About Great Lent - folk wisdom and holy fathers. Holy Fathers about fasting

The winter period for Orthodox Christians is always associated with the entry into forty days of Advent which begins November 28(November 15, Art. Art.) and ends on the day of the great holiday. This fast was established so that, having been cleansed by repentance, prayer and fasting and thus enlightened in soul and heart, we could worthily welcome the Son of God who appeared into the world, “ for our sake man and for our sake of salvation came down from heaven».

The history of the establishment of the Nativity Fast

From stories of the Nativity Fast it is known that it was established during the times of early Christianity and was accepted for observance already from the fourth century. However, the final regulations on the duration of fasting was formed only in the middle of the 12th century, in 1166, when, by decision of the Constantinople Patriarch Luke Chrysovergo, under Emperor Manuel, it became forty days everywhere.

According to St. Simeon of Thessalonica, « The fast of the Nativity Pentecost depicts the fast of Moses, who, having fasted for forty days and forty nights, received the words of God inscribed on stone tablets. And we, fasting for forty days, contemplate and accept the living word from the Virgin, inscribed not on stones, but incarnate and born, and we partake of His Divine flesh».

By the name of the holy Apostle Philip, on whose memorial day the ritual often falls, Christmas post also called " Filippov"or, in common parlance, " Filippovka" It would be appropriate to briefly mention here the life of the holy Apostle.

The Holy Apostle Philip, a native of the city of Bethsaida (Galilee), was a deep expert in the Holy Scriptures and, correctly understanding the meaning of the Old Testament prophecies, expected the coming of the Messiah. At the call of the Savior (John 1:43), he followed Him. The Apostle Philip is spoken of several times in the Holy Gospel: he led the Apostle Nathanael to Christ (John 1:46); The Lord asked him how much money was needed to buy bread for 5 thousand people (John 6:7); he brought the Greeks who wanted to see Christ (John 12:21-22); finally, during the Last Supper he asked Christ about God the Father (John 14:8). After Pentecost, the apostle preached the Gospel in Galilee, accompanying his preaching with wondrous miracles. Then he enlightened the Jews in Greece and converted many to Christ. From Hellas St. the apostle went to Syria, Lydia, Mysia, Phrygia, everywhere preaching the Gospel and suffering all kinds of sorrows and hardships from his persecutors. He was accompanied by his sister Mariamia and St. ap. Bartholomew. In the city of Hierapolis (Phrygia) there were many pagan temples, including a temple dedicated to snakes, where a huge echidna lived. St. Philip, through the power of prayer, killed the echidna, and also healed victims of snake bites. Among those healed was the wife of the city ruler, who converted to Christianity. Having learned about this, the ruler ordered the apostles to be seized and crucified headlong. An earthquake began and many pagans were buried in the earth. St. Philip prayed for the salvation of his tormentors. Many believed in Christ and demanded an end to the execution. Ap. Bartholomew, taken down from the cross, was alive, baptized all those who believed and appointed a bishop for them. St. ap. Philip betrayed his spirit by dying on the cross.

Rules for meals during the Nativity Fast

Myself Christmas post could be divided into three periods. The first three weeks, until December 19 - memory, the regulations are relatively lax: on Saturday, Sunday, as well as on Tuesdays and Thursdays, there is a permit for fishing. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - food without oil (or with vegetable oil, depending on the day of remembrance of the saint). For the next two weeks, fish is allowed to be eaten only on Saturdays and Sundays, and for the last 5 days, on the Forefeast of the Nativity of Christ, the regulations coincide in their severity with. For detailed food instructions for each day, please refer to church calendar, since for the sake of the memory of deliberate saints there may be some concessions.

A special day on the eve of the great holiday - December 24, Christmas Eve. According to the established pious tradition, many Christians observe this day especially strictly and do not sit down to eat until the “first star” appears. Thus, we remember with reverence the appearance of the miraculous Star of Bethlehem, which led the Eastern Magi to the manger of the born Infant of God. Sochivo is a Lenten dish that is most often prepared from wheat or rice with honey and fruit. Hence the name of this day - Christmas Eve. “Sochivom” used to be called not only porridge and all lean foods, but also juice; or, as they said, “milk” of different seeds: poppy, hemp, sunflower, mustard, nut, almond and others.

Divine service of the Nativity Fast

The liturgical church charter also has some distinctive instructions, consistently leading us and preparing us to meet the Nativity of the Savior. Starting from November 21, when we celebrate until the celebration of the Nativity of Christ, at Matins, when the great doxology is sung, we sing the chaos of the Nativity (“Christ is born…”). On the Sundays preceding the Holiday, special statutory services are held twice. From December 11 inclusive, the service of the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers is sung, and after it comes the Week of the Holy Fathers, when we honor the ancient ancestors of Christ: “Forefather of copulation, come, lovers of leisure, let us psalmically praise. Adam the forefather. Enoch, Noah, Melchizedek. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. According to the law, Moses, and Aaron and Jesus. Samuel and David. With them Isaiah, and Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Daniel, and both ten. Together Elijah, and Elisha, and everyone. Zechariah and the Baptist. And those who preached Christ, life and resurrection to our race” (stichera for the Feast). We serve here with the Menaion and the three holy youths, who, for the sake of fasting, chastity and other godly virtues, alone among many people were able to resist the lawless royal command to worship the golden idol and were not afraid to enter the fire for their faith. As we know from Scripture, the Lord preserved them in a burning hot furnace, although the flames escaping from it managed to burn even the wicked pagans standing nearby.

Special days begin on December 20th - Forefeasts of the Nativity of Christ. Here (and until January 14 - the Day of Epiphany inclusive) the Oktai is omitted (except for Sunday services), and on Sundays, if there is no memory of a deliberate saint, the polyeleos is omitted. At Matins on weekdays, two kathismas are read, and at the Vespers, instead of the usual Theotokos canon, the Three Song of Songs is indicated in the Menaion on the row.

On December 24th the Royal Hours are served, in the image of the service of the hours of Epiphany Christmas Eve and Great Friday. This is a special kind of service, when at all hours, in addition to the psalms, we also read paremias, the Apostle and the Gospel, and also sing stichera dedicated to the events of the Holiday. The clock is called “royal”, as they say, because of the custom of the first Byzantine kings, who certainly attended such services.

Holy Fathers about fasting

The patristic teachings say a lot about the benefits and necessity of Christian fasting: “Just as a cloud hides the light of the sun, so gluttony obscures the knowledge of the mind and drives away the Holy Spirit”; “If you hunger, thirst and humble yourself for God, then you will soon be glorified by God”; “Whoever hungers and thirsts for God here, on the day of reward He will show true wealth”; “The pillar and foundation of all goodness is fasting with silence, and he who neglects it loses all goodness.” (“Miterikon”).

But while abstaining from food, it is also necessary to observe “spiritual fasting” in order to “fast” from envy, slander, condemnation, etc., as is sung in the stichera of the Lenten Triodion. In one of the most famous and widely read Old Believer books, “Chrysostom,” before the beginning of the Nativity Fast, on the 22nd week in memory of All Saints, a special word is also said about how we should practice the Lenten feat so that this fast is truly virtuous and godly:

“Today, beloved, let us bow to the Physician of the soul, who calls us to heal our invisible wounds and not disdain our spiritual passions. Now the time of hunger is coming, giving saved health to our souls and bodies. Through fasting and prayers and spiritual labors, he commands one to be anointed as an ascetic.

Prayer and hunger are victory over the devil. Prayer and fasting are the wealth of piety. Prayer and fasting the second death after the resurrection delivers. Prayer and fasting of a good warrior for an ethereal warrior.

But when there is fasting and prayer with almsgiving, then the worker of piety will find wealth with God. For if you give alms to the poor, God is favored, who rewards the poor with the Kingdom of Heaven and the pleasure of heaven for alms.

For this reason, to the Jews, as they do not create greed with alms, the prophet says: I have not chosen such a fast, says the Lord, but that every man should humble his soul. What good is it to hunger in your flesh, and oppress others, and be filled with your possessions? What is the benefit of abstaining from eating and copulating with fornication? What is the use of being smart and not being naked; What good is it to dry up the flesh, but not to feed the greedy; What good is it to crush the luck, but not to have mercy on widows, and not to deliver the orphans who are tormented in troubles?

What good is it for a person to call himself a Christian and do filthy things? It is not by rank that men will receive honor from God, but by deed.

For this reason, let us strive, brethren, to flee from the fury and wrath of God, through true repentance, fasting and tears, not repaying evil for evil to anyone, nor slander for slander, keeping the word of the Lord, which He says to us: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who do to you grievances, and give in return from them and do not expect any acceptance, so that your reward will be many in heaven and you will be called the sons of the Most High.

The brethren are eager to receive that sonship, let us strive more and more, not to return to our foolish deeds and godless deeds: but let us swim through the Lenten abyss and reach the highest abodes, glorifying the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and forever and ever.”
(“Chrysostom”, “The Teachings of St. John Chrysostom on Fasting”).

