Holy Fathers on fasting and prayer. Advice from the Optina elders to Christians living in the world

Priest Alexander Elchaninov

« Fasting saves us not for our deeds, but by the grace inherent in it as a church institution... Abstaining from food teaches us to abstain from passionate thoughts and feelings. Temperance is the first step in all virtues…»

Abbess Arsenia (Sebryakova)

About true and false fasting - physical and spiritual fasting - “People whose God is a belly”: about the harm of gluttony - and pleasing the flesh - The benefits of fasting - Orthodox asceticism: fasting, abstinence, asceticism - Fasting and prayer - Relaxation of fasting - How to carry out fast? — Fasting in the Holy Scriptures — Prologue in Teachings

“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, the holy apostles established and gave to help us, and as a benefit to our souls, something even greater and highest - so that we separate tithes from the very days of our lives and dedicate them to God: so that we too may thus receive a blessing on all our deeds, and annually cleanse the sins we have committed throughout the whole year.

Having reasoned this way, the apostles consecrated to us out of the three hundred and sixty-five days of the year these seven weeks of the Holy Pentecost. God gave these holy days so that if anyone tries to take care of himself with attention and humility and repent of his sins, he will be cleansed of the sins that he committed throughout the year. Thus his soul will be freed from burdens, and thus he will reach the holy day of Resurrection purified and will partake of the Holy Mysteries without condemnation, becoming through repentance during this holy fast a new man. Such a one, in joy and spiritual joy, with the help of God, will celebrate the entire holy Pentecost, for Pentecost, as the fathers say, is the peace and resurrection of the soul; This is meant by the fact that we do not bend our knees throughout Holy Pentecost (from Holy Pascha to Trinity).

About true and false fasting – physical and spiritual fasting

“Why do we fast, but You don’t see? We humble our souls, but You don’t know?” - Behold, on the day of your fast you do your will and demand hard work from others. Behold, you fast for quarrels and strife, and in order to strike others with a bold hand; you do not fast at this time so that your voice will be heard on high. Is this the fast that I have chosen, the day on which a man languishes his soul, when he bends his head like a reed and spreads rags and ashes under him? Can you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord? Share your bread with the hungry, and bring the wandering poor into your home; When you see a naked person, clothe him, and do not hide from your half-blood. Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly increase, and your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will follow you. Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; You will cry out, and He will say: “Here I am!” (Isa.58; 3-5, 7-9).

The Holy Fathers explain that it is not fasting in itself, as a burdensome and heavy duty to God, that the Lord needs from us, but the desire for spiritualization, for strengthening the spiritual powers of the soul through obedience, readiness for abstinence, for life according to the spirit, and not according to the flesh– this is the real purpose of fasting. At the same time, if the fasting person himself proudly, arrogantly and with condemnation treats his neighbor who does not fast, if he does not do deeds of mercy, then such a faster is not pleasing to the Lord; there is no benefit from his post - only harm. The Lord God speaks about this through His prophet to the murmuring Jews, seeing their wickedness and pride, forgetting about the main thing behind external deeds of “righteousness” - internal transformation and spiritual growth.

Only External works of piety do not bring us closer to God, but move us away from Him, because they are full of hypocrisy. And Jesus Christ denounces the teachers of the Jewish people, the lawyers and the Pharisees: “So you, on the outside, seem righteous to people, but on the inside you are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”(Matt. 23, 28). God sees our heart, closely watches it, where it is inclined - what does a person feel and think about? One and the same deed (almsgiving, fasting, prayer, etc.) can either be pleasing to God or not, depending on our inner disposition, on our cordiality or soullessness (for appearances, or even with dark thoughts, with some kind of calculation, as sometimes, for example, alms are given) of the act performed.

To be outwardly virtuous and fasting does not mean to actually be so. And only God, the Seer of our souls and hearts, knows about this. For fasting is, first of all, abstinence from passions, from thoughts that defile a person, and then from food. And when there is righteousness on the lips, and outwardly everything is decent, but in the heart there is lies and deceit (or vanity, or man-pleasing, or arrogance, or contempt for one’s neighbor, etc.), then such a person is abominable to God. The sacrifice to God must be pure, say the Holy Fathers, that is, from a pure heart and with bright thoughts. After all “God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”(John 4:24).

This is what he writes about this to his spiritual daughter: Elder Mikhail (Pitkevich) (1877-1962):“No matter what kind of fast you observe, even the strictest one, if without true repentance, then the Lord will not accept it. Such fasting will lead neither to salvation nor to consolation. The main thing is to cleanse your heart inside».

Holy Fathers of the Church they write about it like this:

“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.”

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) says that " Post is a medicine, but even the most useful medicine becomes useless if the patient does not know how to use it. .

Anyone who believes that fasting only means abstaining from food is mistaken. True fasting is removal from evil…

So, let the eye have its limits and rules, so as not to be immediately carried away by everything that presents itself to it; and let the tongue have a fence so as not to prevent thoughts... One must in every possible way refrain from obscene laughter, and have a quiet and calm gait, and modest clothing... For the decency of the external members is some expression of the inner state of the soul.”

Venerable John Cassian the Roman(350-435): « It is not the external enemy that we need to fear: our enemy lies within ourselves. This is why there is a constant internal war going on within us. If we win victory in it, all external battles will become insignificant, and everything will become peaceful for the warrior of Christ and everything will be submissive to him. We will have nothing to fear from the enemy from without, when what is within us, having been defeated, submits to the spirit. We should not believe that for the perfection of the heart and the purity of the body, the fasting alone, which consists of abstaining from visible foods, can be sufficient for us. No, to this we must also add soul post. For she, too, has her own harmful dishes, from which, having grown fat, she falls into precipices of voluptuousness and without an abundance of bodily nutrition. Condemnation hers is food, and delicious food at that. Anger It is also food, although not so easy, and sometimes harmful and even deadly. Envy there is food for the soul, poisonously damaging its juices and constantly tormenting it, the unfortunate one, with the happy successes of others. Vanity it is food that temporarily delights it with a pleasant taste, and then makes it empty, naked and devoid of all virtue and leaves it barren and unable to bear spiritual fruits - and, therefore, not only deprives you of reward for immeasurable labor, but also attracts great punishment... Why, in our holy fasting, refraining from all this as much as we have, we will make it expedient and fruitful to observe bodily fasting. For the toil of the flesh, being combined with the contrition of the spirit, will present a sacrifice most pleasing to God and will create an abode worthy of His holiness in the pure and well-adorned recesses of the heart. But if, while fasting physically, we become entangled in the most destructive passions of the soul, then the exhaustion of the flesh will not bring us any benefit, when at the same time we remain defiled in our most precious part, when, that is, we are defective in that part of our nature, which, in fact, becomes the dwelling of the Holy One. Spirit. For it is not corruptible flesh, but a pure heart that is made the dwelling place of God and the temple of the Holy Spirit. So, when our outer man fasts, we must also keep our inner man from harmful tastes. The holy Apostle exhorts him especially to present him pure to God, in order to be worthy to receive Christ into himself as a visitor, when he says: In the inner man, by faith, let Christ dwell in your hearts(Eph.3, 16-17).”

