Church calendar for August 2026 in the new style by day: holidays, name days, fasting

The end of summer marks one of the busiest months in the Orthodox liturgical year. According to the new style (New Julian calendar), August is the month of the strict Assumption Fast , two great twelve feasts , as well as days of commemoration of many prominent saints, including the ascetics of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.

So for Eastern Rite Christians who have chosen and switched to the new church calendar, below is a detailed overview of church events for August 2026, broken down by day, so that you can prepare in advance for important holidays and fasting periods according to the new style.

Read also: Church calendar for August 2026 (old style): detailed overview by day

Church calendar for August 2026 by day

Please note that holidays and other red days are highlighted in bold in the table.

It is according to this calendar for August 2026 published by us above that the Orthodox Church of Ukraine lives .

Main milestones of the month: Assumption Lent and the Twelve Feasts

The spiritual rhythm of August begins with the Assumption Fast , which begins on the very first day of the month — August 1. This fast prepares believers for one of the greatest holidays of the Virgin Mary — the Assumption.

During the month, believers will celebrate two twelfth holidays (the most important holidays after Easter):

• August 6 — Transfiguration of the Lord.
• August 15 – Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Another extremely important date is August 29 , the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist, which is a day of strict fasting and special commemoration of the fallen defenders of Ukraine .

Detailed description of calendar dates

First Decade: Beginning of Lent and the Light of the Transfiguration

• August 1 (Saturday) — Beginning of the Assumption Fast. Exposition of the Holy Woods of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. Commemoration of the Seven Martyrs of the Maccabees (Abimus, Antoninus, Gurias, Eleazar, Eusebius, Alim, and Marcellus), their mother Solomonia, and their teacher Eleazar. From this day until the feast of the Assumption, a special liturgical ordinance is in effect.
• August 2 (Sunday) – 9th Sunday after Pentecost. Transfer of the relics of the Protomartyr Archdeacon Stephen from Jerusalem to Constantinople.
• August 3 (Monday) – Memorial Day of the Venerable Isaac, Dalmatus, and Faustus, as well as the Venerable Cosmas.
• August 4 (Tuesday) — Commemoration of the Seven Youths of Ephesus (Maximilian, Iamblichus, Martinian, John, Dionysius, Exacustodianus, and Antoninus).
• August 5 (Wednesday) — Fore-feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Memory of the Martyr Eusignius of Antioch.
• August 6 (Thursday) — TRANSFIGURATION OF OUR LORD GOD AND SAVIOR JESUS ​​CHRIST. A great holiday. According to the statute, fish is allowed at the meal . After the Liturgy, the traditional consecration of grapes and other fruits of the new harvest is performed.
• August 7 (Friday) — After the Feast of the Transfiguration. The Venerable Martyr Dometius and the Venerable Pymen the Many-Afflicted and Pymen the Faster of the Caves are commemorated.
• August 8 (Saturday) — Memorial Day of Saint Emilian and Saint Gregory, icon painter of Kyiv-Pechersk (Near Caves).
• August 9 (Sunday) — 10th Sunday after Pentecost. Commemoration of the Apostle Matthias (one of the 12). Also commemorated is Saint Philaret, Archbishop of Chernihiv and Nizhyn.
• August 10 (Monday) – Memory of the Hieromartyr Lawrence, Archdeacon.

Second decade: Easter of the Virgin (Assumption) and veneration of the Image

• August 11 (Tuesday) – Memory of the martyr Archdeacon Euplus, as well as the venerable martyrs Theodore and Basil of Kiev-Pechersk and the venerable Theodore, Prince of Ostrog.
• August 12 (Wednesday) — Commemoration of the Martyrs Photius and Anicita.
• August 13 (Thursday) — Commemoration of the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. Memory of the Venerable Maximus the Confessor.
• August 14 (Friday) — Fore-feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Translation of the relics of the Monk Theodosius of Kiev-Pechersk (1091).
• August 15 (Saturday) — ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY OUR LADY THE MOTHER OF THE GOD AND THE EVER-VIRGIN MARY. A great holiday symbolizing the transition of the Mother of God to eternal life. The Icon of the Assumption of the Mother of God of Kiev-Pechersk is honored.
• August 16 (Sunday) — 11th Sunday after Pentecost. Transfer of the Not-Made-by-Hands Image (Ubrus) of the Lord Jesus Christ from Edessa to Constantinople (944). The icon of the Mother of God “The Granting of Wisdom” is venerated.
• August 17 (Monday) – Memorial Day of the Holy Martyr Myron and the Venerable Alypius, icon painter of Kyiv-Pechersk.
• August 18 (Tuesday) — Commemoration of the Martyrs Flora and Laurus. Feast of the Icon of the Mother of God “The All-Tsaritsa”.
• August 19 (Wednesday) – Memory of the martyr Andrew Stratilat.
• August 20 (Thursday) – Memorial Day of the Prophet Samuel.

Read also: Third Spas (Nut or Bread) 2026: date according to the new and old calendar (style), traditions and prohibitions

Third decade: The Council of the Cave Saints and the Days of Sorrow

• August 21 (Friday) — Apostle Thaddeus from the 70s. Commemoration of the Venerable Abraham the Hardworking, of Pechersk.
• August 22 (Saturday) – Memory of the martyrs Agathonikos, Zotykos, Theoprepius and others.
• August 23 (Sunday) — 12th Sunday after Pentecost. Commemoration of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. August 24 (Monday) — Hieromartyr Eutychius.
• August 25 (Tuesday) — Transfer of the relics of the Apostle Bartholomew. Apostle from the 70s Titus.
• August 26 (Wednesday) — Commemoration of the Martyrs Adrian and Natalia.
• August 27 (Thursday) – Venerable Pimen the Great, as well as the Hieromartyr Kuksha and his disciple Nikon of Kiev-Pechersk.
• August 28 (Friday) — The Council of the Venerable Fathers of Kyiv-Pechersk, who rest in the Far Caves (Venerable Theodosius). This is a special day of honoring a whole host of Ukrainian ascetics (Moses, Lawrence, Hilarion, Paphnutius, Martyrius and dozens of others). The Finding of the relics of the Venerable Job of Pochaiv (1659) is also celebrated.
• August 29 (Saturday) — Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. This is a strict fasting day . In addition to the church commemoration of the martyrdom of the Forerunner, this day has a special national significance — the Commemoration of the Fallen Defenders of Ukraine is held .
• August 30 (Sunday) — 13th Sunday after Pentecost. Commemoration of Saints Alexander, John the Faster, and Paul the New.
• August 31 (Monday) — The Laying of the Honorable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos. A historically important date for the Ukrainian Church: the memory of St. John II, Metropolitan of Kyiv, and the memory of the restoration of the Orthodox hierarchy of the Kyiv Metropolis (1620) .

In summary, we can say that this month is divided into two stages, the first of which calls on believers to spiritual purification through the Assumption Fast, and the second to joyful glorification of God during the feasts of the Transfiguration and the Assumption, as well as to prayerful remembrance of national heroes and prominent Ukrainian saints, whose names are firmly entwined in the history of the Ukrainian Church.

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