Fasting in Orthodox Way of Life

Fasting




A key element of the Orthodox Way of Life is fasting. This is an ascetic discipline that is necessary to tame our passions and nurture our soul so we can come closer to God and become united with him. It is not a virtue but an aid, a means to our union with God. This video gives the history, the reason for its importance and the guidelines given to us by the Church.

Why Do We Fast?

Fasting is an essential and important discipline for Orthodox Christians. We find the importance of fasting taught by Moses, the Prophets, Jesus Himself, His Apostles, Church Fathers, Church Canons, and reaffirmed in the recent Great Synod of the Church.

The reason it is so important is that it is an essential exercise to strengthen the soul, the will to do God’s will. 

Fasting is aimed at control of one of the most powerful bodily passions, hunger. What is it like when you hunger? We say we have hunger pangs. This pain in our stomach moves us to eat something. When we deny this pain or desire, what part of us is acting? It is our soul, our will. As we engage in this discipline out of our love for God and our intense desire to do His will, our soul becomes more capable of controlling the passions of the body that keep us from doing so. As we fast with faith and love of God we attract divine Grace that nurtures our soul and makes it stronger to do His will. Our connection with God is strengthened. In this way we become better able to overcome all the passions of our body, not just hunger.

This is why fasting is such an essential spiritual discipline.

In athletics, preparation is necessary to compete. Exercises are required to develop the muscles of the body. The same for the soul. Exercises are needed to develop the will of the soul to do God’s will. It must become strong enough to overcome evil forces and the temptations of our current day culture.

We are all fallen beings and find ourselves separated from God, struggling to regain our soul’s control over the body so we can live in union with Him. Our aim is to be reunited with God with eternal life in His Kingdom. To do so we must overcome our sinful nature and live according to His commandments. But we are like Paul who wonders why it is that he does what he does not want to do, and what he wants to do he does not do. He also says, using athletic analogies, that he must harden his body like a boxer to compete in the struggle he calls Spiritual warfare.

With our intense love of God, our desire to be untied with Him and to do His will, we are taught to fast regularly on Wednesdays and Fridays and participate in four fasting periods during the year.

It is important to see fasting as a positive effort in cooperation with God. It’s a proven means to bring us closer to Him when done out of our love for Him. If you make a commitment to follow the teachings of His Church you will experience how your soul is strengthened by this discipline.

Fasting cannot be seen as a virtue. It is the control of the passions that are virtues. Fasting is only a means necessary to develop virtues with the help of God’s Grace. 

Orthodox way of life Ten Points booklet

More on fasting

Why Don't You Fast?

The Prophets Fasted

Moses: When I went up into the mountain to receive the tables of stone...I was in the mountain forty days and forty nights, I ate no bread and drank no water. Deuteronomy 9:9 (LXX)

Prophet Jonah:  It was by fasting among other things that the people of Nineveh were saved from his prediction of peril.  Jonah 3:7  (LXX)

Prophet Joel: Fasting associated with repentance:
“Now, says the Lord your God, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and with wailing, and with mourning. Joel 2:12 (LXX)

Prophet Daniel: Fasting with repentance and prayer are an aid in seeking God and the spiritual life:
And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him diligently by prayer and supplication, with fastings and sackcloth.  And I Prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed...  Daniel 9:3-4 (LXX)

Jesus Fasted:

Immediately after His Baptism, what did He do?

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights,
he was afterward hungry. 

What was His instruction for Apostles in the case of the epileptic boy whose demon the Apostles could not cast out?

This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

When challenged by Pharisees about His disciples what did He say? 

Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 

The Lord Himself gave instructions for fasting:

But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; That you appear not unto men to fast, but unto your Father which is in secret. Matthew. 6:17-18

Why did he say this?

Apostles fasted:

In the Acts of the Apostles we read:
As they ministered (liturgical rite) to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

They coupled fasting with liturgical acts

Paul: Apostle Paul describes his own spiritual life as one of sacrifice, vigils, thirst, and fasting lived “in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

He also refers to fasting in the context of marriage saying that by mutual consent husband and wife abstain from marital relations periodically while fasting and prayer.

