Christian fasting is recognized today by Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant churches. But everyone observes it differently. Some, taken during the 40 day period that precedes, have one meal a day. For others, it is customary to fast on Friday during Holy Week. Some abstain from meat, fish, eggs and dairy products during Lent.
Many believers believe that fasting was initiated by Jesus. The Bible actually records how he fasted for 40 days after. But he did not institute a ritual to follow. This conclusion can be drawn from what is told about his first followers. The Bible does not say anywhere that the early Christians observed Great Lent. Lent was first observed in the 4th century A.D. - this is already almost 4 centuries after Christ. And the custom of fasting was borrowed from paganism, like many others.
Well, if Great Lent is really an imitation of Jesus, then why is it then observed in the days when Jesus is believed to have resurrected, and not baptized? Before his death, Jesus did not fast. On the contrary, there are reports in the Bible that before his death, Jesus and his disciples took food. And on the night before his death, Jesus ate an Easter supper with his disciples.
But the fact that Jesus fasted after his baptism can be very beneficial for us. After baptism, Jesus had to start a very important business, serving God. Therefore, Jesus had to think carefully about everything, pray to God, ask him for help and guidance. Therefore, it can be concluded that fasting will be beneficial if done with the right motives and in the right time for the occasion.
When Fasting Can Benefit
A person who has committed a sin may not want to eat for a while. And this may not happen because he wants to impress others, but because he is tormented by his conscience for committing an offense. And abstinence from food itself, of course, does not improve the relationship between the sinner and God. However, sincere repentance that he sinned against God and against some people can lead to the fact that a person will fervently pray to God and all this will suppress the desire to eat.
King David experienced something similar. He was very afraid of losing his newborn child, and therefore he concentrated all his strength on prayers to God, asking for salvation for the child. David put all his feelings and strengths into prayers, so he fasted. Today, too, there can be such difficult situations when a person may find eating food inappropriate.
The Bible also describes times when God's servants had an important decision to make, and so they fasted.
Fasting or not fasting is a personal matter for everyone. You should never condemn another in this matter, or impose your point of view. You should not give up food just to appear righteous in front of people. But it is also not necessary to attach such importance to food that it would interfere with important matters. The Bible makes it clear that God does not require us to fast, nor does he forbid us to fast if we deem it necessary.
What is fasting? What is it for and how to properly observe it? You will find out about this by reading this article.
The purpose of Orthodox fasting
What is fasting? What is it needed for? The goal for a Christian is to eliminate the harmful manifestations of the soul and to bring virtue into his life. Believers achieve this by sincere and attentive prayer, and also more often pay a visit to the temple to participate in divine services.
How to fast What should you give up? During fasting, Orthodox Christians voluntarily refrain from eating meat, dairy dishes, and desserts. They also try to avoid all kinds of pleasures and entertainment. But Orthodox Christian, first of all, must take care not of the stomach, but of his state of mind. Fasting is incorrectly perceived as a diet.
Often many people, observing the fast, become irritable, wait for its soonest end, forgetting about the soul. If a person really began to think about his soul, then he would certainly rejoice at fasting. After all, his whole essence is aimed at healing the soul.
Thus, for a true Christian, the time of fasting is the best, at this time he becomes closer to God.
What is more important: bodily fast or spiritual fast?
What is fasting? What is it needed for? Is bodily fasting or spiritual fasting more important? It is very important for a Christian to understand that only abstinence from food means nothing without spiritual fasting. Rather, on the contrary, as indicated above, it can be harmful. At the same time, the harm can lie not only in irritability, but also in the fact that the fasting person can be imbued with a sense of his superiority and excessive piety. But the meaning of fasting lies precisely in the destruction of sins.
What is fasting? What is it needed for? Fasting is medicine. Not always sweet, but potent. It helps to break away from pleasures, collect thoughts and think about your spiritual health.
If a fasting person constantly experiences sinful feelings instead of repentance and prayer, helping his neighbor, performing good deeds, then fasting will not be genuine, it will not be spiritual.
It should be understood that when a person is fasting, he is not starving. Not a single service of Great Lent mentions him in the usual sense for people, that is, in not eating meat and tasty food. The Church encourages fasting bodily and fasting spiritually.
So, fasting will only have true meaning when it is combined with spiritual work on oneself. A common person living in rhythm modern world, will not be available to the influence of the Higher Power. Fasting softens the callousness of a person, and then he becomes more accessible to the influence of the Upper World.
What does the post make you think about, how to behave correctly?
How to fast fast? Many people, when fasting, believe that it would be a great sin if they eat, even because of powerlessness, anything dishonest, but they are not at all embarrassed by the fact that they neglect and blame their neighbors, for example, they cheat, insult or lie to their friends. This is real hypocrisy towards God. This is a lack of awareness of faith and humility!
It is absolutely obvious that repentance and prayer during fasting should always be accompanied by reflections on our own sinful life and, of course, should go alongside abstaining from various fun and entertainment: going to dances, to theaters, to friends. One should try to avoid reading books of a frivolous nature, listening to joyful musical compositions, watching television programs for the purpose of entertainment. If all these activities beckon a Christian, then he has to make an effort on himself in order to rid his soul of all this, at least in fasting time. This is the essence of fasting.
Thus, one should fast both in soul and in body, with joy. It is necessary to learn how to combine external fasting with internal fasting. You need to study your soul and correct your vices. When people cleanse their bodies through abstinence, they must cleanse their souls by repentance and prayer, and then they can find virtue and humility, love and respect for their neighbor. This is what will be a true fast, pleasing to God, and therefore saving a person's soul.
