Eaten during Lent before Easter. Let's prepare peanut halva for tea. Proper nutrition during fasting

Most people either stop fasting halfway or misinterpret its meaning. All this forces those who want to fast to find as much information as possible about it. The purpose of religious fasting is spiritual purification and abstinence from worldly pleasures. For 40 days, a person disciplines his mind and body in order to grow spiritually and free himself from earthly habits. Nutrition during fasting is the first necessity. It may seem quite strict, especially for beginners. If you don't understand how to comply Lent, this material will tell you how to adhere to it correctly.

Fasting and physical exhaustion are not the purpose of fasting. If you correctly plan your nutrition schedule by day and week, you will be very surprised how varied and healthy lean foods can be.

List of permitted products

Fruits:


Grape


Pomegranate


Apples


Cranberry


Citrus fruits (lemons, oranges, tangerines, grapefruits)

All these fruits are eaten raw during Lent, and desserts, various snacks, fresh salads and other dishes are also prepared with them.

• Dried fruits:
• Pineapples
• Bananas
• Cherry
• Pears
• Dried apricots
• Dates
• Prunes
• Apples

Dried fruits can not only be eaten during Lent, but they are necessary. During a limited diet, they will enrich the diet with valuable vitamins and strengthen the immune system. They can be combined with other Lenten dishes, and can be used to make compotes and jelly.

Vegetables:


Carrot


Potato


Beet


Celery


Bell pepper


Cabbage (white cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts)


• Sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers are also welcome on the Lenten table.
  

  Greenery
  

  Parsley
  

  Basil
  

• Leaf salad
  

  Spinach
  

• Sorrel
  

Champignons, oyster mushrooms and other types of mushrooms are rich in protein, which is sorely lacking during the fasting period. Mushrooms will become a great alternative meat. You can use them to make delicious and healthy casseroles with vegetables, soups, pies, roasts and snacks. They are also convenient to combine with cereals and pancakes. Don't neglect mushrooms in your diet.

• Legumes

Popular legumes: beans and peas will also become irreplaceable sources of protein during Lent. They are ideal for those losing weight, athletes and anyone who does heavy lifting. physical labor. From legumes They prepare excellent mashed potatoes and dishes with vegetables. The menu of these products will be satisfying, healthy and at the same time simple. Sports nutrition During fasting, it must be accompanied by vegetable protein.

• Cereals

Porridges such as rice, buckwheat, oatmeal and other cereals should become the basis of a lean diet. With the exception of days where complete abstinence from food is recommended, porridge can be eaten every day during Lent. They should be cooked only in water, without oil. Optional, different kinds cereals can be combined with each other and added vegetables, mushrooms, nuts and dried fruits. This diversifies the dietary menu.

• Fish

You can eat fish only according to strict rules. During religious fasting, it is consumed on the day of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday.

Beverages:


Compote


• Kissel
  

Animal milk is prohibited during fasting. However, almond, coke and soy milk will be an excellent replacement.

The spring season is not rich in fresh vegetables, fruits and berries. You have to buy them in stores, or stock up on them in advance for fasting. Some preparations will be an excellent addition to the main menu:

Beans (can be in tomato)


Green pea


Corn


Lentils

Frozen vegetables, but especially berries and fruits, will come in handy in fast days. You can make wonderful tea treats from them.

Sweets:


Marmalade


Lenten marshmallows


Oat cookies


• Kazinaki
  

  Dark chocolate (bitter only)
  

• Lollipops
  

  Turkish Delight

In addition to these products, you can include the following in your post:

Nuts and seeds;


Pasta (without eggs);


Lenten sauces and dressings (soy, mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, etc.);


Lenten bread (Borodinsky, grain, capital);


Unleavened bread and pita bread;


Flour (rice, corn, oatmeal, buckwheat and coarse wheat);


Seaweed.

During Lent, seafood (squid, shrimp) remains controversial. Some people believe that you should not eat such food during Lent. However, less conservative followers of fasting do not agree with this opinion and believe that seafood is acceptable on non-strict days.

What not to eat during Lent

Meat (sausages, frankfurters, balyki, lard, etc.);


Fish (except on non-strict days);


Milk, cheese and any dairy products;


• Alcohol (except on non-strict days);
  

  Sweets and baked goods containing butter, eggs and milk;
  

  Pork fat and meat broths;
  

  Fast food.