The first century - Didache
“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” 

Your fasts must not be identical with those of the hypocrites. They fast on Mondays and Thursdays; but you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

The fasting referred to here was a complete abstention from both food and drink until sundown. 

Church Fathers fasted.

Ecclesiastical writer Tertullian (220 d.) notes that spiritual growth requires confession and prayer fed by “fasting, ...not for the stomach’s sake, ...but for the soul’s.

Saint Gregory (391) - practice of receiving the Eucharist after fasting.

Saint Basil (379) wrote much on fasting.

John Cassian (435): Therefore, fastings, vigils, meditation on the Scriptures, self-denial, and the abnegation of all possessions are not perfection, but aids to perfection: because the end of that science does not lie in these, but
by means of these we arrive at the end. 

Saint Athanasius (373) - Fasting more than just food.
...let us vie with each other in observing the purity of the fast by watchfulness in prayers, by study of the Scriptures, by distributing to the poor, and let us be at peace with our enemies. Let us bind up those who are scattered abroad, banish pride, and return to lowliness of mind, being at peace with all men, and urging the brethren unto love. Letter XIV.

Saint Athanasius describes the benefits of fasting.
It “...cures ills and dries up bodily humors, casts out demons and turns away evil thoughts; it makes the mind brighter, the heart clean, and the body holy; and it presents man before the Throne of God.”

Modern Saints Fasted

Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1920)
Fasting is an ordinance of the church, obliging the Christian to observe it on specific days.  ...He who fasts for the uplifting of his mind and heart towards God shall be rewarded by God, Who is a most liberal bestower of divine gifts, for his devotion.  
...unless one lifts his mind and heart towards God through Christian--not Pharisaic--fasting and through prayer, he cannot attain a consciousness of his sinful state and earnestly seek the forgiveness of sins.. Prayer and fasting--Christian fasting-- serve as means of self-study, of discernment of our true moral state, of an accurate estimation of our sins and of a knowledge of their true character.
(Vol 7 of Modern Orthodox Saints, 2nd ed., p 178)

The purpose of fasting is chiefly spiritual: to provide an opportunity and preparation for spiritual works of prayer and meditation on the Divine through the complete abstinence from food, or the eating of uncooked food or frugal fare. 
However, fasting is no less valuable for physical health, since self-control and simplicity of life are necessary conditions of health and longevity, as dietetics tells us.

Canons of Church require fasting

If you do not honor the Wednesday and Friday fast you are to be excommunicated.

Must fast prior to taking Communion

Strict fast during entire Lenten period

Do not fast on Sunday and Saturday

If ill or weak relaxation of guidelines appropriate

Always been essential part of Orthodox Christian Life. 

Necessary discipline to combat the passions and open the door to the renewal of the Holy Spirit. 

Why don’t you fast?

Fasting foods should be simple and plain and not extravagant. 

The more effort that goes into their creativity and preparation, the more its value is reduced. 

Should not be prepared to satisfy our craving for certain tastes       
   •  Break from our automatic response to food,
   •  Give thanks to the provider, out Lord,
   •  Increase our self-control.

Dormition Fast And Paraclesis Services

For the first fourteen days of August during each year, the Church enters into a strict fast period in honor of the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary. St. John of Damascus, pointed out that when the Blessed Virgin Mary became the Mother of God and gave birth to Christ, the Redeemer of Mankind, she became the mother of mankind. We call the Virgin Mary “Theotokos”, which means “The Birth-Giver or the Bearer of God.” This is the highest title that can be bestowed upon any member of the human race.

The Theotokos, the Virgin Mary, was “blessed amongst women,” and she was chosen “to bear the Savior of our souls.” We, therefore, as Orthodox Christians, consider her to be the Queen of all the saints and the angels.

Knowing that she holds such a high place in the Kingdom of Heaven and that she is eternally present at the throne of God interceding for mankind, we, as good Orthodox Christians, must pray for her love, guidance, and protection. We must never forget to ask for her intercessions in times of sickness and danger, and we must constantly thank her for her care and her prayers in our behalf.

