In none of his letters does the Apostle Paul call on Christians to fast. The apostles Peter and John also say nothing about this. This (fasting of Christians specifically) is not mentioned in any book of the New Testament.
And yet, Christians have been fasting for two thousand years. One of the expressions of a healthy Christian church was fasting. No matter how outdated fasting may seem today, fasting as a request for Christ's grace has been practiced for two millennia.
Why do Christians, although they are not commanded like Muslims, still fast? First, Jesus' teaching throughout the gospels, particularly Matthew, is quite clear. Setting the example personally (Matt. 4:2), although not directly calling for fasting, Jesus gives instructions about fasting itself: “When you fast” (not “if,” Matt. 6:16-17). Moreover, speaking of the time when His followers will be abandoned by Him, He says: “Then they will fast (Matthew 9:15, Mark 2:20, Luke 5:35). And these words are not just a rule, but a commandment from the lips of our Savior, which is at least unreasonable to ignore.
The early church fasted
Jesus' words are followed by the pattern of fasting that we encounter in the early church as we read about its growth in the book of Acts. One of the significant moments of Lent occurs in Antioch, when the leaders of the church “prayed to the Lord and fasted,” asking for God’s guidance (Acts 13:2-3): As they fasted, the Holy Spirit spoke to them: “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to work, to which I called them." And they prayed again with fasting, laid their hands on them and sent them away.
After this, in the 14th chapter of Acts we read about fasting and prayer in each church: visiting the cities in which they converted people to the Lord in their early missionary journeys, Paul and Barnabas ordained elders in each church and, with prayer and fasting, dedicated them to the Lord , in whom they believed.
Lent Calendar 2021
Preparation for Lent begins with Cheese Week. This week will end with Forgiveness Sunday, which is popularly called Maslenitsa. This day in 2021 falls on March 10th. This week you need to remove all animal proteins from your diet, except dairy products and fish. This will make it much easier to enter the main post.
The first week of Lent is the Triumph of Orthodoxy. From 11 to 17 March:
| Monday | Complete abstinence from food |
| Tuesday | Bread and water |
| Wednesday | Dry food without oil |
| Thursday | Dry food without oil |
| Friday | Boiled food without oil |
| Saturday | Boiled food with vegetable oil, a little wine |
| Sunday | Boiled food with vegetable oil, a little wine |
Second week of Great Lent - St. George Palamas, from March 18 to 24. And the third week of Lent is the Worship of the Cross, from March 25 to 31: the meals are the same as in the first week.
Fourth week of Lent - St. John Climacus, from April 1 to 7. On Sunday they celebrate the Annunciation, so you can fish.
Fifth week of Lent - St. Mary of Egypt, from April 8 to 14: meals are the same as in the first week.
Sixth week of Lent - Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, from April 15 to 21: On Saturday you can eat caviar. Palm Sunday falls on April 21, so you can fish.
The seventh week of Great Lent is Holy Week. From April 22 to April 25 - dry eating, on Friday April 26 - complete refusal of food, on Saturday April 27 - dry eating. April 28 – Easter
Internal: expression of repentance.
The first and simplest, yet quite important thing that fasting expresses is repentance. Let’s call it “internal”, directed towards ourselves. Believers understand that they have sinned - by doing something insignificant, namely by remaining in a state of rebellion against God for a long time - and they come to him for forgiveness.
For example, in 1 Samuel chapter seven, God's people become aware of their past and present idolatry (and God's hand in their discipline). They decide to come to God and anew “turn their hearts to the Lord and serve only Him.” Led by Samuel, they gather together and, fasting as a sign of repentance, admit that they have “sinned against the Lord.” Likewise, in 1 Kings 21, Ahab, although “having sold himself to do evil in the sight of the Lord,” humbled himself by fasting when Elijah rebuked him, and the Lord was pleased to postpone the impending punishment even for such an evil king. In Nehemiah chapter 9 we see God's people gathered together to fast in rags, confessing and asking God for forgiveness. In the book of Daniel in chapter 9, the prophet sees that the period of exile has come to an end and says: “I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him and praying for mercy with fasting in rags and ashes.” He prayed to God and confessed the sin of the people to Him in the hope of restoration. And in the same way, Joel (the first and second chapters of the book of Joel) calls for fasting for the sake of repentance and turning to God from one’s sins - as was the case in Nineveh, when people believed Jonah, although he did not want their salvation. They called everyone together for fasting and dressed in torn clothes, from young to old (book of Jonah, chapter 3).
