In the Orthodox Church, February is often a month in which our common life begins to “flicker” into Great Lent, which this year begins on February 23 (Clean Monday). Part of that transition is Cheesefare Week (February 16-22) and culminates with Cheesefare Sunday — more popularly known as Forgiveness Sunday. Forgiveness Sunday is followed immediately by Clean Week (1st Week of Lent) — with services twice a day that help us truly focus on the season of repentance. You can see all of these days laid out in the pdf calendar below. You can also check out our full online calendar here — updated though the end of May.
We invite everybody to view our beautiful 2026 Lenten Guide with information on how to fast, how to pray during Lent, and on what many of our lenten services will look like!
In this glorious season of repentance, we invite you to visit St. Athanasius and/or one of our two active daughter communities, St. Nina Mission Church in Berea (extending the reach of the Orthodox Faith along the I-75 corridor & Wilderness Trail) and our Mercer County Chapel.
Below is a collection of photos from January 2026 showing the full range of our parish life. We hope these photos inspire you to visit our church or one of our chapels. If you have questions about our calendar or any aspect of our Faith or parish life, please reach out to our associate pastor Fr. Giorgi Lomsadze at fr.giorgi@bluegrassorthodox.org.