When can you eat fish during Lent?
When is fish eaten during the fast? According to general rules, this product is allowed on large holidays that fall during fasting.
In Great Lent, dedicated to the resurrection of the Lord, you can eat fish on the holidays of the Annunciation, Palm Sunday (the Lord's entry into Jerusalem), on Lazarev Saturday.
When do they still eat fish during the fast? Also, this product can be eaten in those Orthodox holidays that fell during the period of fasting. After all, for example, every year Great Lent falls on a different time.
In the Dormition Fast, dedicated to the Holy Virgin Mary, fish is allowed on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
Christmas fast is dedicated to the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, it is not as strict as Great Lent, fish can be eaten every Saturday and Sunday.
During the Peter Lent, dedicated to the holy apostles Peter and Paul, fish can be eaten on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
However, as stated above, fasting is not a diet. If a person, a Christian, because of his weakness, needs to eat fish, then with the blessing of the priest, to ease the fast, you can eat fish any day. After all, the main thing is the healing of the soul, and not what is in the stomach. Fasting in food helps to maintain spiritual fasting, because after eating fatty, tasty food, a person needs to lie down, sleep, spend time in idleness, he does not want to read prayers, and even more so to go to church. And food can be cooked in such a way that it will be lean and tasty.
How to fast an Orthodox Christian?
In fact, this question has absolutely no clear answer. Each person should fast to the best of his ability and ability. Someone can, roughly speaking, hold out the entire fast on bread and water, being in constant prayer, often attending church, attending the Sacraments weekly, and for someone refusing to watch TV is already fasting. It is not necessary to immediately take on the unbearable; it is necessary to approach fasting gradually, wisely.
The general rules imply the refusal of meat, sweets, fish (with the exception of a few days), in each fast there are days of dry eating, when you cannot eat cooked and hot food.
But this is the so-called nutritional aspect and is not at all the main one, as already mentioned above. The main thing is spiritual fasting.
During fasting, a person cleanses himself of sinful dirt, he tries to draw closer to Christ. At this time, you need to read more prayers, read spiritual literature, visit church more often, besides, during fasting there are always special services, each of which can be observed only once a year, this church post... This is a miracle of miracles, everyone should feel it for himself.
About the Sacraments during Lent
Be sure to partake of the Church Sacraments during Lent: Confession and Communion.
Confession is repentance for one's sins, where the priest acts as an intermediary between God and the Christian. The believer leaves all the burden of his sins there. And only after that he can proceed to the Great Mystery of the Sacrament - the eating of the flesh and blood of Christ. God Himself enters the human soul through these Sacraments, purifying and healing it.
And based on the essence and meaning Orthodox fasting it is clear why the Sacraments are so useful at this particular time.
Thus, fasting is not only limiting oneself in food, it is a tremendous spiritual work, and it is different for each person.
Separately about Great Lent
Before Easter, Christians observe the longest, Great Lent. This is an integral part of the great Christian holiday. Fasting is necessary in order to cleanse your body and soul for the great holiday, the Resurrection of the Lord.
Fasting lasts six weeks, the seventh is Passionate Seven, which requires even stricter abstinence. This period is the most severe and solemn at the same time. Preparation for it begins three weeks before it starts.
The main goal of Great Lent, like any other, is repentance, abandonment of habitual, mortal, vain activities and deeds.
During fasting, it is worth remembering that it is not necessary for God, but for the person himself. A Christian does not do God by fasting, he heals my soul. As mentioned above, Great Lent consists of 2 parts: Lent is a period of repentance, and Passion Week is a period of purification.
It's not without reason Orthodox Church twice during the Fourties, he invites parishioners to read the farewell. all-night vigil in churches they sing: "Open the doors of repentance, the Life-Giver."
It is just for repentance that Christians are given the time of the Forty Day. If a person does not have the goal of repentance, one should not start fasting either - it is a waste of time.
Separately about Passionate Semiditsa
Holy Week is popularly called Holy Week. This is the week preceding Easter, this is a special time for the Orthodox.
"Passion" translated from Church Slavonic means "trials and sufferings." This week got its name because it remembers the last days that Jesus Christ spent on earth, his suffering, betrayal, the pain of crucifixion, burial and resurrection.
During Holy Week, Christians observe the strictest abstinence, especially spiritually. The number of services in temples is increasing, each of which has its own special, deep meaning.
Every day of Holy Week at services in churches is special, clergymen read separate chapters from the Gospel, which tell Christians about the events that took place in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. Every day during Holy Week, Christians remember what happened then.
The most special days are Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Maundy Thursday
On Thursday, Orthodox Christians remember the Last Supper, when the Savior gathered his disciples for the last time, gave them communion, and gave instructions. He then said that one of his disciples would betray him, and each of them denied it, including Judas.
Good friday
On Friday, the betrayal took place, and on the same day Christ was crucified. In all Orthodox churches the shroud (coffin) is carried out. The removal takes place after two o'clock in the afternoon, at the hour of the death of the Savior, crucified on the cross.
On this day, the service carries a special, tragic meaning, it tells about the torment and suffering that Christ endured on the cross.
Great Saturday
On Great Saturday, the Orthodox Church remembers the burial of the Savior and his descent into hell for the salvation of the human race and the resurrection of the dead.
Christians rejoice and celebrate on Saturday night Great holiday- Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So bright Easter has come. The post is over. You can also taste foul food.
About prayers during Great Lent
During Great Lent, prayer needs to be given a little more attention and time than is usually the case.
It is also advisable to devote as much time as possible to the services that will be attended during the fast. If it is difficult to keep track of the words that the priest reads, you can take a book with the texts of prayers with you to the temple.
