The angel's announcement to the Theotokos, kept on March 25 on the Revised Julian calendar.
Dates
| Year | Dates | Reckoning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | March 25, 2025 | Revised Julian | |
| 2025 | April 7, 2025 | Julian calendar churches | |
| 2026 | March 25, 2026 | Revised Julian | |
| 2026 | April 7, 2026 | Julian calendar churches |
Recurrence: Fixed date: Mar 25 on the Revised Julian calendar; Apr 7 for Julian-calendar churches.
Significance
The Orthodox Annunciation, on March 25, celebrates the angel Gabriel's announcement to the Theotokos that she would conceive and bear the Son of God. Churches on the Julian calendar keep the feast thirteen days later in civil reckoning. Even when the day falls within Great Lent or Holy Week, its celebration is not transferred, so great is the feast of the Incarnation's beginning.
Observance
The Divine Liturgy is celebrated with the festal hymns of the Annunciation, and the Lenten fast is relaxed for fish, wine, and oil.