On Monday, March 15, 2021, the strictest and longest fast begins - Great Lent. His main goal is to prepare physically and spiritually for Easter, which falls on May 2 in 2021.
During this period, the church calls for prayer and fasting. The latter involves a complete abstinence from animal foods, and on certain days even from vegetable oils. But not everyone can strictly follow such rules, because the consequences can be serious disorders in the body. Together with our experts, we found out who should make what deviations from the canons and how to behave in order to maintain good health.
How to adhere to it, given that the third wave of coronavirus is raging in Ukraine and there is a threat of lockdown? Vesti looked into this issue together with experts.
How should lay people fast?
Vladimir Strelov, rector of Heritage Bible College
The main meaning of fasting for any believer, be it a layman or a monk, is to find the path that brings us back to ourselves, allows us to better hear God and love our neighbors through deeds. Like a wise merchant, let everyone choose what will best build his spiritual life, said the Monk Seraphim of Sarov. For one, abstinence and observation of the movements of one’s soul are suitable, for another – reading the Holy Scriptures and prayer, for a third – works of mercy.
The life of modern laity is spent mainly in study and work, and, during Lent, it probably makes sense to limit information noise, spend time in silence, in nature, with family, read more Holy Scripture, pray and pay attention to those who need us, do something for them.
In ancient biblical times, fasts were short but complete - not eating or drinking anything during the day, paying attention to what God said. But God already proclaims to the prophets that what is important for Him is not external signs of repentance, but caring for those who feel bad, and correcting relationships with neighbors - forgiveness, reconciliation.
The early church instituted one long fast, before Easter. But the refusal to eat was dictated not by dietary considerations, but by concern for the catechumens - those who were preparing to receive the Sacrament of Baptism. They listened to daily instructions about faith and therefore could not work. The ancient Christians themselves ate simpler, so that they would have something to take care of the catechumens, to show them that the Church was already waiting for them.
With the advent of monasticism, the meaning of fasting shifts to self-exploration and a special struggle with passions. At the same time, it is emphasized that fasting belongs to the category of “average” deeds, that is, it is just a means of acquiring virtue, and not virtue itself. “Whoever eats eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat does not eat for the Lord, and gives thanks to God... He who eats, do not disparage the one who does not eat; and whoever does not eat, do not condemn the one who eats, because God has accepted him. Who are you, judging another man's slave? Before his Lord he stands, or he falls. And he will be raised up, for God is able to raise him up,” reads on the eve of fasting from the letter of the holy Apostle Paul to the Romans, reminding us that fasting is only for ourselves, and not for judging others (Rom. 14).
Over the centuries, the monastic tradition developed its own rules of fasting, which were transferred to Rus'. It includes not only instructions about food, but mainly about worship, which sometimes take up almost the entire day.
In our time, the laity fast according to their ability, consulting with experienced people about their measure of fasting, judiciously assessing what helps to get closer to God and what can be harmful.
Nutrition rules during fasting
If everything is more or less clear with the general aspects of organizing fasting, then with the specific practice of preparing a diet, difficulties always arise.
Important! The main mistake of any fast is to constantly think about food.
Eating on fasting days should bring relief to the body, so overeating should be avoided. An excess of even light plant foods can negatively affect the digestive system and overall well-being.
A properly and competently organized Lenten menu will not only not cause any harm to the body, but, on the contrary, will help improve your health. Since the usual daily diet of most people is far from healthy, food restrictions are good in that a person begins to think about what he is eating.
Lent is considered one of the most important to observe
An additional effect when observing restrictive days, along with refusing animal foods, is often the exclusion of harmful foods - mayonnaise, processed foods, unhealthy fats.
Along with the obvious benefits of switching to lighter foods, a lean diet may have deficiencies in certain nutrients. Let's look at the main problems of creating a Lenten menu and ways to solve them.
Advice! Let us emphasize once again that attention should not be paid to nutrition first. Retreat is a time of spiritual activity, prayer, and struggle with one’s sins.
Protein deficiency
If we consider the nutritional side of fasting, the most noticeable shift in the diet will be a significant lack of protein. With a normal diet, we get protein from meat, eggs, dairy products - these are the ones that have to be excluded from the diet for a while.
Protein is an essential building block for the cells of the human body. It takes part in basic biochemical reactions. Its acute and long-term deficiency can have an extremely negative impact on a person’s health.
Orthodox fasts, despite all their severity, do not last so long as to significantly deplete protein reserves in the body of a healthy person. In order to saturate your body with this essential nutrient, you need to include vegetable protein in your Lenten menu. It is found in the following products:
- soy, soy meat;
- nuts:
- beans, beans, chickpeas;
- mushrooms;
- cereals
Nuts, soy, legumes and cereals will help fill the protein gap
By constantly using these products to prepare lean dishes, you can easily do without meat and dairy products for a long time.
