Church calendar for October fasting year.

Like other months, October is rich in events from Christian life. This is not the most active month, however, and there are church dates and holidays that every believer should remember.

Today we will learn about all the most important Orthodox events of October 2017.

Orthodox holidays in October 2017 - church calendar

Orthodox Church calls this saint a venerable one, that is, a glorified monastic feat. Sergius lived in the 14th century AD. The world called him Bartholomew. He was endowed with a good mind, love for his neighbor, willpower and hard work. This saint became famous for his ability to perform miracles. Prayer and kind words he encouraged and helped the desperate in moments of special sorrow. Often his prayer healed.

Despite this, Venerable Sergius was very a modest person, from childhood he kept a strict fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, and on other days he was full most often only with water and bread.

This man became a beloved disciple of Jesus Christ. He's up to last minutes was faithful to the Savior, followed on his heels to Calvary, where later, together with the Virgin Mary, he mourned his beloved teacher. It is believed that John lived for more than a hundred years. He predicted his imminent death and ordered his disciples to bury him alive. However, some time later, when his grave was opened, his body was not found, and since then a thin layer of manna began to appear on the grave, which was considered a miracle.

A great holiday celebrated by the Orthodox Church. The events to which this holiday was dedicated occurred in 910 AD. It is believed that on this day the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the clergy of the Church of Constantinople during a service, spreading her cover in the air - a white veil or cape. She was accompanied by two saints - the holy Baptist of the Lord John and the holy Apostle John the Theologian.

Day of special remembrance of the dead. Otherwise called Parent's Saturday. On this day the memory of the Holy Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessaloniki is honored. This day has been revered since the reign of Dmitry Donskoy. Believers go to the graves of their deceased relatives, clean them before starting winter period and honor the memory of the deceased.

October is not very rich in Orthodox holidays - the church calendar for this month contains one great holiday and one day of special commemoration. In October there is not a single twelve-day holiday, and there are no fasts, except for the traditional one-day fasts on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year. Orthodox holidays of October 2017 - what the church calendar of the Orthodox Church contains for the second month of autumn.

Calendar of Orthodox holidays for October 2017 in Russia

So, major events October according to the church calendar:

October 14 – Intercession Holy Mother of God,
October 28, 2017 - Dimitrievskaya Saturday, one of the days of special remembrance of the dead.

Of course, we are talking about dates according to Gregorian calendar. In the Julian calendar, which is used by the Orthodox Church, these are October 1 and October 15, respectively.

Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos - this holiday is dedicated to the event of October 1, 910, when the Mother of God saved Constantinople, besieged by the Saracens. She covered the Christians with her veil and prayed for their salvation to her son Jesus. Two holy fools were witnesses to this miracle.

The memory of this event became one of the great Orthodox holidays. Our ancestors focused on the holiday of the Intercession as the date by which preparations for winter should be completed. Usually by this day they tried to completely finish harvesting and make preparations.

The Feast of the Intercession has always been considered a day that patronizes marriage. The girls prayed on the Intercession for a quick marriage.

It is curious that usually the first snow falls on Pokrov in Russia, so the very name of the holiday is also perceived as the time when the earth is covered with snow.

Dimitrievskaya Saturday, a day of remembrance, which in 2017 falls on October 28. Initially, it was dedicated to the memory of the soldiers who died on the Kulikovo field, but later, when quite a lot of time passed after that battle, the meaning of this parental Saturday changed. Already in the next century after the battle - in the 15th century - chronicles speak of Demetrius Saturday as the day when the church commemorates all the dead in principle. Therefore, in 2017, October 28 will be the Saturday when it is not at all a sin to go to the cemetery to visit family graves. If there is no snow in your city on this day, this is also an opportunity to restore order after the autumn leaves fall so that in the spring, on Radonitsa, there will be less work.

With the exception of one great holiday and one day of special remembrance of the dead, October in the church calendar is not a very eventful month. Let us remind you what Orthodox holidays the church calendar celebrates in Russia in October 2017, and what these holidays mean.