Holy Fathers on the importance of not only physical, but also spiritual fasting wrote: “All of us, brethren, must know what is right before God, so as not to be condemned. What good is there in the fact that we fast and do not correct ourselves? Mere abstinence from modest food, even the most severe, will not bring us any benefit if at the same time we do evil deeds. Even if we feed on ashes alone and do not give up our anger, we will not be saved. If we abstain from bread, and at the same time we are angry with our brother and envy him, then we only become like animals... If you want to abstain from meat and fish, then at the same time leave behind anger and malice, from pride, slander, envy, resentment, theft , drunkenness, fornication and all kinds of sin. But whoever doesn’t drink anything and doesn’t eat meat, but keeps anger in his heart, is worse than cattle. And cattle don’t eat meat and don’t drink wine. If someone sleeps on bare ground and thinks evil, don’t boast about him either: even cattle don’t need a bed. Let us step aside, brothers, from our sins, and then we will not be like cattle. We will create the fruits of good deeds and become like the Angels, and together with the saints we will receive eternal life.”

Venerable Abba Dorotheos of Palestine (620):“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 should 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.”

Venerable Boniface (1785-1871):“According to the holy fathers, fasting and abstinence consist of moderation, and that all who in general strive for perfect virtue must take food that is permissible for the maintenance of the body and abstain from lust. And the weak in body can become equal in virtue to the healthy and strong if he destroys lusts that are not required by the weakness of the flesh...

It is known that we abstain physically in order to acquire purity of heart through fasting. But bodily abstinence is in vain when we cannot comprehend the end for which we undertake the labors of abstinence; for when we, while fasting physically, live according to the inspiration of passions, we will desecrate the best part of ourselves, because we will desecrate the place where the Holy Spirit should dwell, whose dwelling place, as we know, is not corruptible flesh, but a pure soul.”

Prot. Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934):“Our life does not flow smoothly and evenly. It proceeds like any living process, like the life of nature - in moments of decline and elevation. Lent is a period of spiritual effort. If we cannot give our whole lives to God, then let us devote ourselves undividedly to at least periods of fasting - we will intensify prayer, increase alms, tame passions, and make peace with our enemies.”

“Fasting is not hunger. A diabetic, a fakir, a yogi, a prisoner, and just a beggar are starving. Nowhere in the Lent services does it speak of fasting only in our ordinary sense, i.e. like not eating meat, etc. Everywhere there is one call " We fast, brethren, physically, we fast also spiritually" Consequently, fasting only has a religious meaning when it is combined with spiritual exercises. Fasting is equal to refinement. A normal, biologically prosperous person is inaccessible to the influence of higher powers. Fasting undermines a person’s physical well-being, and then he becomes more accessible to the influences of another world, and his spiritual filling begins.”

“People whose God is a belly”: about the dangers of gluttonyand pleasing the flesh

“...Their god is the womb...they think about earthly things”(Phil. 3:19).

“Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food;but God will destroy both…”(1 Cor. 6:13).

“Food should strengthen the body, not cause illness”

Saint Basil the Great

« Control your belly before it controls you»

Venerable John Climacus

Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894):“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 must solve this now in order to prepare for what awaits us in the endless future.”

Saint Basil the Great (330-379):“The womb is the most unfaithful ally in treaties. This is a no-save pantry. If a lot is invested in it, then the harm is retained within itself, but what is invested is not retained.

Learn to keep a tight rein on your womb: it alone does not give thanks for the benefits shown to it.”

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407):“Why, tell me, do You fatten the body with satiety in food? Are we really going to sacrifice ourselves? Or shall we offer it for a meal? Nothing is so disgusting and harmful to the body as satiety; nothing destroys, burdens and damages it as much as excessive consumption of food. Those who are intemperate in food are so unreasonable that they do not even want to take care of themselves as much as others take care of their wineskins. For wine sellers do not fill the bottles more than necessary, so as not to break them, and they do not even want to have such care for their poor belly, but they overburden it with food and fill it with wine... and thus they especially constrain the spirit and the power that governs life . Gluttony brings one prematurely to old age, dulls the senses, darkens thought, blinds the discerning mind, and places a great burden and intolerable burden.

Just as a ship, loaded with more than it can contain, goes to the bottom under the weight of the cargo, so the soul and the nature of our body: taking food in quantities exceeding its strength... becomes overfilled and, unable to withstand the weight of the cargo, plunges into the sea death and destroys the swimmers, the helmsman, the navigator, the swimmers, and the cargo itself. As it happens with ships in such a state, so it is with those who are fed up: just as neither the calm of the sea, nor the skill of the helmsman, nor the multitude of shipmen, nor the proper equipment, nor the favorable season, nor anything else brings benefit to the ship thus overwhelmed, so and here: neither teaching, nor admonition, nor the reproach of those present, nor instruction and advice, nor fear of the future, nor shame, nor anything else can save a soul thus overwhelmed.”

Venerable John Climacus (649):“The head of demons is the fallen star, and the head of passions is gluttony.

Gluttony is the lie of the belly, which, being full, shouts: “I’m still hungry.”

Venerable Simeon the New Theologian (1021) writes: “It is impossible to fill the flesh to its full with food and spiritually enjoy mental and divine blessings. For, to the extent that someone works in the belly, to such an extent he deprives himself of tasting spiritual blessings; on the contrary, to the extent that someone refines his body, in proportion to that we will be satisfied with food and spiritual consolation.”

“How many different arts, substances, tools does a reasonable person use in order to fill a small and senseless belly! How the mind is humiliated when it is exhausted in inventions, so that the tribute daily demanded by the belly, as an inexorable ruler, is brought to it with as much grace as possible and is acceptable to it in as large a quantity as possible! And how the womb curses at this servile mind, putting uncleanliness and stench as the end of all its worries about grace!

If the real purpose of food and drink is the maintenance and renewal of bodily composition, and the taste of food and the pleasantness of drink are given as means to this end, then every piece of food eaten for taste beyond the quenching of hunger is a gluttony, and every sip of drink consumed after quenching thirst and after strengthening his strength for pleasure, he belongs to the cup of drunkenness.”

"They say: It’s not important to eat meat during Lent, it’s not about food during Lent; It’s not an important thing to wear expensive, beautiful clothes, go to the theater, to parties, ...to have magnificent expensive dishes, furniture, ...to collect and save money and so on. But why does our heart turn away from God, the Source of life, Why do we lose eternal life? Is it not because of gluttony? Is it not because of the precious clothes, like the evangelical rich man, or because of the theaters...? 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 clothes, to expensive dishes, furniture, ...to money and so on? Is it possible to work God and Mammon(Matthew 6:24), 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 the food alone? Take a good look at why we do not care about the salvation of our souls, which cost the Son of God so much; Because of this, we add sins to sins, we constantly fall into resistance to God, into a vain life. Is it not because of an addiction to earthly things, and especially to earthly sweets? What makes our heart hard? Why are we made flesh and not spirit? perverting your moral nature, is it not because of addiction to food, drink and other earthly goods? How can we then say that eating meat during Lent is not important? This the most important thing is that we say so, there is pride, vanity, disobedience, disobedience to God and distance from Him.