Nativity Fast (Filippov Fast, in common parlance in Filippovka) - established in honor of the Nativity of Christ. Observed from November 15 (28) to December 24 (January 6).
In Orthodox churches of the Byzantine tradition, the Nativity Fast is one of the four multi-day fasts of the church year and serves as a 40-day preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ.
Observed from November 15 (28) to December 24 (January 6) inclusive and ends with the holiday of the Nativity of Christ. The fast (the eve of fasting) - November 14 (27) - falls on the day of remembrance of the holy Apostle Philip, therefore the fast is also called Philip's fast. If the plot falls on one-day fasts, Wednesday or Friday, then it moves to November 13 (26).

Instructions of the Holy Fathers on fasting

“Do not limit the benefits of fasting to abstinence in food, because true fasting is elimination of evil deeds... Forgive your neighbor’s insult, forgive him his debts. You do not eat meat, but you offend your brother... True fasting is the removal of evil, abstinence of the tongue, suppression of anger, excommunication of lusts, slander, lies and perjury. Abstaining from this is true fasting."

“Abstinence from food, observed for show, is hated by the soul of the Lord; but abstinence, used to enslave carnal wisdom, is loved by the Lord, because through exhaustion of the flesh it brings about sanctification.”

“One must fast moderately and provide the body with the most necessary help, but in such a way that it is not voluptuousness that guides the choice of food, but reason with all severity in determining the need. For with such a spiritual disposition, the one who eats food turns out to be in no way inferior in wisdom to the one who does not eat, and by intention he observes not only unceasing fasting, but also non-eating, and by caring for the body he deserves praise as the best steward.”

“We must pay attention so that, by excessive abstinence, weakening bodily strength, we do not make the body lazy and inactive for the most important activities... I think that a sign of the best stewardship is to follow the established regulations.”

“Fasting is an ancient gift; fasting is the treasure of fathers. He is contemporary with humanity. Fasting is legal in heaven. Adam accepted this first commandment: “You shall not tear down the tree which you understand is good and evil” (Gen. 2:17). And this: don’t take it down is the legalization of fasting and abstinence.”

“If Eve had fasted and not eaten of the tree, then we would not now have the need to fast. “For they do not require the health of a doctor, but the sick” (Matthew 9:12). We are damaged by sin; Let us be healed by repentance, and repentance without fasting is not effective. “Cursed is the ground...thorns and thistles will grow for you” (Genesis 3:17-18). It is ordered to be contrite in spirit, and not to indulge in luxury. By fasting, be justified before God."

“Fasting is the mother of humility, the source of all wisdom; fasting is the mother of all blessings, the teacher of chastity and all virtues"

“Fasting from alms takes its firmness... If you fast without alms, then your fast is not fasting, and such a person is worse than a glutton and a drunkard, and, moreover, as much as cruelty is worse than luxury.”

“Just as a bird cannot fly without the help of wings, so fasting cannot flow without its two wings - prayer and alms. Look at Cornelius, how he, along with fasting, also possessed these wings. That’s why he heard a voice come to him from heaven: “Cornelius, your prayers and your alms have risen” (Acts 10:3-4).”

“Prayer should always be combined with fasting... And prayers are performed with attention, especially during fasting, because then the soul is lighter, not burdened by anything, and not suppressed by the disastrous burden of pleasures.”

“A person who fasts must abstain from food, but first of all from sins... I would call the one who eats a thousand times more blessed than the one who fasts and commits untruths. I say this not to destroy fasting, but to call for piety. It’s not food that’s evil, it’s sin that’s evil.”

“Let there be no excess; This greatly contributes to the health and strength of our body. Do you not see that countless diseases arise from luxurious tables and excessive saturation? Where do the diseases in the legs come from? Where do head diseases come from? Where does the multiplication of spoiled phlegm come from? Where do countless other diseases come from? Is it not from immoderation? Just as an overcrowded ship soon sinks and sinks, so a person, having given himself over to gluttony and drunkenness, rushes into the abyss, drowns his mind, and finally lies like a living corpse, often still able to do something bad, but no more capable of good than the dead. »

“The purpose of fasting is pure communion. For this reason, the fathers extended the field of fasting and gave us a time of repentance, so that we, having cleansed and washed ourselves, would thus proceed to the Sacrament. That’s why I am now calling out with a loud voice, testifying, asking and begging - not with an unclean, not with a vicious conscience to approach this sacred meal, because otherwise it will not be communion... but condemnation, torment and increased punishment.”

“There are many people who, preparing to fight fasting, as if with a wild beast, protect themselves with gluttony, and, having burdened and darkened themselves to the extreme, very foolishly meet the quiet and meek face of fasting. And if I ask you: why are you going to the bathhouse today? - you will say: in order to meet the post with a clean body. And if I ask: why are you drunk? - you will say again: because I am preparing to enter into fasting. But isn’t it strange to meet this most beautiful fast with a clean body, but with an unclean and intoxicated soul?”

“We should do this: not just go through the weeks of fasting, but examine our conscience, test our thoughts, and notice what we managed to do this week, what the next, what new things we tried to achieve the next, and what passions we have corrected from. If we do not correct ourselves in this way and show such concern for our soul, then we will not benefit from the fasting and abstinence to which we subject ourselves.”

“Besides abstaining from food, there are many ways that can open the doors of boldness before God. He who eats food and cannot fast, let him give abundant alms, let him say fervent prayers, let him show intense zeal for listening to the word of God - here bodily weakness does not hinder us in the least - let him make peace with his enemies, let him expel from his soul all memory of malice . If he does this, he will commit a true fast, the kind that the Lord requires of us. After all, He commands abstinence from food itself so that we, by curbing the lusts of the flesh, make it obedient in fulfilling the commandments.”

“Fasting, like a doctor of our souls, humbles the flesh of one Christian, and tames the anger of another; drives away sleep from one, stimulates another to greater good deeds; For one, it cleanses the mind and makes it free from evil thoughts; for another, it binds the uncontrollable tongue and with the fear of God, like a bridle, restrains it, not allowing it to speak idle and rotten words; and for others it does not allow the eyes to look here and there and be curious about what one or the other is doing, but it forces everyone to listen to himself.”

“Fasting is the beginning and foundation of all spiritual work. Whatever virtues you create on the basis of fasting, they will all be unshakable and unshakable, like those written on solid stone. And when you accept this foundation, that is, fasting, and in its place you put satiation of the belly and other inappropriate desires, then all the virtues will be shaken and blown away from bad thoughts and from the flow of passions, like sand blown by the wind, and the entire edifice of virtue collapses.”

“It is written in the law that God commanded the children of Israel to tithe every year of all that they acquired, and by doing so they were blessed in all their deeds. Knowing this, St. The apostles established... that we separate the tithe from the very days of our life and dedicate it to God: so that we, too, may thus receive a blessing on all our deeds, and annually cleanse the sins we have committed during the year. Having reasoned this way, they consecrated to us the seven weeks of Lent.”

“There are two types of gluttony: laryngeal madness and gluttony. The first type is when a person seeks the pleasures of food; he does not always want to eat a lot, but he desires something tasty and is overcome by its pleasant taste. Gluttony is polyeating, when a person does not care about the taste of food, but strives to fill his belly.”

“Whoever fasts out of vanity or believing that he is performing virtue fasts unreasonably and therefore begins to reproach his brother afterwards, considering himself to be someone significant. But whoever fasts wisely does not think that he is doing a good deed wisely, and does not want to be praised as a faster.”

“Concerning the manner of fasting, the same rule cannot be conveniently observed... - the time, method and quality of nutrition must be different, precisely due to the unequal condition of the bodies, or according to age and gender; but everyone should have one rule for taming the flesh to control the heart and strengthen the spirit.”

“Strict fasts become in vain when they are followed by excessive consumption of food, which soon leads to the vice of gluttony.”

“One should be considered a suicide who does not change the strict rules of abstinence even when it is necessary to strengthen weakened strength by eating food.”

“Tighten your belly with abstinence, and thereby stop your mouth; for the tongue takes strength from many foods"

“The living memory of death prevents intemperance in food; and when intemperance in food is stopped with humility, then other passions are cut off at the same time.”

“When we are full, the spirit of gluttony departs and sends the spirit of prodigal upon us, informing it in what state we are in, and saying: “Go and stir up such and such; his belly is full, and therefore you will labor a little.” This one, having come, smiles and, having tied our hands and feet to sleep, does whatever he wants with us.”

“Whoever serves his own belly, and yet wants to overcome the spirit of fornication, is like someone who extinguishes a fire with oil.”

“Just as healthy eyes are characterized by a desire for light, so a fast observed with prudence is characterized by a desire for prayer.”

“He who is clothed in the weapon of fasting is at all times inflamed with jealousy. For even the zealot Elijah, when he was zealous for the law of God, remained in this matter - in fasting"

“From the meal of those who fast... borrow for yourself the medicine of life, and awaken your soul from deadness. For among them, sanctifying them, the Beloved reclines, and the labor of fasting and their deeds transforms them into His inscrutable sweetness; and His heavenly servants overshadow them and their holy dishes. I know one of the brothers who clearly saw this with his own eyes."

“There is physical fasting, and there is mental fasting. Bodily fasting is when the belly fasts from food and drink; spiritual fasting is when the soul abstains from evil thoughts, deeds and words. A good faster is one who shuns all evil. If you, Christian, want fasting to be useful to you, then, while fasting physically, fast also mentally, and fast always.”

