Everyone knows that our ancestors adhered to traditions and considered every day of fasting a joy. This time was special. Historically, fasting is the restriction of a religious person in something for the purpose of repentance. Some Christians use the metaphor "springtime of the soul." She characterizes internal state a person who has set the goal of sacrificing himself to God. The Lord set an example for believers when he stayed in the desert for 40 days and did not eat anything. Spring in nature means awakening, new life Likewise, fasting is a time for testing oneself, self-improvement, and prayer. Some people can independently, without external help, look for flaws, shortcomings, and correct them.

In Christianity, a special time is allocated for this, called fasting days. During periods of fasting, active spiritual work is performed, passions are eradicated, and the soul is cleansed. To do this, you must go to church often, pray in the morning and evening, do good deeds, give alms, visit the weak, prisoners, and learn humility.

Why is a fast day needed?

In the practice of Christianity, there are 4 multi-day fasts (Great Lent takes place in the spring, Assumption and Petrov - in the summer, Rozhdestvensky - in the winter) and separate fasting days - Wednesday and Friday. During long fasts, the main ones are the first and last weeks. At this time, a person needs to be extremely attentive to himself and his loved ones. What is important for a fasting person is his internal state, actions, actions, and spoken words.

What should abstinence consist of?

Many people mistakenly believe that they need to limit themselves only to food. Self-control is a very complex action that requires considerable effort. It is to track these changes that the Lord created the state in which man resides. If a Christian fully complies with external conditions, but visits places of entertainment, watches entertainment programs, and behaves unworthily, this can be called an ordinary diet. In this case, the Lord will see the wickedness, and spiritual development will not be. It happens the other way around, when a person consumes forbidden foods, but fasts in his soul. An example would be a stomach or intestinal disease that requires a strict diet. This desire and perseverance will be highly appreciated.

What you can and cannot eat

So, now let's figure out what food you can eat during fasting and what you can't. There is a simple rule about nutrition. Eating foods of plant origin is allowed and eating animal products is prohibited.

Forbidden

• products, poultry.
• Fish (but on some days of fasting it is allowed).
• Eggs, as well as products that contain them.
• Dairy products, butter, fermented milk products, sour cream, cheeses.

Allowed

You can eat these foods:

• Vegetables in in different forms, pickles.
• Fruits, dried fruits, nuts.
• Porridge on the water.
• Legumes, soy products.
• Mushrooms.
• Bread, lean pastries.
• Fish (only on permitted days).

During fasting, you need to diversify your diet as much as possible, since the body is accustomed to proteins and fats. You need to eat everything, such as juices, soy products, sweets, chocolate. In addition to basic ingredients such as vegetables and fruits, you need to introduce a variety of modern products.

You should definitely try eggplant, celery, spinach, broccoli, arugula, and chickpeas (from the legume family). Ordinary vegetables from the garden can be prepared in a special way, experimented with, and various herbs and seasonings added.

For any housewife, preparing a new dish is a special ritual, during which a woman immerses herself in her element. To do this you can create Personal diary and enter each recipe. Lenten days will be brightened up by communication with loved ones, as sharing a meal brings you closer together. Try recommending methods of cooking dishes that really turned out great to your friends and sharing experiences. It is important to remember that the body must be supported by foods that contain protein, glucose, and fats.

Lenten recipes for every day

The most common ingredients in Lenten cuisine are vegetables; they are suitable for both side dishes and gourmet dishes. There are a huge number of recipes. Let’s say it’s easy to make excellent cutlets from ordinary potatoes, as well as a salad or casserole. From boiled vegetables - vinaigrette.

IN Lately It has become fashionable to make puree soups. They are very nutritious, quickly and thoroughly digested. This cooking method will appeal to young children and older people. Use of this product does not cause any difficulties. The recipe is very simple, because all the selected ingredients must first be boiled and then chopped in a blender. Next, the resulting mixture is added to the broth.

Depending on the ingredients, the calorie content and nutritional value of the dish may vary. In some countries, this cooking method is the most common. Here is the recipe for such a soup.

Cream soup with potatoes and white bread

To make the dish rich in vitamins and minerals, take parsley, celery and carrots, a head onions. Let's wash them under running water, peel, cut into small pieces so that the cooking process takes less time. Place on the stove and cook for 30 minutes over medium heat. Now strain the broth into a separate container and set it aside.

So, it's time for the potatoes. We clean it, wash it, divide each tuber into 4 parts and put it in the broth. We do the same with white bread. Yes, you just need to cut it and boil it along with the potatoes.

