Overview
The Monthly Calendar component provides a complete liturgical calendar system for Orthodox churches. It automatically generates calendars showing feast days, service times, and fasting rules based on the Orthodox liturgical year. The system calculates dates for both fixed feasts (like Nativity on December 25) and moveable feasts (like Pascha and feasts calculated from it).
How the Calendar Works
Your calendar displays three main types of information:
Feasts and Saints
- Fixed feasts that occur on the same date each year (Nativity, Theophany)
- Moveable feasts calculated from Pascha (Palm Sunday, Pentecost)
- Great Feasts, minor feasts, and saint commemorations
- Automatically colored by importance
Services
- Regular weekly services (Sunday Liturgy, Saturday Vespers)
- Seasonal services (Lenten services, festal services)
- Special services on feast days
- Service times and descriptions
Fasting Information
- What foods are permitted each day
- Special fasting rules on feast days
- Automatically calculated based on the liturgical calendar
The system combines these elements to show your parish's complete schedule for any month.
Accessing the Calendar
Navigate to Components → Monthly Calendar to access all calendar management tools.
Viewing and Editing Calendars
Select a Month to View
- Choose the Month from the dropdown (January through December)
- Choose the Year
- Click "View Month" to see the public calendar
- Click "Edit Month" to make changes to specific days
Editing Individual Days
When you edit a month, you can click on any day to customize it:
What you can edit:
- Feast - Names of saints and celebrations for that day
- Morning - Morning service information (Matins, Divine Liturgy)
- Evening - Evening service information (Vespers, Compline)
- Fasting - Fasting rules for that day
Two types of content:
- Default content - Automatically generated from your feasts and services
- Custom content - Your manual edits that override the defaults
When you first open a day, you'll see the default content. Once you edit and save it, your custom content is stored and won't be overwritten unless you click "Restore Default."
When to Edit Individual Days
You typically edit specific days when:
- Service times change for that day only
- Adding special services (visiting clergy, special events)
- Noting building closures or schedule changes
- Adding parish-specific information
- Clarifying fasting for your community
Tip: Don't edit individual days for regular schedule information—use Services and Feasts management instead (explained below).
Calendar Management Tools
From the main Monthly Calendar page, you have access to several customization options:
Manage Feasts
Create and manage the feast days, saints, and celebrations that appear on your calendar.
What you can do:
- Add parish-specific saints (patron saint, local saints)
- Configure which feasts appear
- Set liturgical rankings
- Define fasting rules for feast days
- Link tooltips to feast names
Great Feasts are already in the system, but you'll want to add saints important to your parish.
See the article: Managing Calendar Feasts
Manage Services
Create your regular service schedule that appears automatically on the calendar.
What you can do:
- Set up weekly services (Sunday Liturgy, Saturday Vespers)
- Create seasonal schedules (summer hours, Lenten services)
- Schedule recurring services (first Saturday memorials, weekday services)
- Link tooltips to service names
Services you create here appear automatically on every applicable day—you don't need to add them manually to each date.
See the article: Managing Services
Calendar Colors
Customize how different feast ranks appear on your calendar.
What you can do:
- Set colors for Pascha (Feast of Feasts)
- Set colors for Great Feasts
- Set colors for different saint ranks
- Set colors for Sundays
- Match your parish's visual style
Colors help visitors quickly identify important feast days.
See the article: Configuring Calendar Colors
Calendar Header/Footer
Add text that appears above and below every monthly calendar.
What you can do:
- Add a welcome message
- Include contact information
- Add disclaimers about schedule changes
- Link to weekly bulletins
See the article: Customizing Calendar Header and Footer
Calendar Properties
Configure how calendars display and behave.
What you can do:
- Set fonts for viewing and printing
- Control fasting information display
- Set layout and time formats
- Configure Old Calendar date display
- Enable calendar sync features
See the article: Configuring Calendar Properties
Tooltips
Create helpful pop-ups that explain liturgical terms, feasts, and services.
What you can do:
- Define terms like "Vespers," "Theotokos," "Great Lent"
- Explain feast days and their significance
- Add saint biographies with icons
- Link to detailed information
Tooltips help educate visitors about Orthodox worship and celebrations.
See the article: Managing Calendar Tooltips
Typical Calendar Setup
Here's the recommended order for setting up your calendar:
1. Configure Calendar Properties
Set your basic display preferences, fonts, and fasting display options.
2. Set Calendar Colors
Choose colors for different feast ranks that match your website design.
3. Add Calendar Header/Footer
Create standard text that appears on all calendars.
4. Add Your Regular Services
Set up your weekly service schedule (Sunday Liturgy, Saturday Vespers, etc.).
5. Add Parish-Specific Feasts
Add your patron saint and other locally venerated saints.
6. Create Tooltips
Start with the most common terms your visitors will encounter.
7. Review and Test
View several months to verify everything appears correctly.
8. Make Individual Day Edits (as needed)
Only edit specific days when you need to add special information or changes.
Regular Maintenance
Weekly
- Check upcoming Sundays and feast days
- Verify service times are correct
- Add any special services or events
Monthly
- Review the next month's calendar
- Update for seasonal schedule changes
- Add special feast day information
Seasonally
- Update service schedules for summer/winter
- Prepare for Great Lent, Nativity Fast
- Add seasonal services
As Needed
- Edit individual days for one-time changes
- Update tooltips with new information
- Adjust colors or display settings
- Add new saints or feasts
Displaying Calendars on Your Website
Once your calendar is configured, you can display it on your website in several ways:
Monthly Calendar View
- Full month grid showing all days
- Traditional calendar appearance
- URL:
/calendar/YYYY/MM(example:/calendar/2025/03)
Calendar Sections Add calendar displays to any page as a section:
- Event Calendar (interactive with multiple views)
- Carousel Group (animated slideshow)
- Text List (simple upcoming events)
- Timeline (vertical presentation)
- Liturgical Calendar (traditional grid)
See the article: Displaying the Calendar
Common Questions
Why isn't my feast appearing? Check that you created the feast in Manage Feasts, set the correct date or formula, and that you're viewing the right year.
Why isn't my service showing? Verify the service is created in Manage Services, check the day of week and scheduling mode, and confirm the dates fall within any seasonal ranges.
How do I change just one Sunday's service time? Edit that specific day manually rather than changing your regular service schedule.
What's the difference between editing a day and creating a service? Services are recurring patterns that appear automatically. Editing a day is for one-time changes or additions.
Do I need to edit every day? No! The calendar generates content automatically from your feasts and services. Only edit specific days when you need custom information.
How do I restore a day to defaults? Open that day in the editor and click "Restore Default" to remove custom edits.
Getting Help
Calendar showing wrong information: Check your feasts and services configuration first, then verify calendar properties settings.
Changes not appearing: Clear your browser cache and reload the page. Some changes require rebuilding the tooltip cache.
Not sure how to calculate a moveable feast: Consult a liturgical calendar from your jurisdiction or ask your priest for the correct formula.
Display looks wrong: Review your calendar properties and colors settings. Test on different devices.
Related Articles
- Managing Services: Configure your service schedule
- Managing Feasts: Create and manage feast days
- Managing Tooltips: Create interactive explanations
- Displaying the Calendar: Show calendars on your website pages
- Configuring Calendar Properties: Set display preferences
- Configuring Calendar Colors: Customize feast day colors
- Customizing Calendar Header and Footer: Add text to calendars