It is worthwhile to carry out with special care and diligence prayer rules, both morning and evening.
You can wake up early in the morning, and finish your business early in the evening in order to start reading prayers, adding some more, at your discretion.
During fasting, it is worth reading the prayer of the Monk Ephraim the Syrian every day. On the way to work, study or on business with the help of headphones, you can listen to the Psalter or read on the transport, if it is convenient.
The prayers read during Great Lent help to completely cleanse the soul and body, earn forgiveness and receive blessings.
It is also useful to resist the innumerable temptations that fall upon a person during Great Lent with prayer: one must respond to anger, rage, sadness, envy, laziness, sinful thoughts with a short
The rules for observing Orthodox fasting are designed so that believers undergo the necessary preparation for entering Heavenly kingdom... This tradition of abstaining from meager food and restricting sexual activity is a special form of asceticism, exercising the spirit and leading to the salvation of the individual consciousness. The guidelines for fasting vary according to age and health conditions.
The meaning of fasting in Orthodoxy
Today, this tradition is often neglected. Some people think that fasting is only an unpleasant monastic affair that can harm the body. Such a consideration of the issue is completely wrong, since an Orthodox follower must think about his own soul, and not about the earthly shell.
The meaning of fasting in Orthodoxy
He who raises his consciousness and faith in God rejoices in abstinence and easily endures conditional bodily difficulties. The judicious parishioner should make the most of this time. It is with this that true Christians usually congratulate on the onset of the period of purification from material and vain.
Important! A simple change in the composition of food is not fasting, if there is no desire in the mind to abstain, to repent of inevitable sins through sincere prayer.
Spiritual limitation stands next to the bodily one, but rises above it. If a person completely surrenders to the first, the Lord infuses the necessary strength to overcome the secondary difficulties of the physical shell. John Chrysostom authoritatively confirms: "Let all parts of your body be involved in fasting through the support of a strong and persistent mind."
Lean cooking recipes:
Today's life sometimes incorrectly considers the essence of tradition - many people see here only a deprivation of material reinforcement through punishment. Orthodox (and any) fasting is the greatest way to achieve the desired result in the service of God. Exhausting his own body, the believer removes the dark veil from the soul and opens a mystical path that makes it easier to approach the Heavenly Kingdom.
Abstinence cannot be called hunger, which all creatures are subjected to for one or another offense. This tradition acquires religious value only in combination with exercises for the soul (repentance, elimination of vices through prayer).
Fasting is a refinement of the physical flesh, which allows one to approach the influence of higher forces and become filled with grace. The Church speaks of abstinence to remind of the necessary healing of a seriously ill soul, mired in everyday vanity. Certain days in the religious calendar are dedicated to such cleansing procedures. They are pure abstinence and balance between the sheaths, which should restore the primacy of the mind (soul) over the body.
Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness
The apostles said that before the onset of fasting, a person lost to passions and the devil. Christ set the example of 40 days of abstinence and received the power of the Holy Spirit. Every believer is obliged to follow the example of the Sinless Son and to expose his own weaknesses. The one who is fasting has an unshakable mind and is capable of any accomplishments.
On a note! The rules for observing Orthodox fasting are described in the Typikon (book of the Divine Rule), Nomokanon (Byzantine collection of church instructions), the Menaion and other similar works.
The practice of abstinence is incredibly developed in the Christian world - the number of fasting days sometimes reaches 200. The severity of the fast described in these books differs for monks and lay people.
Features of Godly abstinence
The feat of repentance and prayer of petition must be accompanied by thoughts of individual sinfulness. The believer should also reject pleasure trips, watching inappropriate programs, reading "light literature", etc. If these categories do not let go of the mind, a person is obliged to make a mental effort and break the fetters of meaninglessness.
Depending on the preparedness of the body and health, abstinence differs by five degrees:
- For the sick, elderly or beginners, the first type is suitable, with the rejection of only meat food.
- Next comes the rejection of dairy products.
- Denial of fish.
- In the penultimate position, a complete refusal of oil.
- Fasting without consuming any food at all for a certain period is a step accessible to believers with unshakable faith and titanic health.
Fasting is not performed when the believer leaves the place of the meal with a burdened stomach and a feeling of satisfied satiety. There are practically no sacrifices and hardships, which alone give great value to abstinence.
Some Orthodox Christians change physical abstinence to "spiritual", which means restraining irritability, criticism of other people and all sorts of quarrels. However, such a position does not advance the believer on the path to true righteousness, since benevolence is implied by itself at all times. Therefore, indulgence in food intake is only self-deception, devoid of benefit.
Lean food
If a person is not able to follow the traditional rules of fasting for health reasons or financial disabilities, he should give up entertainment, sweets, and abstain, at least on Wednesday and Friday. The introduction begins with a small one - the denial of meat.
Interesting! Earlier in Russian families, fasting was extremely revered and was performed with a pure heart. Some princes observed the rules of abstinence better than many monks. The monks of Egypt echoed the 40th fast of Moses and Christ. The monks of the Optina Hermitage in the Kaluga region ate only grass and were famous for their longevity.
Separate periods of abstinence
In Orthodoxy, one-day and many-day fasts are distinguished. Believers fast before church holidays or significant days for Orthodoxy.
One-day fasts
The weekly fast days are Wednesday and Friday. Lenten days have their own symbolic essence, which the Christian soul does not dare to indifferently pass by.
Reliefs exist in the following periods:
- week after Trinity;
- the Christmastide period (from Christmas to Epiphany);
- on Shrovetide (meat food is prohibited, dairy products are allowed)
There are also special one-day posts:
- Day of the beheading of John the Baptist (September 11).
- Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord (September 27).
Multi-day fasting
- Church opinion
Religion claims that fasting is an effective method of transforming the Wrath of God into His mercy. Life in asceticism and asceticism is pleasing to the Lord, it is like a pure crystal that has thrown off the shackles of filthy sin and slavery to materiality.
- Abstinence is the practice for a great undertaking. Any action is easier to perform if you pacify your own flesh.
- By reducing costs on himself, the Orthodox person has the opportunity to put more on the altar of mercy. Food will be more useful for an orphan, widow, or homeless person who will pray for salvation.
- Abstinence allows you to stay with the Church, to commune with the apostles, Christ and the Father. It opens best qualities and brings you closer to the deepest mysteries.
- However, excessive abstinence is like the satiety of the womb: there were examples when fanaticism acquired negative qualities and became gluttony. The believer must know his own strength and be judicious.
- One should eat as much food as is necessary to maintain bodily functioning. Starting from scratch and falling into fanaticism, the neophyte will harm himself excessively, and for a long time will not be able to realize the right direction.
- The main condition is not to violate the charter of mental fasting if you have to compromise the rules of consumption. There were examples when the future saints ate the meager, but mind did not move away from the contemplation of the greatness of the Lord.
- If a believer notices exhaustion in the body, inability to offer prayer, this indicates the wrong method. Here the guidance of experienced confessors who have experience in fasting helps.
Watch a video on the meaning of fasting in Orthodoxy
Why is Great Lent needed
Many people hold Lent, even those who are not a church person, even those who position themselves as unbelievers and agnostics. For non-church people, the main question of fasting is: what can and cannot be eaten. Often, some kind of religious instincts awaken in a person, and fasting here is a good opportunity to satisfy these instincts somehow.
In this case, the post, of course, is not needed. The post is not about that at all. Nutritional issues are generally the tenth or even twentieth thing in fasting. If some kind of spiritual movement awakens in a person and he is looking for how to get closer to God, one must start not with rejection of meat, but with something else. Such a person needs disclosure, that is, teaching faith, getting answers to his questions and getting acquainted with the Holy Scriptures and dogma, gradual growing into worship and the Sacraments. And in itself, non-eating meat does not bring you closer to God, not at all! If there is a desire to take some step towards Christ, then it will be much more useful to start reading Scripture or any other spiritual literature. At the same time, I do not want to say that the gastronomic part does not matter at all. It has, this is also important, but, firstly, it is not central, and secondly, it is definitely not necessary to start the first steps in faith with food restrictions.
Few people know, even among church people, that initially fasting in the Christian church appeared as part of the catechumens. At the second stage of the announcement, before Easter, those wishing to be baptized fasted, listened to sermons, preparing to enter the Church through baptism. People were instructed in the Scriptures, in the teaching of the Church, as a rule, they radically changed their lives, refused and renounced many things that were incompatible with the life of a Christian. That is, fasting, as we see, has not only a personal dimension, but also a conciliar one. Like the Eucharist, fasting is not just a matter of my personal piety, but it is also a church matter. Unfortunately, the churchly understanding of fasting, its conciliar understanding is now practically absent.
But, of course, fasting is also important in terms of personal spiritual growth and development. Over time, many believers grow cold towards fasting, they begin to consider it some kind of outdated tradition that has little to do with real life, a kind of anachronism. Where, they say, is it written about fasting in the Scriptures? Anyway, we are already saved, why should we fast?
First, Christ fasted: for us this is already a completely normal basis for fasting.
"The temptation of Christ on the mountain"
(fragment of Duccio's Maesta, 1308-1311)
Christ Himself talks about how to fast:
"But when you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face." (Mt 6:17).
Elsewhere He says:
"But the days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken from them, and then they will fast." (Mt 9:15).
That is, fasting is a very important part of a person's life. Yes, when a person believed in Christ, accepted Him with all his heart, then, of course, he received salvation. But salvation in what sense? In the sense that he has already been guaranteed a place in the Kingdom of God and now he can do what he wants? Of course not. And the fact that he embarked on the path of life. But you can always leave this path, because evil is still at work in this world. And the man himself, who believed in God, came to the Church, has a lot more to work on.
"From the days of John the Baptist to the present, the Kingdom of Heaven endures violence, and those who use force take possession of it" (Mt 11:12)
Coming to God, a person receives the gifts of the Spirit, receives grace that nourishes and inspires him: all believers remember the period when invoking grace acted, when, like flying on wings, everything connected with faith delighted. But then all this disappeared somewhere, it became insipid, banal and meaningless.
This is quite natural: the invoking grace leaves, then labor, spiritual labor is needed so that the gifts that a person receives in the beginning multiply, so that grace visits the heart again and again, so that a person grows in love for God and neighbor. And here it is simply impossible without fasting. The inertia of the old man is very strong in us: this world, lying in evil, also exerts a strong influence on us, like the flesh, which, according to the word of ap. Paul is opposed to the spirit. Therefore, a person needs work to be strengthened in faith, in the church. But since we have almost nowhere a normal citation, the introduction of a person into tradition, then over time, when the invoking grace leaves, it is not clear to a person: what is there to do here? What does his life and some medieval rituals have to do with it?
It is very important that there are two central components in the Christian life: spirit and meaning. When a person comes to church, he understands almost nothing or nothing, he is moved by spirit, grace, and for this period this is enough for him. But then he must enter into the meaning of church life, become a church member. And this is the guarantee of the multiplication of grace. But since it does not acquire meaning, including the meaning of Orthodox divine services (most Orthodox Christians do not know the service and do not understand it), then over time it also loses grace.