Then take some wheat flour. Mix it with vegetable oil and place in a saucepan with potatoes and bread. Cook until done, then strain off the broth. You can use a colander to separate the potatoes and bread from the broth.

The cooking process is coming to an end. Grind all the ingredients that were cooked earlier in a blender and send them back to our broth. The highlight of the soup will be croutons, which need to be fried in advance in a frying pan with butter. If the dish turns out to be thick, you need to dilute it with boiled water.

Diet variety

What else can you eat during fasting, besides vegetables and fruits? Of course, porridge cooked in water. Cereals are very healthy. In first place is buckwheat, rich in vitamins and microelements that can be absorbed by the body in the shortest possible time. It can be cooked with fried onions, mushrooms, broccoli, spinach. The list of cereals is huge, let’s list some of them:

• rice;
• pearl barley;
• millet;
• wheat;
• barley;
• corn;
• semolina.

You can also combine porridges with each other, for example, rice and millet. To make the taste less bland, add margarine or spread. In the morning you can eat chocolate balls with honey and juice. During fasting days, muesli will be an excellent reinforcement during working days. The same can be said about dried fruits that serve as a snack. Supermarkets sell a lot of frozen vegetable mixtures, fruits, and berries at any time of the year. These products make an excellent filling for Lenten pies, pancakes, and dumplings.

Homemade pickles and marinades, compotes and jams will help diversify your diet. Sauerkraut or lecho will be an excellent addition to pasta, potatoes or buckwheat. Today in stores you can find many products, for example, mayonnaise, cookies, waffles, which have the inscription “lenten”.

In modern Orthodox practice, many priests recommend that parishioners consult with their doctor before doing so. Here are some medical tips that will be useful. For digestion in the first couple of days, it is better not to eat chips, crackers, sweet nuts, carbonated drinks, strong coffee, tea. Also, in recent days, Orthodox Christians should not suddenly switch to permitted products. Do not pounce on eggs, Easter cakes and smoked meats. We must remember that there is such a sin as gluttony. Sometimes we don’t notice how we get pleasure from eating food, we eat greedily even during fasting. It is worth controlling your feelings.

Fast days. Wednesday and Friday

It is known that fasting time falls on different dates in each calendar circle. The fast days of 2016 are a special time for Orthodox Christians. We also noted that Wednesday and Friday are no less important in this regard throughout the year. But there are also weeks without fasting, for example, before Maslenitsa, Maslenitsa itself, Trinity, Bright, Christmastide. You can always look at the calendar of fasting days to glean the necessary information.

Wednesday became fast in connection with the memory that Judas betrayed Christ the day before. With their real sins, people betray the Savior, who suffered for us. A fasting Christian remembers this event and laments. To understand the seriousness of the historical date, a fast day is observed almost every week. Friday is a fast day, when Christ died for the sins of the world, He was publicly crucified on the cross as a thief. So that believers do not forget about the great event, on Friday it is necessary to especially abstain mentally and physically. The fast days of the Orthodox are called to take care of the spirituality of believers.

Important goal

Fasts and fasting days are skillfully and wisely structured. They alternate with idle time. This sequence encourages us to renew our souls, strive for repentance, compassion, and mercy. Then you are allowed to have fun and rejoice again. It was this way of life that helped our ancestors stay in a good mood and be healthy mentally and physically. Despite the restrictions and abandonment of usual activities, the result will not be long in coming. Harmony always and in everything is the basis of a correct lifestyle. To all Orthodox Christians on the day of fasting - the most good wishes, strength, patience, joy.

About when the code starts and how long it lasts Lent, even people who are very far from the Church know now. They talk about Pentecost on television, cafes and restaurants advertise Lenten menus, in the evening bell ringing convenes believers for 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 comfort 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 life paths. 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 strength to always do right choice without deviating from the path of salvation and not daring to justify your sins later.

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:

The betrayal of the Divine Teacher by one of the disciples is 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.

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Church post

Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw miracles, but because you ate the bread and were filled. Do not strive for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for the Father, God, has sealed Him.

Ev. John 6; 26-27.

Church fasting is a voluntary abstinence from the enjoyment of food. This is precisely a voluntary action, since other reasons for food restrictions do not fall into this category (due to illness, poverty, old age, etc.) In fact in a broad sense words, post for Orthodox man- this is a combination of good deeds, sincere prayer, abstinence in everything, including food.