In addition, it is necessary to exclude spices, too spicy, salty, sour and heavy foods that stimulate an unhealthy appetite. These are all the things you can’t eat during Lent.

Lent is considered the longest and most demanding season of the year. The first and last weeks before Easter are considered the toughest. Some lay people follow strict rules for eating.

It is advisable to spend Clean Monday (the first day of fasting) and Great Friday (the penultimate day) without food.

On other days, the consumption of permitted products follows the schedule:

Contraindications to fasting

The Orthodox Church does not force all Christians to observe strict fast. Before you comply dietary ration, it is important to consult your doctor. Pregnant and breastfeeding women can eat some prohibited foods during fasting.

The main contraindications to fasting are:

Small and sick children;


Elderly people burdened with physical ailments;


People who have undergone surgery;


People suffering from serious illnesses.

fast ,

What to eat during Lent before Easter? Traditionally, the Holy Week meal plan is very strict. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday- raw food diet. This means that you can only eat raw food plant origin. Fruits and vegetables are allowed - fresh, pickled, pickled, pickled, as well as mushrooms, bread, honey, nuts and cold drinks. It is believed that on Monday you can only eat in the evening, after the day's work. On Tuesday and Wednesday, you can eat food throughout the day in small portions.

IN Maundy Thursday The church allows you to eat hot food and put vegetable oil in it. You can eat salads, cereals, first courses, bake or fry something floury.

IN Good Friday Believers mourn for the crucified Christ and completely refuse food. Only after the evening service can children, the sick and the elderly take a little food to maintain strength.

On Holy Saturday They bless painted eggs, baked Easter cakes, and cooked Easter. In the evening, believers can eat some bread, dried fruits, honey, and raw vegetables.

Thus, hot food during Holy Week is allowed only on Thursday. Besides honey, you can only eat herbal products. Oil, even vegetable oil, is strictly limited. You can give it up only on Holy Saturday, and add it to your dishes during the week.

It is important to understand that the canons of fasting were primarily created for monasteries . Monks spend this period in meditation and prayer, so fainting from hunger is rare. But strict restrictions in secular life are hardly justified, because laypeople have to work, raise children, and do housework.

Explaining the meaning to unchurched people, priests constantly emphasize that it is possible and necessary to eat during Lent before Easter. You cannot strictly limit the diet of children, adolescents, pregnant women, and the elderly. Another question is that, following the very spirit, the meaning of Lent, you need to prepare food for your household from permitted products, without making a cult out of food.

What not to do during Lent before Easter

While fasting, you need to forget about animal products. This is primarily meat and fish, offal and seafood, butter and eggs, cheese and dairy products. An exception is made only for honey: this sweetness is allowed by church canons.

It is important to understand that during the fast before Easter you cannot eat not only the named products, but also dishes in which they are included as separate components. For example, when buying bread in a store, be sure to read the label. If the ingredients list egg, powdered milk, butter, such bread is no longer lean.

The ban includes sweets containing animal oil and milk, mayonnaise chicken eggs, chocolate and even gelatin marmalade. The fact is that gelatin is produced from bone tissue animals, which means it refers to food of animal origin. This means that you cannot eat store-bought jellies and other gelatin-based desserts during the fast before Easter. But if you, for example, prepare jelly using vegetable agar-agar, then it will fit perfectly into the “lenten” conditions.

Barley pilaf with mushrooms

This is a delicious Thursday meal that can feed the whole family. Properly cooked pearl barley has nothing in common with Soviet porridge from regional catering. And don't use it healing properties pearl barley is unwise. Be sure to try this Lenten dish. It turns out very tasty!

Ingredients:

Two glasses of pure pearl barley;

Two large carrots;

Two large onions;

Half a kilo of fresh champignons;

Three tablespoons of vegetable oil;

Cooking method:

Rinse the pearl barley thoroughly to remove starch and make the pilaf crumbly.

Place the pearl barley in a cast iron or thick-walled pan.

Boil water and steam the cereal with boiling water so that there is two fingers of water above the pearl barley (2-2.5 cm). Leave the pan until the water cools completely, maybe longer.

Cut the carrots into thin strips or simply grate them coarsely.

Chop the onions into cubes.

Prepare carrot and onion fry in oil.

Fry finely chopped mushrooms in oil in a separate frying pan.

Strain the cereal with a slotted spoon and drain off the remaining water. The steamed pearl barley should be almost ready. If it seems to you that the cereal is completely raw, pour a new portion of boiling water over it and boil for about twenty minutes.

