The twelve Great Feasts

And above the twelve stands Pascha, the Resurrection of Christ — which tradition does not count among the feasts, but calls “the Feast of Feasts”. The whole year is lit by its light. The dates below follow the new calendar; three feasts are “movable”, since their date depends on the date of Pascha.

The feasts, in the order of the liturgical year

Nativity of the Mother of God (September 8)

The first feast of the Church year, which begins on September 1. Mary's birth to Joachim and Anna, long childless, quietly opens the history of salvation: God prepares from afar, and with patience, what He wishes to give the world. Read more →

Exaltation of the Holy Cross (September 14 — a fasting day)

The Church lifts up the Cross in the midst of the faithful and venerates it: the instrument of execution has become the sign of victory. It is a grave and luminous feast at once — a day of fasting, even though it is a great feast. Read more →

Entrance of the Mother of God into the Temple (November 21)

As a child, Mary is brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and grows up there in prayer. The Church contemplates here a life given wholly to God from the very beginning — and invites us, too, to make room for Him at the centre. Read more →

Nativity of Christ (December 25)

God becomes man and is born in a manger. Christmas is not first of all an atmosphere: it is the Creator entering His creation, in the greatest humility. The feast is prepared by forty days of fasting that open the heart. Read more →

Theophany — the Baptism of the Lord (January 6)

At the Jordan, Christ is baptized and the Holy Trinity is made known: the voice of the Father, the Son in the water, the Spirit as a dove. On this day the Church blesses the Great Water (agiasma), which the faithful take home. Read more →

The Meeting of the Lord (February 2)

Forty days after His birth, Jesus is brought to the Temple, where the elder Simeon receives Him in his arms: “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace…”. The meeting between man's long waiting and God's coming. Read more →

Annunciation (March 25)

The archangel Gabriel announces to Mary that she will bear the Son of God, and she answers freely: “Be it unto me according to thy word.” The whole Gospel is already contained in that yes. The feast falls during Great Lent, like a break of light. Read more →

Entrance into Jerusalem — Palm Sunday (the Sunday before Pascha — movable)

Christ enters Jerusalem, welcomed with branches, one week before His Passion. Joy and gravity intertwine: the One being acclaimed comes to lay down His life. The feast opens Holy Week. Read more →

Ascension of the Lord (40 days after Pascha — movable)

The risen Christ ascends into heaven with His humanity: our nature is now seated at the right hand of the Father. It is not a departure that leaves us alone, but a promise — “Lo, I am with you always.” Read more →

Pentecost — the descent of the Holy Spirit (50 days after Pascha — movable)

The Holy Spirit descends upon the apostles, and the Church is born. What Christ accomplished once for all becomes life in us, today still, in every baptism, every Liturgy, every prayer. Read more →

Transfiguration of the Lord (August 6)

On Mount Tabor, Christ lets His divine glory shine through before Peter, James and John. The feast speaks of our deepest calling: to be transfigured, we too, by the light of God. Read more →

Dormition of the Mother of God (August 15)

The Mother of God falls asleep in the Lord, and the Church sees this earthly ending in the light of the Resurrection. This is not a feast of disappearance, but of hope: for those who belong to Christ, death has become a passage. Read more →