Afterfeast

An Afterfeast is a period of celebration attached to one of the Great Feasts celebrated by the Orthodox Christian and Eastern Catholic Churches (somewhat analogous to what in the West would be called an Octave).

The celebration of the Great Feasts of the church year are extended for a number of days, depending upon the particular Feast. Each day of an Afterfeast will have particular hymns assigned to it, continuing the theme of the Feast being celebrated. At each of the divine services during an Afterfeast, the troparion and kontakion of the feast are read or chanted. The canon of the feast will usually be chanted on every day of the Afterfeast (if two canons were chanted on the day of the feast, they will be alternated on the days of the afterfeast). Some of the Great Feasts of the Lord will have a special canon composed of only three odes, called Triodions, which will be chanted at Compline on each day of the Afterfeast.

Most of these Great Feasts also have a day or more of preparation called a Forefeast (those Feasts that are on the moveable Paschal Cycle do not have Forefeasts). Forefeasts and Afterfeasts will affect the structure of the services during the Canonical Hours.

The last day of an Afterfeast is called the Apodosis (Ancient Greek for "leave-taking", lit. "giving-back") of the Feast. On the Apodosis, most of the hymns that were chanted on the first day of the Feast are repeated. On the Apodosis of Feasts of the Theotokos, the Epistle and Gospel from the day of the Feast are repeated again at the Divine Liturgy.

The Forefeasts and Afterfeasts break down as follows:

Days of

Forefeast

 Name of

Feast

 Date Days of

Afterfeast[1]

1Nativity of the Theotokos8 September5
1Exaltation of the Cross14 September8
1Entry of the Theotokos21 November5
5 [2]Nativity of our Lord25 December7
4 [3]Theophany of our Lord6 January9
1 [4]Meeting of our Lord2 February8
0 [5]Palm SundaySunday before Pascha0
1 [6]Annunciation of the Theotokos25 March2
0 [7]PaschaSunday of the Resurrection39
0Mid-Pentecost [8]Twenty-fifth day of Pascha7
0Ascension of our LordFortieth day of Pascha9
0Pentecost (Trinity Sunday)Fiftieth day of Pascha7
1Transfiguration of our Lord6 August8
1Dormition of the Theotokos15 August9

Four of these Afterfeasts have a special commemoration on the day following the Feast, called a Synaxis. In this context, a Synaxis commemorates a saint who is intimately bound up with the Feast being celebrated. The four Synaxes are:

  • Synaxis of Ss. Joachim and Anna (9 September—the day after the Nativity of the Theotokos)
  • Synaxis of the Theotokos (26 December—the day after the Nativity of our Lord)
  • Synaxis of the Forerunner (7 January—the day after the Theophany of our Lord)
  • Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (26 March—the day after the Annunciation) If the Annunciation falls during Holy Week the Synaxis is omitted.[6]

Other Great Feasts that have Afterfeasts (although no Forefeasts) are:

  • The Nativity of the Forerunner (June 24)
  • The Beheading of the Forerunner (August 29)
  • The Feast of the Holy Apostles, Peter and Paul (June 29).

Each of these three has only 1 day of Afterfeast, and no Apodosis. These are not counted among the Twelve Great Feasts (i.e., Great Feasts of the Lord or Theotokos).

Even though the Patronal Feast of a parish church or monastery is treated as a Great Feast, it has no Forefeast or Afterfeast.

The Feast of the Procession of the Cross (August 1), though it is not counted as a Great Feast, has one day of Forefeast, and no Afterfeast.

Notes
  1. These numbers are inclusive (counting the actual day of the Feast itself).
  2. The Eve of the Nativity is a special day of strict fasting and preparation in anticipation of the Feast, called a Paramony.
  3. The Eve of the Theophany is also a Paramony.
  4. The Forefeast and Afterfeast of the Meeting of the Lord are variable, depending on the date of Pascha that year: the Afterfeast must always end before the beginning of Great Lent.
  5. The day before Palm Sunday, Lazarus Saturday could be considered a type of Forefeast for Palm Sunday.
  6. If the Annunciation falls during Holy Week there will be no Forefeast or Afterfeast. This timing is only possible for Orthodox churches who continue to follow the Julian calendar, since March 25 in the Revised Julian calendar falls too early to be that close to even the earliest of Paschas.
  7. Holy Saturday could be thought of as a Forefeast of Pascha, but the Bright Resurrection of Christ is so far above and beyond the normal level of Great Feasts that it falls into a category all by itself. It does, however have an Afterfeast, and that is why it is treated in this table.
  8. Mid-Pentecost is unique in that it is a Feast that falls within a Feast (falling as it does within the Afterfeast of Pascha).
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