{"id":537336,"date":"2025-08-13T16:01:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/?p=537336"},"modified":"2025-08-13T16:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T13:01:01","slug":"dormition-fast-old-calendar-traditions-border-communities-worldwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/dormition-fast-old-calendar-traditions-border-communities-worldwide\/","title":{"rendered":"Dormition Fast begins on Old Calendar: Traditions from Romania&#8217;s border communities to Orthodox faithful worldwide"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Most Romanian communities around Romania\u2019s borders, as well as Orthodox faithful in other parts of the world, follow the unrevised calendar and are preparing for the Dormition Fast, which begins on Thursday, August 14.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Popularly known as \u201cSaint Mary&#8217;s Fast,\u201d it is meant to be quite strict, as it culminates with the Dormition of the Mother of Life. However, the fast is softened by the abundance of fruits and vegetables in this harvest season.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, believers are reminded that fasting is not only about material food but also about spiritual nourishment: increasing prayer, reading Holy Scripture, and performing acts of charity.<\/p>\n<h2>Across the borders<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_514815\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-514815\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-514815 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1152\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte-890x501.jpg 890w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/romani-din-ucraina-decorati-de-presedinte-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-514815\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Romanian girls wearing traditional costumes in Northern Bukovina, Chernivtsi region. Photo: Facebook \/ Nicolae Hauca<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Romanian communities near the borders \u2014 Bessarabia (Republic of Moldova), Northern Bukovina and Budjak (Ukraine), the Timok Valley (Serbia) \u2014 as well as Ukrainian communities in Romania, observe the unrevised calendar, celebrating the Dormition of the Mother of God on August 28.<\/p>\n<p>In Romanian villages in Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, and Serbia, the beginning of the Fast was traditionally marked by Apokries, when families would gather for the last non-fasting meal, followed by communal prayer.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the fast, people used to bring basil, wildflowers, and the first fruits of their gardens to church for blessing, believing them to offer protection for the home and animals. In some places, unmarried young women prayed to the Mother of God for a good husband, lighting candles every evening during the fast.<\/p>\n<p>After keeping the fast with strictness, Bessarabians in many rural areas use the Dormition feast as a time to gather with family or the wider community, in what could be considered a kind of \u201cVillage Day.\u201d In some places, traditional fairs are held after the Divine Liturgy, featuring local products and folk songs.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_380722\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-380722\" style=\"width: 1600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-380722 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1-890x501.jpg 890w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/nasterea-sf-ioan-botezatorul-la-manastirea-ruscova-vicariatul-ortodox-ucrainean-8-1-1536x864.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-380722\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Young Ukrainians carry church flags at the patronal feast of a parish within the Ukrainian Orthodox Vicariate of the Romanian Patriarchate. Photo: UOV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Orthodox Ukrainians in Maramure\u0219, Bukovina, and the Danube Delta, the Dormition Fast also has a strong communal character. The Paraklesis to the Mother of God is sung daily, usually in the Ukrainian language.<\/p>\n<p>On the eve of the feast, processions are held around the church with the icon of the Mother of God and the blessing of water. In some villages, girls bring flowers and ears of wheat, which they place on the graves of relatives as a sign of remembrance.<\/p>\n<h2>On Mount Athos<\/h2>\n<p>The unrevised calendar is also observed in the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and on Mount Athos, where Romanian monks live \u2014 both at the Romanian Skete of the Honourable Forerunner (Prodromos Skete) and other Romanian cells, as well as in the brotherhoods of other Athonite monasteries.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_537317\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-537317\" style=\"width: 1300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/procesiune-icoana-md-portarita-iviron-athos-foto-silviu-cluci-wm_7690.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-537317 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/procesiune-icoana-md-portarita-iviron-athos-foto-silviu-cluci-wm_7690.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1300\" height=\"867\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/procesiune-icoana-md-portarita-iviron-athos-foto-silviu-cluci-wm_7690.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/procesiune-icoana-md-portarita-iviron-athos-foto-silviu-cluci-wm_7690-890x594.jpg 890w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/procesiune-icoana-md-portarita-iviron-athos-foto-silviu-cluci-wm_7690-1024x683.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-537317\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Monks carry the Portaitissa icon of the Mother of God in a procession on Mount Athos. Photo: Doxologia \/ Fr. Silviu Cluci<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In most Athonite monasteries, the Paraklesis to the Mother of God is officiated every evening during the fast, and all-night vigils become more frequent, especially in monasteries dedicated to the Mother of God.<\/p>\n<p>The Athonite monks\u2019 fast is stricter, with no oil and only one meal per day.