02/08/2026
The Three Spas: Three August Feasts of the Saviour
In Russian Orthodox tradition, the word Spas โ ะกะฟะฐั โ means โthe Saviourโ and refers to our Lord Jesus Christ. During August, three distinct feasts associated with the Lord came to be linked in the popular Orthodox calendar of Rusโ and the wider East Slavic world as the First, Second and Third Spas.
They are not one formally established liturgical trilogy, but three separate commemorations united in popular Orthodox consciousness by their reference to Christ the Saviour, their place within the August liturgical cycle surrounding the Dormition Fast, and their connection with the agricultural life of the faithful.
The feasts themselves belong to the wider liturgical life of the Orthodox Church. Their numbering, together with such familiar names as the Honey Spas, Apple Spas, and Bread or Nut Spas, reflects the way the Church calendar became woven into the seasons, labour and daily life of Orthodox Christians. These traditional names remain part of Russian Orthodox culture and are preserved within the calendar tradition inherited by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia.
The First Spas โ 14 August
The Procession of the Precious Wood of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord
The First Spas marks the beginning of the Dormition Fast. In Russian popular tradition it became known as the Honey Spas, because this was the season when the new honey harvest was gathered and brought for blessing.
The formal feast recalls the ancient procession of the Precious Wood of the Cross through Constantinople for the sanctification of the city and the protection of the faithful.
The Second Spas โ 19 August
The Holy Transfiguration of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
The Second Spas is traditionally called the Apple Spas. The ancient Christian custom is to offer God the first fruits of the harvest, particularly grapes. When this tradition took root in Rusโ, where grapes were not widely cultivated, apples became the characteristic fruit brought for blessing.
This name belongs to the agricultural cycle of the Northern Hemisphere. Here in Australia the seasons are reversed, but the spiritual principle remains unchanged: we bring grapes and other seasonal fruits to God in thanksgiving, asking His blessing upon the fruits of the earth and the labour of human hands.
Although modern trade makes many fruits available throughout the year, the custom continues to speak in the older and deeper language of harvest, thanksgiving and offering.
The Third Spas โ 29 August
The Translation of the Holy Image of Our Lord Jesus Christ Not Made by Hands from Edessa to Constantinople
The Third Spas is known by several traditional names, including the Bread Spas, Nut Spas, and, in some places, the Spas on Linen. These names reflect regional customs associated with the grain harvest, the ripening of nuts and the traditional trade in linen cloth.
The Church commemorates the translation to Constantinople in the year 944 of the Holy Image of Christ Not Made by Hands. According to ancient Church Tradition, the image of the Saviour was miraculously imprinted upon a cloth rather than produced by human artistry.
This feast became deeply beloved within the Russian Orthodox Church, where the Image of the Saviour Not Made by Hands occupies an important place in prayer, church life and iconography.
The Third Spas also offers an important insight into the Orthodox understanding of Holy Tradition. The account of the Holy Image is not narrated in the New Testament, yet it has been received, preserved and commemorated within the Churchโs historical memory, iconography, hymnography and worship.
Holy Tradition is not something arbitrarily added to Scripture. It is the continuing life, memory and experience of the Church within which the New Testament writings were composed, preserved, recognised and faithfully interpreted.
For Christians whose background has taught them to expect every aspect of Christian life to be stated explicitly within the Bible, the Third Spas can open a new and sometimes surprising window into the fullness of the Churchโs life.
These traditional names are not substitutes for the Churchโs formal feast titles. They express the way Orthodox Christian life became woven into the seasons, labour, harvest and memory of ordinary faithful people.
Behind the familiar names stands a profound confession: Christ the Saviour sanctifies not only the soul, but time, history, human work and the fruits of creation.