Every year the Orthodox Church sets aside the first fourteen days of August in honor of the Virgin Mary. This fast period is climaxed on August 15th to celebrate the Great Feast of the Dormition (Falling-Asleep) of the Theotokos. During this fourteen day fast period, the Orthodox Church prescribes that the Paraclesis Service be held in honor of the Mother of God.

The word “paraclesis” has two different meanings: the first is “consolation,” from which the Holy Spirit is called the “Paraclete,” or “Consoler”; the second is “supplication” or “petition”. The Service of the Paraclesis to the Theotokos consists of hymns of supplication to obtain consolation and courage. The theme of these Paraclesis Services centers around the petition. . “Most Holy Mother of God, save us.

If you have a problem or if something is burdening your soul, if you feel spiritually uneasy and if you are not at peace with yourself and with those around you, then, you should come to the Church during the first fifteen days of August and ask for the intercessions of the Mother of God. Even if you are fortunate enough to be one of those very few who are at peace with themselves and with God, then those blessed ones should come to these services and thank God and His Blessed Mother for the blessings that they have bestowed upon you and your family.

This is also a good time to participate in the sacrament of Confession.

FASTING: The Weak & the West

I found this to be an interesting perspective on fasting and its relationship to our attitude towards human nature.  Why is fasting so neglected in these times? Is Orthodoxy gong the way of the West?

The following two snippets, the words of Mother Mary and Metropolitan (then Archimandrite) Kallistos Ware, come from Fr Josiah Trenham's site, The Arena.

The Meaning of the Great Fast: How the West Changed the Fast
“The second tendency [viewing the fasting rules as outdated] is doubtless the more prevalent in our own day, especially in the West. Until the fourteenth century, most Western Christians, in common with their brethren in the Orthodox East, abstained during Lent not only from meat but from animal products, such as eggs, milk, butter and cheese. In East and West alike, the Lenten fast involved a severe physical effort. But in Western Christendom over the past five hundred year, the physical requirements of fasting have been steadily reduced, until by now they are little more than symbolic. How many, one wonders, of those who eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday are aware of the original reason for this custom––to use up any remaining eggs and butter before the Lenten fast begins? Exposed as it is to Western secularism, the Orthodox world in our own time is also beginning to follow the same path of laxity.”

The Meaning of the Great Fast: Firm Resolve and the Reasons for Contemporary Man’s Weak Fasting
“One reason for this decline in fasting is surely a heretical attitude towards human nature, a false ‘spiritualism’ which rejects or ignores the body, viewing man solely in terms of his reasoning brain. As a result, many contemporary Christians have lost a true vision of man as an integral unity of the visible and invisible; they neglect the positive role played by the body in the spiritual life…Another reason for the decline in fasting among Orthodox is the argument, commonly advanced in our times, that the traditional rules are no longer possible today…it needs to be said that fasting, as traditionally practiced in the Church, has always been difficult and always involved hardship. Many of our contemporaries 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 accepted by previous generations of Orthodox prove such an intolerable burden to their successors today? Once St. Seraphim of Sarov was asked why the miracles of grace, so abundantly manifest in the past, were no longer apparent in his own day, and to this he replied: ‘Only one thing is lacking––a firm resolve.’”

Fr Josiah notes: In coming issues of the ARENA you will excerpts like this above from the classic article written by Mother Mary and Metropolitan (then Archimandrite) Kallistos Ware introducing The Lenten Triodion published originally in 1978 by Faber and Faber Limited, reprinted by St. Tikhon’s Seminary Press in 1994.

Image Source

From: http://southern-orthodoxy.blogspot.com/2010/02/fasting-weak-west.html

Self-Control is Important in Fasting

The challenge of a spiritual life is to gain self-control.  This is one of the requirements of fasting, so by participating in the fast we learn this all important skill for an Orthodox Way of LIfe.

Saint Gregory Palamas reminds this that this issue goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. 

Lack of self-control is actually an evil both ancient and modern, though it did not precede its antidote, fasting. By means of our forefathers' self-indulgence in paradise and their contempt for the fast already in existence there, death entered the world. Sin reigned and brought in the condemnation of our nature from Adam until Christ. 