Place the roast and mushrooms into the pan and stir.

Pour in half a glass of boiling water.

Add pearl barley and stir everything thoroughly.

Simmer covered over low heat until done. This usually takes no more than 40 minutes.

Lenten pie “Monastic”

Baking is allowed during Lent, so try making this version of homemade Lenten pie. Considering that only plant foods are eaten during Lent before Easter, the recipe does not violate any requirements. You can prepare the pie in literally half an hour. To add flavor, you can use flavored tea bags. Fragrant cinnamon Can be replaced with vanilla, ginger, cardamom.

Ingredients:

A glass of strong black tea;

Two glasses of white flour;

Three tablespoons thick jam, preferably sour;

Two tablespoons of vegetable oil;

A packet of baking powder (10 grams);

A glass of sugar;

A teaspoon of cinnamon powder;

Half a cup of powdered sugar for decoration.

Cooking method:

Brew a glass of strong tea.

Pour hot tea over the jam and wait until it dissolves and the liquid cools.

Add baking powder to the flour, mix and sift.

Add a glass of sugar and cinnamon to the flour mixture and stir.

Make a hole in the center of the flour mound, pour in tea with jam and vegetable oil.

Knead a simple soft dough.

Line the pan with baking paper, pour out the dough and place in the oven preheated to 190°C.

The pie bakes for about twenty minutes.

Leave the cake to cool in the pan.

When it becomes warm, remove the paper and transfer the pie to a board.

Decorate with powdered ground sugar.

You need to cut this cake after it has cooled completely.

Vinaigrette with beans and salted mushrooms

From vegetable dishes The easiest way is to prepare a light vinaigrette. Easy, tasty and very healthy dish- an ideal Lenten dinner option.

Ingredients:

Three potatoes;

Large beets;

Half a glass of beans;

Three salted milk mushrooms;

Two pickled cucumbers;

A glass of sauerkraut;

Small onion;

Three tablespoons of aromatic vegetable oil.

Cooking method:

Soak the dry beans for three to four hours, then boil in a new portion of water until tender.

Finely chop the boiled and cooled potatoes.

Cook the beets in a double boiler or bake in foil. Cool, cut into cubes and pour vegetable oil in a separate bowl. The oil will “seal” beet juice and will prevent the beets from coloring the vinaigrette.

Finely chop the milk mushrooms, onions and cucumbers.

Combine all vinaigrette ingredients, add salt to taste, mix and serve.

Lenten borscht with mushrooms

A delicious first course, Lenten borscht will be an excellent alternative meat dish. Mushrooms nutritional value almost as good as meat. The borscht turns out to be nutritious and very tasty.

Ingredients:

Two hundred grams fresh mushrooms or thirty grams dried;

Two medium-sized beets;

Four potatoes;

Large onion;

A tablespoon of tomato paste;

A teaspoon of flour;

A tablespoon of vegetable oil;

A teaspoon of vinegar;

A bunch of fresh herbs;

Three cloves of garlic;

Ten black peppercorns.

Cooking method:

Chop the onion and mushrooms into neat cubes.

Fry onions and mushrooms in vegetable oil, adding tomato paste.

Boil the beets, peel and cut into strips.

To boil water.

Cut the potatoes into cubes.

Place the potatoes in boiling water and boil until half cooked for 4-5 minutes.

Throw in the fried mushrooms and beets.

Dilute the flour in a few tablespoons of water and pour into the borscht.

Add salt and simmer for five minutes at a low simmer.

Chop the greens.

Pour a teaspoon of vinegar into the borscht, throw in crushed pepper, chopped herbs, and garlic.

Keep covered for ten minutes and serve.

Rice cutlets with mushroom sauce

Replace meat cutlets You can have a lean dish made from mushrooms, vegetables or cereals. The rice version with mushroom gravy is tasty and original.

Ingredients:

A glass of rice;

Three hundred grams of mushrooms;

One hundred grams of raisins;

One hundred grams of walnuts;

A little vegetable oil;

Medium bulb;

One hundred grams of flour;

One hundred grams of breadcrumbs;

Cooking method:

Chop the mushrooms, add water, add salt and cook until tender (about twenty minutes).

Cook a viscous porridge from rice in water, adding two glasses of water.

Add a little oil to the boiled rice for better viscosity and stir.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs onto a cutting board.

