If there is one aspect of living an Orthodox Christian life that sharply distinguishes it from every other "brand" of Christianity, it is fasting. The frequency, and at times the severity, of the prescribed fasting discipline in Orthodoxy simply has no parallel in any of the other Christian denominations. Before we get to the guidelines, let's define a few of the terms:
-fasting: this is a general term that ranges in meaning from not eating anything to not eating specific foods (normally referred to as abstinence by Roman Catholics)
-animal products: this means meat, eggs, dairy, animal oil (such as lard), etc.
-meat: this means any meat from an animal with a backbone; so, for example, beef, chicken, and tuna all qualify as meat, but scallops and shrimp do not
-dairy: this means all dairy, including milk, cheese, ice cream, yogurt...everything
-oil: this means olive oil
OK, now for a brief overview of the guidelines:
-we fast from animal products, oil, and alcohol on the weekdays of the 7 weeks before Pascha (the Orthodox name for Easter), and from animal products on the weekends; so, in 2011, this includes the "40 days" from 7 March through 15 April, Lazarus Saturday (16 April), Palm Sunday (17 April), and Holy Week (18 through 23 April); this is normally referred to as the "Great Fast", and includes limiting the number of meals to three per day (usually less than three in monastic communities), as well as not eating between meals;
-the one day for which an exception is made during the Great Fast is 25 March, the Feast of the Annunciation, when we are allowed to have fish, alcohol, and oil
-the first day of the Great Fast and Holy Friday (called Good Friday in the West) are days of total fasting...no food, period; in monastic communities, this is extended to include other days during the first week of the Great Fast and Holy Week
-we fast from all meat except fish during the week before Great Lent
-from 15 November through 24 December (usually referred to as the Nativity Fast or St. Philip's fast),
- we fast from animal products, alcohol, and oil on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
- we fast from animal products on Tuesday and Thursday
- we fast from animal products (except fish) on Saturday and Sunday
- exceptions to the above are made for several feast days that fall between 15 November and 24 December
-the guidelines for the Great Fast apply from 1 August through 14 August in preparation fort he Feast of the Dormition of Mary
-the guidelines for the Nativity Fast apply from the Monday 8 days after Pentecost through 28 June in preparation for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul
-we fast from animal products, oil, and alcohol on the following days
- 5 Jaunary, in preparation for the Feast of the Theophany
- 29 August, the Commemoration of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist
- 14 September, the Feast of the Elevation of the Cross
- during Bright Week (the week following Pascha)
- from 25 December through 4 January
- during Trinity Week (the week following Pentecost)
- the third week before Great Lent (preceding the Sunday on which the parable of the prodigal son is read)
All together, that's about half of the days of the year, give or take depending on the relationship between Pascha and the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. Like I said, there is no counterpart in any of the other Christian denominations.
That being said, Orthodoxy does not hold to the "legalistic" view of fasting taken by Roman Catholics and assumed by Protestants when the topic of fasting or any other ascetical discipline comes up. We do not believe that anyone (Orthodox or not) who does not follow the fasting discipline is therefore committing a sin or, worse, is going to go to hell. Rather, the Church sets these guidelines as a goal, much in the same way a trainer sets a goal of running so many miles or eating a certain diet for an athlete. Instead, the sin is the pride that accompanies the thought that we don't need to train ourselves, that we know better than God what we need to do to grow in our relationship with Him, and that we can pick and choose which parts of the Gospel we follow. In short, it is the idea that we can dictate the terms of our salvation that gets us into trouble, and what makes it worse is our denial that we try to dictate the terms. None of us would admit that we try to run the show when it comes to getting to heaven, and yet our actions betray our real feelings. Questions such as, "Does God really care if I fast?" and "Does God really care how I pray?" show that we are trying to ignore the parts of the Gospel that tell us about the importance of fasting and that indicate how we are to pray. And by fasting, we take a step in the direction of humility, the humility necessary to grow closer to God and, in knowing Him better, to begin to taste eternal life.
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