Editing Great Lent (section)

====Feast days====
[[Image:Ohrid annunciation icon.jpg|thumb|250px|An icon of the [[Annunciation]], the most important [[feast day]] on the [[Liturgical calendar of the Byzantine Rite|fixed calendar]] that can fall during Great Lent (Church of St. [[Clement of Ohrid]], [[North Macedonia]])]]

Since the season of Great Lent is moveable, beginning on different dates from year to year, accommodation must be made for various feast days on the [[Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar|fixed calendar]] ([[Menaion]]) which occur during the season. When these feasts fall on a weekday of Great Lent, the normal Lenten aspect of the services is lessened to celebrate the solemnity.

The most important of these fixed feasts is the [[Great Feast]] of the [[Annunciation]] (March 25), which is considered to be so important that it is never moved, even if it should fall on the Sunday of Pascha itself, a rare and special occurrence which is known as ''[[Kyrio-Pascha]]''. The fast is also lessened, and the faithful are allowed to eat fish, unless it is Good Friday or Holy Saturday. Whereas on other weekdays of Great Lent, no celebration of the Divine Liturgy is permitted, there is a Liturgy (usually the [[Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom|Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom]]) celebrated on Annunciation—even if it falls on [[Good Friday]].

When the [[feast day]] of the [[patron saint]] of the [[parish church]] or [[monastery]] falls on a weekday of Great Lent, there is no liturgy (other than the Presanctified), but fish is allowed at the meal.  In some churches the feast of a patron saint is moved to the nearest Saturday (excluding the Saturday of the Akathist), and in other churches, it is celebrated on the day of the feast itself.

When some other important feast occurs on a weekday, such as the [[First and Second Finding of the Head of John the Baptist]] (February 24), the [[Forty Martyrs of Sebaste]] (March 9), etc., it is usually combined with the Lenten service, and wine and oil are allowed at the meal.

Regardless of the rank of the feast being celebrated, the Lenten hymns contained in the Triodion are never omitted, but are always chanted in their entirety, even on the feast of the Annunciation.

[[Image:The Ladder of Divine Ascent Monastery of St Catherine Sinai 12th century.jpg|thumb|[[Icon]] depicting ''[[The Ladder of Divine Ascent]]'' (12th century, [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]])]]

On the Saturdays, Sundays, and a number of weekdays during Great Lent, the service materials from the Triodion leave no room for the commemoration of the [[feast day|Saint of the day]] from the [[Menaion]]. In order that their services not be completely forgotten, a portion of them (their canon at Matins, and their stichera from "Lord I Have Cried" at Vespers) is chanted at [[Compline]].