Roll the mixture into round cutlets, coating them in breading.

Heat oil in a frying pan, fry the cutlets on both sides until golden brown.

Finely chop the onion and fry with flour.

Pour in the mushroom broth along with the mushrooms.

Add chopped nuts and raisins to the sauce, pour in lemon juice (2-3 tablespoons).

Stir vigorously and turn off the sauce.

Place the cutlets on a serving plate and serve with sauce.

Lenten pie “Coffee” without butter

Another pie option for those who do not want to violate the strictest regulations of Holy Week and do not know what to eat during Lent before Easter with tea or coffee. The recipe doesn’t even use vegetable oil, but the pie still turns out delicious.

Ingredients:

A glass of strong black coffee (250 ml);

One and a half cups of flour (about 300 grams);

A packet of baking powder or a teaspoon of baking soda;

Two tablespoons of honey;

A glass of sugar;

Half a glass of walnuts;

Half a glass of raisins;

A little salt.

Cooking method:

Brew coffee beans (instant powder will also work), be sure to strain the coffee beans.

In a bowl, mix hot coffee, sugar, honey, salt, mix everything.

Mix chopped nuts and raisins, add a tablespoon of flour and stir. The flour layer will prevent the nuts and dried fruits from getting soggy during baking.

Add baking powder or baking soda, sifted flour, nuts and dried fruits to the coffee. Mix everything.

If there is not enough flour, add more. The dough should not be thick.

Grease a baking dish with a drop of vegetable oil or a piece of margarine, sprinkle with flour.

Pour the dough into the mold and bake in an oven preheated to 180-190°C.

Fasting is primarily abstinence from pleasure. This is why food during Holy Week should not be tasty. The main thing is that it is varied and nutritious.

Don’t look at what believers eat during Lent before Easter! It's amazing how many are truly delicious dishes You can add it to your favorite culinary recipes.

Many ignorant people, talking about the Easter Fast and the rules for observing it during the period from March 11 to April 27, 2019, believe that giving up meat and dairy products is the only thing they need to do.

However, this is not complete information at all, and in order to fast correctly, it is necessary to take into account much more instructions. This article describes in detail what you can eat during Lent before Easter, and how not to make a mistake when creating a Lenten menu for yourself.

What can you eat during Easter Lent?

Of course, the ban on meat, milk and eggs is one of the first rules that should be followed. It is necessary to carefully study the labels of the products you purchase to ensure that they do not contain any of the above.

In addition, despite the fact that fish is not on the list of prohibited foods, during Easter Lent you should consume fish dishes possible only twice - on the day of the Annunciation (April 7), as well as on Palm Sunday (April 21 in 2019). But when the Annunciation falls on one of the days of Holy Week, fish and vegetable oil cannot be eaten on the day of this holiday.

In addition to the fact that you should absolutely not eat during Lent before Easter, you should also mention vegetable oil. Use of this product Possible only on weekends – Saturday and Sunday. The rest of the time, food should be prepared without using it.

Also, according to the church charter, Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the Easter Lent are recognized as days of dry eating. You can only eat food that has not been subjected to heat treatment.

As a rule, at this time, fasting people eat various salads, which include vegetables, as well as nuts, beans, and seeds. You can also treat yourself to sweet dried fruits, or fresh fruit, with the addition of honey.

On Tuesday and Thursday, cooking food over fire is allowed, but without adding vegetable oil. Excellent dishes these days will be cereals that can be stewed with mushrooms, as well as baked vegetables.

It is impossible not to mention what you can eat during Easter Lent, and on any day, except those when you should be fasting. Such a product is bread. Baked from whole grain, bread is allowed to be eaten daily during fasting, regardless of other rules.

Thanks to this, it is much easier for believers to cope with strict Easter Lent, which ends with everyone’s favorite bright holiday - Easter, which in 2019 falls on April 28.

Fasting before Easter for the Russian people is a time of cleansing not only of their body, but also of their spirit. But not all Russian people attend church and understand the deep essence of Lent before Easter.

What is the significance of abstaining from certain foods for the purification of our spirit itself? Under in a simple word“fasting” refers to the transition from more nutritious food to less nutritious, one might even say light.

So thanks to this “lightness” we make ourselves more mobile and capable of spiritual life. Food has a colossal effect on our body, but this can only be verified by our own experience.

Lent usually lasts 40 days. These 40 days symbolize Jesus' wanderings in the hot desert.