...Eating and drinking, that is, having an addiction to sensual pleasures, is characteristic only of paganism, which, not knowing spiritual, heavenly pleasures, spends its entire life in the pleasure of the belly, in heavy eating and heavy drinking. 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? What can fairly be compared to all those who smoke incessantly? What pleasure is it to live in constant fumes, evaporation and smoke? What will our homes be like? Why would we contaminate the air with stench and breathe it, and most of all, darken and suppress the soul, kill its last spiritual strength?

Do not have any addiction not only to food and drink, to clothing, to a spacious and well-decorated home, to rich household utensils, but also to your health, even to your life, do not have the slightest addiction, surrendering your entire life to the will of the Lord, saying: For me, if Christ lives, and if I die, I have gain.(Phil. 1:21). Hate your soul in this world, it will keep you in the eternal life(John 12:25). Addiction to temporary life, to health leads to many deviations from the commandments of God, to indulgence of the flesh, to breaking fasts, to evading the conscientious performance of service duties, to despondency, impatience, and irritability. Never sleep in the evening before the evening rule, lest your heart become white from untimely sleep, and lest the enemy stifle it with petrified insensibility in prayer. Be sober, stay awake(1 Pet.5, 8). Watch and pray so that you do not fall into misfortune(Matthew 26:41).”

Rev. Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891). To the question of someone from the crowd: how many times should one eat a day, the priest answered with an example: “One old man was fleeing in the desert, and the thought came to his mind: how many times should one eat a day? He once met a boy and asked him what he thought. The boy replied: “Well, if you want to eat, eat.” - “What if you still want to?” - asked the old man. “Well then, just eat,” said the boy. “What if you still want to?” - the old man asked for the third time. “Are you an ass?” — the boy asked the elder in turn. “So,” added the priest, “you need to eat twice a day.”

Elder Arseny (Minin) (1823-1879): « The voluptuous larynx and the insatiable womb are the wall between God and man.

You overeat, get drunk, and how many thousands of young children and old people are dying of hunger at this time, not having a piece of rotten bread. You dress elegantly, sit in a richly decorated room, they serve you, and there are so many who have no place to lay their heads, and are dying from cold, hunger and disease.”

About the benefits of fasting

About the benefits of fasting Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) says this: “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 pleasures 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 celestial objects... On the contrary, drunkenness and overeating, burdening the mind and fattening the body, make the soul captive, constrain her on all sides and do not allow her to use sound judgment of the mind, force her to rush along the cliffs and do everything to the detriment of her own salvation.

The Lord, common to all of us, as a loving Father, wanting to cleanse us from the sins we have committed at any time, granted us healing in holy fasting. So, no one grieve, no one appear sad, but let everyone rejoice, rejoice and glorify the Guardian of our souls, who opened this wonderful path for us, and accept its advance with great pleasure...

Now look at the beneficial effects of fasting. The great Moses, having spent forty days in fasting, was honored to receive the tablets of the law... The great Elijah fasted for the same number of days, and so he escaped the dominion of death, ascended, as if on a chariot of fire, to heaven... And the man of desires, Daniel, after spending a lot of time in fasting days, was awarded a wonderful vision; he tamed the rage of the lions and turned it into the meekness of the sheep, without changing their nature, however, but changing their disposition... And the Ninevites, by fasting, rejected the decree of the Lord, forcing dumb animals to fast along with people. And thus, having all abandoned evil deeds, they disposed the Lord of the universe to love mankind (John 3:7-10) ... And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, after already forty days of fasting, entered into the struggle with the devil and set an example for all of us, so that we too armed themselves with fasting and, strengthened by it, entered into a fight with the devil...

Fasting is wonderful because it suppresses our sins like weeds, but it lifts and grows truth like a flower.. If you have started fasting at will, then do not be gloomy, but rejoice: it cleanses your soul from poison...”

Venerable Ambrose of Optina (1812-1891):“It is not the food that matters, but the commandment. Adam was expelled from paradise not for overeating, but for eating only what was forbidden. Why even now on Thursday or Tuesday you can eat whatever you want and are not punished for it, but on Wednesday and Friday we are punished because we do not obey the commandments. What is especially important here is that humility is developed through obedience.

With fasting and abstinence, the flesh does not rebel so much, and sleep does not overcome so much, and fewer empty thoughts enter the head, and spiritual books are read more readily and understood more readily.

The Holy Apostle Paul says: If our outer man is decaying, then our inner man is being renewed day by day.(2 Cor. 4:16). He called the external man the body, and the internal man the soul. If,- speaks, - our outer man, that is, the body smoldering, decays, is oppressed and thinned by fasting and other exploits, then the internal one is updated. And vice versa, if the body is nourished and thickens, then the soul decays, or comes into oblivion of God and its highappointments».

Mother Arsenia Abbess of the Ust-Medveditsky Monastery (1833-1905):

“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’ll 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 from 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. Temperance 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. Means, 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 or that we will spend it wrong, but let’s rejoice that it is so saving!”

Venerable Boniface (1785-1871) about the benefits of fasting and abstinence says: “Overeating and drunkenness must be guarded in every possible way, for they are the beginning and root of fornication and uncleanness, intercessors and preparers of eternal torment, from them heaviness of the soul, darkness of the mind, inflammation of carnal lust, ignition of anger, a convenient attack on us by the demon, and by divine love alienation. On the contrary, a temperate and sober life is heaven on earth, while a corrupt and sinful life is the greatest torment of the soul and hell on earth.

Fasting unites us with God, and satiety turns our salvation into destruction. What removed Esau from God and delivered him into slavery to his brother? Isn’t this the only food for which he sold his championship? What, on the contrary, did Samuel give to his mother? Isn't it prayer combined with fasting? What made strong Samson invincible? Isn't it a post? Fasting gives birth to prophets, strengthens martyrs, brings wisdom to legislators, it is a faithful guardian of the soul, a reliable champion of the body, a weapon for warriors, strengthening ascetics, a friend of good cheerfulness, a builder of sobriety. He drives away temptations, inspires piety, gives courage in battle And so on".

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908):“It is necessary for a Christian to fast in order to clarify mind and excite and develop feeling, and encourage him to do good work will. We overshadow and suppress these three human abilities most of all. overeating, 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, distorting and desecrating the image of God in oneself. Gluttony and voluptuousness nail us to the ground and they 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 inexpressible verbs there, and there they learned Divine wisdom. AND How a person humiliates himself with gluttony, gluttony 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. It is also 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 righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food; but God will destroy both(Cor. 6:13).