 A lack of self-control led to the Great Flood, the destruction of Sodom, Esau's plight, and the death of Eli's sons.  Saint Gregory says,

The flood covered the whole earth because of the self-indulgence of Adam’s descendants in this world of ours and their disdain for the chastity which came before. In those days God said to Noah, "My Spirit shall not abide in these men, for they are flesh" (cf. Gen. 6:3 LXX). The deeds of those who are flesh are none other than unlimited eating, drunkenness, sensual pleasure and the evils that spring from them. Because of the abominable depravity and self-indulgence among the men of Sodom, fire fell on them from heaven (Gen. 19:24). "Behold", says the prophet Ezekiel, "this was the iniquity of the men of Sodom, in fulness of bread they committed abomination" (cf. Ezek. 16:49-50). By means of this abomination, ignoring human nature they fell into unnatural unions. What deprived Esau, Isaac's firstborn, of his birthright and his father's blessing? Of course it was lasciviousness and an unreasonable demand for food (Gen. 25:25-34; 26:34-35, Heb. 12:16). Why were Eli's sons condemned to death, and why did he meet a violent death at the news of the death of his children, whom he had not disciplined with proper care? Surely it was because they took the meat from the cauldrons before the time and used it (1 Sam. 2:12-17; 4:11, 17-18). Also, the whole Hebrew nation, while Moses was fasting on the mountain for their sake, were indulging themselves to their own detriment. They ate and drank and rose up to play, as the Scripture says (Exod. 32:6), and their sport was worshipping an idol, for it was then that the incidents surrounding the fashioning of the calf took place among them. 

The benefit of fasting is greater self0control which leads us to greater virtue.

Sensual pleasure causes ungodliness as well as sin, but fasting and self-control result in the fear of God as well as virtue. Fasting must be accompanied by self-control. Why? Because eating our fill, even of humble foods, is a hindrance to the purifying mourning, godly sorrow and contrition in our souls, which bring about unswerving repentance leading to salvation. For without a contrite heart we cannot really lay hold of repentance. It is the restriction of self-indulgence, sleep and the senses according to God's will that crushes our hearts and makes us mourn for our sins. 

When that rich man in the Gospel said to himself, "Eat, drink and be merry" (Luke 12:19), the wretch made himself fit for the eternal flames and unfit for this present life.

Saint Gregory gives us this final encouragement:

Let us, on the contrary, brethren, tell ourselves to be temperate, to fast, to keep watch, to be restrained, to be humble and to suffer hardship for our salvation. Then we shall finish this present life in a good way pleasing to God and inherit the blessed life without end. 

May we all attain to this by the grace and love towards mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong glory, might, honor and worship, together with I lis Father without beginning and the life-giving Spirit, now and for ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

From Homily Six - To Encourage Fasting  - Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies, trans. Christopher Veniamin, Mount Thabor Publishing, Waymart PA, 2009 


More on fasting and the complete homily

Moses & Elijah as Examples on Fasting

Saint Gregory Palamas gives us the examples of Moses and Elijah as examples to motivate us in our fasting.  

Moses fasted for many days. Awaken your minds, I entreat You, and lift them up at this opportune time, in company with Moses when he went up the mountain towards God. In this way may you start off afresh on your ascent, and be lifted up together with Christ, who did not merely go up a mountain but up to heaven, taking us with Him. Moses fasted for forty days on the mountain and according to the Scriptures he saw God, not darkly but face to face (Exod. 24:18). He talked to Him as someone would speak to his friend (Exod. 33:11, Deut. 34:10). He learnt from God and taught everyone about Him: that He is He Who eternally Is (Exod. 3:14) and will never cease to be, that He summoned what did not exist into existence, brought all things out of non-being and will not let them fall back into non-existence. In the beginning He brought the whole visible creation out of nothing all at once, just by a nod and His will. "In the beginning", it says, "God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1), not empty of course, nor without all that lies between them. The earth was interspersed with water, and both were full of air, animals and plants of various kinds, whereas the heavens were full of the various lights and fires, from which the universe is formed. 

....

