In the year there are many calendar dates devoted to sacred events, which are important holidays for the church. During these days, special worship services are conducted with reading of prayers, special sermons and hymns, according to the Church Charter. Naturally, not all religious Christian holidays are equal in meaning. Easter and twelve-day celebrations should be attributed to the Great Feasts. They are marked in the calendars with special red marks in the form of a cross placed in a circle. In addition to these, there are a few particularly honored dates that are also great for Christians.
Main Christian holidays:
- The Feast of Easter.
- Twelve Great Christian holidays.
The most important and favorite Christian holiday, of course, for all Orthodox Christians is Easter. Be attentive, the date of celebration changes every year, because the Easter cycle depends on the lunar as well as the solar calendar. According to the terms, this celebration usually falls in the period from 7.04 to 8.05 according to the new style. The exact date is easy to calculate, you need to take a calendar and find out when the spring full moon and the Jewish Easter come. The next Sunday will come Orthodox Easter. By the way, many other Christian holidays depend on this most important date. In order not to make mistakes, it is best to use the paskhaliyas - specially composed tables compiled by the church.
We will quote the dates here so that it would be easier to orient the ordinary layman, according to the new style, but for clarity we put in the brackets the date of the old style.
- September 21 (8.09) - the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin.
- December 4 (21.11) - Introduction to the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is a very great Christian holiday in December.
- April 7 (25.03) - The Annunciation . It was then that the angels announced to the Virgin Mary about the great miracle - sinless conception.
- January 7 (25.12) - the Nativity of Christ. Winter Christian holidays are a great fun, so soon after Christmas we will have several important dates.
- February 15 (2.02) - The Presentation of the Lord . It was on this winter day that the elder Simeon the God-representative met a small Jesus, whom his parents carried to the temple on the 40th day, in order to make a sacrifice for the glory of God for the birth of such a long-awaited first-born. The Holy Spirit revealed the truth to the sage and he saw in the infant of the future Messiah.
- January 19 (6.01) - Epiphany, which also has the second beautiful name of the Holy Epiphany. Let us note that the eve of this significant Christian holiday (18.01) is the beginning of a strict fast.
- August 19 (6.08) - Transfiguration of the Lord.
- Palm Sunday, like other major Christian holidays, can change the date in the calendar, but it is easy to calculate. The Lord's entry into Jerusalem should be celebrated in the resurrection, which precedes the Passover.
- The date when the Orthodox celebrate the Ascension of the Lord also changes in the calendar. This celebration always comes on the 40th day after the Bright Resurrection.
- Pentecost - this Christian holiday is not without reason has such a name. The Holy Trinity Day falls every year strictly on the 50th day from the Bright Christ's Resurrection.
- In September there is another great festival - the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, it should always be celebrated on the 27th (14.09)
- The last Christian twinside great feast in our list is the Assumption of Our Lady, which falls on August 28 (16.08)
In addition to the above-mentioned important church dates, there are other equally important great and small holidays, as well as other events that are important for the believing people. For example, a special Christian holiday in November is the celebration of the icon of Our Lady of Kazan, which is an ancient and valuable relic. We simply can not list all these events because of the small format of the article, so we recommend you look for more detailed information in detailed liturgical calendars, where everything is systematized. This is especially important for people who are lost in the passing and non-transient dates of holidays or posts that are directly dependent on the lunar and solar year cycle.