Excess carbohydrates
In our latitudes, the exclusion of animal foods most often begins to be replaced by foods high in carbohydrates - bread, lean pastries, potatoes. Excess carbohydrates in the diet not only provokes digestive problems, but can also lead to excessive weight gain. In order to avoid such problems, you need to ensure there is a sufficient amount of vegetables, fruits and herbs in the menu. It is advisable to eat as often as possible:
- vegetable and fruit salads;
- vegetable soups, borscht;
- use fresh herbs wherever appropriate.
In addition, what kind of carbohydrates we eat is important. They are also important sources of nutrients and should not be completely eliminated. But it is desirable that the main part of them be represented by so-called long or slow carbohydrates.
They are distinguished by the fact that they take longer to digest, give a long-lasting feeling of fullness, do not provoke sudden jumps in blood sugar levels, and are not stored in fat tissue reserves.
Vegetables and fruits will help diversify the Lenten menu
Slow carbohydrates include:
- minimally processed grains (brown rice, buckwheat, pearl barley, whole oatmeal and others);
- durum wheat pasta (durum);
- baked goods made from whole grain flour.
It is advisable to give preference to dishes made from these products on fasting days. In combination with a large amount of vegetables, such a diet will saturate the body for a long time and replenish it with all the essential nutrients.
Fat imbalance
The third most important nutrient, along with proteins and carbohydrates, is fat. In a normal diet, we get a large amount of them from food of animal origin. By eliminating it, we can get an acute lack of fat, which will be expressed in increased fatigue, poor condition of the skin, hair and nails, and increased irritability.
In order to avoid a lack of fat, you need to enrich your diet with healthy vegetable fats. To do this, the menu should include:
- vegetable oils, mostly unrefined (sunflower, olive, corn, coconut, flaxseed);
- nuts;
- avocado;
- olives, black olives;
- sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds.
The lack of fat during Lent can be compensated by nuts
It is not advisable to heat unrefined oils (except coconut oil), so it is better to use them for dressing salads and adding them to ready-made dishes after cooking. For frying, it is better to use refined oils - for example, olive oil.
Vitamin deficiency
Another disadvantage, which is often attributed to the Lenten menu, is considered to be an acute lack of vitamins and minerals. Indeed, if you eat only oatmeal with water and dry bread for several weeks, such a diet can hardly be called healthy.
Even a fairly strict fast, observing the days of dry eating and other requirements of the Charter, can be diversified with healthy foods. In order to enrich the Lenten table with vitamins and microelements, use the following products:
- seasonal fresh vegetables and fruits;
- dried fruits (dates, dried apricots, prunes, raisins, figs);
- fresh herbs;
How to fast during Lent?
Archpriest Igor Shumilov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Slovushchego village of Vasilyevskoye, Ruza district, Moscow region
First of all, during Lent you should try to abstain not only from eating products of animal origin, but from everything harmful to the soul: idle pastime, amusements and obviously sinful activities, as well as excessive communication. Idle, according to the explanatory dictionary, means empty, empty, not occupied with anything. In idleness a person empties himself. Even if you think that idleness is a necessary form of relaxation in order to “relieve stress” and “drain negativity,” then the resulting “empty space” needs to be filled with something.
The best filler for the human soul is the Grace of the Holy Spirit, in other words, Divine Energy. The soul is nourished by it and healed from all kinds of wounds. Of course, after work, study, especially sedentary work, you need to rest. It can be an active holiday, preferably in nature, or maybe a cultural one. A thinking person himself understands whether communication is beneficial for him or not. Our soul feels this too. Very often, after crazy fun, a person feels exhausted. Likewise, communication can be both devastating and very rewarding. And cultural recreation can be different - after a good film, for example, it is easier for me to pray.
In the service of the first day of Great Lent, at Vespers, an excellent explanation is given of how we need to fast, what kind of fasting is pleasing to God: “true fasting is avoidance of vices, abstinence of the tongue, renunciation of anger, separation from lusts, slander, lies and perjury. The impoverishment (belittlement) of all this is true and auspicious fasting!” (Stichera on the stichera of Great Vespers)
During Great Lent you should read the Holy Scriptures more and pray more often. Unfortunately, some people, calling themselves Orthodox Christians, have never read the Gospel! This is simply nonsense - like a mathematician who does not know the multiplication table, who has never seen a textbook on algebra or geometry. Lent is the most convenient time to fill this gap.
Prayer is communication with God. It would be very useful to communicate more with the One who loves us and calls us His children during Lent. So we should turn to Him more often with the beautiful words: “Our Father who art in heaven!”
How should children fast?
