Fasting is literally giving up food. This is what the Hebrew words צוֹם (tsom) and תַּעֲנִית (ta'anit) mean. In Christianity, in Orthodoxy, in particular, the practice of fasting is understood more broadly, one might even say that it is ambiguous. We will talk about how to observe the Orthodox post in this article.
Eastern fasting as a religious practice
In the traditions of the East, a meal is fun, peace, order, joy. It is impossible to live an ordinary life and enjoy when something is wrong, when some grief, threat, need, or a special action of God is being consumed by the soul. Therefore, refusal of food is a refusal of one’s own life, of power over it, it is an invitation to God to act in his place. On the other hand, it is also a search for God, longing for him, and therefore detachment from earthly joys. This is the essence of the post. And, despite centuries of religious reflection, in principle, it has not changed.
You can recall the prophets Moses, Elijah, the apostle Paul and Christ himself, who held such a post. How to properly observe this form of purely biblical penance, you can learn from their example: to retire, give up food, water and any entertainment, spending time in prayers.
Christianity, as a biblical religion, encourages just this form of fasting, albeit in a slightly modified form. In short, Christians are replacing complete abstinence from food with its more or less severe restriction. As a result, a whole culture has developed that makes up the post. How to properly comply with it, governed by special rules and charters, and even there is a lean kitchen. Orthodoxy is no exception. The eastern church of the Byzantine tradition prescribes more than a hundred fasting days a year, which will be discussed later. However, the meaning of Orthodox austerities is much deeper than the question of what they eat in fasting and what they don’t eat.
Bible post
In Orthodoxy, it is believed that fasting is ordered by God to humanity in paradise. In this vein, some holy fathers interpret the prohibition of Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which is described in the book of Genesis.
In general, the scriptures of Jews and Christians give the following reasons for the appointment of public posts: family tribulation (2 Kings 12:16), tribulation in the church (Matthew 9: 14-15), impending dangers (Esther 4: 3, 16), social disasters (2 Kings 1:12), when making an important decision (Acts 13: 1-3).
However, God's only direct command about fasting in the Bible is found only once, and it concerns the celebration of the Day of Atonement, which falls on the tenth of the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar (Lev. 16: 29-31).
The rest of the posts mentioned in the Bible, people appointed themselves. There are four main motives for them:
1. The memory of something important.
2. Repentance.
3. Seeking favor and guidance from above.
4. Protection.
Tribute to significant events
In this case, the main reason for the post was the need to preserve the tribal memory of the most important events. Vivid illustrations of this practice are the posts in memory of Moses crushing the two stone tablets of the Law (Exodus 32), the capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (4 Kings 24-25; 2 Par. 36; Jer. 52,4), the burning of the Solomon Temple (2 Par. 36.19; Zech. 7: 3).
For the sake of repentance of sins
Obviously, repenting and begging God for forgiveness for the sins committed is incompatible with joy and the search for pleasure. Therefore, a post is naturally added to it. For example, we can recall the repentance of the Jews in polytheism and worship of foreign gods (1 Sam. 7: 3-6), repentance on behalf of the people of the prophet Daniel (Dan. 9: 3-19), the repentance of the inhabitants of Nineveh after the preaching of the prophet Jonah (Jon. 3: 6-9). Regarding the latter case, it is interesting that the post was imposed not only on people, but also on livestock.
Seeking grace and guidance from above
In a situation where a people or other community faced a choice, and the right decision was not obvious, it was often decided to impose a post on itself, in order to thus ask for promptings from God. Thus, for example, the Israelites fasted before the battle with the tribe of Benjamin (Judges 20: 26-28). In order to please God, the prophetess Anna often fasted, which is described in the Gospel of Luke.