He who rejects fasting forgets why the first people fell into sin (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 the contemporaries of Noah, - for from intemperance comes every sin in people; whoever rejects fasting takes away from himself and others weapons against his many-passionate flesh and against the devil, strong against us especially through our intemperance, he is not a warrior of Christ, for he throws down his weapon and surrenders voluntarily into captivity of his voluptuous and sin-loving flesh; he is finally blind and does not see the relationship between the causes and consequences of affairs.

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 wet it with water, it will become heavy and immediately fall to the floor. So it is with the soul. Oh, how one must protect the soul through fasting!

Fasting is a good teacher: 1) he quickly makes it clear to anyone 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 is proper, that is, as much as our nature requires; 2) fasting clearly shows or reveals all the infirmities of our soul, all its weaknesses, shortcomings, sins and passions, just as muddy standing water that begins 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, now that we are illuminated by the light of God’s grace, is clearly shown and who now viciously persecute us for abandoning their paths...”

Saint Nicholas of Serbia (1880-1956) writes to lettermerchant K.K., about the fruits of fasting: « Why do many people not fast? you ask. Because they do not know the fruits of fasting. The health authorities of our country should recommend fasting in unison with the Church, because fasting brings wonderful fruits, not only spiritual, but also physical. There are many examples that can be cited to prove this, but I will stick to one recent one.

Here is what one widow from Bechei writes: “I started fasting last year on Trinity. So I decided: if I go to church and pray to God, then I need to fast. While my husband was alive, we did not fast and were often sick. It never happened that both were healthy: first one was in bed, then the other. That's how they lived their whole lives. I was always irritated, the slightest trifle made me angry. I was tormented by fears. I was afraid of everything, even my own thoughts and premonitions. Since I started fasting (a year has already passed since that Trinity Day), I have been calm, joy in my soul and lightness in my body. I’m not offended by anything, I’m not angry with anyone. And church hymns and prayers sound in my soul. Dreams are bright and blissful. Now I live with my wealthy friend, but I feel that the whole world belongs to me. I am completely healthy, although I am old, I am not afraid of anything, not even death. I have only one insatiable desire - the desire for silence, fasting and prayer: in them I find complete happiness».

This is how the old woman from Bechey writes about herself. And with her experience she confirms to us the Gospel teaching and the centuries-old experience of the Church.”

Priest Alexander Elchaninov (1881-1934):“Fasting strengthens the spirit in a person. In fasting, a person goes out to meet Angels and demons.”

Orthodox asceticism: fasting, abstinence, asceticism

“The soul is not humbled by anything,as if someone abstains from food"

Ava Pimen

Saint Basil the Great (330-379):“Whatever you take from the body, you give so much strength to the soul.”

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407):“A Christian cannot live carelessly, but he must establish laws and rules for himself in order to do everything carefully, even in relation to matters of little importance. For all real life is a feat and a struggle, and once those who have entered this field of virtue must be abstinent in everything. All the ascetics,- says the Apostle, - abstain from everything(1 Cor. 9:25)… Since our struggle is not with people, but with evil spirits, then our exercise and abstinence must be spiritual, for our weapons, with which Christ has clothed us, are spiritual.”

Venerable Neil of Sinai:“A poorly nourished body is a well-broken horse that will never throw off its rider. Satiety with food feeds thoughts, and the drunken one feeds sleep with dreams. The beginning of fruiting is color, and the beginning of active life is abstinence.».

Venerable Isaac the Syrian (550) writes: “The Savior began the work of arranging our salvation by fasting. Likewise, all those who follow the Savior on this basis affirm the beginning of their feat, because fasting is a weapon prepared by God. And who, if he neglects him, will not be reproached for this? If the Lawgiver Himself fasts, how can anyone who is obligated to keep the law not fast? That is why, before fasting, the human race did not know victory, and the devil never experienced his defeat from our nature: but from this weapon he was exhausted at the very beginning. And our Lord was the leader and firstborn of this victory, in order to place the first victorious crown on the head of our nature. And as soon as the devil sees this weapon on one of the people, this enemy and tormentor immediately comes into fear, thinking and remembering his defeat in the desert by the Savior - and his strength is immediately crushed, and his view of the weapon given to us by our Leader, burns him. He who is clothed in the weapon of fasting is at all times inflamed with jealousy. Whoever abides in it has an unshakable mind and is ready to meet and repel all fierce passions.

As soon as someone begins to fast, from that time on he desires to come into conversation with God. For a fasting body does not tolerate sleeping the whole night on its bed. When the seal of fasting is placed on a person’s lips, then his thoughts are filled with tenderness, his heart exudes prayer, there is sadness on his face, and shameful thoughts are far from him... he is the enemy of lusts and vain conversations... Fasting with prudence is a vast abode for all goodness

If you cannot fast for two days, fast at least until the evening; if you cannot until evening, then beware of satiety.”

Venerable Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833) says about the post: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, our hero and Savior, strengthened Himself with long fasting before setting out on the feat of redemption of the human race. And all the ascetics, beginning to work for the Lord, armed themselves with fasting and entered upon the path of the cross in no other way than through the feat of fasting. They measured their greatest successes in asceticism by successes in fasting.

Fasting consists not only of eating rarely, but of eating little; and not in eating once, but in not eating much. The fasting person is unreasonable who waits for a certain hour, and at the hour of the meal, he completely indulges in insatiable eating, both in body and mind. In discussing food, one must also be careful not to distinguish between food that is tasty and tasteless. This thing, characteristic of animals, is not worthy of praise in a reasonable person. We refuse pleasant food in order to pacify the warring members of the flesh and give freedom to the actions of the spirit.

True fasting consists not only in exhaustion of the flesh, but also in giving that part of the bread that you yourself would like to eat to the hungry.

The holy people did not suddenly begin strict fasting, but gradually and little by little they became able to be content with the merest food...

The holy fasters, to the surprise of others, did not know relaxation, but were always cheerful, strong and ready for action. Illnesses between them were rare, and their lives were extremely long.

To the extent that the fasting person’s flesh becomes thin and light, spiritual life comes to perfection and reveals itself with wonderful phenomena. Then the spirit performs its actions as if in a disembodied body. The external senses are as if closed, and the mind, renouncing the earth, ascends to heaven and is completely immersed in contemplation of the spiritual world.

One should eat enough food every day so that the body, strengthened, is a friend and assistant to the soul in the accomplishment of virtue...

On Fridays and Wednesdays, especially during the four fasts, eat food once a day, following the example of the fathers, and the Angel of the Lord will cleave to you.”

Holy Righteous John of Kronstadt (1829-1908) writes: “Whoever desires to save his soul will destroy it(Matthew 16:25), i.e. whoever desires to save his old, carnal, sinful man will destroy his life: for true life consists in crucifying and putting to death the old man with his deeds and putting on the new man, renewed in the image of the One who created him. Without the mortification of the old carnal man, there is no true life, no eternal bliss. The stronger and more painful the mortification of the old man, the more perfect his renewal and rebirth, the higher his purification, the more perfect his life and the higher his bliss in the next century. Kill yourself and you will come to life…»

Venerable Barnabas of Gethsemane (1831-1906). In response to the questions of some sisters who turn to the elder for his blessing to eat meat, which is often prescribed to them by doctors to cure one or another disease, the elder strictly instructs the sisters not to follow such advice from doctors.

