The Dormition Fast

This call to re-dedication developed into an two week lent that Byzantines now call the “Dormition Fast”. The traditional rule for the Dormition Fast is a strict abstinence from August 1 to 14, with the usual mitigations (wine and oil) for Saturday and Sunday and the Feast of the Transfiguration (August 6). It is, therefore, observed as the Great Fast. The Ruthenian Metropolia has identified this period as a penitential season (Canon 880, § 2). The observance of this fast is obligatory.