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In Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
 (the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite

The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgy used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by the Greek-Catholic Churches ....
), a Synaxis (; Slavonic: ?????, Sobor) is an assembly for liturgical purposes, generally through the celebration of Vespers
Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
, Matins
Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
, Little Hours
Little Hours

The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Western Christianitys both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, and the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine church tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches....
.

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Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, the clergy and faithful would often gather together on specific feast days at a church dedicated to the saint of that day for liturgical celebrations.






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In Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity

Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christianity traditions and churches which developed in the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, Christianity in Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity....
 (the Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite
Byzantine Rite

The Byzantine Rite, sometimes called the Rite of Constantinople or Constantinopolitan Rite, is the liturgy used currently by all the Eastern Orthodox Churches and by the Greek-Catholic Churches ....
), a Synaxis (; Slavonic: ?????, Sobor) is an assembly for liturgical purposes, generally through the celebration of Vespers
Vespers

Vespers is the evening prayer service in the Roman Catholic, Byzantine Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican, and Lutheran Liturgy of the canonical hours....
, Matins
Matins

Matins is the early morning or night prayer service in the Roman Catholic Church, Anglicanism, Lutheran and Eastern Orthodoxy liturgy of the canonical hours....
, Little Hours
Little Hours

The Little Hours are the fixed daytime hours of prayer in the Divine Office of Western Christianitys both Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Church....
, and the Divine Liturgy
Divine Liturgy

The Divine Liturgy is the common term for the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine church tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches....
.

Feast day

In Constantinople
Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
, the clergy and faithful would often gather together on specific feast days at a church dedicated to the saint of that day for liturgical celebrations. These gatherings were referred to as synaxes. These synaxes came to have services written specifically for them. A Synaxis often occurs on the day following a Major Feast Day and is in honor of saints who participated in the event. For example, services on the Feast of Theophany (the revelation of the Trinity
Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
 at the Baptism of Jesus
Baptism of Jesus

In the synoptic gospels, Jesus is baptism by John the Baptist. In these accounts, John preaches repentance before the coming judgment, baptism for the forgiveness of sins, and the imminent arrival of one far greater than him....
 in the Jordan) would be held at Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia

Hagia Sophia is a former Patriarchate basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture....
; then, the next day, a Synaxis was observed in honor of St. John the Forerunner
John the Baptist

John the Baptist was a mission preacher and a major religious figure who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River in expectation of a divine apocalypse that would restore occupied Israel....
 at the church dedicated to him. Over time, the synaxes came into general use and are now celebrated in every church.

Synaxis can also refer to a common commemoration of a number of saints in a single service, such as the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. Each individual saint may have his or her own separate feast day, but they are all commemorated together on their synaxis.

Most synaxes are observed as fixed feasts
Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar

The Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar describes and dictates the rhythm of the life of the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is also shared with minor variations by the Byzantine Catholic churches that recognize the Pope of Rome....
, being celebrated on the same calendar date year after year, though some occur on the nearest Sunday to a particular date. Other synaxes are celebrated on the Paschal cycle
Paschal cycle

The Paschal cycle in the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches, is the cycle of the moveable feasts built around Easter . The cycle consists of approximately ten weeks before and seven weeks after Pascha....
, moving backward or forward in the calendar according to the date of Pascha
Easter

Easter is the most important religious feast in the Christianity liturgical year.Christians believe that Jesus was Resurrection of Jesus from the dead three days after his Crucifixion of Jesus, and celebrate this resurrection on Easter Day or Easter Sunday , two days after Good Friday....
 (Easter) that year.

The following are Synaxes which are universally observed in the Rite of Constantinople:
  • (December 26)
  • (January 7)
  • (January 4)
  • (January 30)
  • (March 26 and )
  • (June 30)
  • (May 22)
  • (July 25)
  • (September 9)
  • (November 8)
  • (November 1)
  • (Sunday before Pentecost
    Pentecost

    Pentecost is one of the prominent feasts in the Christianity liturgical year, celebrated the 49th day after Easter Sunday?or the 50th day, inclusively, whence its name is derived from the Greek....
     and )
  • (Sunday after Pentecost)
  • (Sunday on or after October 8)
  • (January 23)


There are also synaxes which have been composed for local observance:
  • (second Sunday after Pentecost)
  • (third Sunday after Pentecost)
  • (January 23)
  • (February 10, October 4, and the third Sunday after Pentecost)
  • (second Sunday of Great Lent
    Great Lent

    Great Lent, or the Great Fast, is the most important fasting season in the church year in Eastern Christianity, which prepares Christians for the greatest feast of the church year, Easter ....
    )
  • (May 23)
  • (June 10)
  • (June 10)
  • (June 23)
  • (July 6)
  • (August 9)
  • (August 28)
  • (August 30)
  • (September 22)
  • (September 24)
  • (September 28)
  • (October 4)
  • (October 10)
  • (second Sunday after Pentecost)
  • (October 11)
  • (December 11)
  • (August 28)
  • (October 5)


  • Synaxis of all Saints of Moscow
    Moscow

    Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
     (Sunday before August 26th)
  • (Sunday closest to July 23)
  • Synaxis of the Saints of Tver
    Tver

    Tver is a types of inhabited localities in Russia in Russia, the administrative center of Tver Oblast. Population: 405,500 ; 408,903 . Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in Imperial Russia with population of 60,000 on...
     (Sunday closest to July 3)


Assembly

A Synaxis is a group of churchmen - especially in the Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian communion in the world with an estimated 225 million members worldwide. It is considered by its adherents to be the Four Marks of the Church established by Jesus Christ and his Apostles nearly 2000 years ago....
 - who would otherwise compose a Synod
Synod

A synod is a council of a Ecclesia , usually a Christianity church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. An ecumenical council is so named because it is a synod of the whole church ...
 but lack an officiating Patriarch
Patriarch

Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised Autocracy authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy....
.

Because they did not recognize the authority of the Latin
Latins

Latins can refer to several groups of people. Its meaning has changed throughout time, and can still refer to different things even today....
 Patriarchs
Latin Patriarch of Constantinople

The Latin Patriarch of Constantinople was an office established as a result of Crusader activity in the Near East. The title should not be confused with that of the "Patriarch of Constantinople", an office which existed before and after....
 following the Council of Florence
Council of Florence

The Council of Florence was an Ecumenical Council of bishops and other ecclesiastics of the Roman Catholic Church. It began in 1431 in Basel, Switzerland, and became known as the Council of Ferrara after its transfer to Ferrara was decreed by Pope Eugene IV to convene in 1438....
, the group of churchmen opposing the Council and its Union called themselves the Synaxis. The most influential and famous of these was the monk Gennadios, better known as Georgios Scholarios, who later became Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.

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