Lent Wednesday and Friday what you can eat. What is a fast day? What you can and cannot eat

Man is a spiritual-physical being of dual nature. The Holy Fathers said that the body fits the soul like a glove fits a hand. Therefore, any post is [...]

Man is a spiritual-physical being of dual nature. The Holy Fathers said that the body fits the soul like a glove fits a hand.

Therefore, any fast - one-day or many days - is a set of means to bring a person closer both spiritually and physically to God - in the fullness of human nature.

Figuratively speaking, a person can be compared to a rider on a horse. The soul is the rider, and the body is the horse. Let's say a horse is being trained for a race at a hippodrome. She is given certain food, training, etc. Because the ultimate goal of the jockey and his horse is to reach the finish line first. Much the same can be said about the soul and body. The ascetic experience of the Orthodox Church, with God's help, created a universal toolkit of spiritual, physical and nutritional means so that the rider-soul and horse-body could reach the finish line - the Kingdom of Heaven.

On the one hand, we should not neglect food fasting. Let us remember why the holy forefathers Adam and Eve committed the Fall... Let us give a rather crude and primitive, far from complete interpretation: because they violated the food fast of abstinence - God's commandment not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This, it seems to me, is a lesson for all of us.

On the other hand, food fasting should not be perceived as an end in itself. This is just a means to thin our gross material flesh through certain abstinence in food, in drinking alcohol, in marital relations so that the body becomes light, purified and serves as a faithful companion to the soul for acquiring the main spiritual virtues: prayer, repentance, patience, humility, mercy, participation in the Sacraments of the Church, love for God and neighbor, etc. That is, food fasting is the first step in ascent to the Lord. Without a qualitative spiritual change-transformation of his soul, he turns into a diet that is sterile for the human spirit.

Once upon a time, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine said a wonderful phrase that encapsulated the essence of any fast: “The main thing during Lent is not to eat each other”. That is, this statement can be interpreted as follows: “If you, abstaining from certain actions and food, do not cultivate virtues in yourself with God’s help, and the main one is love, then your fast is fruitless and useless.”

Regarding the question in the title of the article. In my opinion, starting the day in the evening refers to the liturgical day, that is, the daily cycle of services: hours, vespers, matins, Liturgy, which, in essence, are one service, divided into parts for the convenience of believers. By the way, in the days of the first Christians they were one service. But the food fast must correspond to the calendar day - that is, from morning to morning (the liturgical day is from evening to evening).

First, liturgical practice confirms this. We don’t start eating meat, milk, cheese and eggs on the evening of Holy Saturday (if we follow the logic of allowing fasting in the evening). Or on Christmas and Epiphany Eve we do not eat the same foods in the evening, on the eve of the Nativity of Christ and Holy Epiphany (Epiphany). No. Because fasting is permitted the day after the completion of the Divine Liturgy.

If we consider the norm of the Typikon on Wednesday and the heel, then, referring to the 69th Rule of the Holy Apostles, fasting on Wednesday and Friday was equated to the days of Great Lent and allowed eating food in the form of dry food once a day after 15.00. But dry eating, and not a complete permission from fasting.
Of course, in modern realities, the practice of one-day (Wednesday and Friday) fasting has been softened for the laity. If this is not the period of one of the four annual fasts, then you can eat fish and plant foods with oil; if Wednesday and Friday fall during the fasting period, then fish is not eaten on this day.

But the main thing, dear brothers and sisters, is for us to remember that with our souls and hearts we must deepen in the memory of the day on Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday – man’s betrayal of his God the Savior; Friday is the day of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And if, on the advice of the holy fathers, in the midst of the hectic bustle of life, we make a prayer stop on Wednesday and Friday for five, ten minutes, an hour, as long as we can, and think: “Stop, today Christ suffered and died for me,” then This memory, combined with prudent fasting, will have a beneficial and saving effect on the soul of each of us.

Any fast is a kind of complex for the spiritual approach of a person to the divine essence. The ascetic practice of the Orthodox Church created a universal structure of food consumption so that consciousness could more easily reach the Highest Abode.

Fasting on Wednesday and Friday is a means of thinning the coarse bodily shell through abstinence in food and sexual relations. Such a spiritual change allows one to move to higher levels of communication with the Holy Spirit through repentance, mercy and reading prayers.

The meaning of fasting days

Even before the advent of Christianity, people observed two-day food abstinence. The Enlighteners clearly understood that it was impossible to eradicate the habit from the minds of those who had just adopted a new faith. Therefore, the Church agreed to modify the old traditions and introduce them into the Orthodox faith.

This ancient practice is mentioned already in the New Testament and in the early Christian manuscript "Didache".

These fast days of the week in Orthodoxy are timed to coincide with tragic moments in the history of Christianity. Believers who abstain from food and sex pay tribute to the episode when God's Son was betrayed by the disciple Judas, sentenced to martyrdom and crucified on the cross.
The mourning meaning is not unique. Fast days incorporate the principles of year-round protection of the consciousness of a person immersed in the Orthodox faith. This is how a Christian shows God that he has not lost his attentiveness, strictly observes the principles of the Church and is always ready to join the fight against unclean creatures.
The constant practice of fasting strengthens the physical body, increases tone and drives away weak, groundless thoughts from the mind. Such abstinence is often compared to training the body, as a result of which it becomes stronger, stronger and more resilient.