Church fasts are widespread (four multi-day “big fasts”, three one-day fasts and “small” fasts - every week on Wednesday and Friday). One can also distinguish between a general fast, which is observed by the entire Church, and a private fast, which a person maintains in relation to himself, which happens either out of some kind of vow, or out of obedience to his spiritual father. On days of fasting (days of fasting), the church charter prohibits light food - meat and dairy products; Fish is allowed only on certain fasting days. On days of strict fasting, not only fish, but any other food is not allowed. hot food and food cooked in vegetable oil, only dry eating - bread, water, fruits, boiled vegetables, compote. In Russian Orthodox Church four multi-day fasts, three one-day fasts and, in addition, fasting on Wednesday and Friday (except for special weeks) throughout the year. Wednesday and Friday were established as a sign that on Wednesday Christ was betrayed by Judas and crucified on Friday.

There are five degrees of strictness, fasting:

Eating fish;

Hot food with oil (vegetable);

Hot food without oil;

Xerophagy;

Complete abstinence from food.

Fasting is made up of three components: time, quantity and quality.

As for time, according to Old Testament the fast lasted throughout the daylight hours until the evening. New Testament not so categorical in relation to the time of day or duration of fasting. Therefore, every believer chooses for himself own version abstinence. Some people abstain from food until the evening, others do not eat food in the evening, especially on Wednesdays and Fridays of the Holy Pentecost. Others imitate the example of the Apostle Paul, who did not eat or drink for three days, and especially believers, out of love for Christ, refuse food for five days from Monday to Saturday, remembering the five plagues of the suffering Jesus Christ.

The second part of fasting is determined by the amount of food consumed.
According to church ideas, a person who is fasting should eat as much food as is required only to maintain strength, to strengthen and maintain the strength of the fasting person, but not for satiety. But since one person works and the other rests, they need food for this different quantities. Therefore, the Church has not determined the same measure for everyone when consuming Lenten food.

The third element of fasting is the quality of food. What kind of food should a fasting person eat: meat or fish, should he eat only vegetables or fruits? How should one treat animal food, i.e. cheese, cow butter, milk and eggs? There is great disagreement among believers on this issue. If a person considers himself to be a deeply religious person, then he must definitely clarify his diet during Lent or with his confessor, or turn to the works of a called church authority in this area.

To show how complex and detailed the instructions for using fasting are, we present an excerpt from the work of Metropolitan Stefan Yavorsky on this topic, concerning Great Lent.

“Lent begins seven weeks before the holiday of Holy Easter and consists of Lent (forty days) and Holy Week (the week preceding Easter). The first was established in honor of the forty-day fast of Christ, and Holy Week - in remembrance last days his earthly life. The total continuation of Great Lent along with Holy Week is 48 days. The days from the Nativity of Christ to Lent (until Maslenitsa) are called Christmas or winter meat-eater. This period contains three continuous weeks - Christmastide, the Publican and the Pharisee, and Maslenitsa. After Christmastide, fish is allowed on Wednesdays and Fridays, until the whole week (when you can eat meat on all days of the week), which comes after the “Week of the Publican and the Pharisee” (“week” in Church Slavonic means “Sunday”). In the next week, after the full week, fish is no longer allowed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, but vegetable oil is still allowed.

This establishment has the purpose of gradual preparation for Great Lent. The last time before Lent, meat is allowed on the “Meat-Fast Week” - the Sunday before Maslenitsa. In the next week - cheese week (Maslenitsa), eggs, fish, and dairy products are allowed all week, but they no longer eat meat. They make a fast for Lent (the last time they eat fast food, with the exception of meat) on the last day of Maslenitsa - Forgiveness Sunday. This day is also called “Cheese Week”.

It is customary to observe the first and Holy Weeks of Great Lent with particular strictness. On Monday of the first week of Lent (Clean Monday), the highest degree of fasting is established - complete abstinence from food (pious laymen with ascetic experience abstain from food on Tuesday as well). During the remaining weeks of fasting: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry food (bread, water, fruits, boiled vegetables, compote), Tuesday, Thursday - hot food without oil (vegetables, cereals, mushrooms), on Saturday and Sunday vegetable oil and , if necessary for health, a little clean grape wine(but in no case vodka). If the memory of a great saint happens, then on Tuesday and Thursday - food with vegetable oil, Monday, Wednesday, Friday - hot food without oil. Fish is allowed twice during the entire fast: on Annunciation Holy Mother of God(if the holiday did not fall on Holy Week) and on Palm Sunday. On Lazarus Saturday (Saturday before Palm Sunday) fish roe is allowed. On Friday of Holy Week, it is customary not to eat any food until the shroud is taken out (our ancestors in Good Friday did not eat at all). Bright Week (the week after Easter) is continuous - fasting is allowed on all days of the week. Starting from the next week after the continuous week until Trinity (spring meat-eater), fish is allowed on Wednesdays and Fridays.”