Elijah, when he too had fasted forty days (I Kgs. 19:8), saw the Lord on the mountain, not in fire, as the elders of Israel had earlier (Exod. 24:9-10, Deut. 5:23), but passing beyond the fiery vision by his God-pleasing fast, he saw the Lord in the sound of a light passing breeze (I Kgs. 19:12 LXX). He had approached more closely to our Lord's words, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). For the sound prefigured the Truth and the preaching of Him who is Truth Itself, which rang out round all the ends of the earth, and the passing breeze prefigured the Spirit and grace. 

From this vision while fasting Elijah also received power to anoint a prophet in his stead and bestow upon him a double portion of the grace he possessed, and to mount up above the earth in mid-air (2 Kgs. 2:9-11). This pointed clearly towards Christ's ascension from earth to heaven which was to happen later (Acts 1:9-11). While Christ Himself was fasting in the wilderness, He defeated our tempter by force and took away his power against mankind (Matt. 4:1-11, Mark 1:13, cf. Luke 4:1-13). Having at last put down his tyranny, he set our nature free and handed him over for sport to all those willing to live according to His Gospel. In this way He fulfilled the words of the prophets and by His works inscribed grace and truth upon the symbolic events which took place in ancient times.

You see the benefits of fasting, and how it has made us worthy of so many great gifts? 

From Homily Six - To Encourage Fasting  - Saint Gregory Palamas: The Homilies, trans. Christopher Veniamin, Mount Thabor Publishing, Waymart PA, 2009

More on fasting and the complete homily

St. Gregory Palamas on fasting

Saint Gregory Palamas offers us insights about  fasting. The following are excerpts from Homily Six "To encourage Fasting."

THE INVISIBLE SERPENT, the originator of evil, is inventive, versatile and extremely skillful in contriving wickedness. He has means to hinder our good purposes and actions as soon as they begin... 

But we, brethren, should rise above this trap by our soul's courage, eagerness and faith. We should bear in mind the fact that just as the earth cannot yield worthwhile fruit without labor, so the soul cannot acquire anything which pleases God or leads to salvation without spiritual struggles. But while it is possible to find earth which is unsuitable for cultivation, every human soul is naturally suited to virtue. As we are all unavoidably condemned, however, by the judgment given against our forefather, to live by labor and toil, let us turn necessity into an honor and willingly offer to God what is ours not by our own will. Let us give up transitory things in exchange for things that endure, and receive what is beneficial in exchange for what is harmful, transforming short-lived toil into a means to gain eternal ease. If we labor here for the sake of virtue we shall certainly attain to the rest promised in the age to come… 

When we remember this and eagerly apply ourselves to virtuous actions, the evil one, knowing that nothing can be good unless it is done in a good way, strives to persuade us not to accomplish any good work with the object of pleasing God or of winning His approval, but to look for other people's approval… 

Even after suffering this defeat, the originator of evil undermined us with pride, the last and worst abyss... 

...Fasting was of no benefit to that Pharisee in the Gospel, even though he always fasted two days a Week, because he had adulterated it with pride and condemnation of his neighbor (Luke 18:11-12). Not that this means fasting is unprofitable. Moses, Elijah and the Lord Himself showed how beneficial it is for those who fast properly in a way pleasing to God.

Fasting is a way to develop our soul but must be done with the "right" spirit.  We must be aware that pride is something than can make all our good intentioned efforts useless. Beware of all the temptations to give up the fast or to show off our exemplary behavior.


More on fasting including the complete homily

Action Asked in Lent

From Fr. Stephen

"The disciplines traditionally practiced during the season of Great Lent, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, are given to us not in order to generate a season of introspection. They are given to us as a call to a season of action. Prayer is something we do. It is a struggle, but it is an action (Orthodox prayer is particularly marked by action – even physical action). Fasting is an action as well. In our psychologized culture, it is hard for many to understand fasting as having anything to do with repentance. But it is the experience of Scripture and generations of the Church, that the discipline of fasting (abstaining from certain foods and eating less) has a clear effect on the heart – our inner disposition – particularly when that fasting is coupled with prayer and almsgiving. Almsgiving is an action that is all too often ignored in our thoughts about repentance. Charitable giving (in our culture) is even perversely thought by some to be a way of getting more money, such that “give and it will be given unto you” is seen as a success formula. We are indeed a brood of vipers."