“It is appropriate to proportion the way of bodily nutrition to the state of strength and strength of the body: when it is healthy, oppress it as much as necessary, and when it is weak, relax it a little. The ascetic should not relax his body, but be as strong as is required for the ascetic endeavor, so that even though bodily labors the soul is also properly cleansed.”

St. Asterius of Amasia

“Fasting is the teacher of moderation, the mother of virtue, the educator of the children of God, the leader of the disorderly, the calm of souls, the support of life, the peace of lasting and unperturbed; its severity and importance pacifies passions, extinguishes anger and rage, cools and calms all sorts of unrest that arise from overeating.”

Rev. Macarius of Optina

“We must be, according to the teaching of the holy fathers, not body-killers, but passion-killers, that is, destroy the passions in ourselves.”

holy Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow

“The Apostle Paul said: if one of the unbelievers calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you without any examination, for peace of conscience (1 Cor. 10:27) - for the sake of the person who welcomed you cordially.”

“Irrational people are jealous of the fasting and labors of saints with wrong understanding and intention and think that they are passing through virtue. The devil, guarding them as his prey, plunges into them the seed of a joyful opinion about himself, from which the inner Pharisee is born and nurtured and betrays such to complete pride.”

What is blessed at meals during the Nativity (Philippov) Fast?

Instructions for the Nativity Fast meal

According to the rules of abstinence, the Nativity Fast is close to Peter's Fast. According to the church charter, meat, dairy products and eggs are excluded on all days of fasting. In addition, it is prescribed:

• on Tuesdays and Thursdays - hot food with vegetable oil;
• on Saturdays and Sundays - hot vegetable food with vegetable oil, fish, wine;
• November 21 (December 4), on the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Blessed Virgin Mary - hot vegetable food with vegetable oil, fish, wine;

From December 20 (January 2) to December 23 (January 5) inclusive (the period of the pre-celebration of the Nativity of Christ):

• on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - dry eating;
• on Tuesdays and Thursdays, on Saturdays and Sundays - hot food with vegetable oil;
• December 24 (January 6), on Christmas Eve - hot food with vegetable oil (according to the Charter); In addition, according to custom, they eat sochivo (kolivo) - a sweet porridge made from wheat, rice or other cereals, usually only after Vespers.

On those days when wine is allowed, it is meant to be consumed in moderation.

Now look at the beneficial effects of fasting. The great Moses, after spending forty days in fasting, was honored to receive the tablets of the law; when, having descended from the mountain, he saw the iniquity of the people, he threw down these tablets, obtained with such effort, and broke them, considering it inappropriate to communicate the commandments of the Lord to a people who were drunk and worshiping iniquity. Therefore, this wonderful prophet had to fast for another forty days in order to be worthy to receive again from above and bring to the people the tablets broken for their iniquity (see Ex. 24-34). And the great Elijah fasted for the same number of days, and so he escaped the dominion of death, ascended on a fiery chariot, as if to heaven, and until now has not yet experienced death (see 1 Kings 19:8). And the man of desires [Daniel], after spending many days in fasting, was rewarded with a wonderful vision; He also tamed the fury of lions and turned it into the meekness of sheep, without changing their nature, but changing their disposition, while their brutality remained the same (see Dan. 10:3). And the Ninevites, by fasting, rejected the Lord’s decree, forcing dumb animals to fast together with people, and thus, having abandoned all evil deeds, they endeared the Lord of the universe to love of mankind (see Jonah 3:7-8). But why else should I turn to slaves (after all, we can count many others who became famous for fasting in both the Old and New Testaments), when I can point to our universal Master? For our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, after fasting for forty days, entered into the struggle with the devil and set an example for all of us, so that we too would arm ourselves with fasting, and, strengthened by it, enter into the struggle with the devil (see Matt. 4:2). But here, perhaps, someone - a person with a sharp and lively mind - will ask: why does the Master fast for the same number of days as the slaves, and not more? This was done not without reason and not without purpose, but wisely and out of His inexpressible love for mankind, so that they would not think that He appeared on earth ghostly and did not take on flesh or did not have human nature; for this He fasted for the same number of days, and not more, and thus stops the shameless lips of those who are hunting for controversy...

Therefore, I ask... that, knowing the benefits of fasting, you do not lose it through negligence, and when it comes, do not be sad, but rejoice and be glad: because, as blessed Paul says, if our outer man is decaying, then our inner man is from day to day renewed (2 Cor. 4:16). Indeed, fasting is food for the soul, and just as bodily food fattens the body, so fasting strengthens the soul, gives it easy flight, makes it capable of rising to heights and thinking about higher things, and places it above the pleasures and amenities of real life. Just as light ships are more likely to cross the seas, but those burdened with a large load drown, so fasting, making our mind lighter, helps it quickly cross the sea of ​​real life, strive for the sky and for celestial objects and not respect the present, but consider it more insignificant than shadows and sleepy dreams .

Great benefits come from two virtues: prayer and fasting. For he who prays as he should, and at the same time fasts, does not require much, and whoever demands not much will not be a lover of money, and he who is not a lover of money loves to give alms. He who fasts becomes light and inspired, and prays with a cheerful spirit, quenches evil wishes, appeases God and humbles his arrogant spirit. That is why the apostles almost always fasted. He who prays with fasting has two wings, the lightest of the wind itself. For such a one does not sleep, does not speak much, does not yawn and does not relax in prayer, as happens to many, but he is faster than fire and higher than the earth, which is why he is especially an enemy and warrior against demons, since there is no stronger person who sincerely prays . If a wife could bow down a cruel boss who neither feared God nor was ashamed of people, then how much more can he bow down to God who constantly stands before Him, tames his belly and rejects pleasures. If your body is weak to fast incessantly, then it is not weak for prayer and for neglecting the pleasures of the womb. If you cannot fast, then at least you can not indulge in luxury, and this is not unimportant and not far from fasting and can tame the fury of the devil. For nothing is so kind to the demon as luxury and drunkenness - the sources and mother of all evil.

The Lord, common to all of us, as a loving father, wanting to cleanse us from the sins we have committed at any time, gave us healing in holy fasting. So, no one grieve, no one appear sad, but rejoice, rejoice and glorify the Guardian of our souls, who opened this wonderful path for us, and accept its advance with great joy! Let the Greeks be ashamed, let the Jews be put to shame, seeing with what joyful readiness we welcome his advance, and let them know by themselves what the difference is between us and them. Let them call drunkenness, all kinds of unbridledness and shamelessness, which they usually produce, holidays and celebrations. The Church of God, contrary to them, calls fasting, contempt (of the pleasures) of the worm, and then following all kinds of virtues a holiday. And this is a true holiday, where there is the salvation of souls, where there is peace and harmony, from which all worldly pomp is banished, where there is no screaming, no noise, no running of cooks, no slaughter of animals, but instead of all this, perfect calm, silence, love, joy reign. , peace, gentleness and countless blessings.

I wish that you, having cleansed your soul and said goodbye to amusements and all intemperance, accept with open arms the mother of all blessings and the teacher of chastity and all virtue, that is, fasting - so that you and he (fasting) enjoy great pleasure. provided you with proper and appropriate medicine. And doctors, when they intend to give medicine to those who want to cleanse their rotten and spoiled juices, order to abstain from ordinary food, so that it does not prevent the medicine from working and exerting its power, especially since we are preparing to accept this spiritual medicine, that is, the benefit that occurs from fasting, we must abstain to cleanse our mind and lighten our soul, so that it, mired in intemperance, does not make fasting useless and fruitless for us.

Just as intemperance in food is the cause and source of countless evils for the human race, so fasting and contempt (of the pleasures) of the belly have always been for us the cause of untold blessings. Having created man at the beginning and knowing that this medicine was very necessary for him for spiritual salvation, God immediately and at the very beginning gave the following commandment to the first created: you will eat from every tree in the garden; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it (Genesis 2:16-17). The words: “eat this, but do not eat this,” concluded a certain type of fasting. But the man, instead of keeping the commandment, transgressed it. Succumbing to gluttony, he disobeyed and was condemned to death.

The one who fasts most of all needs to curb his anger, learn to be meek and forgiving, have a contrite heart, drive out unclean desires by representing that never-ending fire and impartial judgment, be above monetary calculations, show great generosity in alms, drive out from the soul all anger towards one’s neighbor...

Do you see what true fasting consists of? We will perform such and such a fast, without relying on it, like many, only to remain without food until the evening. This is not the main thing, but that with abstinence from foodstuffs we combine abstinence from what is harmful (to the soul) and show great concern for the accomplishment of spiritual affairs. The fasting person should be calm, quiet, meek, humble, despising the glory of this life. Just as he despised his soul, so he must despise vain glory, and look only to the One who tests hearts and wombs, make prayers and confessions with great zeal before God, and, as much as possible, help himself with alms.