Calendar of Orthodox holidays for October 2017

The only great holiday in October is Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which is celebrated annually October 14(or October 1st Julian calendar, which is used in the church).

This holiday is dedicated to an event that happened at the beginning of the 10th century (in what year - the data differ) in Constantinople, besieged by an enemy army. Residents of the city, frightened by the imminent capture of the city by the enemy, gathered for an all-night vigil in the local church. Andrei the Fool, who later began to be revered as a saint (his feast day is October 15), was there and prayed with everyone for protection.

Towards the end of the service, Andrei had a vision. He saw the Mother of God in the sky, accompanied by saints and angels. The Virgin Mary took the scarf from her head and covered the church and the people inside with it. The vision was considered good sign, which indicates that everything will work out in the end.

Indeed, after some time, the enemy troops that stormed Constantinople retreated.

Cover as religious holiday has always been quite revered in Russia. The very word “cover” has a double meaning in our country. In addition to the significance that it has based on the history told above, in Russia the cover is also the first snow, which not only falls from the sky, but sets in for some time in mid-October in many central regions of the country. Thus, the snow cover is associated with the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Pokrov in our country is a holiday of the beginning of real autumn, a time of evening girls' gatherings and opening autumn season weddings of our ancestors.

Special All Souls' Day in October 2017

28 of October(or the 15th of the Julian calendar) 2017 marks a day of special commemoration. named Dimitrievskaya Saturday.

Named in honor of Saint Demetrius of Thessalonica parent's Saturday appeared at the end of the 14th century and was dedicated to the memory of all Russians who died in the battle on the Kulikovo Field. The Mamaevo Massacre, as that battle went down in history, between the troops of Dmitry Donskoy and the beklyarbek (a kind of governor in the Golden Horde) Mamai. The victory in the battle was one of the significant events that led to the weakening of the Horde and the strengthening of the Moscow principality, and the church established a special date in memory of the approximately 20 thousand Russian soldiers who died in the battle.

Already in the next century, Dimitrievskaya Saturday, judging by the chronicles, was celebrated as a day of remembrance of all the dead.

So today is one of parenting days, when Orthodox Christians can visit the graves of deceased relatives and other loved ones. If the spring Radonitsa is a very popular parent’s day, which also has a joyful, Easter meaning, then the autumn day of remembrance is an occasion for a calmer and more meaningful reflection on the eternal.

In order to honorably, with a pure soul, celebrate the church Orthodox holiday, you need to properly prepare for it, because nothing comes so easily, without difficulty. At its core, fasting represents certain bodily and spiritual restrictions to which a believer must subject himself. That is, this is a form of asceticism during which the fasting person exercises his spirit, soul and body.

Russian Orthodox Christians, according to church canons, annually hold four multi-day fasts, three one-day fasts and fasts on Wednesday and Friday. When adhering to fasting, it is very important to understand that restricting food without limiting one’s spirit (from worldly pleasures that “corrupt” a person from the inside) does not contribute to the great salvation of the soul.

Let's take a closer look at all Orthodox fasts in 2017.

Multi-day Orthodox fasts

– February 27 – April 15, 2017;
– June 12 – July 11, 2017;
August 14 – August 27, 2017;
(Philippov's post) – November 28, 2017 – January 6, 2018.

Lent

Lent considered the strictest fast, it lasts forty-eight days. Lent consists of Lent and Holy Week. Fasting was established in honor of our Savior Jesus Christ, who was tempted by the devil in the desert for forty days and did not take any food.

These forty days are the beginning of salvation human souls. The last week of Lent - Holy Week - reminds Christians of the final days on earth, the suffering and death of the Son of God.

During fasting, you cannot eat meat, milk, cheese, or eggs. Lent is especially strict during the first week of Lent and Holy Week. On Clean Monday it is customary to completely abstain from food. The rest of the time:

Wednesday, Friday – dry eating (bread, water, vegetables, fruits, compotes);
Tuesday, Thursday – hot food without adding vegetable oil;
Saturday, Sunday – hot food with vegetable oil.

Dry eating - meager, non-liquid food, consisting of bread or other dry food; one of the strictest degrees of Orthodox fasting.