Giving is an action. Give money away. Give sacrificially of your time. Give mercy and kindness to others. Forgive the sins of others as if your own forgiveness depended on it (it does). If we would see our hearts change in the direction of the image of Christ – the “roadmap” is not hidden. Pray, fast, be merciful and give."

Source for complete article on "The Instinct of Repentance"

Why Don’t You Fast?

The Prophets Fasted

Moses: When I went up into the mountain to receive the tablets of stone...I was in the mountain forty days and forty nights, I ate no bread and drank no water. Deuteronomy 9:9 (LXX)

Prophet Jonah:  It was by fasting among other things that the people of Nineveh were saved from his prediction of peril.  Jonah 3:7  (LXX)

Prophet Joel:  “Now, says the Lord your God, turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting and with wailing, and with mourning. Joel 2:12 (LXX)

Prophet Daniel: And I set my face toward the Lord God, to seek him diligently by prayer and supplication, with fastings and sackcloth.  And I Prayed to the Lord my God, and confessed...  Daniel 9:3-4 (LXX)

Jesus Fasted:

Immediately after His Baptism, what did He do?

And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. 

What was His instruction for Apostles in the case of the epileptic boy whose demon the Apostles could not cast out?

This kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.

When challenged by Pharisees about His disciples what did He say? 

Can the children of the bride chamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast. 

The Lord Himself gave instructions for fasting:

But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face; That you appear not unto men to fast, but unto your Father which is in secret. Matthew. 6:17-18

Why did he say this?

Apostles fasted:

In the Acts of the Apostles we read: As they ministered (liturgical rite) to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work where unto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

They coupled fasting with liturgical acts:

Paul: Apostle Paul describes his own spiritual life as one of sacrifice, vigils, thirst, and fasting lived “in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

He also refers to fasting in the context of marriage saying that by mutual consent husband and wife abstain from marital relations periodically while fasting and prayer.

The first century - Didache:
“The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles” 

Your fasts must not be identical with those of the hypocrites. They fast on Mondays and Thursdays; but you should fast on Wednesdays and Fridays. 

The fasting referred to here was a complete abstention from both food and drink until sundown. 

Church Fathers fasted:

Ecclesiastical writer Tertullian (220) notes that spiritual growth requires confession and prayer fed by “fasting, ...not for the stomach’s sake, ...but for the soul’s.

St. Gregory (391) - practice of receiving the Eucharist after fasting.

Saint Basil (379) wrote much on fasting.

St. John Cassian (435): Therefore, fastings, vigils, meditation on the Scriptures, self-denial, and the abnegation of all possessions are not perfection, but aids to perfection: because the end of that science does not lie in these, but by means of these we arrive at the end. 

St. Athanasius (373) - Fasting is more than just food. ...let us vie with each other in observing the purity of the fast by watchfulness in prayers, by study of the Scriptures, by distributing to the poor, and let us be at peace with our enemies. Let us bind up those who are scattered abroad, banish pride, and return to lowliness of mind, being at peace with all men, and urging the brethren unto love. Letter XIV.

St. Athanasius describes the benefits of fasting:
It “...cures ills and dries up bodily humors, casts out demons and turns away evil thoughts; it makes the mind brighter, the heart clean, and the body holy; and it presents man before the Throne of God.”

Modern Saints Fasted:

St. Nectarios of Aegina (1920) Fasting is an ordinance of the church, obliging the Christian to observe it on specific days.  ...He who fasts for the uplifting of his mind and heart towards God shall be rewarded by God, Who is a most liberal bestower of divine gifts, for his devotion.  
...unless one lifts his mind and heart towards God through Christian--not Pharisaic--fasting and through prayer, he cannot attain a consciousness of his sinful state and earnestly seek the forgiveness of sins.. Prayer and fasting--Christian fasting-- serve as means of self-study, of discernment of our true moral state, of an accurate estimation of our sins and of a knowledge of their true character. (Vol 7 of Modern Orthodox Saints, 2nd ed., p 178)

The purpose of fasting is chiefly spiritual: to provide an opportunity and preparation for spiritual works of prayer and meditation on the Divine through the complete abstinence from food, or the eating of uncooked food or frugal fare.  