In addition to abstaining from food, there are many ways that can open the doors of boldness before God. He who eats food and cannot fast, let him give abundant alms, let him say fervent prayers, let him show intense zeal for listening to the word of God - here bodily weakness does not hinder us in the least - let him make peace with his enemies, let him expel from his soul all memory of malice . If he does this, he will commit a true fast, the kind that the Lord requires of us. After all, He commands abstinence from food itself so that we, by curbing the lusts of the flesh, make it obedient in fulfilling the commandments. And if we decide not to accept help from fasting because of bodily weakness and indulge in greater carelessness, then, without knowing it, we will cause ourselves the greatest harm. If even during fasting we find ourselves lacking the above-mentioned good deeds, then all the more will we show negligence when we do not use the medicine of fasting... Fasting humbles the body and curbs disordered lusts, but it enlightens the soul, inspires it, makes grief light and soaring... So, the fasting person thanks God for the fact that he had enough strength to endure the labor of fasting, and the eater also thanks God, because this will not harm him in the least in saving his soul if he wants.
The man-loving God has revealed to us an innumerable number of ways in which, if we only want, we can achieve the highest boldness (before God).

Venerable Barsanuphius the Great:

Physical fasting means nothing without the spiritual fasting of the inner man, which consists of protecting oneself from passions. This fast of the inner man is pleasing to God and will compensate for your lack of bodily fasting.

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt:

How great is the power of fasting and prayer! No wonder: during fasting the soul becomes dominant over the lusts of the body, generally subjugates it to itself, and the devil very often acts through the flesh; The faster, therefore, conquers both the flesh and the devil - which means that then he is close to God in his moral state and can do the powers of God most easily. If prayer is added to this, which brings down the blessing and help of heaven to us, then a person can truly command not only material nature, but also fallen spirits. How did the Lord Himself defeat the devil? By fasting and prayer.

During fasting, especially for a priest, one must abandon the pleasures that irritate the flesh and not please it, but grieve it: sleep for a short time, teach the people the Word of God, unfeigned, fruitful repentance, awaken hatred of all sin, explain how it is unnatural to us and disgusting to God, how It (sin), contrary to nature, has become akin to it and acts in it imperiously, insatiably and disastrously.

What does fasting and repentance lead to? What is the labor for? Leads to the cleansing of sins, peace of mind, to union with God, to sonship, to boldness before the Lord. There is something to fast about and confess with all your heart. The reward will be invaluable for conscientious work.

They say: it’s not important to eat fasting while fasting, it’s not about food; It’s not an important thing to wear expensive, beautiful clothes, go to the theater, to parties, to masquerades, to have magnificent expensive dishes, furniture, an expensive carriage, dashing horses, to collect and save money and so on; but why does our heart turn away from God, the Source of life, and why do we lose eternal life? Is it not because of gluttony, is it not because of precious clothes, like the evangelical rich man, is it not because of theaters and masquerades? Why do we become hard-hearted towards the poor and even towards our relatives? Is it not because of our addiction to sweets, to the belly in general, to clothing, to expensive dishes, furniture, carriage, money and so on? Is it possible to work for God and mammon, to be a friend of the world and a friend of God, to work for Christ and Belial? Impossible. Why did Adam and Eve lose paradise and fall into sin and death? Is it not because of food alone* (* Is it not because of food alone - Is it not only because of food.)? Take a good look at why we do not care about the salvation of our soul, which cost the Son of God so dearly, because of which we add sins to sins, we constantly fall into opposition to God, into a vain life, is it not because of addiction to earthly things, and especially to earthly delights? What makes our heart hard? Why do we become flesh and not spirit, perverting our moral nature? Is it not because of addiction to food, drink and other earthly goods? How can we then say that eating sparse foods during Lent is not important? This very thing that we say so is pride, vanity, disobedience, disobedience to God and moving away from Him.

By eating extensively, you become a carnal man, not having a spirit, or soulless flesh, and by fasting, you attract the Holy Spirit to yourself and become spiritual. Take cotton paper that has not been moistened with water. It is light and, in small quantities, floats in the air, but if you wet it with water, it becomes heavy and immediately falls to the floor. So it is with the soul. Oh, how one must protect the soul through fasting!

Fasting is a good teacher: 1) it quickly makes it clear to everyone who fasts that every person needs very little food and drink and that in general we are greedy and eat and drink much more than what is proper, that is, what our nature requires; 2) fasting helps or reveals all the infirmities of our soul, all its weaknesses, shortcomings, sins and passions, just as muddy, stagnant water beginning to clear itself shows what kind of reptiles are found in it or what quality of rubbish; 3) he shows us the necessity of running to God with all our hearts and seeking His mercy, help, and salvation; 4) fasting shows all the cunning, deceit, all the malice of the disembodied spirits with whom we previously, without knowing, worked, whose cunning, when we are now illuminated by the light of God’s grace, is clearly revealed and who now viciously persecute us for leaving their ways.

He who rejects fasting forgets what caused the fall of the first people (from intemperance) and what weapon against sin and the tempter the Savior showed us when he was tempted in the desert (fasting forty days and nights), he does not know or does not want to know that man falls away from God most often through intemperance, as was the case with the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah and with Noah’s contemporaries - for from intemperance every sin occurs in people; whoever rejects fasting takes away from himself and from others weapons against his many-passionate flesh and against the devil, who are strong against us especially through our intemperance, he is not a warrior of Christ, for he throws down his weapon and voluntarily surrenders into captivity of his voluptuous and sin-loving flesh; he, finally, is blind and does not see the relationship between the causes and consequences of affairs.

If you greedily eat and drink a lot, you will be flesh, and if you fast and pray, you will be spirit. “Do not get drunk with wine... but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18). Fast and pray and you will accomplish great things. A well-fed person is not capable of great things. Have simplicity of faith and you will accomplish great things: for “all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23). Have diligence and diligence - and you will accomplish great things.

If there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:10), then what a joyful time for the good Angels of God is our Great Lent, and in particular the days of repentance and communion: Friday and Saturday? And how much the priests contribute to this joy, carefully and fatherly confessing their spiritual children! But, on the other hand, for demons there is no sadder time than the time of fasting, which is why they become fierce with special force during fasting and with special ferocity attack priests who promote sincere repentance for the sins of the people of God, and with special force they freeze in the temple and at home to pious Christians who are zealous for prayer, fasting and repentance. Which of the pious priests and laity does not know the demonic rage directed at them during the very celebration of the Sacrament of Repentance? - The slightest oversight on the part of the priest-confessor, the slightest unrighteous movement of the heart, and they with all their demonic cruelty enter the heart of the priest and torment him for a long, long time, if he does not soon drive them out, the uninvited guests, with the most fervent prayer of repentance and living faith.

The fast of Moses is for the intemperance of the Israelites. The suffering of the saints is for our effeminacy; their fasts and deprivations are for our intemperance and luxury; their prayers are fervent - for us, lazy to pray. The fast of our Lord Jesus Christ is for our intemperance. The outstretching of His hands on the Cross is for our outstretching our hands to the forbidden tree and to everything prohibited by the commandments of God. The sanity of our prayers for others is to justify those for whom we pray; the responsibility of our deeds and virtues for others, for example, prayer and alms for the dead and for the living. Thus, Augustine’s mother’s prayers with tears for her son saved Augustine.

It is necessary for a Christian to fast in order to clarify the mind and arouse and develop feelings and motivate the will to good activity. We overshadow and suppress these three human abilities most of all through gluttony, drunkenness and the worries of life (Luke 21:34), and through this we fall away from the source of life - God and fall into corruption and vanity, perverting and desecrating the image of God in ourselves. Gluttony and voluptuousness nail us to the ground and cut off, so to speak, the wings of the soul. And look how high all the fasters and abstinents were! They soared in the skies like eagles; They, earthly beings, lived with their minds and hearts in heaven and heard ineffable verbs there and learned divine wisdom there. And how a person humiliates himself with gluttony, overeating and drunkenness! He perverts his nature, created in the image of God, and becomes like dumb cattle and even becomes worse than him. Oh, woe to us from our addictions, from our lawless habits! They prevent us from loving God and our neighbors and fulfilling God’s commandments; they root in us criminal carnal selfishness, the end of which is eternal destruction. So a drunkard, for the pleasure of the flesh and stupefaction of himself, does not spare a lot of money, but spares pennies for the beggars; a tobacco smoker throws tens and hundreds of rubles into the wind, and begrudges the beggars pennies that could save his soul; those who love to dress luxuriously or are hunters of fashionable furniture and dishes spend huge amounts of money on clothes and furniture with dishes, and pass by beggars with coldness and contempt; those who love to eat well do not spare tens and hundreds of rubles for dinners, but they spare pennies for the poor. It is necessary for a Christian to fast because with the incarnation of the Son of God, human nature is spiritualized, deified, and we hasten to the heavenly Kingdom, which is not food and drink, but truth and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17); food for the belly, and the belly for food: but God will destroy both (1 Cor. 6:13). Eating and drinking, that is, having an addiction to sensual pleasures, is characteristic only of paganism, which, not knowing spiritual, heavenly pleasures, places all life in the pleasure of the belly, in eating and drinking heavily. That is why the Lord often denounces this destructive passion in the Gospel. And is it reasonable for a person to constantly live in gastric fumes, in gastric fumes rising inside from the incessant cooking of food and its fermentation? Is man just a walking kitchen or a self-propelled chimney, to which all those who smoke incessantly can rightly be likened?

We Christians, as new people, are commanded to fast, so we should not worry much about feeding the belly, excesses in food and drink, or delicacies, because all this hinders the achievement of the Kingdom of Heaven. Our duty is to prepare for heavenly life and take care of spiritual food, and spiritual food is fasting, prayer, reading the Word of God, especially the Communion of the Holy Mysteries. When we do not care about fasting and prayer, then we are filled with all sorts of sins and passions, but when we feed on spiritual food, then we are cleansed of them and adorned with humility, meekness, patience, mutual love, purity of soul and body.