General rules for fasting before Easter

Prayer and visiting the temple. Prayer is an inseparable part of Lent, so you should pray morning and evening to cleanse your spirit.

You should visit church during Lent on Sundays for better enlightenment

Refusal of temptations, including entertainment and confession. You need to confess at least once during the entire fast; this also helps to cleanse the spirit.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday you need to eat only raw foods, that is, bread, vegetables, fruits, water. Tuesday and Thursday, as well as on weekends, abstinence is not so strict: you can eat twice a day and you can also drink church wine. These days the food is served hot.

Please note: Fasting is always a big stress for the body, so before you start fasting, you need to carefully prepare the body for a new diet. It is better not to fast for pregnant women, children and the sick.

Such abstinence from animal products is observed as a sign of memory of the feat that Jesus performed. For 40 days he wandered through the desert, refusing the temptation of bread, and remained faithful to the Father. That is why Christians adhere to especially strict rules during this period of time.

Fasting should be observed with particular strictness; at this time the rules are the same for everyone. On Good Friday and Holy Saturday you should not eat anything, and on common days you should eat once a day.

It would seem that there are not so many permitted products. You can eat fruits and vegetables, both stewed, boiled and baked, but in no case fried. Do not overuse salt, sugar and spices.

On your table you may find vegetables such as: carrots, cucumbers, beets, potatoes, corn. Fruits can include bananas, apples, citrus fruits, it is also worth remembering pomegranate, it can also be eaten on fasting days. The more varied your food is, the better it will be for you. You should also include porridge in your diet, but be sure to cook it in water.

At this time, you should definitely give up meat - this is the main component. For meat eaters there is excellent replacement real meat is soy meat; your body will not suffer at all from vegetable protein, and perhaps even feel better.

The eternal worrying question for beginners who are planning to fast is “can I eat bread?” Answer to this question absolutely ambiguous. On the one hand, bread is a flour product to which animal products such as eggs are added, but on the other hand you can only eat certain types of bread.

Under strict ban There is white bread, as it contains butter and eggs, and these products are strictly prohibited in preparation for Easter. But you can eat black bread - it is an excellent alternative to any type of baked goods.

For lovers flour products should gradually give up this type of product, especially if they have decided to observe strict abstinence.

The main feature of fasting is the refusal meat products, as well as from eggs, white bread, sweets and dairy products.

Here is a list of foods that are advisable to eat during fasting.

• Mushrooms. They can be consumed in absolutely any form, most importantly, not fried.
• Corn. Be it oatmeal, buckwheat, barley - any cereal can be consumed.
• Pickles.
• Any greens.
• Vegetable fats.
• Soy products.
• Bran bread or black bread.
• Instead of sweets - fruits, even citrus fruits, dried fruits, jams and honey.
• Olives are both black and green.

To understand how to correctly replace and add these products to your new diet, we will give an example of a Lenten menu.

Breakfast: oatmeal, prepared only with water. You can add jam, honey, and dried fruits to the porridge. Green tea would be preferable as a drink.

Dinner: pureed broccoli soup and fresh salad from cucumbers, tomatoes, cabbage and grated carrots.

Afternoon snack: fruits and apple compote.

Dinner: vegetable stew. For drinks, it is preferable to drink tea with jam, and for dessert, cranberries, which you can mix with honey to taste.

According to the Monastic Charter, on which the traditions of Russian fasting are based Orthodox Church During Lent, as already said earlier, you cannot eat products of animal origin, namely meat, eggs, butter, fish.

You should also not use alcoholic drinks, only 50 mg of wine is allowed on certain days. In addition, during this period you cannot get married, because during these days it is advisable to distance yourself from intimacy altogether and devote time to prayers.

You can’t go to bars, discos and clubs, in other words, stay away from free time from entertainment, and devote this time to fighting your sins. You should also abstain from smoking, because the church also equates drinking alcohol and nicotine addiction with sin.

Help get rid of nicotine addiction maybe daily prayer, and if a smoker cannot quit smoking at all, then the church advises to abstain from tobacco at least 2 times a week - this is Wednesday and Friday. However, it is allowed to cut your hair during Lent; it is believed that this is not forbidden in any way. But earlier it was customary for priests to cut their hair before fasting.