However, fasting is no less valuable for physical health, since self-control and simplicity of life are necessary conditions of health and longevity, as dietetics tells us.

Canons of Church require fasting:

If you do not honor the Wednesday and Friday fast you are to be excommunicated.

Must fast prior to taking Communion.

Strict fast during entire Lenten period.

Do not fast on Sunday and Saturday.

If ill or weak relaxation of guidelines appropriate.

Always been essential part of Orthodox Christian Life. 

Necessary discipline to combat the passions and open the door to the renewal of the Holy Spirit. 

Why don’t you fast?

Fasting foods should be simple and plain and not extravagant. 

The more effort that goes into their creativity and preparation, the more its value is reduced. 

They should not be prepared to satisfy our craving for certain tastes.       
• Break from our automatic response to food,
• Give thanks to our Lord,
•  Increase our self-control.

Significance of Great Lent

Great Lent before Easter is when the Christian participates fully in preparing himself to praise and glorify his God as Lord and Savior. Great Lent is like a "workshop" where the character of the faithful is spiritually uplifted and strengthened; where his life is rededicated to the principles and ideals of the Gospel; where the faith culminates in deep conviction of life; where apathy and disinterest turn into vigorous activities of faith and good works. Lent is not for the sake of Lent itself, as fasting is not for the sake of fasting. But they are means by which and for which the individual believer prepares himself to reach for, accept and attain the calling of his Savior. Therefore, the significance of Great Lent is highly appraised, not only by the monks who gradually increased the length of time of the Lent, but also by the lay people themselves, although they do not observe the full length of time. The deep intent of the believer during the Great Lent is "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus", Philippians 3:13-14. 

by Rev. George Mastrantonis 

An Anthem for Great Lent and all of Life.

Wash yourselves, and ye shall be clean; put away the wicked ways from your souls before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17. learn to do well; diligently seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, consider the fatherless, and plead for the widow. 18. Come then, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: and though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow; and though they red like crimson, I will make them white as wool. 19. If then ye be willing, and obedient unto Me, ye shall eat the good of the land; 20. but if ye desire not, nor will obey me, the sword shall devour you, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it. (Is 1:1-20, First Monday of Great Lent, the Sixth Hour)

Recipes for the Fast

Here is a link to the recipe page on our web site that has cook Books as well as many inks to sites that have some good lenten recipes.

Saint Nectarios on Fasting

Saint Nectarios of Aegina (1920)

Fasting is an ordinance of the church, obliging the Christian to observe it on specific days. ...He who fasts for the uplifting of his mind and heart towards God shall be rewarded by God, Who is a most liberal bestower of divine gifts, for his devotion. 
...unless one lifts his mind and heart towards God through Christian--not Pharisaic--fasting and through prayer, he cannot attain a consciousness of his sinful state and earnestly seek the forgiveness of sins.. Prayer and fasting--Christian fasting-- serve as means of self-study, of discernment of our true moral state, of an accurate estimation of our sins and of a knowledge of their true character.
The purpose of fasting is chiefly spiritual: to provide an opportunity and preparation for spiritual works of prayer and meditation on the Divine through the complete abstinence from food, or the eating of uncooked food or frugal fare. 
However, fasting is no less valuable for physical health, since self-control and simplicity of life are necessary conditions of health and longevity, as dietetics tells us.
Vol 7 of Modern Orthodox Saints, 2nd ed., p 178

First Day of the Fast

Today is the first day of Lent, the Great Fast to prepare us for the feast of Pascha.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew says, "The fast proposed to us by our Holy Church is not any deprivation, but a charisma. And the repentance to which it calls us is not any punishment, but a divine gift." Link to Encyclical by Bartholomew
The fast is for our spiritual benefit helping us to control our bodily instincts so they can be directed to glorify God rather than ourselves leading us toward union with God and eternal life in His kingdom. Fast according to your means advises Saint Athanasius the Great. Make a rule for your fast and stick to it throughout the Lenten period. Holy Week and Pascha will take on a new and deeper meaning for you.
Link to more by Athanasius on Fasting

