The Dormition Fast, one of the strictest yet shortest periods of Orthodox fasting in Ukraine, began on August 1 and runs through August 14. Restrictions lift entirely on August 15, the Feast of the Dormition of the Holy Mother of God.
The fast, also known as Spasivka, falls during a harvest-rich time of year. The abundance of fresh vegetables and fruit makes it a good opportunity for those who have never fasted before to try the practice, the source notes.
What to eat
All animal products are off the table. Meat, eggs, dairy, and any baked goods made with eggs or milk are excluded from the diet. Believers are free to eat vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, honey, seeds, and mushrooms throughout the two weeks.
Exemptions apply to children, elderly people, pregnant women, nursing mothers, those whose health prevents fasting, and people doing physically demanding work, including military personnel, rescue workers, and firefighters.
Beyond the dinner plate
The fast is described in the source not as punishment but as a spiritual practice in which believers voluntarily limit actions that pull them away from God. Loud parties, idle entertainment, conflict, anger, judging others, holding grudges, and gossip are all discouraged.
Married couples are advised to abstain from physical intimacy during the fast, and no weddings or church ceremonies are held in this period. An exception exists for military families: if a serviceman’s leave falls during the fast, priests will generally still perform the ceremony.
The Orthodox Church of Ukraine moved to the new church calendar in 2023. Under the old calendar, the fast runs from August 14 to 27.
