The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, day by day
The feasts and fasts, the tone of the week, the saints with their troparia and kontakia, and the readings. The Church year in your pocket, as your own church keeps it.
Free on iPhone. Every text, for good.
Two cycles, woven together
The Orthodox liturgical year runs on two cycles at once. The app brings them together for each day.
The fixed cycle
Feasts and saints on the same date each year, beginning with the Church New Year on September 1.
The cycle of Pascha
Great Lent, Holy Week, Pascha, the Ascension and Pentecost move each year with the date of Pascha.
Weeks after Pentecost
Through the rest of the year, the weeks are counted from Pentecost, as the app shows on the Today screen.
Pascha and the twelve great feasts
Pascha, the Resurrection, is the Feast of Feasts. Around it stand the twelve great feasts of Christ and the Theotokos.
| Great feast | Date (New Calendar) |
|---|---|
| Nativity of the Theotokos | September 8 |
| Elevation of the Cross | September 14 |
| Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple | November 21 |
| Nativity of Christ | December 25 |
| Theophany | January 6 |
| Meeting of the Lord | February 2 |
| Annunciation | March 25 |
| Entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) | The Sunday before Pascha |
| Ascension | 40 days after Pascha |
| Pentecost | 50 days after Pascha |
| Transfiguration | August 6 |
| Dormition of the Theotokos | August 15 |
On the Old Calendar, the fixed feasts fall 13 days later on the civil calendar.
The four fasting seasons
Besides most Wednesdays and Fridays, the liturgical calendar keeps four seasons of fasting, each preparing for a feast.
| Fast | When (New Calendar) |
|---|---|
| Great Lent and Holy Week | The seven weeks before Pascha |
| The Apostles' Fast | From the Monday after All Saints until June 29; its length changes with Pascha |
| The Dormition Fast | August 1 to 14 |
| The Nativity Fast | November 15 to December 24 |
The app tells you each day’s fast in plain words (strict, wine and oil, fish, dairy, or fast-free), for your church and calendar.
Follow the liturgical calendar every day, with the hymns and the readings. Free.
Every day of the Church year, in full
The Today screen shows the day in the colour of the Church year, with the feast, the tone and the fast under a gold halo.
Troparia and kontakia
For the saints of the day, from your church’s own sources.
Lives of the saints
Thousands of lives from the churches’ own synaxaria.
The readings
The Epistle and Gospel of the day, at the exact verses.
Memorial Saturdays
A reminder when the Church prays for the departed.
Questions
When does the Orthodox liturgical year begin?
On September 1, the Church New Year. Its first great feast is the Nativity of the Theotokos on September 8, and its last is the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15.
What are the twelve great feasts?
The Nativity of the Theotokos, the Elevation of the Cross, the Entry of the Theotokos into the Temple, the Nativity of Christ, Theophany, the Meeting of the Lord, the Annunciation, the Entry into Jerusalem, the Ascension, Pentecost, the Transfiguration and the Dormition of the Theotokos. Pascha stands above them all as the Feast of Feasts.
What is the tone of the week?
Many of the Church's hymns are sung in eight tones, and through most of the year each week has its tone, in turn. The app shows the tone of the day on the Today screen.
What are troparia and kontakia?
Short hymns for each feast and saint. The troparion sums up the meaning of the day; the kontakion is a second hymn, often sung after it. The app gives the troparia and kontakia of the day's saints from your church's own sources.
Which churches' liturgical calendars does the app follow?
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA), the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR) and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese (GOARCH), on the New or the Old Calendar, for every day through 2036. It is free.
More about the app
Orthodox Bible & Calendar
The calendar of your church, the Septuagint and the daily prayers. Every text free, with no account, no ads and no tracking.