Contrary to the beliefs of many, fasting is a particularly joyful time for an Orthodox person. Believers should spend these periods of abstinence for the benefit of their soul, striving to cleanse themselves from sinful filth.
In Orthodox Christian practice, there are four multi-day fasts, the observance of which is mandatory for all believers. If we talk about posts that fall calendar 2017, it is worth starting with a period of abstinence. called the Christmas post (aka Filippov post). This winter post is the first in 2017. The civil New Year already falls on the time when the Orthodox Church entered the salvation period of abstinence.
Christmas fasting begins on November 28th and lasts 39 days. In 2017, Filippov fast ends on January 7th (as usual) on the feast of the Nativity in the flesh of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In the Christian tradition, the next after a long strict fasting is a lighter fast (a less severe restriction in food is assumed) and vice versa. Thus, after the relatively light Christmas fasting, the calendar provides for the longest and most important period of abstinence for believers - the Holy Pentecost, known to a wide circle under the name of Great Lent. In 2017, Lent begins on Monday, February 27th and lasts 48 days, ending with the date of Orthodox Easter on April 16th. It turns out that the last day of Lent 2017 is Saturday, April 15th.
Next to the Fourteenth is the Apostolic Lent or, as it is better known, the Lenten Post (in memory of the holy supreme apostles Paul and Peter, who worked hard in the field of preaching the faith of Christ). In 2017, Petrov's post was quite long although not strict - it includes thirty calendar days. The beginning of the Petrov post in 2017 dates back to Monday, June 12th. Exactly one month later on the twelfth day, the Church will celebrate the day of the Holy Apostles. Therefore, the last day of mid-summer abstinence in 2017 will be July 11th.
At the end of the summer, faithful Christians take up another fast, which is already strict. This is a post in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, named after the Assumption of one of the Theotokos holidays. It begins on the feast of the Depreciation of the Trees of the Honest and the Holy Cross of the Lord on August 14th. In 2017, this date, popularly known as Honey Spas, falls on Monday. Assumption fasting in 2017 is the shortest of all four periods of abstinence. It is only two weeks long, ending on August 28th.
For a more convenient visual perception of the calendar of Orthodox posts for 2017, the table below.