Saint Athanasius The Great on Fasting

Saint Athanasius the Great says,
Being first purified by the fast of forty days, by prayers, and fastings, and discipline, and good works, we shall be able also to eat the Holy Passover in Jerusalem. (Letter III) We do not celebrate these days in the character of mourners; but as refreshing ourselves with spiritual food, we impose silence on our fleshly lusts. For by these means we all have strength to overcome adversaries, like Judith, when, first having occupied herself with fasting and prayers, she overcame the enemies.(Letter IV) Let us thus engage in the holy fasts, as having been prescribed by Him, and by means of which we attain the way to God. (Letter V)

On Fasting

On Fasting - A comprehensive article covering the history of fasting, its ancient practice, why we fast and the guidelines of the Orthodox Church by Deacon Haralambos
Link to pdf file of article
Link to Cathedral web page on fasting

“The head or chief of the virtues is prayer; their foundation is fasting.
Fasting is constant moderation in food with prudent discernment in its use.
Proud man! You think so much and so highly of your mind, while all the time it is in complete and constant dependence on your stomach.
The law of fasting, though outwardly a law for the stomach, is essentially a law for the mind.
The mind, that sovereign ruler in man, if it wishes to enter into its rights of autocracy and retain them, must first submit to the law of fasting. Only then will it be constantly alert and bright; only then can it rule over the desires of the heart and body. Only with constant vigilance and temperance can the mind learn the commandments of the Gospel and follow them. The foundation of the virtues is fasting.”
Saint Ignatius Briantchaninov

"If you control your stomach, you will mount to Paradise; but if you do not control it, you will be a victim of death."
Saint Basil the Great

Why Fast?

Fasting, in our days, has become one of the most neglected spiritual values. Because of misunderstandings regarding the nature of fasting, because of confused and reversed priorities in its use, many of today's Orthodox Christians fast very little, or disregard fasting altogether.
Fasting was practiced by the Lord Himself. After prayer and fasting for forty days in the wilderness, the Lord victoriously faced the temptations of the devil (Matthew 4:1-­11). The Lord himself asked the disciples to use fasting as an important spiritual weapon to achieve spiritual victories (Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29; Luke 2:37). The example of the Lord was followed by His disciples (Acts 14:23; 27:9; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 6:5, 11:27, etc.). What is fasting? Why is it so important? Why does fasting precede such important feasts such as Easter and Christmas?
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.
Fasting is the advocate of repentance. Adam and Eve disobeyed God; they refused to fast from the forbidden fruit. They became slaves of their own desires. But now through fasting, through obedience to the rules of the Church regarding the use of spiritual and material goods, we may return to the life in Paradise, a life of communion with God. Thus, fasting is a means of salvation, this salvation being a life we live in accordance with the Divine will, in communion with God.
Because of the liberating effect of fasting, both material and spiritual, the Church has connected fasting with the celebration of the major feasts of our tradition. Easter is, of course, our main feast. It is the "feast of feasts." It is the feast of our liberation from the bondage of sin, from corrupted nature, from death. For on that day, through His Resurrection from the dead, Christ has raised us "from death to life, and from earth to heaven" (Resurrection Canon), Christ, "our new Passover," has taken us away from the land of slavery, sin and death, to the promised land of freedom, bliss and glory; from our sinful condition to resurrected life.
It is most appropriate to prepare for this celebration through a liberating fast, both material and spiritual. This is the profound meaning that fasting takes during the Great Lent. Let us allow ourselves to take advantage of the spiritual riches of the Church. Let us use the precious messianic gifts offered to us through its sacramental life, through its celebrations of the central mysteries of our salvation in Christ. Let us use the spiritual weapons,"to fight the good fight, to walk the way of fasting, to crush the heads of the invisible dragons, to prove ourselves victorious over sin, and without condemnation to reach our goal of worshiping the Holy Resurrection" (Prayer of the Presanctified Liturgy).
This is the challenge of the Great Lent: to use fasting to obtain the resurrected life, to unite with the Risen Lord. Who could refuse to accept this challenge?
Metropolitan Maximos