The Dormition Fast
Two weeks of fasting and Paraklesis before the feast of the Theotokos.
The Dormition Fast is the shortest of the four great fasting seasons of the Orthodox Church: fourteen days, from August 1 to August 14, preparing the faithful for the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos on August 15. Despite its brevity it is kept strictly, and it is accompanied every evening by the Small Paraklesis to the Theotokos.
When is the Dormition Fast in 1970 and 1971?
- 1970: August 1 – August 14, with the feast of the Dormition on August 15.
- 1971: August 1 – August 14, with the feast of the Dormition on August 15.
- Churches on the Julian (Old) Calendar keep the same fourteen days by their own reckoning, which currently falls on August 14 – 27 on the civil calendar.
Fasting rules day by day
- Monday, Wednesday and Friday: strict fast — no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, wine or oil.
- Tuesday and Thursday: wine and olive oil are not traditionally permitted in the strictest reckoning; many parishes allow oil.
- Saturday and Sunday: wine and oil are allowed.
- August 6, the Transfiguration of the Lord: fish, wine and oil are permitted, and grapes are blessed.
- August 15, the Dormition itself: the fast is released — unless it falls on a Wednesday or Friday, when fish, wine and oil are allowed.
What you can eat
The Dormition Fast is a vegan fast in practice: vegetables, fruit, grains, bread, legumes, nuts, seeds and shellfish are eaten throughout. Olive oil and wine are added on the appointed days, and fish on Transfiguration.
The point is not dietary technique but attention. A shorter fast concentrates the effort: two weeks of simplicity, almsgiving, confession and the daily Paraklesis.
The Paraklesis services
Each evening of the fast, parishes serve the Small or Great Paraklesis — a canon of supplication to the Theotokos, alternating between the two through the fortnight. It is one of the most beloved services of the Orthodox year, sung in a plaintive tone and ending with the veneration of the icon of the Theotokos.
Frequently asked
- How long is the Dormition Fast?
- Fourteen days: August 1 through August 14, followed by the feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos on August 15.
- Can you eat fish during the Dormition Fast?
- Only on August 6, the Transfiguration of the Lord. The rest of the fast excludes fish with backbones, though shellfish is permitted.
- Is the Dormition Fast as strict as Great Lent?
- Yes, in the letter of the rule it is kept as strictly as Great Lent — but it lasts only two weeks.