Traditions
DraftOrthodox Traditions
All Orthodox Christians share the same Paschalion: the shared reckoning of Pascha and the movable feasts. The meaningful dividing line between traditions is the calendar their fixed feasts follow — the New (Revised Julian) or the Old (Julian) — with the jurisdiction's own rubric layered on top: which feasts lift the fast, how a short Apostles' Fast is handled. Pick your tradition below to see its calendar.
The two calendars
In the early 1920s, a reform of the church calendar was introduced at a congress in Constantinople. Some Orthodox churches adopted the reformed Revised Julian calendar (the "New Calendar") for fixed feasts, while others retained the older Julian calendar (the "Old Calendar"). Both are in use across the Orthodox world today.
The practical effect: the Julian calendar currently runs 13 days behind the civil calendar, so fixed feasts fall 13 days later in civil terms. Nativity, kept on December 25 in both reckonings, falls on December 25 civil for New Calendar churches and on January 7 civil for Old Calendar churches. Pascha and the movable feasts are unaffected: nearly the whole Orthodox world shares the same Paschalion regardless of which calendar its fixed feasts follow (the Orthodox Church of Finland is the principal exception, following the Western reckoning of Pascha).
Which churches follow which calendar
Practice can vary between dioceses and parishes, so this table says "generally". If in doubt, ask at your own parish.
| Calendar | Generally followed by |
|---|---|
| New Calendar (Revised Julian) | Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Albania |
| Old Calendar (Julian) | Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Georgia, Poland |
| Mixed practice | A few churches — for example the Czech Lands and Slovakia, and parts of the Orthodox Church in America — vary between dioceses and parishes |
New Calendar (Revised Julian)
Fixed feasts fall on the same dates as the civil calendar — Nativity is kept on December 25.
- Antiochian
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese
The traditional Byzantine fasting typikon as observed across the Antiochian Church worldwide, including the Antiochian Orthodox Deanery of the UK & Ireland, with four main fasting seasons plus Wednesday and Friday fasts year-round.
- OCA
Orthodox Church in America
The OCA fasting calendar follows the Byzantine tradition with its own observances for feast days and fast-free weeks. Most OCA dioceses follow the New Calendar; a few (notably in Alaska) keep the Julian calendar — see the mixed practice note above.
- Greek
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese
The Greek Orthodox fasting calendar follows the Byzantine tradition on the New (Revised Julian) calendar for fixed feasts; the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain keeps the same New Calendar rubric.
Old Calendar (Julian)
Fixed feasts fall 13 days later on the civil calendar — Nativity (December 25 on the Julian reckoning) is kept on January 7.
Not sure which is yours, or just exploring? The Today page offers a general "Standard" calendar for anyone without a specific jurisdiction, a reasonable default, not a fifth tradition.