- Father! But what can you do when you have absolutely no strength to bear even the lightest obediences, some sufferers object to him. “After all, it’s hard for us ourselves to think about eating meat, and we don’t want to live like this, not bringing benefit to the holy monastery, only burdening others, our soul aches about it.” We just wish we could improve our health a little, father!

“But, sisters, eating meat will not improve your health at all, unless you upset it further.” Health is a gift from God. But if, by the will of God, it was taken away from us, perhaps for the salvation of our souls, then should we violate the rules of monastic life established by the holy fathers? You should take care that, having strengthened your physical strength, at the same time not weaken your mental strength.

We, monks, should be more concerned about the soul than about the health and peace of the body; We must try with all our efforts and patience to find the path to salvation, and for sorrows and various hardships sent down from God, we must thank Him, because they are the ladder to heaven.

My sisters, doctors advised me to give up lean food for a while and eat meat. Otherwise, they said, I would live no more than two days. It was during the first time after I entered the monastery, when I was truly in an almost hopeless state.

But, not having received the consent and blessing of my elders to eat meat, I refused to eat it and now remained alive.

After all, the Mother of God Herself, showing one monk the path to salvation, commanded him not to eat meat. This monk earnestly asked the Queen of Heaven to show him this desired path, and She, the Lady, appeared to him and said: “Do not eat meat, do not drink wine, pray to God more often and you will be saved.”

So, sisters, I repeat to you once again: do not think that you will get your health only by feeding yourself meat, for without the will of God meat will not help you, and perhaps it will even harm you. Therefore, I earnestly ask you, sisters, always and in everything rely on the will of God, and not on your human reason, which advises you, as in this case, to allegedly bring yourself some benefit by violating the decrees of the Holy Church. The Holy Apostle says: When I am weak, then I am strong"; it is also said that God's power is made perfect in weakness(2 Cor. 12:9).

Reverend Elder Alexy Zosimovsky (1846-1928). From the notes of the elder’s spiritual daughter: “I often complained to the elder that I can’t keep fasting due to home conditions. I got into a lot of trouble because of this and there was no way to fast - that meant not eating anything. To all my requests to allow me not to fast, the elder said decisively and firmly: “I can’t, child, I can’t bless you for this: I’m a monk, and fasting is prescribed in our charter. Look for yourself, pray, God sees the conditions of your life. Just in confession, don’t forget to repent of breaking fast days.”

Saint Theophan the Recluse (1815-1894) writes that Passion cannot be overcome without fasting and deeds: “The basis of passions is in the flesh; when the flesh is exhausted, then it is as if a tunnel has been laid under the passions and their fortress is crumbling. Without fasting, overcoming passions would be a miracle, similar to being on fire and not getting burned.…

Bodily feats are needed because the body serves as a seat of passions. If you do not humble your flesh, you will not have success in overcoming passions. Therefore, it is necessary to overwork the flesh with deprivations of food, sleep, rest and all pleasures of the senses.”

Archbishop Innokenty Borisov (1908):« A sensual person resists nothing with such force as holy fasting. Attending divine services, going to confession - they agree to all this, but to take upon themselves the yoke of fasting seems to many Christians to be too heavy and even dangerous a burden. How do you think you can be a true Christian without fasting? Others say they fear for their health. Do you feel sorry for your weak build? Really take pity on him and give peace to your belly... As a reward, you will receive strength and lightness, and a special feeling of health, which you do not have now. The desire for food, spoiled by satiety, will become more alive and noble. How long did those people live who spent their entire lives fasting? “And eighty, and ninety, and even a hundred years.”

Venerable Elder Sebastian of Karaganda (1884-1966):“For non-observance of fasts without reason, the time will come – illness will befall. Then you will not fast of your own free will. The Lord forgives for sins.”

Elder Schema-Hegumen Savva (1898-1980) writes that " anyone who does not observe the four fasts, Wednesday and Friday, is excommunicated from the Church. The Monks Pachomius the Great and Seraphim of Sarov call such people the Judases who betrayed Christ, and the Roman soldiers who crucified Him, for V The Lord was betrayed on Wednesday and crucified on Friday– and these days are mourning for every Christian.

Many people break their fast because they are afraid of losing their health. They forget that It is not meat that gives us health, but God. Eating meat during fasting does not contribute to our health, but leads to illness. On the contrary, many sick people, having begun to fast, are healed...

Man is a herbivore, that is how God created him and gave him plant food for food, the human body is adapted for it. He does not assimilate the juices of the animal, he ages quickly, and most importantly, with eating meat passions are born, and from passions - diseases. Elephants, bulls, and horses eat only plant foods, which means they contain everything necessary to create large organisms and have enormous physical strength.

The Holy Fathers say that the body is a donkey on which we must ride to the Heavenly City of Jerusalem. If you don’t feed him, he’ll fall over; if you overfeed him, he’ll go berserk. Therefore, we must always stick to the golden mean, follow the royal path.”

Venerable Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets (1924-1994):

"Orthodox abstinence and in general, spiritual exercises are always directed towards the highest spiritual goal - towards sanctification of the soul. While the other, worldly, asceticism, such as that of seduced yogis and so on, is aimed at making the body flexible, in order to twist one’s arms and legs, like a paper karyoz, and receive praise from foolish people, and then the mockery of mocking demons.

Asceticism, performed for the sake of the love of Christ, concealing in itself the desire for the salvation of the soul that Christ loves, greatly delights and rests the soul with its fatigue, strengthens the body, and also brings dispassion, because thanks to it the disorderly movements of the body are humbled, and then it can get by with less food, for this is enough when there is peace in the soul and meekness in the body.

A variety of dishes, and especially fatty ones, is indecent not only for monks, but also for pious laymen, with the exception, of course, of holidays - for the joy of the day, for the glory of God - or cases when it is necessary to show hospitality out of love. We are also not talking about the sick, because for them fasting can be canceled: it is enough for them to glorify God in their illnesses in order to be crowned, like the holy martyrs.

For healthy young men, abstinence is the strongest rein against passions, necessary for the spirit to reign and a double peace to reign. Then, in the purity of their hearts, they can look at people purely, as angels look at angels. Those who do not abstain and live unbridled look even at angels carnally, like the inhabitants of Sodom (see: Gen. 19:5), who have withdrawn from God. The natural consequence of this is that those who love their well-fed flesh and the comforts of life love people carnally and are spiritually destroyed by their own flesh.

