Major Feasts

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The ecclesiastical year, which according to Byzantine practice begins on the first of September, is divided between movable and immovable or fixed holy days.  The movable holy days are determined by the date of Easter, the most important of all feast days, which is in a class by itself.  The determination of the date of Easter was definitively regulated by the decision of the First Ecumenical Synod, held in Nicaea (325).

Next in importance to Easter are the "twelve great feasts," of which three are movable.  Eight of these feasts are devoted to Christ and four to the Virgin Mary.  There are also a number of feast days of varying importance, most of which commemorate the more popular saints.

Taken from "The Calendar of the Orthodox Church" by Dr. Lewis Patsavos, Ph.D. Click on any of the links below to learn more about one of these feasts, listen to hymns of the feast, and send Icon greeting cards  ( through iconograms.com )  to friends, family, and loved ones.

• January 6: The Feast of Epiphany (Baptism of Christ)
• February 2: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple
• Great Lent, Holy Week, and Pascha
• The Annunciation
• The Ascension of Christ
• Holy Pentecost
• August 6: The Transfiguration of Christ
• August 15: The Dormition of the Theotokos (Kimissis)
• September 8: The Nativity of the Theotokos
• September 14: The Exaltation of the Cross
• November 21: The Entrance Into the Temple of the Theotokos
• Our Holy Father Nicholas the Wonderworker, Archbishop of Myra - Patron Saint
• December 25: The Nativity of Christ (Christmas)

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Source: Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America website.