“When you fast, do not be despondent, like the hypocrites, for they do not put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting” (Matthew 6:16).
At present, there are very few people who, out of hypocrisy, would want to appear to others during Lent as great fasters - in order to earn glory from people. Most likely, there will now be people who do not want to be or appear to be fasters; because they consider fasting to be a useless and unnecessary thing for themselves, and to appear to other fasters to be a stupid and ridiculous thing.

Is fasting necessary, that is, abstinence not only from certain foods not consumed during fasting, but also abstinence from consuming them in large quantities? Is fasting necessary as abstinence from the pleasures of gross sensuality? Is fasting necessary as abstinence from disordered thoughts and movements of the heart and disapproving actions? Do you want, beloved, to inherit blessed eternity, or the Kingdom of Heaven, which also undoubtedly exists, just as it is certain that we now live on earth, because the incarnate God the Word Himself, His prophets, apostles and all saints assure us of this? His? How can you not want to! There, according to the faithful and immutable Word of God, righteousness and peace and joy live in the Holy Spirit forever and ever (Rom. 14:17), there is God, there are blessed spirits, there are righteous people, and on earth - for not much more than seventy years only You almost see sins, turmoil and disasters - everywhere. If you want, then you must certainly fast: since flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50), because the Kingdom of God is not food and drink (Rom. 14:17).

Is fasting necessary as abstinence from disordered thoughts and movements of the heart and disapproving actions? If you agree that God is your Lawgiver and a righteous Judge, Who knows how to punish those who violate His laws, if your conscience tells you that your soul, not in its proper order, has more than once violated the order of moral life, has failed to obey the laws of the Creator, then you I must agree that you need to restore the order of your moral life, bring your thoughts into the correct order from the chaotic fermentation here and there, force your heart to break away from unworthy objects to which, due to your inattention and oversight, it clung so tightly that it forgot about the first object of his love is God; behave in such a way that your actions will not be ashamed to be exposed both to the judgment of your conscience and to the judgment of people and God. You know that an unrighteous thought is an abomination to the Lord (Prov. 15:26), that God asks Himself of your heart, which you gave to the will of passions, that every evil one (Ps. 5:5) and unclean will not abide with Him. If you want to be with God, if you want to be eternally prosperous, then you must agree that you need to fast with your soul, collect your mind, correct your thoughts, cleanse your thoughts, and instead of the rags of unrighteous deeds, adorn yourself with the precious clothing of good deeds. Physical fasting was established to make it easier for the soul to fast.

For this reason, by the way, the Holy Church established fasts, so that Christians would have a weapon in them against the devil and his countless intrigues.

Prayer and fasting cleanse, enlighten and strengthen the soul; on the contrary, without prayer and fasting our soul is an easy prey for the devil, because it is not protected and protected from him. Fasting and prayer are spiritual weapons against the devil, which is why the Lord says that the demonic race comes only through prayer and fasting. The Holy Church, knowing the power of this spiritual weapon, calls us to fast twice every week - on Wednesday and Friday, by the way, in remembrance of the suffering and death of our Savior, and in the year - many times during all multi-day fasts, and Great Lent connects with special touching prayers of repentance. Fasting and prayer have the spiritual benefit that, strengthening our souls, they strengthen our very faith, hope and love and unite us with God.

The time of Lent is a time of struggle, exploits against invisible enemies, against all sins and passions that possess us. This is how it should be according to the meaning of the Church. Lent was established in imitation of our Savior, who gave us an image and example in everything, and during Lent He was tempted by the devil and defeated him with the Word of God.

He who truly fasts must inevitably endure the sorrow of the flesh, the persistent struggle of the spirit against it, and, to top it all, the machinations of the devil, who acts on our soul through various thoughts that bring great sadness, especially to those who are not yet firm and imperfect in the Christian life.

We now have Lent, which lasts forty days. What is this Lent all about? He is a precious gift to us from our Savior, Who Himself fasted for forty days and nights, neither eating nor drinking, a truly precious gift for all those seeking salvation, as a mortifier of spiritual passions. By His word and example, the Lord legitimized it to His followers. And with what love, with what divine, gracious powers the Lord serves all those who truly fast! He enlightens them, purifies them, renews them, strengthens them in the fight against passions and invisible enemies, against the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this age; teaches every virtue and leads to perfection, to incorruption and heavenly bliss. All those who truly fast have experienced and are experiencing this. Fasting with prayer is a sure weapon against the devil and the multi-passionate flesh. Let no one pretend that fasting is not necessary.

It (fasting) pacifies our sinful, whimsical flesh, frees the soul from under its weight, giving it, as it were, wings to soar freely to heaven, and gives room for the action of God’s grace. Whoever fasts freely and correctly knows how light and bright the soul is during fasting; then good thoughts come easily to the head, and the heart becomes purer, more tender, more compassionate - we feel the desire for good deeds; Contrition for sins appears, the soul begins to feel the disastrousness of its situation and begins to lament for sins. And when we do not fast, when thoughts are in disorder, feelings are not curbed and the will allows itself everything, then you rarely see a saving change in a person, then he is dead in his soul: all its forces act in the wrong direction; the main goal of action - the goal of life - is lost sight of; there are many private goals, almost as many as each person has passions or whims. A strange work takes place in the soul, the result of which seems to be some kind of creation: you see the materials for construction, the beginning, middle and end of the thing, but in fact the end of everything turns out to be nothing. The soul goes against itself, against its own salvation with all its might: mind, will, and feeling. Whoever fasts in a Christian, reasonable, free manner, according to the false promise of the Lord, is awarded reward for his feat from the Heavenly Father. Your Father, the Savior said about the true faster, who sees in secret, will reward you openly (Matthew 6:4). And this reward, without a doubt, is always generous, truly fatherly, serving our most significant benefit.

Or they consider it a sin to eat something modest on a fast day, even due to bodily weakness, and without a twinge of conscience they despise or condemn their neighbors, for example, acquaintances, they offend or deceive, they weigh, measure, and indulge in carnal uncleanness.

O hypocrisy, hypocrisy! O misunderstanding of the spirit of Christ, the spirit of the Christian faith! Isn’t it inner purity, meekness and humility that the Lord our God demands from us first of all? Shouldn't the inside of the flasks and dishes be cleaned so that the outside is clean? Isn’t external fasting given to help internal virtue? Why do we pervert the divine order?

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov):

But what exactly is fasting? And isn’t there self-deception among those who consider it necessary to fulfill the fast only to the letter, but do not love it and are burdened by it in their hearts?

And is it possible to call fasting only the observance of the rules about not eating meat on fast days? Will fasting be fasting if, apart from some changes in the composition of food, we think neither about repentance, nor about abstinence, nor about cleansing the heart through intense prayer?

Fasting is not a diet. The Apostle notes that “food does not bring us closer to God” (1 Cor. 8:8). “There is no perfection in visible continence of the flesh; even unbelievers can have it out of necessity or hypocrisy,” says St. John Cassian the Roman. Abstinence in food is only the basis for further construction; it “preserves our mind in due purity and sobriety, our heart in due subtlety and spirituality.”

Fasting on Wednesday and Friday is enough. There is no need to add anything else to this. Put more effort into organizing your thoughts and feelings. It is enough to keep the body in abstinence.

Fasting children, if health does not allow it, is not necessary. But it’s a pity that, having gotten used to it from childhood, they won’t be able to fit into the post later.

I also congratulate you on the beginning of your soul-saving fast. This is a great good time. God, through the Holy Church, beneficially established it for us, weak, unable and unable to fast well all the time of our lives, although we realize that all of it, not excluding a moment, must belong to the Lord and be turned to His glory. This is due to the very creation of us, and even more so due to redemption, in which we are bought at a price beyond price, which is why we should not belong to ourselves, but to the one who bought us, who by virtue of this became our Master, legally demanding that we surrender ourselves and others to Him. We did not bring upon ourselves the masters, who, due to our oversight, are countless.

Behold, the preparatory weeks for fasting have begun, and at the very beginning - Meeting, which very significantly indicates that those who wish to meet the Lord can achieve this only through fasting labors, publican humility, sincere repentance at the direction of the prodigal, the memory of the Last Judgment, weeping for the fall into Adam and about his own sins and cries: “Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me!”
Please stand at the beginning of this path, look all over it into the distance... and then decide, to the best of your ability, to walk it, as the Lord desires.

I congratulate you on St. Pentecostal. Help you, Lord, to spend it in good health and for the salvation of your soul. You can serve all services at home with bows... and go to mass on Saturday and Sunday.

You can pray at home without going to church. When fasting, it’s good to force yourself. And on other weeks you can pray at home, just go to the Presanctified. And at home you can read the sequences as expected, or you can get away with bows alone.

On the eve of Lent!... We heard: open the doors of repentance!... The All-merciful Lord again stands at His open doors with open arms. Let us fall into His arms and weep before the Lord, who created us and arranges our salvation in every possible way through His providential actions for us.