On April 7, 2017, you can try fish. Fish is also allowed in Palm Sunday April 9, 2017. You can eat fish caviar on April 8, 2017, Lazarus Saturday. April 14, 2017, at good friday, you cannot eat before the shroud is taken out.

During the days of Great Lent, you need to make peace with everyone, as well as realize all your sins and sincerely repent.

Lent in 2017 will begin on Monday, February 27, and end on Saturday, April 15, 2017. Already on April 16, Sunday, the Orthodox Church will celebrate Easter - the greatest bright holiday of the Resurrection of Christ.

Apostolic post

This summer fast was established in honor of the holy apostles Peter and Paul, who through prayer and fasting prepared for the worldwide preaching of Holy Scripture. Peter's Fast will begin on All Saints Monday, June 12, 2017, and end on July 11, 2017. Each year, the duration of the fast varies, depending on. Longest Apostolic post lasts six weeks, and the shortest is a week and one day.

Strict fasting (dry eating) - on Wednesday and Friday. On Monday, hot food without oil is allowed. On other days - mushrooms, fish, cereals with vegetable oil.

Dormition post

A month after Petrov's fast, the Assumption fast begins, which lasts two weeks. The Orthodox Church calls us, parishioners, to imitate Mother of God, who continuously remained in fasting and prayer before her ascension to heaven.

Dry eating is prescribed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, hot food without the addition of vegetable oil is allowed. On Saturday and Sunday, food with vegetable oil is allowed. On August 19, the day of the Transfiguration of the Lord, you can eat fish.

Christmas post

At the end of autumn, exactly forty days before the feast of the Nativity of Christ, winter abstinence from food of animal origin and “delights” of the soul, spirit and body begins - the Nativity Fast. Fasting begins immediately after the day of remembrance of the Apostle Philip, which is why the Nativity Fast is also called the Philip Fast.

The Nativity fast was established in the name of gratitude to the Lord God for the collected fruits of the earth. During Lent, Christians prepare for the great holiday - the Nativity of Christ. Winter fasting begins on November 28, 2017, and ends on January 6, 2018.

The food regulations completely coincide with the food regulations of Peter's Lent until December 19, 2017, the day of St. Nicholas. If the church holiday of the Entry of the Blessed Virgin Mary into the Temple falls on Wednesday or Friday, you can eat fish. After the day of remembrance of St. Nicholas and until the very forefeast of Christmas, fish is allowed on Saturday and Sunday. During the forefeast day, fish is prohibited on all days, and on Saturday and Sunday, food with butter is prohibited. On Christmas Eve, January 6, 2017, you cannot eat food until the very first star appears, and after that you can eat juice (wheat grains boiled in honey, as well as rice with raisins).

Church Orthodox one-day fasts in 2017

Wednesday and Friday throughout the year, excluding continuous weeks and Christmastide;
Epiphany Christmas Eve (Epiphany Eve) - January 18, 2017;
Beheading of John the Baptist - September 11, 2017;
Exaltation of the Holy Cross - September 27, 2017.

Fasting on Wednesday and Friday

On Wednesday, the weekly fast is established as a remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, on Friday - in honor of the memory of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. On these days, meat and dairy foods are prohibited, and from the week of All Saints until the Nativity of Christ, one must also abstain from fish and vegetable oil. When the days of celebrated saints fall on Wednesday or Friday, it is allowed to add vegetable oil. On the biggest holidays, for example, Intercession, fish is allowed.

At the same time, it should be remembered that for those who are engaged in hard work or are sick, some relaxations in fasting on Wednesday and Friday are allowed. This is necessary so that Christians have enough strength to pray and do the necessary work.

Epiphany Christmas Eve

During this one-day fast, true believers prepare for the purification of soul and body and sanctification with holy water in big celebration Baptism.

Beheading of John the Baptist

The fast was established in honor of the death of the great prophet John.

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

On this day, Christians pray, repent of their sins and fast, in memory of the suffering of Jesus Christ on the cross for the salvation of the human race.