Holidays

The Eastern Orthodox Church observes an extraordinarily rich liturgical year centered on the Paschal cycle. Pascha (Easter) is called the 'Feast of Feasts' and the 'King of Days'—the supreme celebration of Christ's resurrection. The Twelve Great Feasts are: the Nativity of the Theotokos, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Presentation of the Theotokos in the Temple, the Nativity of Christ (Christmas), the Theophany (Epiphany/Baptism of Christ), the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Annunciation, Palm Sunday, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Transfiguration, and the Dormition of the Theotokos. Pascha itself stands above this list.

The liturgical year also includes the full cycle of daily commemoration of saints, weekly fasts (Wednesdays and Fridays), four major fasting seasons (Great Lent before Pascha, the Apostles' Fast, the Dormition Fast in August, and the Nativity Fast before Christmas), and numerous local and church-specific celebrations. Many Orthodox churches (particularly Russian, Serbian, and Georgian) use the Julian calendar, meaning that Christmas falls on January 7 (Gregorian) and Theophany on January 19. Greek, Romanian, and Antiochian Orthodox use the Revised Julian Calendar, aligning with the West for fixed feasts.