Orthodox Liturgical Calendar
The liturgical calendar Orthodox indicates the position of fixed and movable feasts, such as ecclesiastical computation was determined. Unlike the civil calendar that measures time, the liturgical calendar seeks only to punctuate the year by the conduct of liturgical activities. This calendar has evolved during the centuries of Christianity, enriched by new parties.
Summary |
An important fact is that some Orthodox churches have adopted the Gregorian calendar between 1923 and 1963 while others still use the Julian calendar. Thus, for members of the latter (Churches of Jerusalem , Russia , Georgia , Serbia , Mount Athos ), the dates of religious holidays are shifted relative to those of other Orthodox and relative to the civil calendar, which is everywhere Gregorian calendar. Thus, although the Orthodox celebrate Christmas on December 25 in the Julian calendar. Their holiday falls so the 7 January of the calendar Gregorian (before 1900 , it fell on January 6 ).
This change of schedule was sentenced by a local council at the time as an innovation contrary to tradition. Thus, a small part of the Orthodox Churches that refused to adopt the Gregorian calendar, also seceded and call the old-calendar Orthodox churches. These have highlighted the problem of timing reference but their conservative claims are much deeper and make them pendants Orthodox Catholic traditionalists. It is therefore important to understand that the Orthodox Church has retained the Julian calendar is not necessarily an old-calendar Orthodox Church.
The date of Easter is however common to all Orthodox churches (with the exception of the autonomous Church of Finland ) because it is all set from the Julian calendar.
This calculation produces differences variables with the date determined by the Gregorian calendar: in some years the date is the same, in other years there may be a week or even five weeks of difference (Easter falls in April or May to Orthodox, never in March ).
Liturgical Celebrations
The liturgical day begins the "sleep" at night, at sunset, according to Semitic usage. It thus includes a night's sleep and a day according to Genesis "It was a night he was one morning, the first day." Some celebrations are celebrated the same day as their equivalent of the Roman liturgical calendar.
A Day celebrations, the Solemnity of solemnities
It includes the date of Easter , marking the week of renewal and the Easter season, which lasts just forty days.
Twelve major holidays
They are often depicted on the walls of churches. All Orthodox celebrate the same festival on the same date (as given below), but that date falls first in the Gregorian calendar and thirteen days later according to the Julian calendar. The movable feasts are celebrated in hand the same day by all Orthodox and different dates of both calendars.
- Nativity of the Blessed Mother of God, September 8.
- Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14 ).
- Presentation of the Most Holy Mother of God in the Temple, November 21.
- Nativity of the Lord on Dec. 25.
- Baptism of Christ or Theophany on January 6.
- Presentation of Christ in the Temple or Candlemas , on February 2.
- Annunciation on March 25.
- Entry of Christ into Jerusalem or Palm Sunday (a week before Easter).
- Ascension of the Lord (40 days after Easter).
- Pentecost (50 days after Easter)
- Transfiguration of Christ on Mount Tabor, on August 6.
- Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God, August 15.
Other important holidays
- New liturgical year, prayer for the protection of creation, on 1 September.
- Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God, October 1 (in Greece on October 28 ).
- Holy archangels, November 8.
- Saint Nicolas on December 6.
- St. Basil the Great and Circumcision of the Lord, January 1.
- Three ss. Doctors, Basil, John Chrysostom and Gregory T. On January 30.
- Triumph of Orthodoxy (first Sunday of Lent).
- Resurrection of Lazarus (Saturday before Palm Sunday).
- Great Week (Holy Week between Palm Sunday and Easter).
- Nativity of St. John the Baptist, June 24.
- Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, June 29.
- Beheading of St. John the Baptist, August 29 , day of fasting.
- Other festivals, see Sunday , List of saints of the Orthodox Church
Days of fasting
- Christmas Lent (40 days from November 15 to December 24).
- On the eve of Theophany, January 5.
- Lent (40 days from Monday pure two days before Palm Sunday).
- Holy Week (Saturday before Palm Sunday to Easter Saturday).
- Fasting before the feast of the apostles Peter and Paul on June 29.
- Fast of the Mother of God, first in August 14.
- Beheading of St. John the Baptist, August 29.
- Exaltation of the Precious Cross
- Wednesdays and Fridays except during times of great celebration.
Weeks complete without fasting
- Christmas December 25 to January 4
- Week of the Publican and Pharisee, three weeks before the Great Lent
- Week dairy (meatless), the week before Lent
- Easter week or Renewal
- Week of Pentecost
Dates of Easter (according to the Gregorian calendar)
- 2006 : April 23 ,
- 2007 : April 8 ,
- 2008 : April 27 ,
- 2009 : April 19 ,
- 2010 : April 4 ,
- 2011 : April 24 ,
- 2012 : April 15.
Orthodox Churches and groups using the Gregorian calendar
- The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
- The Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa.
- The Patriarchate of Antioch.
- The Romanian Orthodox Church.
- The Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
- The Orthodox Church of Cyprus.
- The Orthodox Church of Greece.
- The Orthodox Church of Poland.
- The Orthodox Church of Albania.
- The Orthodox Church in Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Churches and Orthodox groups (non-calendar old) using the Julian calendar
- Orthodox Church of Jerusalem
- Russian Orthodox Church
- Russian Orthodox Church outside borders
- Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church
- Russian Orthodox Church in Exile
- Russian Orthodox Church outside borders - Provisional Ruling Authority of the Church
- True Russian Orthodox Church - Synod Lazarite
- True Russian Orthodox Church - Synod Raphaelite
- True Russian Orthodox Church - Metropolis of Moscow
- Russian Orthodox Church sraphimo-guennadite
- Serbian Orthodox Church
- Georgian Orthodox Church
- Autonomous Orthodox Church of Bessarabia
- Mount Athos
