FEASTS OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE
After the central Feast of Pascha, or
Easter, and the Sunday commemoration of
the Resurrection, the Orthodox Church
celebrates several feast days, including
the Twelve Great Feasts recalling the
saving events connected with Christ’s
life. Most of these feasts were
established as early as from the fourth
to the sixth centuries. Starting from
September 1st that marks the beginning
of the Christian ecclesiastical year,
just as the Jewish year, they include:
the Nativity of the Theotokos (September
8), the Exaltation of the Cross
(September 14), the Entrance of the
Theotokos into the Temple (November 21),
the Nativity of our Lord, or Christmas
(December 25), the Baptism of our Lord
known as Epiphany, or Theophany (January
6), the Meeting of our Lord in the
Temple (February 2), the Annunciation
(March 25), Palm Sunday (one week prior
to Easter; a moveable feast, depending
on the annual date of Easter), the
Ascension of our Lord (forty days after
Easter), Pentecost (fifty days after
Easter), the Transfiguration of our Lord
(August 6), and the Dormition of the
Theotokos (August 15).
In addition to these great feasts, the
Orthodox Church commemorates numerous
saintly lives and miraculous events
throughout the year. In addition to the
solemn commemoration of Saturdays and
the festive celebration of Sundays, the
Ecumenical Patriarchate also keeps
certain of these holy days as
administrative holidays. Major holidays
at the Phanar include:
-
January 1 Feast of
St. Basil the Great, Archbishop of
Caesarea of Cappadocia
-
January 6 Feast of
the Theophany, the Baptism of the
Lord
-
January 30 Feast of
the Three Hierarchs
-
March 25 Feast of
the Annunciation
-
April 23 Feast of
St. George the Trophy Bearer, feast
day of the Patriarchal Church (This
is a movable feast, dependant on the
annual celebration of
-
Easter. Other such
holiday feasts include Clean Monday,
or the first day of Lent, Holy
Thursday and Great Friday, as well
as Monday of Bright Week and Monday
of the Holy Spirit)
-
June 11 Feast of
St. Bartholomew the Apostle, Name
Day of Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew I
-
June 29 Feast of
Sts. Peter and Paul
-
August 15 Dormition
of the Theotokos
-
September 1 Opening
of the ecclesiastical year, known as
the Indiktos; Day of prayer for the
protection of the natural
environment
-
September 14
Elevation of the Holy Cross
-
November 21
Entrance of the Theotokos into the
Temple
-
November 30 Thronal,
or Patronal feast day: Commemoration
of St. Andrew, the “first-called of
the Apostles”
-
December 25 Feast
of the Nativity of the Lord
Source:
Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
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