Fasting Guide
Coptic Orthodox fasting periods and rules
Liturgical year 2024–2025 (1741 AM)
Fasting Levels
- Vegan
- No animal products — no meat, poultry, dairy, or eggs.
- Fish Allowed
- Vegan diet, but fish is permitted. Applies to certain periods except on Wednesdays and Fridays.
- Strict
- Vegan with delayed or reduced meals.
- Abstinence
- No food or drink until the afternoon liturgy.
Fasting Periods
Nativity Fast
Fish Allowed · Vegan on Wed/FriNovember 25, 2024 – January 6, 2025· 43 days
A forty-three-day fast in preparation for the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
View on calendar →Jonah's Fast
VeganFebruary 10, 2025 – February 12, 2025· 3 days
A three-day fast commemorating the repentance of the people of Nineveh after the preaching of the Prophet Jonah.
View on calendar →Great Lent
VeganFebruary 24, 2025 – April 13, 2025· 49 days
The longest and most important fasting period, preparing for the Feast of the Resurrection through prayer, repentance, and spiritual discipline.
View on calendar →Holy Week
Strict · Abstinence on Good Friday and Bright SaturdayApril 14, 2025 – April 19, 2025· 6 days
The most solemn week of the year, commemorating the Passion, Crucifixion, and Burial of our Lord.
View on calendar →Apostles' Fast
Fish Allowed · Vegan on Wed/FriJune 9, 2025 – July 11, 2025· 33 days
A fast honoring the Holy Apostles, beginning the day after Pentecost and ending on the eve of the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul.
View on calendar →St. Mary's Fast
VeganAugust 7, 2025 – August 21, 2025· 15 days
A fifteen-day fast preceding the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
View on calendar →Weekly Fasting
Every Wednesday and Friday is a vegan fasting day throughout the year.
Wednesday commemorates the betrayal of our Lord; Friday commemorates His Crucifixion. This weekly fast is suspended during the Holy Fifty Days (from Pascha to Pentecost) and on Major Feasts of the Lord.
Paramoun
A preparation period of one to three days before the Feasts of the Nativity and Epiphany.
The number of Paramoun days depends on the day of the week the feast falls: one day if the feast is Tuesday through Saturday, two days if Sunday, and three days if Monday. All Paramoun days are strictly vegan with no fish. On weekday Paramoun days, abstinence from food and drink until the afternoon is also observed.