Important! Every fast on Wednesday and Friday will become empty and useless if the Orthodox does not cultivate the basic virtues through abstinence. The main purpose of the practice is the desire to love the Heavenly Father and all his children.

Lenten food

Dry eating practice

An Orthodox believer is obliged to observe the practice of fasting on every third and fifth day of the week, giving up eggs, meat products, fish and milk. Such abstinence, lasting 24 hours, involves dry eating - food (nuts, various fruits) prepared using a cold method.

The degree of severity is determined by the spiritual superior or the person personally. However, when preparing a Lenten diet, it is necessary to take into account the lifestyle and general health of the believer.

The priests do not have a unanimous opinion on this matter. The clergy adheres to one of two positions:

Strict fasting is characterized by the consumption of bread, dried, raw vegetables without the use of vegetable oil. Only berry juices and water are suitable for drinking; wine is strictly prohibited.
A less restrictive option allows you to eat baked foods. Here believers can drink instant teas and coffee.

On a note! In the Didache chronicle there is no explicit indication of whether fast days in Orthodoxy are obligatory or whether they are a personal choice of everyone. In ancient times, the Pharisees and Romans observed dietary abstinence at their own discretion. On a note! On Lenten Wednesday and Friday, fish is allowed for those who, for health reasons, cannot endure strict fasting without eating animal proteins.

The Orthodox Church has established weekly fasting days to improve the physical and spiritual condition of the laity. With the help of the practice of abstinence, a person becomes purer and comes closer to realizing the power of the Creator. Observing fasting in the world is a voluntary matter for everyone, and does not carry mandatory principles.

Watch the video about fasting on Wednesday and Friday

Man is a spiritual-physical being of dual nature. The Holy Fathers said that the body fits the soul like a glove fits a hand.

Therefore, any fast - one-day or many days - is a set of means to bring a person closer both spiritually and physically to God - in the fullness of human nature. Figuratively speaking, a person can be compared to a rider on a horse. The soul is the rider, and the body is the horse. Let's say a horse is being trained for a race at a hippodrome. She is given certain food, training, etc. Because the ultimate goal of the jockey and his horse is to reach the finish line first. Much the same can be said about the soul and body. The ascetic experience of the Orthodox Church, with God's help, created a universal toolkit of spiritual, physical and nutritional means so that the rider-soul and horse-body could reach the finish line - the Kingdom of Heaven.

Once upon a time, His Beatitude Metropolitan Vladimir of Kiev and All Ukraine said a wonderful phrase that encapsulated the essence of any fast: “There is not one smut in a fast.” That is, this statement can be interpreted as follows: “If you, abstaining from certain actions and food, do not cultivate virtues in yourself with God’s help, and the main one is love, then your fast is fruitless and useless.”

Of course, in modern realities, the practice of one-day (Wednesday and Friday) fasting has been softened for the laity. If this is not the period of one of the four annual fasts, then you can eat fish and plant foods with oil; if Wednesday and Friday fall during the fasting period, then fish is not eaten on this day.

Let us also remember the great and comforting words of the Savior regarding the struggle of the human soul and the demons besieging it: “This generation is driven out only by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). Prayer and fasting are our two saving wings, which, with God’s help, snatch a person out of the mud of passions and raise him to God - through love for the Almighty and for his neighbor.

Priest Andrey Chizhenko

Why is Wednesday considered a fast day along with Friday? After all, the events of the crucifixion of the Savior and the betrayal of Judas are incomparable in scale. Our salvation took place on Golgotha, but Judas’s pieces of silver were rather a more private case. Wouldn't another way have been found to arrest Christ if Judas had not betrayed him?

Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:

Betrayal of the Divine Teacher by one of the disciples is a grave sin. Therefore, fasting on Wednesday not only reminds us of this terrible fall, but also exposes us: with our sins we again betray the Savior of the world, Who suffered for us. Wednesday and Friday were fast days already in the primal Church. IN Apostolic Rules it is written (canon 69): “If anyone, a bishop, or a presbyter, or a deacon, or a subdeacon, or a reader, or a singer, does not fast on the Holy Pentecost / forty days / before Easter, or on Wednesday, or on Friday, except for an obstacle from bodily weakness: let him be cast out. If he is a layman, let him be excommunicated.” Saint Peter of Alexandria (accepted holy martyrdom in 311) in Word for Easter says: “Let no one reproach us for observing Wednesday and Friday, on which we are blessedly commanded to fast according to Tradition. On Wednesday, because of the council drawn up by the Jews about the tradition of the Lord, and on Friday because He suffered for us.” Let's pay attention to the words according to legend, i.e. from the beginning of the Church.