Regarding food during treatment: you can take it as prescribed by doctors, not to please the flesh, but as an aid to a speedy recovery, meaning that after recovery you should be more strict with this matter, with food, i.e. You can observe this strictness when taking a fast food food, namely take it in smaller quantities. But although this is possible, however, those who abstain and keep a fast during fasts, although weak, do better: as I advise you... They refused the operation, and it turned out better; It will be better if you refuse here too, out of fear of God. All food is healthy, as long as it is not spoiled, but fresh and healthy... How the elders of God lived for more than a hundred years, eating only bread and water...

Abstinence from passions is better than all medicines, and it gives a long life.

Not from food alone does one’s belly... or health, but from God’s blessing, which always overshadows one who surrenders himself to the will of God when he encounters hardships on the path of fulfilling God’s commandments.

You congratulated me on the New Year, and I congratulate you on your fast. The words are different, but the deed is one: for whoever will accomplish everything that is done in the Holy. fasting as it should, he will truly enter a new year of life. This is what I wish for you. You, of course, have been new for a long time; but our news is such that it often requires updating. We flow along the path of life among rags, which, under our feet, and on our sides, and in front, and behind, and above, and below, and from the inside, and from the outside, envelop us and crowd us, and it is very difficult or impossible for any of them not to stick. and it did not remain on us and in us, just as it is impossible for someone walking along a high road not to get dusty. So the merciful Lord arranged for us a fast, which is, on the one hand, a review, or inspection, where there are any specks of dust and rags, on the other hand, a bathhouse for washing everything that is old, nondescript, and dirty, so that, having gone through both, we would be brand new , clean and pleasing to God and people, like a tree in spring, again covered with leaves and flowers. I wish you all this from my heart.

Where did they find such a charter about fasting? Where spiritual fasting is spoken of, it is not mentioned that there is no need to worry about bodily fasting, you can do without it, and it is only reminded not to limit yourself to bodily fasting alone. Great Lent and the Assumption are significant, but one cannot conclude from this that other fasts can be turned into non-fasts. One must be completely correct in the church charter, without reservations.

Fasting is not to eat your fill, but to leave yourself a little hungry, so that neither your thoughts nor your heart are burdened.

Having worked hard to fast, you give yourself consolation. This is par for the course. Only there is less carnal consolation, and more spiritual. And the carnal should be spiritualized through thanksgiving, measured proportions and spiritual understanding. That's what you seem to be doing. In the general course of your life, you see yourself surrounded by God’s mercies more than others - and thank the Lord. Good! This thanksgiving is a strengthening of the possession of these mercies. Move from the joyful to the expectation of the sorrowful - and also get ready to give thanks: for from the Lord everything is for our good - eternal.

The type of food in restoring strength is a secondary matter... The main thing is fresh food (not spoiled), clean air... and most of all peace of mind. Restlessness of spirit and passions spoil the blood - and significantly harm health. Fasting and a fasting life in general is the best way to maintain health and prosper.

Happy post! Help you, Lord, to see him through in a soul-saving way. Don't go too hard. There is not enough strength to fulfill obedience and fulfill the rule. Everything in moderation. Pay more attention to the inner and more strictly analyze everything that happens there, in the light of the word of God with paternal instructions. A small crookedness there threatens with great disaster.

Nowhere is it written to take on too much of a post without a special need. Fasting is an external matter. It must be undertaken at the request of inner life. What need do you have for such excessive fasting? And so you eat little by little. The measure that has already been established could be maintained during Lent. And then you always have Lent. And then we have to spend whole days without food?! This could have been done in the week when they were preparing to receive Holy Communion. Why languish yourself like this all through Lent? And they would have to eat a little every day. Your thought would always consider you a eater and a drinker, but now, it’s true, it dignifies you - and you have to fight. Sometimes the pleasure of one’s achievement will burst through, and for this God’s punishment follows, usually manifested by a decrease in warmth and composure. In view of this evil, I cannot call your fasting good. Bring it in moderation. On this Pentecost, keep the table according to the rules or in relation to them. And for the rest of the time, lighten your fast. You don't need one like that at all. I'm very sorry for you; But I say this about fasting not out of pity, but out of confidence that it does not benefit you much, and self-delusion is close - a great and great misfortune!

A witty self-starter and stubborn in everything! You don't want to listen to anything. Well, live as you want. This trashy poem of yours will not lead to good. There are already the beginnings of self-delusion, but you don’t see it. Look what you write: “I’m not what I was before.” This is called self-conceit. You continue to say: “And don’t even speak against a trip to Voronezh and Zadonsk - I won’t listen.” This is called self-will. Finally, about prayer, that “you better pray this way and that way.” This means following your tastes. From these three: self-will, self-will and conceit, the destructive spirit of delusion is formed. It is in your beginnings; but if you are not careful and you all act in the same order, it will grow and destroy you. And it's all the poem's fault! It sticks out in front of you - completely out of place.
Who is against fasting? Fasting is one of the first deeds of a monk and a Christian. But one cannot help but rebel against immoderate fasting. This one is harmful. Only empty rumor excites outside and vanity inside. Your old women are truly grumbling: here we have an ascetic who eats only prosphora and doesn’t light a fire. And you are even stronger and stronger. They talk about trifles, but in you they give rise to the worm of vanity and a high opinion of yourself: “I’m not the same now.” Your tongue sometimes speaks humble speeches, but it lies in your heart that you have already risen high and, as a matter of fact, have surpassed everyone. It always happens that way. If you start focusing on external achievements, you will immediately fall into spiritual pride. And the enemy will need it. Well, mother, add more, add more. And mother with all her might! He thinks that he pleases God, but in reality he amuses the enemy and inflates and expands the boil of vanity. I am writing to you all this unsweetened information because of the danger you are in.
Look around and, while there is time, fix the matter.

It seems to you that I want to fatten you up. Not at all. I would like to direct you to a moderate post that would keep you in humble feelings. Otherwise you won’t know where you’ll end up. Talk about this with anyone you want, they will all say the same thing. It doesn’t take long to distort your inner life with the unreasonable outside, but it won’t take you long to get it right again. This bad feeling will begin to deepen within you that you are no longer what you were before; warmth, tenderness and contrition will begin to diminish. When the heart grows cold, then what? Beware of this. The path of humble, moderate action is the most reliable.

I repeat again: who is against fasting? But break the fast, and at least leave the other. This is yours. And I consider him this way not for his own sake, but for the sake of the fact that he leads you into conceit, which was the case with your entire last letter. So one cannot help but rebel against him as the reason for such a dangerous mood of spirit. Fasting itself is blessed. Eating less and sleeping less is a good thing. Still, it is necessary in moderation. And besides, the soul must be protected by deep humility. Writing the way he wrote, he had one thing in mind - to arouse in you caution and vigilant observation of the enemy’s suggestions, which he knows how to approach so skillfully that you won’t even notice. He will begin with subtle thoughts and lead to great deeds of his kind. Look, for the Lord's sake, be ashamed of yourself. May the Lord help you to become more deeply established in feelings of self-abasement and humility!

Congratulations on your holy fast. Bless you, Lord, to see him off in a soul-saving way. Yes, look, don’t upset your health. If you don't feed the horse, you'll be unlucky. Of course, you must wish that what you started never changes and turns into the law of life. Physical feats are convenient for us because the body can get used to anything. Until he gets used to it, he screams, and when he gets used to it, he becomes silent. This is the limit of work on the body. The body is an obedient slave, but it needs to be trained. Well, school, only in moderation. Labor on the soul has no end.

Regarding fasting, act with complete freedom, applying everything to the main goal. When to make it heavier, when to make it lighter, depending on your need. Fasting is not a goal, but a means. It is better not to bind yourself in this regard with an unchanging decree, as if with bonds: and when it is this way, when it is different, only without benefits and self-pity, but also without cruelty that leads to exhaustion.

You're all messing around with your penniless fasting. Well, do as you plan: just don’t consider it important. It is important to pay attention to the movements of the heart and cleanse them with repentance every minute. Do more of this. With this, to contemplate the Lord and to be in the memory of death - these are important things!

Don’t regret the fact that you had to add something from your food. One should not become attached even to holy rules, but behave in relation to them with complete freedom, using them wisely. It doesn’t matter if you add something else, just not to please the flesh, but out of need.

But here comes fasting: let us fast, brethren, with a pleasant fast. Woe is it when fasting is not pleasant to us or to God. How weak we have become!.. And all because we are righteous... The sinner will not feel sorry for himself, and when he feels sinfulness, then hold on, sinful flesh!

There is so much talk about fasting, how people rebel against it and say: “Why is fasting so strict, when the Lord Himself says that what does not enter into a person defiles, but what comes from the heart, and the Apostle teaches: “Let him who is not poisonous condemn not him who eats.” * (*...whoever does not eat, do not condemn the one who eats.) (Rom. 14:3), and St. Chrysostom on St. Day Easter calls everyone to joy, both those who fasted and those who did not?”