Those who want their flesh to be like a skeleton from asceticism, thereby venerate it as holy relics, and love it as a good friend of their soul, and then they love all people with immaculate love as images of God, as their brothers ... "

Fasting and prayer

Saint John Chrysostom (347-407) says in one of his conversations: “ Great benefits come from two virtues: prayer and fasting. For the one who prays as he should, and also fasts, does not require much; but whoever demands little will not be a lover of money; and whoever 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 person does not sleep, does not talk a lot, does not yawn and does not relax during prayer, as happens to many... Such a one is especially an enemy and warrior against demons, since there is no stronger person who sincerely prays…»

Archpriest Valentin Sventsitsky (1882-1931):“Fasting and prayer are two wings of spiritual life, two wings clipped from modern Christian society by worldly wisdom.

…After all, when now, with God’s help, fasting is gradually being restored among ordinary Christians, this is met with no less bewilderment among believers than among non-believers.

“Are you fasting?” This surprised question is not asked by atheists; it is asked in exactly the same way by believers. For them, it seems as if it is a settled matter that fasting should be gradually withdrawn from church use.

This will never happen, for spiritual life will never cease in church life, but Without fasting there can be no spiritual life.

You can only talk about spiritual life, but if you move even a little from words to action, you will immediately need fasting. Only one who has not even tried to pose the question of spiritual life as the goal and task of life can talk about the uselessness of fasting.

How many times have I pointed out the reason that causes this bewilderment among Orthodox Christians on the issue of fasting - bewilderment based on the fact that ordinary everyday Christian life has almost completely merged with ordinary everyday godless and worldly life.

Only in very recent times have all our difficult trials and experiences once again created a desire for the ecclesiasticalization of our daily life and hence for a decisive separation between worldly life and church life. But usually, life outside the temple is still life, if we take our attitude towards people, our attitude towards sorrows, our attitude towards material well-being, our attitude towards insults, towards slander, take this common everyday worldly life of ours, then it turns out that it coincides with the life of non-believers, that a very destructive thought appeared: in order to live like this, no fasting is required at all.

Yes, that’s right, in order to live the way they live, it is not required, absolutely not required!

If you want to continue living the same way, you don't need to fast!

If you want to answer every word tit for tat, if you want to respond to every insult with an insult, if you want to arrange your worldly affairs, absolutely regardless of anything, stepping over everything, thinking only about your well-being, in a word: if you want to live as the godless world allows you to live, do not fast. Eat everything during Lent, eat everything during Holy Week; what kind of abstinence can there be?!

But you don’t want to live like that! You live like this only because of your infirmity, because of your weakness!

We are so tormented as to why we don’t have the strength to live the way we should, why we do the evil we don’t want, but don’t do the good we want. Why is our spirit not humbled, why is there not enough humility to endure an insult, why is everything the same with us as with the atheists, although we believe!

This is where we find out that one of the reasons is our breaking the fast. The confessor who receives confession knows better than anyone this terrifying situation on the issue of fasting.

After all, here he sees the most churchly people, the most consciously embarked on the path of spiritual life. There are no longer doubts about faith: they are visited only as fleeting, passing demonic thoughts, the need for frequent communion is already felt, high Christian dignity is already recognized, they are no longer at all embarrassed by the ridicule and bewilderment of the people around them, everything seems to be fine. And here is the question about fasting. In response, terrible words are heard: “Allow me, father, to eat dairy during Lent!” - "You are sick?" - "No". - “Why?”

The answers vary, but are always unsatisfactory. Mothers care about the health of their children, no matter how sick they get from it. Adults are confused: do they have enough strength to carry out the fast? Others have family disagreements on this basis - a lot of things! But behind all this you always feel: yes, it’s because deep down in your soul you don’t believe in fasting.

In the depths of our souls there is no belief that fasting is a driving, not always conscious, force, but a most powerful force in the matter of our spiritual dispensation.

You won’t notice why you have a disorder in your soul, you yourself don’t realize; but look into the works of the holy fathers and there you will find an explanation: there you will be told that fasting is the first stage of spiritual life, that further achievements on the spiritual path are always connected with your feat of fasting.

So great is the significance of this Lenten feat, which is closely connected with the feat of prayer. For these are two wings, and if one is broken, then the other, even if it tries to lift a person, will not be able to.

True fasting is unthinkable without prayer. And prayer is impossible without fasting..."

about fasting and abstinence:

“The commandment to fast is as ancient as the world itself. This is the original commandment given by God to man (Gen. 2:17). St. Augustine compares the body with a furious horse, carrying away the soul, the unbridledness of which must be tamed by reducing food; fasting was mainly established for this purpose.

Learn to keep a tight rein on your womb: it alone does not give thanks for the benefits shown to it.

Fast from food from time to time, and from intemperance constantly.”

Relaxation of the fast

Saint Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow (1783-1867):“You should not impose on yourself a post that exceeds your strength. Fasting is for man, not man for fasting. Lightening fasting for the weak is permissible, according to church rules, and very fair, because weakness itself provides what is sought through fasting, that is, the taming of sensuality and the inaction of carnal passions; and, therefore, for the weak it is not necessary to pacify the flesh by fasting, but rather to support the weak body with food and medicine, so that it does not become completely incapable of serving the soul.”

Elder Mikhail (Pitkevich) (1877-1962):“And I look at fasting this way – it’s abstinence, not exhaustion of oneself. The main thing in fasting is a contrite heart, with sincere repentance and humility: a broken and humble heart God will not despise(Ps. 50, 19). You need to work, you live in the world, you need strength - don’t feast, don’t enjoy yourself, don’t allow yourself excesses, and if, out of necessity, you have to eat an egg or milk during Lent, the Lord will not punish you or count it as a sin...”

How to fast?

Archbishop of Voronezh and Zadonsk Anthony (1773-1846) to the question “How...to spend the Great Lent?”, he said:

"Go to church. Our Mother Church will teach us how to spend Lent. With prayer, combine abstinence from foods prohibited by the Church, with abstinence, alms, with alms, love, humility and other holy virtues. You need to speak, confess, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ and, having thus prepared for salvation, meet in heavenly, unspeakable joy the Bright Resurrection of Christ.”

Fasting in Scripture

Old Testament

“When they were full, their hearts were lifted up, and therefore they forgot Me.”(Hos. 13, 6).

“But even now the Lord says: Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping and mourning.”(Joel 2, 12).

“Be not among those who are drunk with wine, nor among those who are full of meat; for the drunkard and the one who is full will become poor, and sleepiness will be clothed in rags.”(Proverbs 23, 20-21).

In the book of Tobit, the angel Raphael says to Tobiah: “A good deed is prayer with fasting and alms and justice… It is better to give alms than to collect gold” (Tov.12, 8).

The psalms of King David mention how he fasted, dressed in sackcloth, and exhausted his soul with fasting. For example: “My knees are weak from fasting”(Ps. 108, 24).

New Testament

“When you fast, do not be sad like the hypocrites; for they put on gloomy faces in order to appear to people as fasting. Truly I tell you, they are already receiving their reward.”(Matthew 6:16-18).

Christ, having cast out a demon from a certain young man, said to the apostles: “ This race can only be driven out by prayer and fasting."(Matthew 17:21).

About fasting on Wednesday and Friday: “The days will come when the Bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”(Mark 2:20).

