Since ancient times, food prohibitions existed among many peoples, even among pagans, but most of them were among the ancient Jews. They are written about in the Old Testament, where God gives Moses and Aaron the command to never eat “bad” food, and gives a whole list of animals that should not be eaten. Only animals that “chew the cud” can be eaten. Animals must also have a cloven hoof. Sea and river fish were supposed to be covered with scales, and birds were supposed to be covered with feathers. The Creator forbade Jews even to touch “unclean” animals: “and do not touch their corpses.” It is especially emphasized that the meat of jerboas and hare should not be eaten.
The book of Leviticus contains prohibitions against eating scavengers and predators, including crows, owls, eagle owls, and seagulls. It was impossible to eat the meat of quite ordinary birds such as hoopoes, ostriches, herons, and swans. Unclean animals also included all predators, animals without hooves, frogs and lizards, snakes, bats, rodents and insects. To this day, no one can explain this prohibition clearly and precisely, but the rabbis agree that forbidden food “defiles the blood and clouds the mind.”
What a Christian should not eat
In general, the Christian religion hardly regulates human eating behavior. In Scripture you can find the words of Christ that it does not matter to him what a believer uses, only the spiritual and moral qualities of a Christian, his actions, words and thoughts are important. God created this world and everything in it is beautiful, without division into “pure” and “impure.”
At the same time, at different stages of the development of Orthodoxy, traditions appeared that implied the refusal of one or another food. The first people were vegetarians; their food, as well as that of everyone “in whom there is a living soul,” was grass and the fruits of trees. Such nutrition was beneficial to humans; in those days people lived for a very long time.
But then the population grew and new needs arose. In the time of Noah it was allowed to use “that which moves, that which lives.” Only meat with blood was strictly prohibited. Holy Scripture says that the soul of an animal is in the blood. Blood may only be used for sacrifices or spilled on the ground. This explains the ancient tradition of bleeding an animal before eating its meat.
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Later, the Jews were given instructions about food through Moses. The Old Testament says that you should not eat the meat of animals that have been strangled or died of natural causes.
The following were considered unclean meat:
- dead animals (who were not bled);
- crayfish;
- horsemeat;
- crabs;
- fish without scales;
- rabbits and hares;
- fried blood of animals and birds.
At the same time, forbidden food was allowed to be consumed during periods of need or famine.
Are Jewish prohibitions not important to Christians?
For the first time in Christian literature, the term “foul eating” appears in the Fourth Book of Maccabees, which was presumably written in the 1st century AD, that is, perhaps almost immediately after the Gospel events. But the emergence of the concept itself is associated with the centurion Cornelius, who was converted to Christianity by the Apostle Peter himself. Cornelius was a Roman, not a Jew, and after his baptism a number of questions arose: should Christians from other nations be circumcised, as is customary among Jews? Should they observe all Jewish customs, including food prohibitions? To resolve such an important issue, a council was convened in the capital of Judea, to which the apostles came, and it was decided that non-Jewish Christians needed to adhere to simple rules: “to abstain from sacrifices to idols and blood, and strangulation, and fornication, and not to do to others what you don't want it for yourself. By observing this, you will do well. Be healthy” (Acts 15:29). Those Christians who violated this rule voluntarily were expelled from the Church of Christ, and those who did so due to external circumstances: they were in captivity, slavery, or violated the ban during famine - were subject to excommunication from the Eucharist for several years and were allowed to participate in it. only after reading a special cleansing prayer over them.
Rabbit and hare meat, horse meat: why are they prohibited?
According to Scripture, it is permissible to eat only the meat of animals with cloven hoofs and those that chew the cud. These are goats, cows, sheep, etc. Hare meat is prohibited because the animal does not have cloven hooves, although it chews the cud.
In addition, the meat of a rabbit or hare cannot be eaten, because they are killed by hitting the back of the head, and the blood does not come out of the animal, which means it is also eaten, which is unacceptable for Orthodox Christians.
There is no single answer regarding horse meat. Meat belonged to the “unclean” species. Most likely, the reason for the ban was that horse meat contains many substances that negatively affect human health.
