The Apostles' Fast

A summer fast in the footsteps of the apostles, before the feast of Peter and Paul.

The Apostles' Fast is the Orthodox fast before the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. It begins on the Monday after All Saints Sunday, eight days after Pentecost, and ends on June 28, so its length changes with the date of Pascha. On the Old Calendar it ends on July 11.

The Apostles' Fast in 2027

New Calendar: Monday, June 28, 2027, a single day. Saints Peter and Paul: Tuesday, June 29, 2027.
Old Calendar: Monday, June 28 to Sunday, July 11, 2027. Saints Peter and Paul: Monday, July 12, 2027.

In 2028: New Calendar, Monday, June 12 to Wednesday, June 28, 2028; Old Calendar, Monday, June 12 to Tuesday, July 11, 2028.

The Apostles' Fast 2027 in the moveable cycle ›

The Apostles' Fast follows the joy of Pentecost, beginning the Monday after All Saints and ending on June 28, the eve of the feast of the holy apostles Peter and Paul. Having received the Holy Spirit, the apostles went out to preach, fasting and praying as they went; the Church keeps this fast in their company, and in preparation for their feast.

Its length varies from year to year, a consequence of the moving date of Pascha, from which Pentecost is reckoned. Some years it is several weeks; some years, on the New Calendar, it is very short or falls away entirely. This variability is itself a small teaching: the fasts serve the feasts, and bend to the paschal rhythm that governs the whole year.

Milder than the great fasts, the Apostles' Fast is nonetheless a real one, kept as the Church appoints and as one's priest directs. It sends the summer, too, toward God, and honours those who first carried the Gospel to the world.

The Apostles' Fast in 2027, day by day

In 2027 the New Calendar keeps the Apostles' Fast for only one day, Monday, June 28, 2027. Below is the Old Calendar's fast, day by day. Meat, dairy, and eggs are set aside every day. This is the stricter, monastic form of the rule, which the Orthros calendar keeps; many parishes, especially Greek ones, allow fish on more days.

The Apostles' Fast 2027, Old Calendar, day by day
Sun	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat
	Jun 28Strict fast	29Wine and oil	30Strict fast	Jul 1Wine and oil	2Strict fast	3Fish, wine and oil
4Fish, wine and oil, All Saints of Russia	5Strict fast	6Wine and oil, Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God	7Strict fast, Nativity of St John the Forerunner	8Wine and oil	9Strict fast	10Fish, wine and oil
11Fish, wine and oil, Synaxis of the Three Hands Icon of the Theotokos

Strict: no oil or wine
Wine, oil: wine and olive oil allowed
Fish: fish, wine, and oil allowed
✦ an observance of the season, listed below

Within the fast

Sunday, July 4: All Saints of Russia
Tuesday, July 6: Commemoration of the Vladimir Icon of the Most Holy Mother of God
Wednesday, July 7: Nativity of St John the Forerunner
Sunday, July 11: Synaxis of the Three Hands Icon of the Theotokos

Saints of the Apostles' Fast

Orthros carries 29 lives of saints remembered during the Apostles' Fast, on the Old Calendar. Among them:

Questions about the Apostles' Fast

When does the Apostles' Fast start?

On the Monday after All Saints Sunday, the Sunday after Pentecost. Because Pentecost follows Pascha, the start moves each year. The fast always ends on June 28, the eve of Saints Peter and Paul, or July 11 on the Old Calendar.

How long is the Apostles' Fast?

It changes every year. With an early Pascha it lasts several weeks; with a late one it is short, and on the New Calendar it can disappear altogether, as it did in 2024. On the Old Calendar it always lasts at least eight days. In 2027 it lasts one day on the New Calendar, June 28, and 14 days on the Old Calendar, from June 28 to July 11.

What can you eat during the Apostles' Fast?

Meat, dairy, and eggs are set aside throughout. In the rule the Orthros calendar keeps, fish, wine, and oil are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays; wine and oil on Tuesdays and Thursdays; Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays are strict. Many parishes allow fish on more days, so keep the rule of yours.

Why is it called the Apostles' Fast?

It prepares for the feast of the chief apostles Peter and Paul, and keeps company with the apostles, who fasted and prayed as they went out to preach after Pentecost. It is also called the Fast of the Holy Apostles, the Fast of Peter and Paul, or St Peter's Fast.

More questions about the Orthodox Church, answered ›

In Orthros

Orthros computes the Apostles' Fast from the paschalion each year, however long or short it falls, and shades it on the calendar with its measure, pointing always to your priest.