Poor post! How much reproach, slander, and persecution he endures! But everything, by the grace of God, stands. And how could it be otherwise? The support is strong! The Lord fasted, the apostles fasted, and not a little, but, as the Apostle Paul says about himself, “they are abundant in their fasting,” and all the saints of God kept a strict fast, so that if it had been given to us to survey the abodes of heaven, we would not find there would be no one there who would shun fasting. That's how it should be. By breaking the fast, paradise is lost - initiating strict fasting should be among the means to return the lost paradise.
Our mother, the compassionate Holy Church, is she really our stepmother? Would she impose such a heavy and unnecessary burden on us? But it imposes! That's right, it can't be otherwise. Let us submit... And everyone who wants to be saved will submit... Look around. More or less, anyone who becomes concerned about the soul now begins to fast, and the more concerned he is, the more strictly he fasts. Why would this be? - Because when you fast, things go more successfully and it’s easier to control your soul. Whoever dissuades himself from fasting, surely salvation is not dear to him. Where the womb writes the laws, there God is the womb. To whom God is the belly, he is the enemy of the Cross of Christ. Whoever is an enemy of the Cross is an enemy of Christ, our Savior and God. This is how you proceed forward: when someone begins to rebel against some ascetic institution of God, begin to ask him, which one does he accept besides this rejected one? For example, whoever rejects fasting, ask: “Well, is it necessary to go to church? Is it necessary to keep a prayer rule at home? Do you need to confess?” and so on... and you will probably find that he will refuse everything. And it will be clear to you that he doesn’t care about fasting, but about any cramped conditions in general... He wants to live widely... Well, let him live! Just be sure to read to him the definition of God’s Judgment on the broad path! This is the duty of everyone who makes this determination! After all, when you ask everything, it turns out that this kind of sage is of a completely different faith. And tell him this; say that you, brother, have a different god, different laws, different hopes! apostles, shepherds and teachers of the universe - all fasters and legislators of fasting! We can't do it any other way. And you go your own way. Do you think of convincing such people?.. Where are we going! Their forehead is copper and their neck is iron! What will you do with them? Don't think that they have any solid reasons. No. They just have a lot of tenacity. Those misinterpretations that you have heard are probably considered lofty ideas among them. And look what is there? They say: what does not enter into the mouth defiles... Who can argue against this? Do fasting people abstain from food because they are afraid of being defiled by it? God have mercy! Nobody thinks so. And it is the cunning people of the world who weave lies in order to somehow cover themselves up with appearances. Those who break the fast defile themselves, not only with food, but by violating the commandments of God, by disobedience and stubbornness. And those who fast and do not keep their hearts pure are not considered pure. Both are needed: physical fasting and mental fasting. This is what is said in the teachings, and this is what is sung in the Church. Whoever does not do this is not the fault of the fast! Why refuse fasting under this pretext? Should I ask those who do not want to fast, do they keep their hearts pure? It's incredible! If with fasting and other deeds it is barely possible to control our kind heart, then without fasting there is nothing to say. Remember how one elder met a young monk coming out of a tavern and said to him: “Eh, brother! It’s not a good thing to come here!” He answered him: “Go! If only the heart was pure...” Then the elder said in amazement: “For how many years I have lived in the desert and fasted and prayed, and rarely go out anywhere, but I have not yet acquired a pure heart; and you, young man, walking through taverns, managed to acquire a pure heart. Wonderful!” The same must be said to anyone who refuses to fast! And what it says next: “let him who is not poisonous condemn him who is poisonous,” does not lead to anything. After all, this is an instruction! When we put ourselves among those who are fasting, let us thank you for the advice or reminder. But through this, the one who does not fast is not freed from the obligation to fast and from the responsibility for not fasting. He who condemns one who does not fast sins, but one who does not fast does not become righteous through this. And let's not judge. Let everyone know as they please. But we must stand up for the rule or law of fasting and not allow freemen to insidiously weave lies. Finally, Chrysostom’s condescension towards those who did not fast means only the kindness of his heart and the desire that on Bright Sunday of Christ everyone would rejoice and not a single one would have a sad face. This is the desire of the holy father, but whether it actually comes true - God knows! Tell the patient: be healthy, be healthy... Will this make him well? It's the same there. Everyone is invited to rejoice, but does everyone truly rejoice? What to do with conscience? Noise and commotion is not joy. Joy comes to the heart, which does not always rejoice with external amusements.”

Help you, Lord, to fast for salvation, to pray and to partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ properly. And take care of yourself, and put your affairs in order, and enjoy the peace of God - the grace of the Lord our Savior, when you are more sincerely worthy to accept Him into yourself.

Saint Leo the Great:

“After the long holiday of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary in order to purify our thoughts through it and become worthy of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This celebration, which the Holy Spirit sanctified with His descent, is usually followed by a nationwide fast, beneficially established for the healing of soul and body, and therefore requiring that we accompany it with due goodwill. For we have no doubt that after the apostles were filled with the power promised from above and the Spirit of truth dwelt in their hearts, among other secrets of heavenly teaching, at the inspiration of the Comforter, the teaching of spiritual abstinence was also taught, so that hearts, cleansed by fasting, would become more capable of the acceptance of grace-filled gifts... one cannot fight the impending efforts of the persecutors and the furious threats of the wicked in a pampered body and fattened flesh, since what delights our outer man destroys the inner one, and on the contrary, the more the rational soul is purified the more the flesh is mortified.”

Rev. Isaac the Syrian:

The spirit does not submit [to the cross] unless the body first submits to it.

Rev. Ephraim the Syrian:

The Kingdom of God is now close to everyone who serves God in righteousness; because the days of pure fasting have come for those who truly fast in purity.

So, beloved, let us maintain this fast with zeal and a pure heart; because it is sweet and pleasant for those who spend these days holy. Let us use this holy fast to fight the devil; because without fasting and prayer no one can defeat the evil one. Let us use this fast, beloved, to ask and implore mercy from the All-Good and Merciful, Who does not reject the one who asks. This fast, beloved, opens the door of heaven, because it lifts us from the earth and lifts us to heights.

...With the help of this holy fast, a person ascends to heaven and soars into paradise, if only he fasts in perfect purity. Through this holy fast, man glorifies God, and He opens the door of mercy to everyone who zealously observes the fast.”

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Holy Fathers about fasting

D thousands of years ago, humanity waited with hope for the Savior. However, the majority imagined Him as an earthly king and therefore did not notice the day of His Nativity.

Bethlehem slept peacefully, and only a handful of shepherds heard the angel's gospel.

These people believed that the Savior could be born not in the royal palace, but in a cave where sheep were sheltered from bad weather. These people saw the One for whom the whole world was waiting, because they were pure in heart. And as a reward for everything, the secret of the Embodiment of Love was revealed to them.

How often do people hope that life will improve due to external reasons. They do not suspect that the darkness of everyday life can only be illuminated by love in their souls. But to find it, you need to cleanse your heart.

D Neither fasting pulls a person out of the bustle of everyday life, demands from him a pure life for God. This is another, unworldly time. In the Old Testament, people were required to bring a tenth of their income to the Temple. Fasting is the New Testament sacrifice of Christians to God.

Leo the Great writes:

“The very maintenance of abstinence is sealed in four times, so that throughout the year we may learn that we are in constant need of cleansing and that when life is scattered, we must always try by fasting and almsgiving to destroy sin, which is multiplied by the frailty of the flesh and the impurity of desires.”

According to Leo the Great, the Nativity Fast is a sacrifice to God for the harvested fruits. “Just as the Lord generously provided us with the fruits of the earth,” the saint writes, “so during this fast we should be generous to the poor.”

According to St. Simeon of Thessalonica, "The fast of the Nativity Pentecost depicts the fast of Moses, who, having fasted forty days and forty nights, received the words of God inscribed on stone tablets. And we, fasting for forty days, contemplate and accept the living Word from the Virgin, not inscribed on stones, but incarnate and born, and we partake of His Divine flesh".

The Nativity Fast was established so that on the day of the Nativity of Christ we purify ourselves with repentance, prayer and fasting, so that with a pure heart, soul and body we can reverently meet the Son of God who appeared in the world, and so that, in addition to the usual gifts and sacrifices, we bring him a pure heart and desire follow his teachings.

Venerable Paisiy Velichkovsky

I call fasting eating a little one day during the day, while still being greedy, getting up from the meal; food to have bread and salt, and drink to have water, which the springs themselves supply. This is the royal way of eating, that is, many were saved this way, as the Holy Fathers said. A person cannot always abstain from food for a day, two, three, four, five and a week, but he can always do so in order to eat bread and drink water every day. Only after eating, one must be a little greedy, so that the body is submissive to the spirit, and capable of work, and sensitive to mental movements, and bodily passions are conquered; fasting cannot mortify bodily passions as much as meager food mortifies. Some fast for a while and then indulge in sweet foods; for many begin fasting beyond their strength and other severe feats, and then weaken from immoderation and unevenness, and seek sweet foods and rest to strengthen the body. To do this is the same as creating, and then destroying again, since the body, through poverty from fasting, is forced to desire sweets and seeks consolation, and sweets kindle passions.