From one extreme to another
But since some of the early Christians were Jews, Old Testament prohibitions also came to Christianity with them, which were spread among believers every now and then. Already in Byzantium, non-canonical prohibitions appeared on the meat of cuckoos, crows, jackdaws, eagles, wolves, squirrels, dogs, cats and martens. Archpriest Georgy Krylov in his book “The Concept of “Defilement” in Medieval Rus'” indicates that in the Middle Ages in Rus' there was a widespread ban on preparing dishes from sturgeon, catfish, eels, seafood, squid and crayfish. It was forbidden to eat dog meat, horse meat, donkey meat, hare meat, beaver meat and squirrels, and pork was eaten only if it was “purified by fire” - cooked on a spit. Russian writer Nikolai Semenovich Leskov supplemented this list with lampreys and burbot, veal, turtle, pigeons, bear meat, fox meat and sable meat. Food prohibitions were especially widespread among the Old Believers and sectarians; for example, among the Fedoseev Old Believers, even tea and sugar, sausage, coffee, chocolate, lamb meat and swan meat are considered foul eating. In addition, the Old Believers always tried to prepare food themselves, and not buy it “at the market”, so that they would know who and what it was prepared from. Thus, for a modern Orthodox person, the most relevant are the prohibitions on eating products made from blood, dead cattle, sacrifices to idols, and game caught in snares.
Is pork allowed?
The Bible says that although a pig has a cloven hoof, it does not chew the cud and is unclean. Therefore, you cannot eat pork meat.
At the same time, the New Testament says that you can eat everything that is sold in the market. And when following the unbelievers at their invitation, you cannot refuse what is offered to you.
The New Testament does not prohibit a Christian from eating pork. It also has no laws regarding other foods. It is allowed, although not encouraged, to eat all types of meat that were prohibited by the Old Testament, except carrion and blood. But at the same time, there are restrictive fasts that must be adhered to.
Regarding nutrition, it is worth remembering these words from the Bible: “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is beneficial.” When consuming various foods, a person must take into account that not all of them will be for the good. Apparently, Christian prohibitions regarding food were based on this. The body is the vessel for the soul, so we must keep it healthy. And this can be done with a healthy diet.
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History of Orthodox fasts
Fasting is considered a voluntary restriction in food to achieve spiritual goals. Fasting helps a person fight sinful habits and temptation, and also strengthen his faith. In this regard, the tradition of Orthodox fasting involves participation in fasting, which includes attending all church services, reading the Psalter, Gospel and the works of the Fathers of the Church.
During fasting, a person not only eats in moderation, but also denies himself certain types of food, reduces his daily portions, or abstains from food completely. Orthodox fasts often precede holidays, preparing the human soul for them. So, for example, Lent prepares Orthodox Christians for the celebration of Easter, the Nativity Fast precedes the Nativity of Christ, etc. An example of fasting was given by Jesus Christ himself, who fasted for 40 days, abstaining from food and drink. Christ also instructed his disciples to fast. He pointed out the importance of fasting with prayer for victory over the enemy of human souls: “This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matt. 17:21). The Acts of the Apostles describes how they fasted.
In ancient times, during Lent, people put on sackcloth (old, threadbare clothing), took off their sandals, sprinkled ashes on their heads, and walked around with dirty hands and an unoiled head.
^ Islamic food - conditionally permitted
“Halal” is the concept of what is permissible and permissible in Islam. The opposite concept is “haram”. Typically, these words denote acceptable and unacceptable food.
The following are considered haram by Muslims:
- pork and its derivatives,
- Consumption of meat with unbleeded blood and carrion is prohibited,
- as well as meat with blood released, but cooked without pronouncing the name of Allah.
*Muslims are allowed to eat meat that
was prepared only by the “People of the Book.”
These include Christians, Jews and Muslims themselves.
Read more: Can Orthodox Christians eat halal food?
^Is it a sin to kill animals for food?
In order to answer this question, it is necessary to turn to the Holy Scriptures, above which the Holy Church never exalts itself.
In the book of Genesis (Genesis 1:29) it is written that the Lord gives us “every herb bearing seed that is on all the earth, and every tree that has fruit yielding seed,” and says that for us “this will be for food." Here, for the first people, it is clearly stated that only plant foods are intended for humans.
However, after the global flood, when eight people left the ark on bare ground, there is no doubt that such barren soil could not feed them for a long time. Then the Lord allowed them to eat meat. That is, the Almighty Himself, the Creator of the entire universe, blesses the eating of meat food according to the prevailing circumstances. But even here He does not say: “I give you permission for a while.” He simply blessed.
The Lord is Love and everything He does is good care for all living things in our earthly life and, importantly, beyond it. Consequently, neither the killing of all people on the planet during the flood, nor the death of animals by God’s blessing does not contradict His good providence for all of us, no matter how terribly it may impress us.
“The one who thinks is wrong is
that fasting only means abstaining from food.
True fasting is removal from evil..."
St. Basil the Great.
