All Orthodox fasting points toward Pascha. The Great Fast (Great Lent plus Holy Week) is the longest and most intense fasting period of the year — and it ends not with relief but with the fullest feast the Church offers.
When is Pascha?
Orthodox Pascha (Easter) is calculated on the Julian calendar and falls on a different date than Western Easter in most years. The formula: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox, calculated by the Julian calendar.
Pascha 2026: April 12
Pascha 2027: May 2
Pascha 2028: April 16
The Paschal fast ends at midnight
The Great Fast technically concludes at the Liturgy of Holy Saturday (Vesperal Liturgy / First Liturgy of Pascha, celebrated at midnight). The fast is not “broken” by eating at midnight; it is completed by receiving the Eucharist. The meal that follows is the breaking of the fast — artoklasia bread, eggs, meat, whatever is at the table.
What can you eat at Pascha?
Everything. Meat. Dairy. Fish. Wine. All foods are permitted at the Paschal feast and throughout Bright Week.
The traditional foods vary by culture:
- Greek and Arabic: lamb, tsoureki (sweet bread), red Easter eggs
- Russian and Slavic: kulich (enriched bread), paskha (cream cheese dessert), decorated eggs (pisanky)
- All traditions: the meal is joyful, abundant, and shared with the community
Bright Week: the fast-free week
The entire week following Pascha — from Pascha Sunday through the following Saturday — is called Bright Week. It is the only fast-free period in the year where:
- No fasting is observed on any day
- Wednesday and Friday are treated like feast days
- Prostrations are forbidden during prayers
- The royal doors remain open in many churches all week
Fasting during Bright Week is considered inappropriate. The Church is offering the fullest feast of the year; to refuse it is to reject the feast.
Why does the fast precede the feast?
The forty-day fast (plus Holy Week) mirrors Christ’s fast in the desert. It also mirrors the forty years in the wilderness before the Promised Land, and the forty days Moses spent on Sinai before receiving the Law. Forty is the number of preparation.
The fast is not punishment — it is preparation. It empties you so that the feast fills you more completely. A person who has not fasted cannot feast as deeply.
The week after Bright Week
After Thomas Sunday (the Sunday following Pascha), the regular fasting rhythm resumes: Wednesday and Friday fasts return. The Wednesday after Bright Week is the first fasting day of the Paschal season.
Feast or Fast shows “Fast Free” throughout Bright Week and “Great Feast” for Pascha Sunday itself.