Beginning of the Dormition Fasttranslated

The Dormition Fast is one of four multi-day fasts of the Orthodox Church. It ends with the holiday in honor of which it is named - the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28). This and another holiday - the Transfiguration of the Lord (August 19) - create the mood of the Dormition Fast, reminding us of the amazing humility and readiness to go through everything prepared by Him, which the Lord and the Mother of God showed throughout their earthly life. Likewise, we should not perceive fasting as a limitation imposed on us, but as an action voluntarily accepted and leading us to God.

The Assumption Fast lasts only two weeks - from August 14 to August 27 inclusive, but at the same time it is as strict as the Great Fast.

Another popular name for the Dormition Fast is “Spasovka”, since the holidays that fall at the end of summer - the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross (August 14), the Transfiguration of the Lord (August 19) and the Translation of the Image of the Lord Jesus Christ Not Made by Hands (August 29) - are often called “Saviors”.

The dates of the Dormition Fast are unchanged. The Dormition Fast always lasts exactly two weeks, begins a month after Peter's Fast, on August 14, and ends on August 27; August 28 is the feast of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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