It's the same with fasting. One must enter into the spirit and meaning of fasting as a spiritual work. It is relevant in the context of real church life, which is not limited to participation in worship services. If a person lives a completely ordinary life, while he seems to be a decent parishioner: he does not smoke, does not drink, does not cheat on his wife, works well, sometimes even helps someone, then it is not clear why all this repentant rhetoric and the atmosphere of Great Lent are here, Why do you need a post at all? Just as a tool for self-improvement? But everything changes completely when a person begins to do something in the church itself, to engage in some kind of service. For real church ministry, the gifts of the Spirit are needed, but just to have very few of them, you still need to learn how to serve them, to use them. And here a person can face big problems. A large space for repentance will open here, because a person will face numerous infirmities. It's like physical education. Until I started doing exercises, it seems that everything is fine with you, you walk, sit, sometimes you can even run to the bus, but you came to workout, and you understand that it’s not right here, and it doesn’t bend there, and it hurts here, which in general is, in fact, a wreck.
A Christian is not a status, it is a vocation, it is a service. All Christians are priests, which means they are called to serve God, to serve with those gifts that the Lord gives. And so, in order to cultivate these gifts, to bear good fruit, to grow in ministry, this is what fasting is needed for. It helps to concentrate as much as possible on the main thing, to cut off all unnecessary, to overcome what interferes. In this case, the gastronomic part organically fits here.
The calling of the apostles
What should a person do who has not yet understood his calling and ministry? And here again the post is a good helper! If a person for a month and a half concentrates as much as possible on spiritual work, sets a specific spiritual goal, then something will be revealed to him, something very important, and not only will he open, but he will also be given strength to begin to embody this important thing.
Summing up, we can say: if we want Great Lent, like all other fasts in general, not only to be reduced to gastronomy and to changes in the rank of service, but for it to become a living and effective reality in our life, we need to revive the institution of the catechumenate. when the time of the holy forty days would become a time of heightened efforts for some to enter the Church, for others to help in this entry. That is, mission and catechesis and other ministries must be reborn in fullness in the Church. Then the believers will not only be engaged in the individual sanctification and salvation of their souls, but will begin to serve with those gifts that the Lord will give them, and then fasting will be needed to grow in their ministry, to multiply the gifts. Then the most joyful result of the fast would not be the opportunity to finally break the fast, but those who were baptized, passed through the announcement. And the procession before Easter service would be not just a walk around the church, but a solemn procession of newly-baptized people from the baptistery to their first Communion, and newborn members of the Church would really be the most important fruit of fasting for everyone: both the catechumens and the faithful.
The instructions for a Christian about fasting can vary greatly depending on the health condition of the Christian's body. It may be in full health in a young person, not entirely healthy in an elderly person, or with a serious illness. Hence, the instructions of the church on observance of fasts (on Wednesdays and Fridays) or during periods of many days of fasts (Rozhdestvensky, Velikiy, Petrov and Uspensky) can vary greatly depending on the age and physical state of a person's health. All instructions fully apply only to a physically healthy person. In case of physical illness or for the elderly, the instructions should be treated carefully and judiciously.
As often, among those who consider themselves Christians, one can find disregard for fasting, a lack of understanding of its meaning and essence.
Fasting is viewed by them as a matter obligatory only for monks, dangerous or unhealthy, as a relic from an old ritual - a dead letter of the charter, with which it is time to end, or, at any rate, as something unpleasant and burdensome.
It should be noted to all those who think in such a way that they do not understand either the purpose of fasting or the purpose of the Christian life. Perhaps it is in vain that they call themselves Christians, since they live with their hearts together with the godless world, which has a cult of its own body and self-indulgence.
A Christian, first of all, should not think about the body, but about his soul and worry about its health. And if he really began to think about her, he would rejoice in fasting, in which the whole situation is aimed at healing the soul, as in a sanatorium - at healing the body.
The time of fasting is a time especially important for spiritual life, it is "a favorable time, this is the day of salvation" ().
If a Christian's soul yearns for purity, seeks mental health, then it should try to make the best use of this beneficial time for the soul.
That is why, among true God-lovers, mutual congratulations on the onset of fasting are accepted.
But what is fasting in essence? And is there not self-deception among those who consider it necessary to do this only by letter, but do not love him and are burdened by it in their hearts? And is it possible to call fasting only the observance of some rules about not eating food on fast days?
Will fasting be fast if, apart from some change in the composition of food, we will not think about repentance, or abstinence, or purification of the heart through intense prayer?
It must be assumed that this will not be fasting, although all the rules and customs of fasting will be observed. Venerable Barsanuphius the Great says: “Fasting bodily means nothing without spiritual fasting inner man, which consists of protecting yourself from passions.
This fast of the inner man is pleasing to God and will reward you for the lack of bodily fasting ”(if you cannot observe the latter as you would like).
As St. Isaac the Syrian: “Fasting is a weapon prepared by God ... If the Lawgiver Himself fasted, then how can someone from those who are obliged to keep the law not fast? ..
Before fasting, the human race did not know victory and the devil never experienced defeat ... Our Lord was the leader and the firstborn of this victory ...
And as soon as the devil sees this weapon on one of the people, this adversary and tormentor immediately comes to fear, thinking and remembering his defeat in the wilderness by the Savior, and his strength is crushed ... Whoever abides in fasting has an unshakable mind ”(Word thirty).
