Great Lent
Clean Monday → Holy Saturday (the 40 days before Pascha)
Strict fast on weekdays — no meat, dairy, fish, wine, or oil. Wine and oil permitted on Saturdays and Sundays. Fish allowed on the Annunciation and Palm Sunday.
Updated Daily
Orthodox Fasting Calendar — August 2025
Know exactly what the Greek Orthodox Church fasts from on every date in August 2025 — strict fast, wine and oil, fish days, or fast free — alongside the feast, saint, and scripture readings appointed for that day.
What to expect in August 2025
August is shaped by the Dormition Fast, kept from August 1 through August 14 in preparation for the Dormition of the Theotokos. The rule follows Great Lent in strictness: no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine, or oil on weekdays, with wine and oil on Saturdays and Sundays. The Transfiguration on August 6 breaks the fast with fish, wine, and oil, and the feast of the Dormition on August 15 is fast free unless it falls on a Wednesday or Friday, when fish, wine, and oil are permitted. After the feast the ordinary Wednesday and Friday fast resumes, until the strict fast of the Beheading of St John the Baptist on August 29.
Key fasting dates in August 2025
- ☦August 1-14: Dormition Fast — strict weekday fast, wine and oil on weekends
- ☦August 6 (Transfiguration): fish, wine, and oil permitted
- ☦August 15 (Dormition of the Theotokos): fast free, or fish if it lands on Wednesday or Friday
- ☦August 16-28: ordinary Wednesday and Friday fast
- ☦August 29 (Beheading of St John the Baptist): strict fast
October 1, 2026
Today's Fast
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Orthodox Fasting Days in August 2025
Each day links to its full chapel entry with the appointed epistle, gospel, and saints.
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The Four Fasting Seasons
Nativity Fast (Advent)
November 15 → December 24
Fish, wine, and oil are permitted most days through December 17. Stricter fast December 18–24.
Apostles' Fast
Monday after All Saints → June 28
Fish allowed except Wednesdays and Fridays. Length varies year to year based on the date of Pascha.
Dormition Fast
August 1 → August 14
Strict fast (no fish, wine, or oil on weekdays). Fish allowed on the Transfiguration (August 6).
Understanding the Fasting Levels
Fast Free
All foods permitted
Strict Fast
No meat, dairy, fish, oil, or wine
Wine & Oil
Wine and oil permitted; no meat, dairy, or fish
Fish, Wine & Oil
Fish, wine, and oil permitted; no meat or dairy
Wednesdays & Fridays
Outside of fast-free weeks, every Wednesday and Friday of the year is a fast day in the Orthodox Church — Wednesday in memory of Christ's betrayal, Friday in memory of His crucifixion. Wine and oil are typically permitted unless the day falls within a stricter fasting season.
Fast-Free Weeks
Several weeks of the year are entirely fast-free — no fasting on Wednesdays or Fridays:
- The week after Pascha (Bright Week)
- The week after Pentecost
- December 25 → January 4 (the Twelve Days of Christmas)
- The week of the Publican and Pharisee (before Great Lent)
Orthodox Fasting Questions
What can I eat on an Orthodox fast day?
On a strict fast day, the Orthodox Church abstains from meat, dairy, eggs, fish, olive oil, and wine. Many days within a fasting season relax that rule to allow wine and oil, or fish, wine, and oil. The daily entries on this page tell you which rule applies to each date.
Are Wednesdays and Fridays always fast days?
Yes, outside of the designated fast-free weeks. Wednesday commemorates the betrayal of Christ and Friday His crucifixion, so both are kept as fast days throughout the year.
How many fasting seasons does the Orthodox Church keep?
There are four great fasting seasons: Great Lent, the Nativity Fast, the Apostles’ Fast, and the Dormition Fast. Great Lent and Holy Week are the strictest.
Is fish allowed during Great Lent?
Fish is not eaten during Great Lent except on the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and Palm Sunday. Shellfish is traditionally permitted on days when oil and wine are allowed.
Who is excused from fasting?
The Church applies the fasting rule with pastoral discernment. Children, the elderly, the sick, pregnant and nursing mothers, and those under a physician’s care fast according to their strength, ideally in consultation with their parish priest.
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