The Old Testament saints often expressed inner repentance to God not only in words, but by witnessing to him through fasting. Such a post was not an attempt to earn forgiveness, but to indicate the extent of their regret.
External: empathy for circumstances.
Fasting expresses not only repentance. Often he is the voice of sorrow, bitterness and crying in the midst of difficulties. How the 1st book of Samuel ends and the 2nd begins is the death of Saul and the grief of the people. Book 1 ends with a seven-day fast of lamentation. The 2nd begins with the news of Saul's death reaching David, and he and his people wept and fasted until evening for Saul and his son Jonathan, for the people of God, for the house of Israel, because he had fallen by the sword. This fast was not a mourning for one’s own sin, but for the death of the king.
When Haman's new decree comes out (Book of Esther, chapter 4), the Jews mourned, fasted and wept, and many of them sat in sackcloth and ashes. When David speaks in prayer about the betrayal of his friend, he says that they rejoice over his grief, although he humbled himself by fasting and grieved when they were weak (Psalm 34). Psalm 68 says that David wept and humbled his soul by fasting, not in repentance, but because he had been treated badly. And Ezra was also upset and fasted not because of his sin, but because he learned that the holy people had mixed with the nations of the earth (book of Ezra chapter 9).
Fasting becomes the voice of pain and grief in the midst of sudden and difficult external circumstances, representing a heart that trusts in God despite grief.
The Future: In Search of God's Will.
Finally, we move from internal repentance and external empathy to initiative and ask God for guidance or blessings. The first mention of fasting in the Bible (the end of the book of Judges) is of precisely this nature. God's people not only grieve over the impending war, but also ask Him whether they should go to war against the tribe of Benjamin. We encounter a similar question in the second book of Chronicles (chapter 20, verses 3, 12): “And Jehoshaphat feared, and turned his face to seek the Lord, and declared a fast throughout all Judea and said: ... Our God! You judge them. For we have no strength against this great multitude that has come against us, and we do not know what to do, but our eyes are directed to You!”
David sought salvation from God with the words: “My knees are weak from fasting, and my body has lost its fatness” (Psalm 109:24), asked for the health of his newborn, and later said: “As long as the child was alive, I fasted and wept, for I thought: who knows if the Lord will have mercy on me and the child will remain alive? (2 Samuel 12:22).
The practice of praying for God's protection "before the future" played a very important role in the preservation of Israel and their return from captivity. Before asking for mercy from an earthly king, Esther first turned to God (Esther 4:16):
“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for my sake, and do not eat or drink for three days, day or night, and I and my maidens will also fast and then I will go to the king, although this is against the law, and if I die, I will die.”
God answered Esther and made her an instrument of salvation for the entire people.
Even Darius, king over captive Israel in the final years of exile, fasted as he sought to save Daniel from the lions. Before leaving Babylon, Ezra declared a fast: “That we may humble ourselves before the face of our God, asking Him for a prosperous path for ourselves and for our children and for all our property...” (Book of Ezra, chapter 8). For Nehemiah, fasting was not only an expression of pain and grief, but also a search for God's blessing: “I pray to You, Lord! Let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and to the prayer of Your servants who love to revere Your name. And prosper Thy servant now, and bring him into favor with this man” (Nehemiah chapter 1). He prayed and fasted, and then, by faith, he came to the king.
Believers often fast to strengthen their requests for God's guidance, protection on the journey, and special favors.