Agape
A particularly important part of the life of early Christian communities were the so-called agapes - evening or night meetings of believers, which were accompanied by prayers, the sacrament of the Eucharist and a joint meal. In the I–II centuries. Christian communities usually held suppers once a week. Often, such meetings were organized with money from the community or its wealthiest members in order to support the poorest Christians, lonely widows, the elderly and orphans. As he wrote in the 2nd century. Justin the Philosopher: “those of us who are sufficient help all the poor, and we always live for one another.” Tertullian mentioned that “no matter what the costs of our supper, there is benefit in making the costs in the name of love, since at this supper we help all the poor... because God especially cares for the poor.”
Agape. Fresco from the catacombs of Domicile. Photo wikipedia.org
Usually, during agape, simple but satisfying dishes of vegetables, fruits, and meat were eaten (however, many Christians of the 1st–2nd centuries refused meat altogether). Very often fish appeared on the table, which was considered the most decent food for a Christian due to its repeated mention in the Gospels. Drinks included wine and water. Sometimes community members could take some of the food home.
The hidden nature of Christian meals, to which even the catechumens were not allowed, and their name, suspicious to the ears of pagans, led to the emergence of recent false rumors about these Christian meetings (even to the point of accusing Christians of making bloody human sacrifices at them). However, most of the records of authors of the 1st–3rd centuries, both pagans and Christians, indicated the falsity of such assumptions. The above-mentioned Pliny the Younger, who specially investigated the case of the spread of Christianity in Bithynia, at the beginning of the 2nd century. informed Emperor Trajan that “...their guilt... consisted in the fact that on certain days, early in the morning, they came together and sang a song to Christ as to God, that in the name of religion they committed themselves not to any crime, but to so as not to steal, not to rob, not to commit adultery, to honestly keep their word and return the entrusted deposits, that after this they dispersed and then gathered again to eat food, however, ordinary and innocent ... ".
See also Mikhail Vedeshkin’s lecture “The Byzantine Empire and Christianity” as part of the “Academy of Thomas” project:
Why don't Buddhists eat pork?
There are many indications about the manifestation of compassion in the Sutras. I won't list them. But in the legend given below all the caring of the Blessed One towards his neighbor is expressed.
“Chunda, the blacksmith, hearing that the Blessed One had come to Pav and stopped in the grove, went to him and, having shown respect, asked the Blessed One to attend his meal the next day. Having received consent, Chunda left and by the next morning prepared all kinds of dishes, as well as a large piece of juicy pork. The Blessed One, accompanied by his disciples, arrived at the blacksmith’s house. Sitting down on the prepared seat, he turned to the blacksmith Chunda: “Chunda, bring me the pork you have stored, and give the students the other dishes you have prepared.” “Yes, sir,” answered the blacksmith and did as instructed. Then the Blessed One said: “Chunda, bury whatever pork you have left in the ground, for I do not know a being other than the Tathagata who could appropriate it.” “Yes, sir,” replied Chunda and buried the rest of the pork in the ground. Having eaten food in the house of the blacksmith Chunda, the Blessed One fell ill with a severe stomach illness, and, experiencing severe pain, said to the disciple Ananda: “Get up, Ananda, we will go to Kushinagara.” On the way, the Blessed One often stopped, experiencing severe pain, thirst and languor. So they reached the Kakutha River; here, having taken a bath, the Blessed One stopped at the edge of the forest, lay down on the spread out clothes and turned to Ananda: “Ananda, it is possible that someone will upset the heart of the blacksmith Chunda with the following speeches: “Chunda, this is a big nuisance for you, and you should feel very unhappy , that the Tathagata left the transitory after he took a meal in your house.” Ananda, drive away Chunda’s heavy thoughts with the words: “Friend, you should rejoice, for this is your happiness that this happened. From the mouth of the Tathagata himself I heard and understood that gifts of food receive equal appreciation and reward. Indeed, they receive greater reward and blessing than others. Which two? The one after which the Tathagata achieves the highest, complete illumination, and the one after which he enters into the liberation of Nirvana.” With such speeches, Ananda, you should dispel the heavy thoughts of the blacksmith Chunda.” Mahaparinirvana Sutra Thus, the Blessed One not only debunked future myths about the Buddha-god, but also very clearly showed the harm and consequences of eating meat.
Are Christians allowed to eat pork according to the Bible?
Published 11/14/2017
A lot of people are interested in whether Christians can eat pork. What does the Bible say about this? In fact, the answer is very simple, let's figure it out. We will first look at the practice of the Old Testament for the people of Israel, and then look at the teaching of the New Testament. Thus, we will look at all the teachings of the Bible regarding whether modern Christians can eat pork.