“The Lord Jesus Christ was led by the Spirit into the wilderness; there for forty days He was tempted by the devil and did not eat anything during those days.”(Luke 4: 1-2).

“When they (the apostles) served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said: “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then they, having fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, sent them away” (Acts 13: 2-3).

“Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial; “Everything is permissible for me, but nothing should possess me.”(1 Cor. 6:12).

The Holy Apostle Paul in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, exhorting the faithful to show themselves to everyone as servants of God, mentions fasting among other godly deeds: “... in vigils, in fasts"(2 Cor. 6:5) - and then, remembering his exploits, he says: "... in labor and exhaustion, often in vigil, in hunger and thirst, often in fasting"(2 Cor. 11:27).

Prologue in teachings. About the necessity and benefits of fasting

(The word of St. John Chrysostom on greed. Prol. 23 Dec.)

The Holy Church, following the example of the Lord and His Apostles, established fasts for us on certain days. So, according to its charter, we observe the fasts: Great, Nativity, Assumption and Petrovsky; We fast on Wednesdays and Fridays, on the day of the Exaltation of the Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord and on the day of the beheading of the Head of the Honest and Glorious Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John. Here, speaking about fasts and listing them, we will stop for a moment and ask ourselves: the posts have been established, but the point is, are they needed and do we have any benefit from them?

What to answer to this? St. Chrysostom reasons: “Many people say: why fast for the purely living? But they are wrong. Who was holier than Adam before the Fall? But he was also given a post. From every tree in the garden, he was commanded, you shall eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, do not eat from it (Gen. 2: 16-17). Here is the first post that was in heaven. But if it was necessary for man in paradise, then even more so it became necessary for him after the Fall. If he was needed for us even when we had not yet sinned; it became all the more necessary after the Fall. And God is angry with those who blaspheme the fast, and loves those who observe it. Adam did not keep the fast and heard a menacing voice: You are earth and you will go to earth. From this understand that God is angry with those who blaspheme the fast, and condemns those who break it to death. You understand the power of fasting. He saves those going to execution from execution; and not just one or two, but a great multitude. Remember the Ninevites: they would all have perished if they had not turned to repentance and fasting. Honest fasting rescued them from the very abyss of destruction. And we have a lesson from them. They did not know the law and kept the fast. Should we, who have the law and instructions for fasting, break it? Both Moses and Elijah, going to talk with God, first of all imposed a fast on themselves. And the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, not needing to fast, however, fasted for forty days to set an example for us and show that by fasting we can defeat all the power of the devil.”

It is clear, brothers, that fasting is useful and necessary for us. And this is true. - let’s conclude the lesson with the words of one preacher, is the most favorable remedy for the salvation of the soul and the health of the body. Just as a person cannot walk without legs, a bird cannot fly without wings; so it is impossible for the soul to be saved without fasting. Fasting mortifies passions, tames the rebellion of the flesh, extinguishes the kindling of lust, bridles the tongue and keeps it from idle talk, drives away sinful thoughts, lifts the mind to God, disposes the soul to prayer, softens the hardness of the heart, gives birth to tender groaning about sins, opens the way to repentance and reconciliation with God blessing. What grace! How much good fasting brings us (Instructional by Archpriest Piskarev, part 2, pp. 65-66).

Fast, brothers, and you will renounce sensory life, you will think more often about heaven, you will more easily cultivate piety in your soul, you will improve in faith, hope and love for God, and adorn yourself with virtues. Amen.

To violators of fasts

(Holy Prophet Daniel and the three holy youths Ananias, Azariah and Misail)

Today's peace lovers and carnivores do not rebel against any of the decrees of the Church as much as they do against the decrees on fasting. “What are the posts for?” they shout. “Without nutritious food, health is lost, and the mind becomes darkened, and we cannot pray, and we become irritated by them, etc.” - they shout like that, and it turns out, in their opinion, as if fasting really is evil, and breaking it is not at all reprehensible and even should. But in fact, they are sadly mistaken; for fasting not only does not harm health, but improves it; not only does it not darken the mind, but enlightens it.

When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took the Jews captive to Babylon, he decided to take several children from the best Jewish families to be raised at his court. Among these children were the twelve-year-old boy Daniel and his three companions: Ananias, Azariah and Misail. Receiving abundant food, but forbidden by the Law of Moses, from the royal table, they did not want to be defiled by it and asked the steward placed over them to give them only vegetables and water for food. The bailiff initially refused their request, saying: “I’m afraid of the king: if he sees you exhausted, then he will take my life.” To this Daniel replied: “Make an experiment on us for ten days; and if after this time the youths who eat the royal food turn out to be fuller than us, then refuse us our request, otherwise fulfill it.” The bailiff agreed, so what? At the end of the period, the faces of their goodness appeared and were stronger in flesh than the youths who ate from the royal table (Dan. 1, 15) This was before the birth of Christ. Let's turn to New Testament times. Macarius of Alexandria in St. He ate Pentecost once a week and lived a hundred years. St. Simeon the Stylite in St. He did not eat anything during the Pentecostal period and lived one hundred and three years. The Monk Anthimus also spent Great Lent without food and lived one hundred and ten years. And some lived even longer, for example, Paul of Thebes for one hundred and thirteen years, and Alypius the Stylite for one hundred and eighteen years. Clearly, this means that fasting not only does not harm your health, but also strengthens it.

As for the opinion that fasting darkens the mind, it is even more unfounded than the first. The aforementioned Daniel and his comrades fasted for three years and studied during this time. Has their mind diminished? On the contrary, God gave them, it is said, meaning and wisdom in all the wisdom of the books (Dan. 1, 17). And when, at the end of the period of education, they were brought to the king, the king talked with them: and from all of them the like of Daniel and Ananias and Azariah and Misail was not found; and I stood before the king, and in every word of wisdom and skill, about which the king asked of them, I found ten times more than all the charmers and magicians who were in his whole kingdom (19-20). Let us now turn again to New Testament times. Macarius of Egypt, the great faster, was not at all learned; Meanwhile, his works are distinguished by their deep knowledge of theology, the human soul and visible nature. Anthony the Great studied only from the book of nature and shamed the arrogant philosophers with his learning. The apostles, also not learned people, but who used to impose fasting on themselves before going out to preach, more than once also put to shame the wise of this world and conquered entire nations and kingdoms to Christ. And finally, what about He Himself? And He also, entering into public ministry, fasted for forty days and forty nights. After this, there is no point in spreading evidence about the benefits of fasting and refuting arguments regarding its harm. Perhaps nothing can convince the sensualists who have become flesh and blood. The true followers of Christ, who crucify their flesh with passions and lusts, will, one must think, remain faithful to the statutes of the Church without evidence, and do not need any ideas about the benefits of fasting.

Let us, brethren, imitate the latter and flee the foolish wisdom of the former. Let our body actually weaken from fasting. What's the matter? A Christian should not care about the fullness and beauty of the body, but about the renewal and beautification of the soul; and it is renewed and strengthened only when the body is subordinated to it. While your outer man decays, your inner man is renewed(2 Cor. 4:16). Amen.

