September 21 Orthodox Feast: The Leave-Taking of the Exaltation of the Cross — What Saint Day Is Today

For September 21, 2026, the answer to what saint day is today includes the leave-taking of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and the commemoration of Apostle Quadratus of the Seventy. Orthodox calendars also remember Hieromartyr Hypatius and Presbyter Andrew, Saints Isaac and Meletius, and other martyrs. A leave-taking closes the liturgical celebration of a major feast. September 21, 2026 is a Monday, so there is no ordinary weekly fast simply because of the weekday.

What saint day is today: What is today's church holiday, September 21, 2026 on the Orthodox calendar

September 21 marks the leave-taking, or apodosis, of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. This is the final day on which the church gives the feast's hymns and themes a special place in the liturgical cycle before returning fully to the ordinary sequence of services. The date also commemorates Apostle Quadratus and several martyrs and monastic saints.

The combination is important: the leave-taking is a liturgical event, not the feast of a new saint, while the daily saint list continues normally. Readers may therefore see both the Cross and several individual saints emphasized on the same calendar page.

What does the leave-taking of the Exaltation of the Cross mean

A leave-taking is the formal conclusion of a festal period. Major Orthodox feasts are often celebrated not only on one date but through a forefeast, the feast itself, an afterfeast, and finally a leave-taking. On the last day, many of the central hymns are repeated before the church moves on in the calendar.

For the Exaltation, this means September 21 closes the extended liturgical focus that began around September 14. It does not mean the Cross becomes less important afterward. The symbol remains central to Christian worship; the leave-taking simply concludes this particular annual cycle of festal texts.

Who is the Apostle Quadratus?

Quadratus, also written Codratus or Kodratos, is counted among the Seventy Apostles in Orthodox tradition. He is associated with the earliest generations of Christian mission after the Twelve Apostles and is remembered as a bishop and preacher. Ancient Christian writers also know a Quadratus who addressed an apology for Christianity to the emperor, though identifying all references with certainty is difficult.

The church calendar presents him as an apostolic figure who helped establish and defend early Christian communities. His feast on September 21 therefore adds an apostolic theme to the closing day of the Exaltation's afterfeast.

Which other saints are commemorated on September 21

The expanded Orthodox calendar includes several additional names on September 21. Among them are Hieromartyr Hypatius and Presbyter Andrew, Saints Isaac and Meletius, and Martyrs Eusebius and Priscus. Different jurisdictions may list further local saints, especially those associated with a national church or monastery.

This variation does not mean the calendars contradict one another. The universal calendar is layered: a shared core is supplemented by local commemorations. When comparing sources, the best practice is to look first at the principal feast and major saints, then note jurisdiction-specific additions separately.

Who are the holy martyrs Hypatius and Andrew

Hypatius and Andrew are remembered together as Christian martyrs. Some calendars identify Hypatius as a bishop and Andrew as a presbyter, reflecting their clerical roles in the early church. Their shared commemoration preserves the memory of clergy who suffered for Christian confession.

The documentary record is limited, and several saints named Hypatius or Andrew appear throughout the year. Feast date and title are therefore essential for avoiding confusion. A responsible summary should not attach details from another martyr simply because the names match.

Who are Saints Isaac and Meletius

Isaac and Meletius are listed among the saints of September 21 in expanded calendars. They are generally remembered in the ascetic or monastic tradition rather than as members of the day's principal martyr group. Their biographies are less widely available in English than those of Quadratus or major feast-day saints.

Their inclusion illustrates the broad character of the Orthodox menaion, which combines apostles, bishops, martyrs, monastics, and local saints on one date. When details are sparse, it is more accurate to preserve the calendar identification than to invent a fuller narrative.

Who are the martyrs Eusebius and Priscus

Eusebius and Priscus are among the martyrs named in some September 21 calendars. They belong to the large body of early Christian witnesses whose names survived in liturgical records even when extensive biographies did not. English transliterations may differ from one source to another.

Their commemoration is best understood within the broader martyrological tradition. The point of the calendar is not to rank saints by how much historical documentation remains but to preserve the church's memory of people believed to have remained faithful under persecution.

Is there a fast on September 21, 2026

September 21, 2026 is a Monday, so it is not one of the ordinary weekly fast days. The leave-taking of the Exaltation also does not reproduce the strict fast of September 14. The standard calendar rule therefore does not make this Monday a general fast day.

Local practice can vary, and individual health needs always matter. Fasting is part of a wider spiritual discipline that includes prayer and self-restraint; it should not be reduced to food rules detached from pastoral judgment.

What is important to know about the church holiday of September 21, 2026

The key fact is that September 21 closes the annual liturgical celebration of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. Apostle Quadratus is the most prominent individual saint on the date, while several martyrs and ascetics are also remembered.

There is no universal ban on work, study, travel, or household tasks. The useful distinction is between the formal liturgical calendar and later folk customs. Fixed-date commemorations can also appear on a different civil date in communities that continue to use the Julian calendar.

The term leave-taking can be confusing because it sounds as if the feast is being cancelled. In liturgical practice it means the formal conclusion of a period during which hymns and themes from a major feast continue to appear in services. The Exaltation of the Cross is celebrated on September 14 in the calendar used for this article, and its liturgical afterfeast extends beyond the single day. September 21 marks the final return to those feast texts before the cycle moves on.

That framework explains why the Cross remains prominent even though the calendar also names Apostle Quadratus and several martyrs. Daily Orthodox worship layers commemorations rather than replacing one with another. A local parish may give greater prominence to the leave-taking, while a saint's namesake or monastery may emphasize a particular saint. Both approaches fit within the broader calendar.

September 21, 2026 falls on a Monday, so there is no ordinary weekly fast simply because of the weekday. The stricter fast associated with the Exaltation belongs to the feast itself, September 14, not automatically to every day of the afterfeast. Monastic rules and individual disciplines can differ, but readers should not assume that the leave-taking repeats the one-day strict fast. There is likewise no general church rule forbidding work, school, household tasks, or travel on September 21.

In short, the leave-taking closes the liturgical celebration; it does not repeat the feast from the beginning.

When comparing sources, note that the names Quadratus, Kodratus, and Codratus can refer to the same saint under different transliteration systems. Similar variation appears with several lesser-known martyrs. The safest way to identify them is by title, place, and feast date together. This avoids turning a spelling difference into a false claim that the calendars commemorate different people.