Orthodox Church celebrates Feast of All Saints
On the first Sunday after Pentecost, believers glorify all the saints of God, whose path to holiness became the living fruit of the descent of the Holy Spirit.
On June 7, 2026, the Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints who have shone forth in the universe. This celebration unites the remembrance of all God’s servants – from the ancient apostles and martyrs to the ascetics of recent times, including those whose names are known only to God.
This day is a common name day for every Christian, as the Church honors the fruits of the Holy Spirit’s work in all people, regardless of their rank or the time in which they lived.
The theological meaning of the feast is inseparably connected with the event of Pentecost. According to the Synaxarion, the holy fathers established this celebration immediately after the descent of the Holy Spirit in order to show the fruits of the apostles’ preaching and how the grace of God elevates human nature to the angelic state.
The sequence of these celebrations emphasizes that the saints shone forth in different times and through different spiritual labors, yet all of them were inspired by the one Spirit Who was poured out upon the Church on the Day of the Holy Trinity. In the hymnography of the feast, the saints are praised as "incorruptible luminaries" and "divine cloud."
This Sunday has also become an important milestone in the annual liturgical cycle. The period of using the Pentecostarion has ended, and the Church has transitioned to chanting the Octoechos. From this day, the reading of the sequence of eleven Sunday Gospels begins at Matins, and during the Divine Liturgy, the readings from the Epistle to the Romans and the Gospel of Matthew come into effect.
The Feast of All Saints marks the beginning of the Peter (Apostolic) Fast. Starting Monday, the faithful enter a period of summer abstinence, which will continue until July 11 inclusive and conclude with the celebration of the memory of the chief apostles Peter and Paul.