It is quite obvious that the podvig of repentance and prayer in fasting should be accompanied by thoughts of one's sinfulness and, of course, abstaining from all kinds of entertainment - going to theaters, movies and guests, light reading, cheerful music, watching TV for entertainment, etc. If all this still attracts the Christian's heart, then let him make an effort to tear his heart away from this, at least in the days of fasting.
It should be remembered here that on Fridays St. Seraphim not only fasted, but also remained in strict silence that day. As Fr. : “Fasting is a period of spiritual effort. If we cannot give our whole life to God, then we will devote at least periods of fasting to Him completely - we will intensify prayer, increase mercy, tame passions, be reconciled with enemies. "
Here the words of the wise Solomon are applicable: “For everything there is a time and a time for every thing under heaven. … A time to cry and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance ... a time to be silent and a time to speak ”, etc., ().
In some cases, sick Christians substitute for themselves (themselves or on the advice of their confessors) abstinence in food with "spiritual" fasting. The latter is often understood as a more strict attention to oneself: restraining oneself from irritability, condemnation, quarrels. All this, of course, is good, but in ordinary times, how can a Christian allow himself to sin, or be irritated, or condemn? It is quite obvious that a Christian should always "be sober" and be attentive, protecting himself from sin and everything that can offend the Holy Spirit. If he is unable to restrain himself, then, probably, this will take place equally both on ordinary days and during fasting. Hence, replacing fasting in food with a similar "spiritual" fast is often self-deception.
Therefore, in cases where, due to illness or due to a great lack of food, a Christian cannot observe the usual norms of fasting, then let him do everything he can in this regard, for example: he refuses all entertainment, sweets and dainty dishes, he will fast. at least on Wednesday and Friday, he will try to ensure that the most delicious food is served only on holidays... If a Christian, due to his old age or ill health, cannot give up fast food, then he should at least somewhat restrict it on fasting days, for example, do not eat meat - in a word, to some extent nevertheless join the fast.
Some refuse to fast for fear of weakening their health, while showing painful suspiciousness and lack of faith, and always strive to always abundantly feed themselves on meager food in order to achieve good health and to maintain the "fatness" of the body. And how often do they suffer from all sorts of diseases of the stomach, intestines, kidneys, teeth ...
In addition to manifesting one's feelings of repentance and hatred of sin, fasting has other aspects. Fasting times are not random days.
Wednesday is the tradition of the Savior - the highest of the moments of the fall and shame of the human soul, going in the person of Judas to betray the Son of God for 30 pieces of silver.
Friday is the patience of bullying, excruciating suffering and the death on the cross of the Redeemer of humanity. Remembering them, how can a Christian not limit himself to abstinence?
Great Lent is the path of the God-man to the sacrifice of Calvary.
The human soul has no right, does not dare, if only it is a Christian, to pass indifferently by these magnificent days - significant milestones in time.
How dare she then - at the Last Judgment to become the right hand of the Lord, if she is indifferent to His sorrow, blood and suffering in those days when the Universal - Earthly and Heavenly - remembers them.
What should be fasting? A general measure cannot be given here. It will also depend on the state of health, age and living conditions. But here you must certainly touch your lively carnivorousness and voluptuousness.
At the present time - the time of the weakening and fall of faith - it seems to us unattainable those statutes on fasting, which in the old days were strictly carried out by pious Russian families.
Here, for example, is what Great Lent consists of according to the church charter, the obligation of which extended equally to both the monk and the layman.
According to this statute, Great Lent is supposed to: complete non-eating during the whole day on Monday and Tuesday of the first week and Friday of Holy Week.
Only for the weaker is it possible to eat food on the Tuesday evening of the first week. On all other days of Great Lent, except Saturdays and Sundays, only dry food is allowed and only once a day - bread, vegetables, peas - without oil and water.
Boiled food with vegetable oil is allowed only on Saturdays and Sundays. Wine is allowed only on days of church remembrance and during long services (for example, on Thursday in the fifth week). Fish - only in the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and Palm Sunday.
Although such a measure seems overly harsh to us, it is nevertheless achievable for a healthy organism.
In the life of the old Russian Orthodox family one can see the strict fulfillment of fasting days and fasts. Even princes and kings fasted as they do not fast now, perhaps many of the monks.
So, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Lent dined only three times a week - on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and on other days he ate only a piece of black bread with salt, a salted mushroom or cucumber, washed down with kvass.
Some Egyptian monks in ancient times practiced a complete forty-day abstinence from food during Great Lent, following in this respect the example of Moses and the Lord Himself.
Forty-day fasts were carried out twice by one of the brothers of Optina Hermitage - schemon Vassian, who lived there in the middle of the 19th century. This schema-monk, by the way, just like St. Seraphim, to a large extent, ate the grass "dimness". He lived to be 90 years old.
For 37 days, the nun Lyubov of the Martha-Mariinsky monastery ate neither food nor drink (except for one communion). It should be noted that during this fast she did not feel any weakening of her strength and, as they said about her, "her voice thundered in the chorus, as if it were even stronger than before."
She performed this fast before Christmas; it ended at the end of the Christmas liturgy, when she suddenly felt an irresistible urge to eat. Unable to control herself any longer, she immediately went to the kitchen to eat.
It should be noted, however, that the norm described above and recommended by the church for Great Lent is not considered now by everyone so strictly obligatory for everyone. The Church recommends, as a certain minimum, only the transition to fasting food in accordance with its instructions for each of the fasting and fasting days.