If anyone sets a certain limit for himself, how much meager food to take per day, he receives great benefit. However, regarding the amount of food, it must be established how much is needed to strengthen strength<...>such a one can accomplish every spiritual work. If someone fasts more than that, then at another time he indulges in peace. Moderate feat has no price. For some of the great Fathers took food by measure and had measure in everything - in exploits, in bodily needs and in cell supplies, and they used everything in due time and every thing according to a certain moderate rule. Therefore, the Holy Fathers do not command to begin to fast beyond one’s strength and to weaken oneself. Make it a rule to eat every day - this way you can abstain more firmly; If someone fasts more, how can he then resist satiety and gluttony? No way. Such an immoderate undertaking arises either from vanity or from recklessness; whereas abstinence is one of the virtues that contributes to the curbing of the flesh; Hunger and thirst are given to man to cleanse the body, to preserve him from evil thoughts and lust; Eating sparingly every day is a means to perfection, as some say; and the one who eats every day at a certain hour will not humiliate himself morally and will not suffer spiritual harm; Saint Theodore of Studite praises these in his teaching on the heels of the first week of Great Lent, where he cites in confirmation the words of the holy God-bearing Fathers and the Lord Himself. This is what we should do. The Lord endured a long fast; equally Moses and Elijah, but one day. And some others, sometimes, asking something from the Creator, imposed on themselves some burden of fasting, but in accordance with natural laws and the teaching of Divine Scripture. From the activities of the saints, from the life of our Savior and from the rules of life for those living decently, it is clear that it is wonderful and useful to always be ready and to be in ascetic endeavor, labor and patience; however, do not weaken yourself by excessive fasting and do not render your body inactive. If the flesh is inflamed in youth, then much must be abstained; if she is weak, then you need to eat enough to be full, regardless of other ascetics - whether many or few people fast; look and reason according to your weakness, as much as you can accommodate: for each there is a measure and an inner teacher - his own conscience.

It is impossible for everyone to have one rule and one feat, because some are strong, others are weak; some are like iron, others are like copper, others are like wax. So, having well known your measure, take food once every day, except Saturdays, weeks and sovereign holidays. Moderate and reasonable fasting is the foundation and head of all virtues. Just as you fight a lion and a fierce serpent, so you must fight the enemy in bodily weakness and spiritual poverty. If anyone wants to have a strong mind from evil thoughts, let him refine his flesh by fasting. It is impossible to serve as a priest without fasting; Just as breathing is necessary, so is fasting. Fasting, entering the soul, kills the sin lying in its depths.

The holy fathers spoke a lot about fasting, for this feat was familiar to each of them. Today we have a great opportunity, after reading quotes from the holy fathers about fasting, to be encouraged and also try to give up something to which we have become attached.

Let us not forget what St. Anthony the Great said: “There is no virtue higher than reasoning.” This means that when starting a fast, you should take into account your state of health, age and many other factors. If a lay person has any serious illnesses, then it is worth consulting with the priest personally in order to find the measure of fasting that will be within his power and will not harm the body.

The essence of fasting is to learn to control your nature, learn to curb your desires, be able to subjugate your gut, and not be led by it...

Holy Fathers about fasting:

St. Augustine on fasting:

The more days of fasting, the better the treatment; The longer the period of abstinence, the more abundant the acquisition of salvation.

Venerable John Kolov about fasting:

When the king is about to take an enemy city, he first of all stops the supply of food supplies to it. Then the citizens, oppressed by hunger, submit to the king. The same thing happens with carnal lusts: if a person spends his life in fasting and hunger, then disorderly desires will become exhausted.

Saint John Chrysostom on fasting:

Are you fasting? Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from flattery and deceit. Are you fasting? Avoid slander, slander, lies, enmity, blasphemy and all excess. Are you fasting? Flee greed, robbery, quarrels and soul-destroying envy. If you fast for God, avoid every deed that God hates, and He will accept your repentance, as the Merciful and the Lover of Mankind.

In addition to abstaining from food, there are many ways that can open the doors of boldness before God. He who eats food and cannot fast, let him give abundant alms, let him say fervent prayers, let him show intense zeal for listening to the word of God - here bodily weakness does not hinder us in the least - let him make peace with his enemies, let him expel from his soul all memory of malice . If he does this, he will commit a true fast, the kind that the Lord requires of us. After all, He commands abstinence from food itself so that we, by curbing the lusts of the flesh, make it obedient in fulfilling the commandments.

Are you fasting? Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, visit the sick, do not forget the prisoners. Comfort the mourning and crying; be merciful, meek, kind, quiet, long-suffering, unforgiving, reverent, true, pious, so that God will accept your fast and bestow the fruits of repentance in abundance.

Fasting is an ancient gift; fasting is the treasure of fathers. He is contemporary with humanity. Fasting is legal in heaven. Adam accepted this first commandment: “ from the tree, which you understand good and evil, you will not tear down"(Gen. 2:17). And this: you won't demolish it- is the legalization of fasting and abstinence.”

If Eve had fasted and not eaten of the tree, we would now have no need for fasting. The benefits of fasting should not be limited to abstinence in food, because true fasting is elimination of evil deeds... Forgive your neighbor's insult, forgive him his debts. You do not eat meat, but you offend your brother... True fasting is the removal of evil, abstinence of the tongue, suppression of anger, excommunication of lusts, slander, lies and perjury.

Beware of measuring fasting by simply abstaining from food. Those who abstain from food and behave inappropriately are like the devil, who, although he does not eat anything, does not stop sinning.

Venerable John Cassian the Roman on fasting:

Strict fasts become in vain when they are followed by excessive consumption of food, which soon reaches the vice of gluttony.

Those who do not change the strict rules of abstinence even when it is necessary to reinforce weakened strength by eating food should be considered a suicide.

Saint Theophan the Recluse on fasting:

Fasting is not to eat your fill, but to leave yourself a little hungry, so that neither your thoughts nor your heart are burdened.

Look around and consider: what are all the people doing, why are they fussing so much, who are they working for? Every single one of them is working on the stomach and all the trouble is about satisfying its demands: give me something to eat, give me something to drink. What great good is promised in the future by the mere promise of the abolition of this tyrant of ours! Now stand at this point and decide: where will the tireless thirst for activity that belongs to this century be directed in another century, when there will be no need to worry about the stomach or even about everyday things? We need to solve this now in order to prepare for what awaits us in the endless future.

Holy Abbess Arsenia (Srebriakova) about fasting:

Many scientists of our century say that fasting and all church orders are an empty ritual, an appearance that leads to nothing. And the more I live, the more convinced I am that all the laws established by the holy fathers at the inspiration of the Holy Spirit are the greatest good given to us by the Lord, that they are all extraordinarily saving due to the grace present in them. Scientists say: “All this is nonsense, only the truths of the Gospel are important.” – I will say that it is impossible to directly comprehend, to stand on the truths of the Gospel, bypassing and neglecting the statutes of the Church. They, only they, lead us to the highest truths of the teachings of Christ.

Now we are talking about fasting, that is, abstaining from overeating and excesses, in general, in order to make our body lighter and thinner, more capable of spiritual sensations. And the Lord Jesus Christ sanctified this institution of the Church with a forty-day fast, and fasting became saving for us, although due to our weakness we do not spend it at all as we should. But we must believe that our nature, through the forty-day fast of the Lord Jesus Christ, has been purified and made capable of spiritual sensations. We must believe that fasting saves us not for our deeds, but by the grace inherent in it as a church institution. One church bell gives us salvation, reminding us with its funeral tone of the mortality of everything earthly. Abstaining from food teaches us to abstain from passionate thoughts and feelings.

Abstinence is the first step in all virtues... The Lord Jesus Christ says: Love your enemies that is, those who slander you and reproach you. - How to do this? He curses you to your face, can’t you suddenly love him now? First of all, refrain from answering you with abuse too. Next, refrain from having any bad thoughts about this person, and so on. This means that the first step to love is abstinence. It also leads to God’s help. And God’s help will then become necessary for you when you begin to abstain from anything. Here you will see that your own strength is too little, that you need God’s help and you will begin to ask for it with all your being. This is how true prayer is acquired. Then, during Lent, our usual fasting, confession of sins and communion of the Holy Mysteries, in addition to those gifts of grace that are given to us during the fulfillment of all this, remind and move us towards that greatest repentance to which we must come through life. They are reminded of the confession that a person must bring directly to the Lord, in the deepest knowledge of his fall and the greatest sinfulness of his nature, which must be followed by eternal union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Here are the blessings. Which come from fasting. Let's not be afraid of it and that we will spend it wrong, but let's rejoice that it is so saving!

Venerable Abba Dorotheos on fasting:

But we must not only observe moderation in food, but also refrain from any other sin, so that just as we fast with our belly, we also fast with our tongue. We must also fast with our eyes, that is, not look at vain things, not give freedom to our eyes, not look at anyone shamelessly and without fear. Likewise, the hands and feet must be kept from every evil deed. By fasting in this way, as St. Basil the Great, through auspicious fasting, moving away from every sin committed by all our senses, we will reach the holy day of the Resurrection, becoming, as we said, new, pure and worthy of communion of the Holy Mysteries.

Saint Tikhon, Patriarch of Moscow about fasting:

The Apostle Paul said: if one of the unbelievers calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you without any examination, for peace of conscience (1 Cor. 10:27) - for the sake of the person who welcomed you cordially.

Unreasonable people are jealous of the fasting and labors of saints with the wrong understanding and intention and think that they are passing through virtue. The devil, guarding them as his prey, plunges into them the seed of a joyful opinion about himself, from which the inner Pharisee is born and nurtured and betrays them to complete pride.

Venerable Isaac the Syrian on fasting:

The spirit does not submit to the cross unless the body first submits to it.

Venerable John Climacus on fasting:

It is better to eat and thank the Lord than not to eat and condemn those who eat and thank the Lord.

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