<\/p>\n<p>On the eve of the feast, monasteries that have wonderworking icons of the Mother of God \u2014 such as the Gatekeeper (Portaitissa) at Iviron, Paramyth\u00eda at Vatopedi, or Glykophilousa at Philotheou \u2014 hold processions within the monastery grounds and, at times, to nearby cells.<\/p>\n<p>Also on the eve of the feast, according to the Old Calendar, in Karyes, the administrative centre of Mount Athos, at the Protaton Church where the wonderworking Axion Estin icon of the Mother of God is kept, a solemn vigil is celebrated by a choir of monks led by Father Abraham, the Protos of Mount Athos.<\/p>\n<h2>In the Holy Land<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_537319\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-537319\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-537319 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1366\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n-890x594.jpg 890w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508622346_10164040470714796_2967914604018745303_n-1536x1025.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-537319\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Representation of the Dormition of the Mother of God from the patrimony of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The icon is carried in procession on the eve of the feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Photo: JP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Perhaps the most moving way to experience this fast is in Jerusalem, where, in the Garden of Gethsemane at the foot of the Mount of Olives, lies the Tomb of the Mother of God. In the church there, the Paraklesis to the Mother of God is celebrated every evening.<\/p>\n<p>In some villages of Galilee, the Paraklesis is sung each evening in the homes of the faithful, with the icon carried from one household to another.<\/p>\n<p>On the eve of the feast, a solemn procession is held with the icon of the Mother of God from the Patriarchate to the church in the Garden of Gethsemane, followed by an all-night vigil celebrated by Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem. The service is conducted in Greek, but with litanies and hymns in Arabic, Church Slavonic, Romanian, and other languages of the pilgrims.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_537321\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-537321\" style=\"width: 2048px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-537321 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n-890x594.jpg 890w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n-1024x684.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/508570668_10164040470824796_8934852569814522542_n-1536x1026.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-537321\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Patriarch Theophilos III of Jerusalem descending the steps of the church in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the tomb of the Virgin Mary is located. Photo: JP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Arab Christians in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas keep the custom of fasting completely on the eve of the Dormition of the Mother of God, then distributing koliva and fruit after the Divine Liturgy. They go to church carrying bouquets of basil and olive branches, which are blessed and taken home as a sign of protection.<\/p>\n<p>Whether observed in the secluded monasteries of Athos, in Romanian villages around the country\u2019s borders, or in Ukrainian communities in Romania, the Dormition Fast remains for all Christians \u2014 regardless of the calendar they follow \u2014 a time of prayer, humility, and closeness to the Mother of God, the Protectress of all Christians.<\/p>\n<p>Photo: Basilica.ro \/ Raluca Ene<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BasilicaNews\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-495171\" src=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/banner-x-en-889x148.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"889\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/banner-x-en-889x148.gif 889w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/banner-x-en-1024x171.gif 1024w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/banner-x-en-1536x256.gif 1536w, https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/banner-x-en-2048x341.gif 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 440px, (max-width: 768px) 354px, 890px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most Romanian communities around Romania\u2019s borders, as well as Orthodox faithful in other parts of the world, follow the unrevised calendar and are preparing for the Dormition Fast, which begins on Thursday, August 14. Popularly known as \u201cSaint Mary&#8217;s Fast,\u201d it is meant to be quite strict, as it culminates with the Dormition of the&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":537313,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18771],"tags":[16521,5881,14504,9780,1470,9273,25404,31872,24870,24332,25827],"class_list":["post-537336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spirituality-en","tag-dormition-fast","tag-holy-land","tag-jerusalem-patriarchate","tag-metropolis-of-bessarabia","tag-mother-of-god","tag-mount-athos","tag-northern-bukovina","tag-old-calendar","tag-romanians-outside-romania","tag-ukrainian-orthodox-vicariate","tag-ukrainians-in-romania"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ 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faithful in other parts of the world, follow the unrevised calendar and are\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/en\/dormition-fast-old-calendar-traditions-border-communities-worldwide\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Basilica.ro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/basilica.ro\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-13T13:01:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/basilica.ro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/troita-maica-domnului.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1248\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Aurelian Iftimiu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AurelianNicolae\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" 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