Compliance with this norm is considered mandatory for completely healthy people. Still, it gives more to the zeal and zeal of every Christian: “I want mercy, not sacrifice,” says the Lord (). At the same time, we must remember that fasting is not necessary for the Lord, but for ourselves for the salvation of our soul. “When you fasted ... did you fast for Me?” - says the Lord through the mouth of the prophet Zechariah (7, 5).
Therefore, fasting is practiced in the church as a means of preparing oneself for any undertaking. In need of something, individual Christians, monks, monasteries or churches imposed on themselves fasting with intense prayer.
The post also has one more positive side, to which the Angel drew attention in a vision to Hermas (see the book "Shepherd Hermas").
By substituting simpler and cheaper food for fast food, or by reducing its quantity, the Christian can reduce the cost to himself. And this will give him the opportunity to devote more funds to deeds of mercy.
The angel gave the following instruction to Herm: “On the day you are fasting, eat nothing but bread and water, and having calculated the costs that you would have made on that day for food, following the example of the past days, set aside the rest of this day and give it to the widow. , orphan or poor; in this way you will humble your soul, and he who has received from you will be satisfied and will pray to God for you. "
The angel also pointed out to Herm that fasting is not an end in itself, but only an auxiliary means to purify the heart. And the fast of the one who strives for this goal and does not fulfill the commandments of God cannot be pleasing to God and is fruitless.
In essence, the attitude to fasting is a touchstone for the soul of a Christian in his attitude to the Church of Christ, and through the latter to Christ.
As Fr. Alexander Yelchaninov: "... In fasting a person manifests himself: some show the highest abilities of the spirit, while others become irritable and angry - fasting reveals the true essence of a person."
A soul living by faith in Christ cannot neglect fasting. Otherwise, she will unite herself with those who are indifferent to Christ and religion, with those who, according to Archpriest. :
“Everyone eats - and in Maundy Thursday when done The last supper and the Son of Man is betrayed; and on Good Friday, when we hear the cry of the Mother of God at the tomb of the Crucified Son on the day of His burial.
For such, there is neither Christ, nor the Mother of God, nor the Last Supper, nor Golgotha. What kind of fast can they have? "
Addressing Christians, Fr. Valentine writes: “Hold and observe fasting as a great church relic. Every time you refrain from fasting that is forbidden on days, you are with the whole Church. You are doing in complete unanimity and unanimity what the whole Church and all the holy saints of God did from the very first days of the Church's existence. And this will give you strength and firmness in your spiritual life. "
The meaning and purpose of fasting in the life of a Christian can be summarized in the following words of St. Isaac the Syrian:
“Fasting is the hedge of all virtue, the beginning of the struggle, the crown of the temperate, the beauty of virginity, the source of chastity and prudence, the teacher of silence, the predecessor of all good deeds ...
From fasting and abstinence, fruit is born in the soul - the knowledge of the mysteries of God. "
Judiciousness in fasting
I want mercy, not sacrifice.
()
Show… discretion in virtue.
()
All the good in us has a certain line,
passing which imperceptibly turns to evil.
(Prot.)
All of the above about fasting applies, however, we repeat, only to healthy people. As with all virtue, discretion is also needed for fasting.
As St. Cassian the Roman: “Extremes, as the holy fathers say, are equally harmful on both sides - both the excess of fasting and the satiety of the womb. We know some who, not having been conquered by gluttony, were deposed by immeasurable fasting, and fell into the same passion of gluttony, because of the weakness that came from excessive fasting.
Moreover, immoderate abstinence is more harmful than satiety, because from the latter, due to repentance, one can proceed to correct action, but from the former it is impossible.
The general rule of moderation of abstinence is that everyone, in accordance with the strength, state of the body and age, ate as much food as is necessary to maintain the health of the body, and not as much as the desire for satiety requires.
A monk should conduct the fasting work so rationally as if he had stayed in the body for a hundred years; and so to curb spiritual movements - to forget offenses, cut off sorrow, put sorrow into nothing - as one who can die every day. "
It should be remembered how ap. Paul warned those who unwisely (voluntarily and unauthorizedly) fasted - “this has only the form of wisdom in self-willed service, humility and exhaustion of the body, in some neglect of saturating the flesh” ().
At the same time, fasting is not a ritual, but a secret of the human soul, which the Lord commands to hide from others.
The Lord says: “When you fast, do not be discouraged like hypocrites, for they take upon themselves gloomy faces in order to appear to people who are fasting. I tell you the truth, they are already receiving their reward.
And you, when you are fasting, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you will appear to those who are fasting not before people, but before your Father, who is in secret, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly ”().
Therefore, a Christian must hide both his repentance - prayer and inner tears, and his fasting and his abstinence in food.
Here one must be afraid of any revelation of one's difference from others and be able to hide from them one's feat and one's deprivations.
Here are some examples of this from the lives of saints and ascetics.
Fasting will be unwise even when it puts barriers to the hospitality of those who treat you; by this we will reproach others for neglecting fasting.
There is a story about the Moscow Metropolitan Filaret: he once came to his spiritual children just in time for dinner. Due to the duty of hospitality, he should have been invited to dinner. Meals were served at the table, and the day was fast.
The Metropolitan did not show it and, not embarrassing the owners, tasted the modest. So condescension to the weakness of his spiritual neighbors and love, he placed above the observance of the fast.
In general, church regulations cannot be treated formally, and, observing the exact execution of the rules, not to make any exceptions from the latter. We must also remember the words of the Lord that “the Sabbath is for a person, and not a person for the Sabbath” ().
As Metropolitan Innokenty of Moscow writes: “There were examples that even monks, like the saint, for example, ate all kinds of food and even meat at all times.