In conclusion, it should be noted that, according to the view of the Church, physical fasting, without spiritual fasting, does not bring anything for the salvation of the soul; on the contrary, it can be spiritually harmful if a person, abstaining from food, becomes imbued with the consciousness of his own superiority. True fasting is associated with prayer, repentance, abstinence from passions and vices, eradication of evil deeds, forgiveness of insults, abstinence in married life, with the exception of entertainment and entertainment events, and watching television. Church fasting is not an end in itself, but a means to humble one’s flesh and cleanse oneself of sins. Without prayer and repentance, fasting becomes just a diet.

Many Orthodox Christians are tormented by doubts about whether they need to fast on Wednesday and Friday.

This article will tell you why you should do this and how to fast without violating church traditions.

Why are Wednesday and Friday considered fast days?

People who have only recently come to a conscious choice of spiritual life do not always know why exactly fasting is observed.

But especially, they are tormented by the obligatory fasting on the third and fifth days of the week, which are considered fast days regardless of whether fasting is currently underway or not.

On Wednesday, fasting people, by refusing to eat fasting food, remember the day of Judas' betrayal of Christ. Friday is the day when Christ was crucified, condemned to death on the cross.

In this way, mourning is observed for the tragic events that occurred during the earthly life of Jesus.

But, besides this, these days have the ability to save the souls of people, tirelessly showing the devil the strength and inviolability of faith. Fasting strengthens the spirit of an Orthodox person, purifies it, and promotes the development of spirituality. This is like regular training for an athlete.

Fasting days allow you to stay in shape, only spiritually, and thus have a beneficial effect on physical fitness. Refusal of certain foods on these days of the week allows you to think about the frailty of your existence and once again turn to prayer.

How to fast on Wednesday and Friday

When observing fast days, you need to know the rules so that you don’t accidentally, out of ignorance, offend the memory of such important days in Christianity.

The day according to church time does not begin at the usual time. The countdown of the new church day begins from the moment it begins evening service in the temple.

In every church, such a service can begin at different time, but the parish must know the schedule of services and, thus, know what time the new day begins.

Usually Vespers is served from 4 to 8 pm. Therefore, the countdown of the beginning of the fast day occurs at the same time. A Christian can take regular food before evening prayer, and only fast food after it. The fast day ends in the same way, that is, at the end of the service in the evening.

Based on these rules, it follows that, for example, Friday fasting begins with the Thursday evening service and ends with the service on Friday evening, regardless of what time it was.

As for the severity of fasting days, everything is individual. The priest at the temple will help you identify it. If such questions arise, you should first contact the abbot for clarification. In some cases, keeping a strict fast is not recommended, since this can negatively affect the physical health of an Orthodox person, and fasting in no case allows harm to a believer.

So, there are concessions for women who are expecting a child or are breastfeeding. People leading working lives in difficult physical conditions and children under 7 years old use more easy option post, which will be discussed below. This also applies to athletes who train hard.

But a person does not have the right to determine the degree of severity of a fast day on his own; he must definitely ask for the blessing of a sacred person.

Also, fasting is not observed on Christmastide, the first week after Easter, the first week after Trinity and on the days of Maslenitsa.

Can I fish on Wednesday and Friday?

Posts on Wednesday and Friday church rules must be carried out with the same rigor as each fast.

These days you need to exclude foods such as eggs, meat, and dairy products from your diet. Fish is also excluded from the diet.

In a co-eating or raw food diet, you can eat vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, and honey.

All these rules do not apply to those who have received a blessing from the priest to relax fasting days. The categories of such people were noted above.

In addition to these rules, there are also such special days, when it is allowed to eat fish on Wednesday and Friday.

This is the time when fasting days fall on winter and spring meat-eaters. The period of the winter meat-eater refers to the period of time between the Nativity and Great Lents, and the spring meat-eater refers to the period between the Great Feast of Easter and the day of the celebration of the Holy Trinity.

Slaves can be eaten during major church holidays. Many church holidays tend to move from one date to another. And every year they are celebrated on a different date. Therefore, it is best to check with Orthodox calendar or ask the rector of the temple about upcoming holidays. On these days, revered by Christians, services are held in churches and fasting is not observed.

Fasting days are necessarily accompanied by intense prayer, pious deeds, almsgiving, and repentance. This is extremely important for an Orthodox person. Not only avoid eating fast food, but also work on your spiritual awakening.