LENTEN FASTING

A special word must be said about fasting during Lent. Generally speaking, fasting is an essential element of the Christian life. Christ fasted and taught men to fast. Blessed fasting is done in secret, without ostentation or accusation of others (Mt 6.16; Rom 14). It has as its goal the purification of our lives, the liberation of our souls and bodies from sin, the strengthening of our human powers of love for God and man, the enlightening of our entire being for communion with the Blessed Trinity.

The Orthodox rules for Lenten fasting are the monastic rules. No meat is allowed after Meatfare Sunday, and no eggs or dairy products after Cheesefare Sunday. These rules exist not as a Pharisaic “burden too hard to bear” (Lk 11.46), but as an ideal to be striven for; not as an end in themselves, but as a means to spiritual perfection crowned in love. The Lenten services themselves continually remind us of this.

Let us fast with a fast pleasing to the Lord. This is the true fast: the casting off of evil, the bridling of the tongue, the cutting off of anger, the cessation of lusts, evil talking, lies and cursing. The stopping of these is the fast true and acceptable (Monday Vespers of the First Week).

The Lenten services also make the undeniable point that we should not pride ourselves with external fasting since the devil also never eats!

The ascetic fast of Great Lent continues from Meatfare Sunday to Easter Sunday, and is broken only after the Paschal Divine Liturgy. Knowing the great effort to which they are called, Christians should make every effort to fast as well as they can, in secret, so that God would see and bless them openly with a holy life. Each person must do his best in the light of the given ideal.

In addition to the ascetic fasting of the Lenten season, the Orthodox alone among Christians also practice what is known as eucharistic or liturgical fasting. This fasting does not refer to the normal abstinence in preparation for receiving the holy eucharist; it means fasting from the holy eucharist itself.

During the weekdays of Great Lent, the regular eucharistic Divine Liturgy is not celebrated in Orthodox churches since the Divine Liturgy is always a paschal celebration of communion with the Risen Lord. Because the Lenten season is one of preparation for the Lord’s Resurrection through the remembrance of sin and separation from God, the liturgical order of the Church eliminates the eucharistic service on the weekdays of lent. Instead, the non-eucharistic services are extended with additional scripture readings and hymnology of a Lenten character. In order that the faithful would not be entirely deprived of Holy Communion on the Lenten days, however, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated on Wednesday and Friday evenings.

Even during Great Lent, Saturday (the Sabbath Day) and Sunday (the Lord’s Day) remain eucharistic days, and the Divine Liturgy is celebrated. On Saturdays it is the normal Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, usually with prayers for the dead. On Sundays it is the longer Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.

The well-known teaching that Saturdays and Sundays are never days of fasting in the Orthodox Church, an issue emphasized centuries ago when controversy arose with the Latin Church, refers only to this eucharistic-liturgical fast. During Great Lent, even though the eucharistic fast is broken on Saturdays and Sundays, the ascetical fast continues through the weekends since this fasting is an extended effort made from Meatfare Sunday right to Easter itself.

Courtesy of The Orthodox Church in America (OCA)

GREAT LENT FASTING GUIDELINES

“You fast, but Satan does not eat. You labor fervently, but Satan never sleeps. The only dimension with which you can outperform Satan is by acquiring humility, for Satan has no humility.”

― Saint Moses the Black

The Church’s traditional teaching on fasting is not widely known or observed today. For those Orthodox Christians who are seeking a stricter observance of fasting, the following information may be helpful.

Although the rules of fasting may seem very strict to those who have not previously encountered them, they were developed for all believers, not just monks. (Monks do not eat meat, so the rules regarding meat eating could not have been written with them in mind. Similarly, the rules concerning marital abstinence apply only to laymen and married clergy.) While few lay people are able to fully observe these rules, it is best to present them without assessing what level is “appropriate” for lay people, as this is a matter to be decided by each Christian individually under the guidance of his or her spiritual director.

There are many exceptions to the general rules, such as major feasts or parish thrones that fall during the Lenten season.

For the Christian, all food is pure. When fasting is not prescribed, there are no forbidden foods.

The following foods are avoided:

Excluded Foods During Great Lent:

Poultry and Meat Products:
Chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lard, items with beef gelatin, and broth (certain breads and crackers)\Dairy Products:
Cheese, milk, butter, eggs, lard, items with by-products of these products

Fish:
Sardines, tuna, trout, bass, shark, pike, i.e., fish with backbones

Oils:
Olive Oil. 

Alcoholic Beverages:
Wine, beer, whiskey, etc.

Permitted Foods During Great Lent:

Shellfish:
Lobster, shrimp, crab, oysters, clams, mussels, etc.

Vegetable and Vegetable Products:
Grains such as rice and wheat, pasta (non-egg), flour, vegetable gelatins

Fruits and Nuts:
All varieties

Oils:
Vegetable, margarine, corn, safflower, canola

Miscellaneous:
Honey, soy, mustard, peanut butter

How much

Sadly, it is easy to follow the letter of the fasting rule and still practice gluttony. During Lent, one should eat simply and in moderation. Monks eat only one full meal on strict Lenten days and two meals on days when wine and oil are allowed. It is generally not advisable for lay people to limit their meals in this way.

Exemptions

The Church has always exempted small children, the sick, the very elderly, and pregnant and nursing mothers from strict fasting. While people in these groups should not severely limit the amount of food they eat, there is no harm in giving up some foods two days a week – just eat enough of the permitted foods. Exceptions to fasting for medical reasons (e.g. diabetes) are always allowed.

Why Don’t We Fasts on Wednesday and Fridays during the week following the Sunday of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector? (The Week of the Contrarians" in the Orthodox Church)

Fr. Fadi Rabbat explains that during the Wednesdays and Fridays of this week, which falls between the Sunday of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector—marking the start of the Triodion period—and the following Sunday (the Sunday of the Prodigal Son), the Orthodox Church allows the consumption of all foods, indicating that we do not observe a fast on these days. This week is referred to in the church typicon as "The Week of the Contrarians," because we "contradict" the general fasting rule observed on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, as is customary in Orthodox tradition. (Refer to the church Typicon, page 212).

There is profound wisdom and an important message that the Church seeks to share with us as we stand on the threshold of the Great Lent. This message is that fasting from food, drink, meat, and dairy has no inherent value if our fasting lacks the spirit of humility, a broken heart, and genuine repentance. The Pharisee was filled with pride, arrogance, and a tendency to judge others, boasting to God about his virtues and piety, convinced of his own righteousness: "I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I earn" (Luke 18:12).

The Holy Fathers caution us against this unhealthy Pharisaical spirit, as it undermines all virtues and taints our spiritual lives, serving as a serious warning sign of misdirection and imbalance in our worship. It’s as if the Church is telling the Pharisee—and through him, each of us—that humility, a contrite heart, and love for others are the essential foundations and pillars of a sound spiritual life. We should proceed on our spiritual journey, guided by the noble spirit demonstrated by the humble tax collector, for without true humility, our fasting is meaningless, and our prayers and ascetic efforts, which we will soon embark upon, are futile.