the readings continue pretty much in order with the rest of the New Testament books. The more important readings are generally done on a Sunday or a Saturday with the others on the weekdays.
• The Book of Revelation is not used in the Lectionary cycle, probably because this cycle pre-dates the addition of this book to the Bible.

Nativity interruption and yearly adjustment

From about two Sundays before Christmas, to the Sunday after the Theophany advent - Nativity -Theophany, readings interupr the cycle.  And after that, and before the Pre-Lenten Season,  there is usually an adjustment to the cycle. Readings may be repeated or skipped depending on when Pascha fell the previous year and when it falls in the coming year. On Zacchaeus Sunday, the Sunday before the Triodion begins, the apostolic reading for the 32nd Sunday after Pentecost, and the gospel reading for the 15th Sunday of Luke, is used. This is where readings may be skipped if needed. If readings need to be repeated, many churches just count backwards from this Sunday back to the Nativity - Theophany interruption. (This skipping or repeating of scripture readings does not change the cycle of Tones (Prokeimenon or Alleluia Verses).

Other readings

There are also prescribed readings for Sunday and Feastday Matins, Fixed Feastday and Lenten vespers, Feastday Liturgies,  and some other occasions such as Weddings, Baptisms, and Burials. 

Because of the Fixed Feasts, a particular day of the liturgical year may have more then one set of readings, those based on the movable cycle listed above, and those based upon the fixed date cycle. In some cases the readings of the movable cycle outrank those of the fixed cycle such as Pascha, and in other cases the fixed cycle outrank those of the movable cycle such as the Nativity.

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Lesser Feasts

Lesser Feasts

September 1

The Church New Year (Indiction)

September 23

Conception of the Honorable Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist John

September 24

The Holy New-martyrs of Alaska: Priestmonk Juvenaly and Peter the Aleut

September 26

Repose of St. John the Theologian  

October 1

The Protection of the Most-Holy Theotokos

October 6

The Glorification of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow, Enlightener of the Aleuts and Apostle to the Americas  

October 9

The Glorification of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America   

October 17 (or closest Sunday)

Holy Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council

October 31

The Repose of Priestmartyr John Kochurov

November 8

Synaxis of the Archangel Michael and the Other Bodiless Powers

November 13

St. John Chrysostom 

November 30

Apostle Andrew, the Holy and All-Praised First-Called

December 4

Glorification of the Priestmartyr Alexander Hotovitzky

December 6

St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra in Lycia 

December 13

The Repose of Our Venerable Father Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska and All-America

January 1

The Circumcision of Our Lord Jesus Christ
St. Basil the Great

January 7

Synaxis of the Holy Glorious Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist John

January 17

St. Anthony the Great, Father of Monasticism

Sunday closest to January 25 (the day of Metropolitan Vladimir's martyrdom)

Synaxis of Russia's New Martyrs and Confessors.

January 20

St. Euthymius 

January 30

The Three Hierarchs: SS. Basil the Great, Gregory the Theologian, and John Chrysostom 

February 27

The Repose of St. Raphel, Bishop of Brooklyn

March 31

The Repose of St. Innocent, Metropolitan of Moscow and Enlightener of North America  

April 7

The Repose of St. Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow and Enlightener of North America  

April 23

The Holy Greatmartyr and Victorybearer George

May 7

The Repose of the Righteous Alexis Toth

May 8

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist John the

May 11

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius

May 21

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostle Emperor Constantine and his mother, St. Helen

First Sunday after Pentecost

All Saints

June 24

The Nativity of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John 

June 29

The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul 

July 15

The Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Great Prince Vladimir

July 20

The Holy, Glorious Prophet Elijah

July 26

The Repose of St. Jacob Netsvetov, Enlightener of the Peoples of Alaska

August 1

The Procession of the Honorable Wood of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord

August 9

The Glorification of Our Venerable Father Herman, Wonderworker of Alaska and All America 

August 13

The Repose of St. Tikhon, Bishop of Voronezh, Wonderworker of Zadonsk and All Russia

August 29

The Beheading of the Holy Prophet, Forerunner, and Baptist of the Lord, John 

see:  

• Fixed feasts by Month   
• Movable Feast by Year

Order of Divine Services

Order of Divine Services.

^{By Fr. Seraphim Slobodskoy}

The order of divine services are divided into three cycles: daily, weekly, and yearly.

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Scripture Readings for Saturdays

Scripture Readings for Saturdays

Scripture readings for the Saturdays from Pentecost until the Triodion.

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