Fasting with the Greek Orthodox

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The Greek Orthodox community fasts more than 180 days a year. They are heroes of fasting! We suggest considering them your fasting partners.

 


 

According to The Calendar of the Orthodox Church for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, they have four main periods of fasting in their ecclesial year:

THE GREAT FAST (LENT)

It begins on a Monday, seven weeks before Easter.

THE FAST OF THE APOSTLES

It begins on a Monday, eight days after Pentecost, and ends on June 28.

It varies in length from 1 to 6 weeks.

FAST OF THE REPOSE OF THE VIRGIN MARY

It runs from August 1 to August 14.

CHRISTMAS FAST

It runs from November 15 to December 24.

 

By our count, those four add up to almost 22 weeks. That is a lot of fasting in a year!

But they have even more fasting days. They are individual fast days. These include:

  • September 14. The feast of the Elevation of the Holy Cross
  • August 29. The Beheading of St. John the Baptist
  • January 5. The eve of Epiphany
  • All Wednesdays
  • All Fridays

There is no fasting, however, between Christmas and Epiphany, during the tenth week before Easter, the week after Easter and the week after Pentecost.

Adding up all the above, the Greek Orthodox are fasting more than 180 days a year! They are heroes of fasting!

 


Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.