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Fasting
Fasts prescribed by the Church | Rules of Fasting during the period of Triodion
Many people today are willing to fast for reasons of health or beauty, in order to lose weight; cannot we Christians do as much for the sake of the Heavenly Kingdom? Why should the self-denial gladly be accepted by previous generations of Orthodox prove such an intolerable burden to their successors today?
The primary aim of fasting is to make us conscious of our dependence upon God. If practiced seriously, the Lenten abstinence from food-particularly in the opening days - involves a considerable measure of real hunger, and also a feeling of tiredness and physical exhaustion. The purpose of this is to lead us in turn to a sense of inward brokenness and contrition; to bring us, that is to the point we appreciate the full force of Christ's statement, "Without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5)
Fasting is not a mere matter of diet. It is moral as well as physical. True fasting is to be converted in heart and will. In the words of St. John Chrysostom, it means "abstinence not only from food but from sins". "the fast", he insists, "should be kept not by mouth alone but also by the eye, the ear, the feet, the hands and all the members of the body: the eye must abstain from impure sights, the ear from malicious gossip, the hands from acts of injustice.
Just as there are times for feasting in the Church, there are also times for fasting. Jesus Christ Himself often fasted and insisted that the people fast as well. Fasting, when accompanied by prayer and charity, is a spiritual aid in disciplining the body and the soul, enabling us to bring our whole person closer to God. Fasting is not a set of dietary laws or legalistic requirements; it involves abstaining from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, wine and olive oil, eating a smaller quantity of food and even eating less meals.
First of all, fasting is abstinence from food. By detaching us from earthly goods and realities, fasting has a liberating effect on us and makes us worthy of the life of the spirit, a life similar to that of angels. Second, fasting, as abstinence from bad habits and sin, is the mother of Christian virtues, the mother of sound and wholesome thinking; it allows us to establish the proper priority between the material and spiritual, giving priority to the spiritual.
Thus, fasting is a means of salvation, this salvation being a life we live in accordance with the Divine will, in communion with God.
In our ecclesiastical calendar, fasting usually precedes great feasts and acts as a preparation for these events.
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Fasts prescribed by the Church
1. Wednesday and Friday
Every Wednesday and Friday is to be observed with fasting unless some important Feast takes precedence over the fast. (See exceptions noted below) The Fast on Wednesday is in memory of the betrayal of the Lord, and the Fast on Friday is in remembrance of His Passion and Death upon the Cross.
2. Special Fast Days
August 29, The Beheading of St. John the Baptist.
September 14, The Elevation of the Holy Cross.
January 5, The Eve of the Epiphany.
3. Great Lent
Lent begins forty days before Palm Sunday, on the Monday after Cheese-Fare Sunday, and lasts until the evening preceding Palm Sunday. Holy Week is a special Fast in honor of our Lord's Passion, and lasts from the evening of Palm Sunday through to Holy Saturday.
4. The Fast of the Holy Apostles
The Fast of the Holy Apostles begins on the Monday after All Saints' Sunday and lasts until June 29, the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. This Fast varies in length according to the date of Pascha (Easter).
5. The Fast of the Theotokos
The Fast which precedes the Feast of the Falling-asleep of the All-holy Theotokos begins on August 1 and lasts until the day of the Feast, August 15.
6. The Fast before Christmas
The Fast before Christmas begins on November 15 and lasts until the day of the Feast of the Nativity, December 25.
Rules of Fasting during the period of Triodion
Now, many of us Orthodox have our own rules and ideas about the Lenten Fasting. Here I include the fasting rules of one of the foremost Orthodox theologians of today, Bishop Kallistos Ware from the Lenten Triodion.
- During the week between the Sunday of Publican and the Pharisee and that of the Prodigal Son, Meat and animal products may be eaten even on Wednesday and Friday.
- In the following week, the usual fast is kept on Wednesday and Friday. There is no special fasting.
- In the week before Lent, meat is forbidden, but eggs, cheese and other dairy products may be eaten on all days, including Wednesday and Friday.
- On weekdays (Monday to Friday inclusive) during the seven weeks of Lent, there are restrictions both on the number of meals taken daily and on the types of food permitted; but when a meal is allowed, there is no fixed limitation on the quantity of food to be eaten.
- On weekdays in the first week, fasting is particularly severe. According to the strict observance in the course of the five initial days of Lent, only two meals are eaten, one on Wednesday and the other on Friday, in both cases after the Liturgy of the Presanctified. On the other three days, those who have the strength are encouraged to keep an absolute fast. On days of xerophagy or "dry eating" we may eat vegetables cooked with water and salt, and such things as fruit, nuts, bread and honey, octopus, shellfish; likewise vegetable margarine and corn or other vegetable oil, not made from olives. The following categories of food are definitely excluded: meat, animal products (cheese, milk, butter, eggs).
- On weekdays (Monday to Friday inclusive in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth week) one meal is permitted of xerophagy.
- Holy Week. On the first three days there is one meal each day with xerophagy.
- On Holy Thursday one meal is eaten with wine and oil (olive oil).
- On Great Friday those who have the strength follow the practice of the early church and keep a total fast. Those who are unable to do this may eat bread, water, fruit juice.
- On Holy Saturday there is in principle no meal. After St. Basil's Liturgy we may use wine but no oil. It is the only Saturday of the year that olive oil is not permitted.
The rules of xerophagy (dry food) are relaxed on the following days:
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On Saturdays and Sundays of Lent, except Holy Saturday, two main meals may be taken, around mid-day and in the evening with wine and olive oil; but no meat, animal products and fish are permitted.
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On the Feast of the Annunciation (March 25) and Palm Sunday,
Fish is permitted as well as wine and oil. No meat or animal products are allowed. - Wine and oil are permitted on the following days, if they fall on a weekday in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth week.
February 24 - St. John the Baptist
March 9 - Holy Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
March 24 - Fore feast of the Annunciation
March 26 - Synaxis of Archangel Gabriel
Celebration of the Feast day of the local church -
Wine and oil are also permitted on Wednesday and Thursday in the fifth week, because of the vigil of the Great canon.
It has been held that the rules of fasting should be relaxed in the case of anyone elderly or in poor health. Personal factors need to be taken into account, as for example the situation of an isolated Orthodox living in the same household as non-Orthodox or obliged to take meals in a convalescent home, hospital, factory or school canteen. In cases of uncertainty each should seek the advice of his or her spiritual father.
The rules of fasting, while they need to be taken seriously, are not to be interpreted with dour and pedantic legalism; "for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". (Rom.14:17)