Even people who are very far from the Church now know when Lent begins and how long it lasts. They talk about Pentecost on television, cafes and restaurants advertise Lenten menus, and in the evening the ringing of bells calls believers to penitential services. But only those who visit the temple regularly know that there is another equally important fast - Wednesday and Friday throughout the year. Higumen Theognost (Pushkov), candidate of theology, cleric of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, talks about the importance of fasting established in honor of Christ’s suffering on the cross.

Since ancient times, the Orthodox Christian Church has observed fasting on Wednesday and Friday. Evidence of this fast is found in written Christian monuments of ancient times (Didache, early 2nd century; Tertullian, 3rd century). However, we often carry out certain “ritual instructions” without thinking about their meaning, thereby incurring the accusation of “formalism”. This accusation is partly fair, because all Christian actions and rituals, deeds and exploits must be meaningful.

But before we talk about the features of fasting on Wednesday and Friday, it is necessary to briefly clarify the very essence of fasting (as such). Fasting, in the understanding of Christians, can have a threefold meaning: either it is an expression of repentant “mourning”, when a person, realizing his sins, refuses fine food, mourns his spiritual state, praying to God for cleansing.

Penitential mourning

The 3rd century Christian writer Tertullian writes that it is common for a penitent to “immerse his spirit in lamentation, to reflect with bitterness on what he has sinned, to eat only simple bread and water - not for the stomach, but to support life, to do more often, during fasting, prayers, groaning, crying, crying out to the Lord God day and night" ( Tertullian. About repentance). We see that fasting here is an expression of grief and a plea for forgiveness. But here it is important that this grief be “natural” and not feigned. The same Tertullian sarcastically ridicules those who limit themselves only in terms of food, remaining in everything else “as always”: “But is it really right for us to pray for the forgiveness of sins in a pink dress and purple? Will you say: “Give me some pins to decorate your hair and let ...the servant will put on my lips and cheeks something that gives a fake shine, artificial color"? Besides, will you look for pleasant baths, settling in the gardens, or by the sea? Will you multiply the expenses on your toilets? ... And if someone asks you, for to whom you are preparing this, say: “I have sinned against God and I fear to perish forever. Therefore, now I am weakened and lamented and tormented, so that I can be reconciled with God, whom I have offended with sin." Who would recognize in you, dressed in silk, a repentant soul?" writes Tertullian.

Prayer

The second type of fasting is a prayer for something or someone. When a neighbor voluntarily shares a person’s pain, imposing restrictions on himself in order to somehow help or console his neighbor. The Apostle Paul said about this: “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble” (1 Cor. 8:13). Also, from ancient times, Christians imposed fasting on themselves before decisive events in their lives. It was a fast that helped them weed out the excesses of worldly concerns in order to focus in prayer on vital things.

Participation in Christ's suffering on the cross

And the third type of fasting is our participation in the suffering of Christ on the cross. The basis of the Christian faith is the belief that the world and man are redeemed from damnation and hell by the Cross, death and Resurrection of Christ. This is the greatest joy of humanity, but the price of this joy is the greatest pain that God Incarnate endured on the Cross. The price of our salvation is the injustice that God endured at the hands of men. On the days when the Church remembers these terrible and for us saving sufferings of Christ, fasting is prescribed. These days of fasting are called “The Fast of the Passion of Christ.” This is the name of the last six days before Easter and the days of Wednesday and Friday. Divine services these days are focused on the remembrance of the sufferings of the Savior of the world on the cross.

Like any fast, the fast of Christ’s suffering consists not only of abstaining from gourmet food. It is not fitting for a person who mentally experiences everything that happened on Calvary to have fun, talk idle talk, or indulge himself in carnal pleasures. Therefore, along with abstaining from food, the fasting person must abstain from amusements, idleness, and marital intimacy. After all, these are days of mourning.

Why are these two days a week set for fasting - Wednesday and Friday?

Fasting on these days is prescribed for every week of the year, with the exception of Bright Week (immediately after Easter) and the week after Trinity, as well as Christmastide (days from Christmas to the Baptism of Christ), the week of the publican and the Pharisee, and Maslenitsa, when the "godmother" is canceled. "theme in worship.

These two days are especially associated with the suffering of Christ: Wednesday is the day of Judas' betrayal, when he went to the Jewish elders and offered “his services.” Friday is the day of the death of the Savior of the world on the cross, the day when He said, going to suffer: “At this hour I have come into the world,” and, dying an atoning death on the Cross, exclaimed: “It is finished”!

On Wednesday we should reflect on our place in the Church - in the community of Christ's disciples. Closeness to the Savior of the world did not become a guarantee of salvation, and one of the disciples fell away and betrayed. Who are we in the community of Christ? Does our heart always remain faithful to God? Do we always follow His ways with joy and love, or are we afraid to admit to ourselves that sin is more kind to us than virtue? Wednesday is the central day of the week, a symbol of the crossroads of life. This is a day of prayerful reflection when, peering at the already clearing strokes of Calvary (which clearly looms on Friday), we pray to God to give us the strength to bear our life’s cross and remain faithful to Christ to the end. We ask God for the strength to always make the right choice, without deviating from the path of salvation and not daring to justify our sins later.