Archpriest Igor Shumilov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Slovushchego village of Vasilyevskoye, Ruza district, Moscow region
Modern children are all too different, like our families, and they fast depending on their character and structure, as well as age: biological, spiritual and intellectual.
The amount of fasting for children should be determined by parents. If there is no unanimity between parents regarding the fasting of their child, then adults will have to try to find a compromise. I am sure that no one will object to good deeds that a child can do for the sake of fasting.
First of all, a child's fast should concern treats that can be done without, and games. We are, of course, not talking about developmental activities or sports, but about those that our children always have time to play. Such entertainment is now available to almost everyone, not only on the computer, but also on every phone and tablet.
Children's fasting is voluntary, and it is important for parents to try to convey this to the child and explain it in a way that is understandable to him. As for monitoring compliance with fasting, this should not become just another “homework” for the child, a boring obligation, and certainly not an order.
It would be good for parents to suggest to their children, based on their experience of communicating with them, that in the coming Lent they should strengthen some virtue (a skill of doing good deeds that is useful in spiritual life) and fight some passion (bad habit, addiction). For example, fight your own laziness. You can ask the child himself where and when, in his opinion, laziness overcomes him. Reason with him and suggest: let’s try to overcome laziness now, during Lent. Or - be less capricious. Agree, very often the child himself understands that he is being capricious. So tell him (her): “Where we notice the capricious one, let’s drive her away.”
All explanations must occur at a fairly primitive level that is understandable to a child. No one will demand from children serious ascetic feats that exceed the capabilities of the parents themselves and those worthy of the post of great ascetics and hermits. In any case, fasting is called and should bear useful fruits, and the task of parents and confessor - a priest who knows the child and his family - is to help the young Christian in this.
How long should you fast before communion?
The Church defines this period as three days - that is how long you need to fast before communion. It is believed that, if possible, this should be a strict fast. It concerns not only food (do not eat meat, fish, dairy products), but also other aspects of a person’s life: avoidance of entertainment, refusal of marital intimacy.
The purpose of fasting before communion is the same as any fast: to focus a person’s attention on his inner life. But not only this. Fasting before communion is also a “mandatory feat” that will help to properly attune a person to this Sacrament.
Communion is the main Sacrament in the life of a Christian: it is the moment of his inexplicable union with God, here on Earth. This is a Holy moment and the attitude towards it should be appropriate. Communion is not a valor or an achievement, but a Gift of the Lord and a Miracle that happens to us here and now. Three days of fasting help a person remember this.
As a rule, for deeply churchgoers and ascetics, fasting before Communion was not even a rule - but something self-evident: to come to the Chalice ready, keeping your mind in the internal, and not in the external.
(By the way: preparation for Communion consists not only of fasting and restrictions, but also of reading special prayers. Before Communion, Christians read the Follow-up to Holy Communion, as well as three canons - the penitential canon of Jesus Christ, the Canon of the Mother of God and the Canon of the Guardian Angel. All these there are prayers in every prayer book).
How to fast for pregnant and breastfeeding women?
Archpriest Igor Shumilov, rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Slovushchego village of Vasilyevskoye, Ruza district, Moscow region
For pregnant and nursing mothers, the fast is weakened. In this situation, you need to act according to your well-being. If you “are dying” to eat something, then this is also the well-being of the pregnant woman, and not her “sinful dispensation.” Of course, you should not exclude products that help carry a child. It is better to consult a doctor regarding the nutritional component of fasting for a pregnant woman.
Spiritual fasting, in the form of limiting entertainment and pleasure, accompanied by fervent prayer and repentance, is unlikely to harm the baby. The duration and measure of fasting as abstinence from modest food depends both on the internal state of a Christian woman and on the objective conditions of her life. According to the document “On the Participation of the Faithful in the Eucharist” adopted by the Orthodox Church, during pregnancy and lactation, the food fast before communion can be shortened, lightened or canceled.
It is the spiritual component of fasting that can become a task, even a feat, for a pregnant woman. Many experienced priests advise pregnant women to read the Gospel aloud. For the sake of their child, mothers are ready to do a lot: for example, pray more and listen to calm, non-aggressive music. Although, perhaps, some modern mothers consider heavy metal to be good music, classical, symphonic music is still better suited.
One of my friends, being pregnant, fasts almost according to the rules throughout Lent and says that she feels great. So she gave birth to four healthy children. Some mothers require a special diet and gentle regimen during pregnancy and lactation.
To determine the measure of fasting, it is best for a pregnant or nursing mother to consult with her spiritual father (confessor) - a clergyman who is familiar with the circumstances of her life and spiritual state. If there is no confessor, then the believing mother should address questions regarding fasting to the priests of the church where she is going to receive communion. She can be helped with this by both relatives and friends, who will come to the temple the day before and find out when the priest has the opportunity to discuss issues important to her, as well as the temple’s telephone number and email.
