Orthodox Easter 2026

What this countdown tracks

Orthodox Easter (Pascha) 2026 — the Eastern Orthodox celebration of the resurrection of Christ — falling on Sunday, April 12, 2026 (Julian-calendar reckoning). Celebrated by approximately 260 million Orthodox Christians worldwide with the midnight Paschal Vigil, the cry of "Christos Anesti!" ("Christ is Risen!"), and the breaking of the 40-day Lenten fast.

About this festival

Orthodox Easter — known in Greek as Pascha (from the Aramaic "pesah," through Greek "paskha," echoing the Jewish Pesach/Passover) — is the foundational feast of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Orthodox tradition treats Pascha not as one feast among many but as the "Feast of Feasts," around which the entire liturgical year is structured. It is observed by the Orthodox Churches of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, Russia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, Albania, Czechia/Slovakia, Poland, and the Eastern Orthodox dioceses worldwide.

The Orthodox Easter date differs from the Western (Catholic and Protestant) Easter date because the two traditions calculate the date by different rules. Both observe Easter on the first Sunday after the first ecclesiastical full moon on or after the spring equinox, but the Orthodox tradition uses the Julian calendar (currently 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar for paschal computations) and the older 19-year Metonic cycle. The Western Easter follows the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582.

In 2026, Orthodox Easter falls on April 12 — a week after Western Easter, which falls on April 5. In 2027 the gap widens (Orthodox May 2; Western March 28). Roughly once every four years the two traditions land on the same Sunday — most recently 2025 (both on April 20). 2025 marked the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea (325 CE), which set the original Easter computation; ecumenical efforts to align the two dates from 2025 onward are ongoing but have not produced a binding agreement.

How it's observed

The 40-day Great Lent precedes Pascha — the strictest fast in the Christian calendar, with abstention from meat, dairy, eggs, fish (for most of the fast), wine and olive oil. Holy Week — the week before Pascha — intensifies with Holy Wednesday's Holy Unction, Holy Thursday's commemoration of the Last Supper, Good Friday's Service of the Royal Hours and the Procession of the Epitaphios, and Holy Saturday's vigil services.

The Paschal Vigil itself begins shortly before midnight on Holy Saturday. The church is dark; congregants stand with unlit candles. At midnight the priest emerges from the altar bearing a single lit candle and announces "Come and receive the Light from the Light that never sets!" The light spreads candle-to-candle through the congregation. The procession circles the church three times. The full Paschal Resurrection Service follows, with the cry "Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!" ("Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!") chanted in dozens of languages. The Liturgy ends in the small hours, and the Lenten fast is broken with red-dyed eggs, lamb, tsoureki (Greek Easter bread), kulich (Russian Easter bread) and paskha cheese.

The ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is the most-attended Orthodox Easter service worldwide. The Holy Fire ceremony — in which a flame is said to spontaneously ignite at the tomb of Christ on Holy Saturday — draws tens of thousands of pilgrims; Orthodox patriarchs distribute the Holy Fire by direct flight to Athens, Bucharest, Moscow, Belgrade, and other Orthodox capitals, where it is received at airports as a state event.

Past observances

• April 20, 2025 — Orthodox Easter 2025 (rare same-date year with Western Easter)
• May 5, 2024 — Orthodox Easter 2024
• April 16, 2023 — Orthodox Easter 2023
• April 24, 2022 — Orthodox Easter 2022
• May 2, 2021 — Orthodox Easter 2021
• April 19, 2020 — Orthodox Easter 2020

How to observe

The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Patriarchate of Constantinople, and OrthodoxObserver publish full Holy Week and Pascha schedules. Greek public broadcaster ERT, Russian Channel One, and Romanian TVR cover the major services live. The Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is broadcast by all major Orthodox Christian-country networks. Diaspora Orthodox parishes in the US, UK, Australia, and Western Europe stream the Paschal Vigil online.

Related countdowns

Orthodox Easter 2026 follows Easter 2027 (Western Easter) by a week and sits in the wider Christian calendar alongside Pentecost 2026, Advent 2026, Epiphany 2026, and Christmas 2026.

FAQ

When is Orthodox Easter 2026? Sunday, April 12, 2026 — one week after Western Easter (April 5). Why is Orthodox Easter on a different date from Western Easter? Orthodox tradition uses the Julian calendar and the older Metonic cycle for Easter computation; Western tradition uses the Gregorian calendar and a refined cycle. What's the Holy Fire ceremony? The annual ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Holy Saturday, in which a flame is said to spontaneously ignite at Christ's tomb; the fire is then distributed by air to Orthodox capitals. What's the cry of Pascha? "Christos Anesti! Alithos Anesti!" — "Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!" — chanted in dozens of languages on the Paschal Vigil.