What you can and cannot eat
According to the church charter, on days of fasting, animal products are completely excluded from the diet.
The fasting menu may consist of:
- fresh, salted, soaked, pickled vegetables, fruits;
- legumes;
- vegetable oil;
- bread, lean bakery products;
- fish, seafood - on certain days;
- greenery;
- mushrooms;
- dried fruits;
- fresh, frozen berries;
- honey;
- Lenten sweets - halva, kozinaki, lollipops.
It is prohibited to eat eggs, dairy products, or drink alcoholic beverages. An exception is made for red grape wine. When compiling the menu, take into account the recommendations written in the calendar. By agreement with the priest, small relaxations are possible. This especially applies to pregnant and lactating women, seriously ill people, and children.
Common denominator: for God's sake
The above is not an exhaustive list of reasons for fasting in the Old Testament (for more information, read the book of Isaiah chapter 58, the book of Jeremiah chapter 14, the book of Zechariah chapters 7-8), but these three reasons are most often traced: repentance (internal), grief (external) , petition for mercy (future). And the general reason that can be traced in all types of fasting is “according to God.”
Honest fasting, whatever the reason for it, comes from the basic human need - for God. We need His help, mercy, guidance. We need His salvation and consolation in trouble, forgiveness of sins and grace. We need God. It is He, and not circumstances or actions, that is the common denominator of the reasons for fasting. Fasting tells God about our need for Him. We have everyday and extraordinary needs. We ask for bread for every day, and in times of emergency we involve fasting in prayer.
New Testament believers can add another equally important reason: the depth of awareness and confidence that we have Christ. By telling God about our needs - be it repentance, consolation in grief, mercy in something - we stand before Him on solid ground. When we realize we need something and focus on what we don't have, fasting reminds us of what we do have. God has already come to us. Christ died and rose again. We are already His if we believe. God's Spirit is already working in us, through us, and for us. And our future is predetermined. We already have a true home.
In this post we acknowledge that we are not home yet, but remember that we are not homeless. In fasting we turn to our Bridegroom and remember His promises. In fasting, we admit our weakness and remember the One and Only One to Whom everything belongs and who will come to the rescue in His time.
When you fall, get up!
This phrase can be applied not only to fasting, but also to any area of life. If you give up everything every time you fail, nothing good will ever happen. What should you do if you couldn’t restrain yourself and became rude in line, drank a glass of milk, or went to a bar with friends? You need to tell yourself that nothing bad happened. Life goes on and we must try again. And tell the priest about your action in confession, he will give the necessary advice in this situation.
What conclusions does the person draw?
Lent is the longest, and it is also the strictest. Lasts 48 days. It should be noted that strict fasting applies more to monastics. Laymen (people who do not live in monasteries and have not taken monastic vows) are allowed concessions, but only if the priest blesses them. This is also why you should go to church the day before to discuss all the conditions with the priest: what to limit and what can be left as usual. After all, not everyone is able to strictly abstain for one reason or another. For example, due to illness or pregnancy, you should not give up dairy products or meat unless your doctor prohibits it.
So what conclusions does a person who has fasted spiritually and sincerely make? He usually doesn't want to go back to his old life. He becomes disgusted with what he used to love to do. I also want to communicate with the Lord more often.
You have learned what fasting is and what it should be. If a person managed to leave his earthly affairs, or at least limit himself, then at the end of this period did not want to return to them, it means that the time was not spent in vain, but with great benefit for the soul.
Hyssop - sacred herb
Yarrow, wormwood, chamomile, hyssop... each of these plants gives a unique note of bitterness and warmth. There are many herbs and flowers growing in the world that have a subtler and stronger aroma, with more beautiful flowers and, perhaps, more valuable from a medical point of view. But not a single plant has received such attention from clergy and esotericists as this one - the sacred herb hyssop.
Read more…
Attention!
The information on the site does not constitute a medical diagnosis or a guide to action and
is intended for informational purposes only.
