Eastern Orthodox Church
Worship
One part of the autocephalous Orthodox churches follows the Julian calendar, while the other part follows the Revised Julian calendar. The autonomous Church of Finland of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, as well as parts of the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, use the Gregorian calendar.[citation needed] Many church traditions, including the schedules of services, feasts, and fasts, are structured by the church's calendar, which provides a strictly observed intermingled set of cycles of varying lengths. The fixed annual cycle begins on 1 September and establishes the times for all annual observances that are fixed by date, such as Christmas. The annual Paschal cycle is established relative to the varying date of Pascha each year and affects the times for such observances as Pascha itself, Great Lent, Holy Week, and the feasts of Ascension and Pentecost.
Eastern Orthodox Church-77