Fasting for protection from enemies
They also resorted to the post to enlist the protection of the Almighty from enemies. A fasting man offered it as a sacrifice to God, hoping in return to receive mercy and protection in confrontation with his foes. Thus, for example, the Jews fasted when King Artaxerxes signed a decree on their extermination (Esther 4: 3). Very often, individuals, groups, and even nations fasted, asking God for protection from persecutors. A vivid illustration of this fasting is the prayer of King David (Psalm 108: 24).
The time of fasting in Orthodoxy
For believers in Christ, there were initially no special fasting days. Church members fasted when they felt it was necessary, so fasting was not a regular calendar-dependent practice. Over time, however, church life underwent formalization. In the weekly and annual circle, special fasting days began to stand out, in which every believer was ordered to fast.
Firstly, this applies to the so-called Great Lent, or Holy Pentecost. This post precedes Easter. It also has something to do with the forty-day period of Christ's abstinence from food and drink, which is described in the Gospels.
Another fairly early Christian practice is fasting by day (Wednesday and Friday). The fact is that Jews practiced abstinence from food on Mondays and Thursdays. That was their mandatory weekly fasting. How to properly observe it for Christians, who at that time were significantly influenced by the synagogue? This question was answered differently, but in the end, when the Jews cursed the Christians, the latter quickly decided for themselves that they could not fast with the infidels, and postponed the fasting days to Wednesday and Friday. The formal reason for this was the need to honor the days of the betrayal and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. This practice has taken root very successfully. Until now, fasting on the days of Christ's sorrow is practiced in the Orthodox Church. In general, today, according to the Eastern monastic charter, the total number of days in a year in which more or less strict abstinence is prescribed ranges from 178 to 212.
Duration of fasting in Orthodoxy
On the pages of the Bible we meet with 1-, 3-, 7-, 21- and 40-day posts. Most narratives about fasting do not say anything about its duration. In Orthodoxy, there are many one-day posts and four multi-day ones. The duration of one of them, dedicated to the day of remembrance of the supreme apostles Peter and Paul, varies from year to year, depending on the date of Easter. Abstinence for several hours, which is common in the Catholic Church, is not practiced in Orthodoxy.
Orthodox holidays and fasting
Most of the posts in Orthodoxy play a preparatory role before this or that holiday. About Easter and the day of remembrance of the apostles Peter and Paul has already been said above. The situation is similar with the Baptism of the Lord, the Assumption and the Nativity of Christ.
Objectionable to God post
Answering questions about what a post is, how to properly observe it, why it is needed, one cannot help but touch upon the topic of an objectionable post. In the Bible there are, for example, abstinence from the food of King Saul, from whom God turned away (1 Sam. 28:20). The same thing is told in the book of the Acts of the Apostles, when it is told about the Jews who had taken the vow to not eat or drink until the time when they killed the Apostle Paul.
In general, it can be said that fasting is not pleasing to the Lord when, against the background of abstinence in food, a person does not abstain in sins. Another reason why austerity may not be accepted by God is that it consists in gaining favor in a bad deed. But the last motive is very rarely applicable to modern church reality. The fact is that with the development of church-wide posts, the practice of personal, spontaneous one-time imposing of a post on oneself practically came to naught in Orthodoxy, remaining only in Protestantism.
You also need to touch on the topic of legalism, that is, purely formal compliance with restrictions. Both the Old Testament prophets and Christ himself mentioned this vicious practice when they asked him about fasting. How to abide by it, according to the Savior? Do not take a dull appearance, do not show others their position so that the post remains, if possible, secretly from people, being dedicated to God alone. Unfortunately, not all of his followers heeded the words of the founder of Christianity.
I must say that in modern Orthodoxy, most believers do not practice fasting as a spiritual exercise. For most of them, including the clergy, this is simply a time of prohibitions when certain foods are not allowed to be consumed. Thus, the secondary question of what people eat in fasting and what they don’t eat becomes the main, and often the only content of this ancient ascetic practice.
Another sin that depreciates fasting is pride. In other words, such asceticism, which makes a person consider himself to be more righteous than others, is not considered a spiritually useful practice.