But how much? So much so that I can only live, and this did not prevent him from receiving the Holy Mysteries with dignity and, finally, did not prevent him from becoming a saint ...
Of course, it is not prudent to unnecessarily break the fast by eating meager food. Anyone who can observe the fast by sorting out food, observe it; but, most importantly, observe and do not break the fast of the soul, and then your fast will be pleasing to God.
But whoever does not have the opportunity to disassemble food, use everything that God gives, but without excess; But on the other hand, be sure to fast strictly in soul, mind and thoughts, and then your fast will be just as pleasing to God as the fast of the most severe hermit.
The purpose of fasting is to lighten and pacify the body, curb desires and disarm passions.
Therefore, the church, when asking you about food, is not so much asking about what kind of food do you eat? - how much about why you use it?
The Lord Himself approved the act of King David, when he, out of need, had to break the rule and eat “the offer bread, which was not to be eaten either by him or by those with him” ().
Therefore, taking into account the need, it is possible to make indulgences and exceptions during fasting even with a sick and weak body and old age.
St. ap. Paul writes to his disciple Timothy: “Henceforth drink more than one water, but use a little wine, for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments” ().
Venerable Barsanuphius the Great and John say: “What is fasting, if not the punishment of the body in order to pacify the healthy body and make it weak for the passions according to the word of the Apostle:“ when I am weak, then I am strong ”().
And sickness is more than this punishment and is imputed instead of fasting - it is valued even more than he. He who endures it with patience, thanks to God, through patience receives the fruit of his salvation.
Instead of weakening the strength of the body by fasting, it is already weakened by illness.
Thank God that you have freed yourself from the labor of fasting. If you eat ten times a day, do not be sad: you will not be condemned for that, because you are not doing this to please yourself. "
On the correctness of the fasting norm of St. Barsanuphius and John give the following instruction: “Regarding fasting, I will say: touch your heart, is it not stolen by vanity, and if it is not stolen, touch it a second time, does this fast make you weak and in the performance of works, for this weakness should not be, and if it does not harm you even in this, your fast is correct. "
As the hermit Nikifor said in V. Sventsitsky's book Citizens of Heaven: “The Lord requires not hunger, but heroic deeds. A feat is what a person can do the greatest according to his strength, and the rest - by grace. Our strengths are now weak, and the Lord does not require great deeds from us.
I have tried to fast strongly, and I see that I cannot. I am exhausted - I have no strength to pray as it should. Once I was so weak from fasting, I can't get up to read the rule. "
Here's an example of a wrong post.
Bp. Herman writes: “Exhaustion is a sign that fasting is wrong; it is just as harmful as satiety. And the great elders ate soup with butter during the first week of Great Lent. There is nothing to crucify the diseased flesh, but it must be supported. "
So, any weakening of health and working capacity during fasting already speaks of its incorrectness and exceeding its norm.
“I like it more to be exhausted from work than from fasting,” one pastor said to his spiritual children.
It is best when those who are fasting are guided by the direction of experienced spiritual leaders. We should recall the following incident from the life of St. ... In one of his monasteries, a monk was lying in hospital, exhausted by illness. He asked the attendants for meat. They refused him this request, based on the rules of the monastery charter. The patient asked to be referred to St. Pachomia. The monk was struck by the extreme exhaustion of the monk, wept, looking at the sick man, and began to reproach the hospital brothers for their cruelty. He ordered to immediately fulfill the request of the patient in order to strengthen his weakened body and cheer up the dull soul.
The wise ascetic of piety, Abbess Arsenia, wrote to the aged and sick brother of the bishop in the days of Great Lent: “I am afraid that you are burdening yourself with heavy, lean food and I ask you to forget that now is fasting, and eat fast food, nutritious and light. The difference of days has been given to us by the church, like a bridle of healthy flesh, and you have been given the sickness and weakness of old age. "
However, those who break the fast due to illness or other weakness, it should still be remembered that there may be some degree of lack of faith and intemperance.
Therefore, when the spiritual children of the elder, Fr. Alexei Zosimovsky had to break the fast on the instructions of the doctor, the elder ordered in these cases to curse himself and pray like this: "Lord, forgive me that I broke the holy fast on the instructions of the doctor, out of my weakness," and not think that this is so and it is necessary.
This is stated with exhaustive clarity already in the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Jews cry out to God: “Why are we fasting, but you cannot see? We humble our souls, but You don't know? " The Lord, through the mouth of the prophet, answers them: “On the day of your fasting you do your will and demand hard work from others. Here you are fasting for quarrels and strife and in order to beat others with a bold hand: you do not fast at this time so that your voice can be heard on high. Is this the fast that I have chosen, the day on which a man torments his soul, when he bends his head like a reed and lays rags and ashes under him? Would you call this fasting and a day pleasing to the Lord? This is the fast that I have chosen: release the fetters of iniquity, untie the chains of the yoke, release the oppressed free and break every yoke; Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the poor who wander into the house; when you see a naked man, dress him and do not hide from your soul mate. Then your light will open like dawn, and your healing will soon increase, and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will accompany you. Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; you will cry and He will say: "Here I am" "().
This wonderful passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah denounces many - both ordinary Christians and shepherds of Christ's flock. He denounces those who think to be saved only by observing the letter of the fast and forgetting about the commandments of mercy, love for one's neighbor and serving them. He denounces those shepherds who "bind heavy and unbearable burdens and lay on the shoulders of people" (). These are the shepherds who demand from their spiritual children strict observance of the "rule" of fasting, regardless of their advanced age, or their morbid state. After all, the Lord said: "I want mercy, not sacrifice" ().
St. Petersburg
2005