IN last week it is advisable to get a haircut during fasting Maundy Thursday, because it is on this day that it is customary for Orthodox Christians to finish cleaning, wash and get a haircut. Cutting the ends of girls on Maundy Thursday promises the growth of stronger and stronger women. healthy hair, and they also say that this leads to the improvement of the entire body as a whole.

Take into account: You should also not cut your hair on Good Friday, as this is considered the most mournful and strict day; on this day people even refuse food. You are also not allowed to clean or bathe.

Every truly religious person should adhere to certain rules to remain a righteous person.

On February 19, Lent begins, a special period for Christians on the eve of the Holy Day Christ's Resurrection. It ends this year on April 7, the Feast of the Annunciation.

IN Christian Church fasting makes sense as a limitation in bodily pleasures and mental entertainment. The essence of Great Lent is not in abstinence itself, but in the fact that this is done for the sake of obedience and fidelity to the covenants of the Savior.

Lent consists of Holy Lent and Holy Week. It was installed in memory of the 40-day fast of Jesus Christ, who retired to the desert for this purpose after baptism. Each week of Lent has its own name:

• 1 week of the Triumph of Orthodoxy,
• 2nd – St. Gregory Palamas,
• 3rd – Week of Cross Worship,
• 4th – week of St. John Climacus,
• 5th – Venerable Mary of Egypt,
• 6th – flowering week. It ends with the day of the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem, where He went to suffer and death on the cross. This day is also called Palm Sunday.

Holy Pentecost ends and Holy Week begins, which is dedicated to remembrance last days earthly life of Jesus Christ, His suffering on the Cross, death and burial.

Everyone already knows that during Lent they do not eat meat and dairy products, eggs, and fish.

The Great Lent calendar, which we post on our page above, is given taking into account the long-standing tradition accepted in monasteries, according to the Church Charter. It is better to determine the extent of personal fasting in consultation with a priest. However, remember that fasting is not only a restriction in food, quantity and quality, it is just a means to pacify the flesh.

If you approach your diet wisely during Lent, then, firstly, you will not have to go hungry, and secondly, even during the period of strict fasting, nutrition can be quite varied and balanced.

So, the main products allowed during fasting:

• Black bread, cereal crispbread.
• Cereals (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, corn, wheat, barley)
• Salted and pickled vegetables, berry and fruit jam.
• Mushrooms of various preparations.
• Legumes (beans, lentils, peas)
• Dried fruits, nuts, honey.
• Seasonal vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, radishes, etc.)
• Fruits in season (apples, bananas, grant, oranges, etc.)
• Fish is allowed to be consumed twice during the entire fast. On the feast of the Annunciation (in 2016 it falls on April 7) and Palm Sunday(April 24, 2016)

The first week of fasting (the most strict). It is important to enter the fast correctly on the eve of the start. It is also important to know the personal contraindications, who should not fast.

Above we described one week, how, according to all the rules and canons, fasting should be observed; this is more acceptable for monks, or for people who strictly observe all the regulations of the church. If you decide to fast for the first time, then you should not take it upon yourself excessive loads! It is quite possible, for example, to eat oil.

Here sample menu, which you can take as a basis by adding or replacing certain dishes:

In the subsequent fifth and sixth weeks of fasting, you can repeat your menu as in the second and third weeks.

The sixth Sunday of Great Lent falls on the celebration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, or it is also called Palm Sunday. On this day you can eat fish, food with butter, and consume a little Cahors.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - dry eating. Thursday you can eat warm food, but cooked without oil, and only once a day. On Friday only bread and water. Eating is prohibited on Saturday.

And finally, Sunday, the end of the strictest fast falls on the celebration of Easter.

It is important to watch this video for your safety!

It is worth noting that if you decide to fast for the first time, it is recommended to talk with a priest and decide for yourself the severity of fasting, because you need to understand the very important truth that main goal Observance of fasting is not a restriction in food, but humility and repentance, prayer!

Since the time of the apostles, Christians have spent the week before Easter in prayer, abstinence, and deeds of mercy and virtue. This is the time for repentance. In Greek, “repentance” means “change of mind.” That is, Christians are given time to change their lifestyle, thoughts, and actions. Overcome your own “I”, take it out of Lent into your daily life all the best.

A next post will bring something of its own, new and important. It is not for nothing that the holy elders believed that fasts are stairs that lead to the Kingdom of Heaven. Good deeds are one of the steps of such a ladder. The Bible has these words about good works: “A good deed is prayer with fasting and almsgiving and justice.”