In the church calendar, posts are fixed before certain holidays. But confession and communion are individual sacraments. No one indicates the day when one should cleanse one’s soul from sins, nor does it prescribe how often one should confess. One person confesses his sins to the confessor every week, another - before the great church holidays. Sometimes the period before communion falls to a common Orthodox post. How to be then?
Some people generally come to communion without fasting and confession. But the Holy Gifts are the greatest mystery. According to the Church, they cannot be tasted by people mired in sins. And in order to prepare himself for confession and communion, a person should speak. But if some clarity is still observed with meat and animal products, the question of whether it is possible to eat fish before the sacrament remains open. Recently, a document of the Commission of the Inter-Council Presence was issued regarding this problem. It is called "Preparing for Holy Communion." Let's see what this document says about govenia.
The importance of fasting before communion
About how to prepare the soul for the acceptance of the Holy Gifts, they spoke in the early Church, and not just at the Commission of the Inters Cathedral Assembly on the problems of parish practice. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul writes that people who eat the bread of the Lord and drink His cup unworthily will be guilty of sins against the Body and Blood of Christ. Therefore, you need to test yourself so as not to be judged.
This indicates that a person before the sacrament must cleanse his body and soul. And even the priest performing the liturgy pronounces the following wording: “May I not condemn the communion of Your Holy Sacraments.” One thing is clear: before using the gifts of the Lord, one should confess and fast. And if we prepare our souls with prayers and repentance, then the body - with abstinence in food. But is it possible to eat fish before confession and communion? Is this product illegal during this period?
The meaning of Gowen
Before you take God into you, eat from His Body and Blood, you need to prepare yourself for this event. Indeed, even before secular holidays, we clean our house, decorate the room in which we will receive guests. How to prepare to taste the Holy Gifts? All priests say that fasting should not be limited to one thing. If you restrict yourself in food, but at the same time be arrogant, not acknowledge your sins, have hostility towards your neighbor and violate the commandments of Christ, then such abstinence will not give anything.
Confession before the sacrament is required. After all, then the believer comes to the recognition of his sins and repentance. And besides the question of whether it is possible to eat fish and fish soup before the sacrament, a person should be more concerned about his own mental state. After all, the period before the adoption of the Holy Gifts is not in vain called worship, and not just fasting. Preparing for this event should read the three canons (penitent to Christ, prayer to the Mother of God and the guardian angel). And he should also attend the evening service at the church on Saturday. And of course, worldly entertainment should be avoided during this period.
The number of days of fasting
The Church does not have a unanimous opinion on how many days a believer should refrain from eating fast food before accepting the Holy Gifts. In this matter, everything is very individual. Fasting, or rather its duration, is appointed by the confessor. Usually it is three days. But if a person has diseases (especially the gastrointestinal tract), general weakness of the body, pregnancy, or lactation, then the duration of fasting is reduced.
The group of “beneficiaries” also includes the military, who cannot choose dishes and products at their discretion, but are forced to eat what they give. The confessor also looks at other circumstances. First of all, this is the frequency of communion. If someone for the first time resorts to partaking of the Holy Gifts, then such a person is assigned a weekly fast. And whoever takes communion every Sunday, it is enough for such a believer to refrain from fast food only on Wednesday and Friday. In this category of people the question arises: is it possible to eat fish before the sacrament?
What are the posts
For a worldly person, bodily abstinence seems to be one thing. If fasting, then you can’t eat meat and animal products (milk and eggs). And you can eat fish, vegetable fats, drinks, including alcoholic, vegetables and fruits. But the Church divides the posts into ordinary and strict. There are days when you can’t eat not only meat, but also fish. Some posts also prohibit vegetable oil (the so-called fir).
There are dry days. During them, you can not take any food until sunset, and in the evening only fasting foods are allowed . Now consider the reading before the reception of the Holy Gifts: is it possible to eat fish before the sacrament?
What fasting should be followed before confession
The cleansing of the soul from sins does not require any preparation. Previously, good believers went to the confessor and confessed when they felt the need. And it is not at all necessary immediately after the remission of sins to accept the Eucharist. But if you are going to do this, then you need prayer, that is, preparing the soul and body for the acceptance of the holy sacrament of the Church. And here it will be appropriate to ask the question: is it possible to eat fish before the sacrament? With respect to this product, you can definitely give a negative answer only for Saturday evening. Everything else depends on the frequency of your communion, on your health and life circumstances. It also matters whether the Orthodox Church observes universal fasting these days. In this case, the food requirements for speakers are changing.
Is it possible to eat fish before communion
On the eve of participating in the holy liturgy, when you are about to begin accepting the Holy Gifts, you must observe strict fasting. And this means that you can’t eat fish and various dishes from it. Monks are ordered to eat only non-oily juices (i.e. vegetables not flavored with any fat) on Saturday evening.
Church day begins at midnight. Therefore, all Sunday before the sacrament is accepted, you can neither eat nor drink. It is also advisable to attend Saturday night service. Is it possible to eat fish before communion on other days? If, for example, the confessor appointed you a week of abstinence, then you should avoid meat, dairy products and eggs for seven days. But besides this, on Wednesday and Friday you need to adhere to strict fasting, that is, to exclude fish, fish soup and seafood from your diet these days. The Church has a special relation to Saturday nutrition (if it is not Passionate). Many priests believe that on the sixth day of the week you can’t fast. But this does not apply to those who speak, that is, those who are preparing themselves to receive the Gifts of the Lord.
Is it possible to fish in fasting before communion
We have already mentioned above that the degree of severity of abstinence depends on church days. If all the Orthodox observe fasting (before Easter or Christmas), then those who worship should also avoid forbidden foods. Moreover, their abstinence should be distinguished from others by greater severity.
If, for example, believers are forbidden to eat meat on certain days, then the gentry should also refuse fish. On some days, such as Wednesday and Friday, they are better off not adding sugar to drinks, but replacing it with honey. Vegetable oil, sauces and condiments are also undesirable when cooking. Also, do not overeat and allowed products. After all, moderation in food is an integral part of preparing for the acceptance of the Holy Gifts.
Instead of a conclusion
Perhaps some will find that this article did not answer the question of whether it is possible to eat fish before the sacrament. Categorical no can only be said regarding the day on which the sacrament will take place (since midnight you can’t eat or drink anything).
It is also considered life-saving to refrain from eating all the Sabbath day, and in the evening, on the eve of Communion, you should dine with foods that are allowed in strict fasting (that is, without fish). But this requirement can be mitigated for patients, pregnant and lactating. The severity and duration of the fast before communion is established by the confessor.