What is fasting in the Orthodox Church?
In the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, fasting is a spiritual discipline that has been passed down through Holy Tradition and includes limiting certain types of food and the amount of food eaten for a designated period of time.
According to Fr. Schmemann (in his book Great Lent: Journey to Pascha), the Orthodox faith teaches two different modes of fasting rooted in Scripture and Tradition: total fast and ascetical fast.
Total fast
What: total abstinence from food and drink, short in duration (usually limited to one day or half a day)
When: in anticipation of a feast day or prior to receiving the Eucharist
Purpose: understood as a state of preparation or expectation in anticipation of the approaching joy of a feast day or the Eucharist.
Ascetical fast
What: abstinence from certain foods and reduction in amounts consumed
When: Four prolonged periods of preparation during the church year, including seasons before Easter, Christmas, the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, and the Dormition of the Mother of God. Also practiced on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year, Wednesdays in remembrance of the day our Lord was betrayed, and Friday in remembrance of His Passion.
Purpose: to liberate our soul from our body’s control, a tool to help us find never-ending strength in God as opposed to self-reliance (which will always fall short).
The Eastern Orthodox discipline of fasting is not a legalistic set of dietary rules, but a tool to help us to conquer the passions of the flesh. General guidelines of foods to abstain from are as follows:
First, meat
Then, dairy and eggs
Next, fish with a backbone
Next, oils* and alcohol
Everything except boiled vegetables, fruits, nuts, bread, and honey (known as xerophagy or "dry eating").**
*some traditions teach fasting from olive oil while others expand to all vegetable oils
**rarely practiced outside of the monastic setting
Different levels of fasting are prescribed on different days throughout the year. The Church calendar will indicate days of strict fasting, days when fish, wine and/or oil are allowed, and days that are fast-free. Importantly, what we are called to do during fasting days or seasons is more than just abstaining from food, for it is only when our dietary adaptations are accompanied by the spiritual counterparts of prayer and almsgiving that our fasting becomes useful.
Consider these words found in The Lenten Triodion: “At all times it is essential to bear in mind that ‘you are not under the law but under grace’ (Rom. 6:14), and that ‘the letter kills, but the spirit gives life’ (2 Cor. 3:6). The rules of fasting, while they need to be taken seriously, are not to be interpreted with dour and pedantic legalism; ‘for the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Rom. 14:17).”
The Church grants special dispensation to those for whom fasting may not be appropriate, such as those with certain health conditions or other life circumstances. You may wish to work with your parish priest or spiritual father to determine a modified fasting plan.
In the end, it’s not really about the food. Fasting is about repentance. A change of mind. A complete reorientation of ourselves and our lives toward God.
“Do you fast? Then feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the imprisoned, have pity on the tortured, comfort those who grieve and who weep, be merciful, humble, kind, calm, patient, sympathetic, forgiving, reverent, truthful and pious, so that God might accept your fasting and might plentifully grant you the fruits of repentance.” ~St. John Chrysostom
New to Orthodox fasting principles? Find eating in a balanced way challenging during the fast? Having trouble making the connection from food to spirit? Sign up for my email list to stay up to date about new blog posts, service offerings, and freebies available only to subscribers.