About cooking with prayer for God's blessing

(From the word from the Paterikon about a certain monastic who ran away from human glory)

Based on the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed food during His earthly life before eating it (Matthew 14:19), on the teaching of St. fathers (Cyr. Jer. public teaching. XIII, 36) and, finally, based on the natural feeling of love and gratitude to God, who has mercy and nourishes us, we Christians have the habit of sitting down at the table to pray and ask God to bless us food for health. But this alone, brethren, is dissatisfied. We need to see that its preparation begins and is accompanied by prayer; for food prepared with the request of God’s blessing becomes both palatable to the taste and healthy to the body; Without God’s blessing, it not only loses its taste, but also becomes harmful to health.

Under Emperor Theodosius the Younger, a monk who came out of the Egyptian desert settled near Tsar City. One day, the emperor, passing by his hut, decided to go to him and pushed him at the door. The monk opened the door and, not knowing who his guest was, mistook the emperor for a simple warrior. Having said the prayer, the king sat down and had a conversation with the monk. “How do they live, he asked, the Egyptian fathers?” “Thank God,” answered the elder, “and they pray for your salvation.” And then, in turn, he asked: “Would you like to eat something?” “I want,” was the answer. The monk supplied bread, butter, salt and water. The guest drank and ate. After the meal, he said to the elder: “Do you know who I am?” “God knows you,” answered the monk. “I am Tsar Theodosius.” The monk bowed to him. The king continued: “Oh, how blessed are you, monks, free from the vanity of the world! So I was born of a king; but believe me, in all my life I have never tasted food with such pleasure as I tasted from you now.” - “Do you know why this is?” - said the old man. "From what?" - “Because we, monks, prepare food with prayer and blessing; That’s why even bad food becomes sweet; You put a lot of work into preparing it, but you don’t ask for blessings, and that’s why tasty food becomes tasteless.” The date is over; but after that the king began to show the elder special respect. The latter, not tolerating human glory, soon retreated to Egypt again...

Nowadays, stomach diseases have become perhaps the most common. Who doesn’t now complain of loss of appetite or indigestion? Who doesn’t cry: both this, and the other, and the third are harmful to me? What is this from? From intemperance? Agree. But at the same time, it is also because food among Christians lately has not been sanctified by prayer at all. Look at the ancient ascetics: didn’t they eat food that was much worse and harsher than us? But, however, they lived for a hundred years or more. Why is this? Because, as the above-mentioned elder put it, the blessing of God brought down by prayer made even bad food sweet and life-giving; but we have no prayer for food, there is no God’s blessing on it, there is no sanctification, and, therefore, there is no pleasant taste or nutritional power in it.

So, from here we will call God's blessing on bread which we eat, and on the cups from which we drink. Let us not imitate the people of this age, who now consider it a shame to protect both food and themselves before eating it with the sign of the cross; Let us often bring to mind the words of Christ the Savior: Whosoever shall be ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, and the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels(Mark 8:38). Amen.

The devil is driven away by fasting, reading the Gospel and fighting evil thoughts.

(A Word about Mark Monas)

Speaking with you about the means that are given to us to fight the devil and serve to shame him and drive him away from us, we pointed to prayer, humility, reading the Psalter, hard work and prayer to St. Archangel Michael. Now we intend to talk about some other benefits, namely: fasting, reading and studying the Gospel and the fight against evil thoughts.

The Monk Macarius, sitting one day by the road, saw the devil in the form of a man, hung with some vessels and heading towards a nearby monastery. With prayer the saint stopped the demon and asked: “Where are you going?” “Yes, I’m going to visit the brethren,” was the answer. “What kind of vessels are you with?” said the reverend. “And these,” answered the demon, are various dishes for monks.” “Why are there so many of them with you?” asked Macarius. “Yes, so that if you don’t like one thing, then treat the brethren with others. They won’t accept one of my evil advice or suggestions, well, I’ll offer another even worse one, and in this way I’ll catch someone,” said the devil and went his way. The monk remained to wait for his return. Having waited, he asked: “Well, how are you doing?” “Hoods,” answered the demon, “almost all the monks did not accept me and only one obeys me a little.” “What’s his name?” “Theopemptus,” answered the devil and disappeared. Macarius went to the monastery. Having learned of his approach, the monks, with statues in their hands, came out to meet him, and all vying with each other, they each called him to their place. He, having learned which of them was Theopempt, went to the latter and was received with joy. The conversation began. "How are you doing?" the monk asked his master. “Okay, with your prayers,” answered Theopempt. “Well, don’t evil thoughts bother you?” the old man continued. Ashamed to admit them, the monk said that they were not embarrassed. “What a lucky guy! exclaimed the monk; But I’ve been fasting for so many years, and you yourself see how everyone reveres me, and yet bad thoughts still haunt me.” Then Theopempt confessed: “Yes, father, I too am greatly possessed by the spirit of fornication!” The elder then began to extort from him other evil thoughts that overwhelmed him, and Theopempt confessed to many. “Until what hour do you fast?” Macarius asked after this. “Until the third hour in the afternoon,” answered the monk. The monk told him: “Try to fast until the evening; read and study the Gospel and the writings of St. fathers; if an evil thought comes, with all the strength of your soul, drive it away from you, and the Lord will help you defeat the enemy.” Theopempt promised to follow the elder’s advice, and Macarius left him. Soon after this, he again met the devil and in response to his question: “Where are you going?” again I received the answer: “I’m going to visit the brethren.” Having again waited for the demon to return, the monk again asked: “How are you doing?” “Very bad,” answered the devil, “now, all the monks, without exception, did not accept me and Theopempt with them. And I don’t know who corrupted him so much. For now he was the worst for me.” After this, the demon disappeared, and the monk returned to his cell, glorifying God.

Seeing from here how unbearable fasting, the word of God and the fight against evil thoughts are for the devil, we will also use these means in battle with him and oppose them to our common enemy. He is trying by all means to destroy us: and we, for our part, must use all measures to defeat him. He declared irreconcilable abuse on us: and we will declare it on him. He walks roaring like a lion, seeking whom he may devour: and we will go out against him, clothed with the whole armor of God. Amen.

Compiled by L. Ochai

02.01.2014

Update 03/11/2019

The patristic works are an inexhaustible source of spiritual wisdom. The saints of God did not ignore such important work as... We offer our readers - for edification and strengthening - some of the sayings of the saints about what Great Lent is and how to spend it correctly.

About the meaning of Lent

“Do not despise the Fourth Day, it is an imitation of the life of Christ”

“Throughout Lent, the faithful must fast, because it contains the order and rules of the society of the Lord.” (Hieromartyr Ignatius the God-Bearer).

“If you have a soul dressed in the clothes of covetousness and greed, then put off the sackcloth, put off fornication and put on the bright clothes of chastity. I urge you to this: before Jesus, the Bridegroom of our souls, comes and sees your clothes, you have enough time, since you have been given forty days for repentance.”

“Despise the blessings of this world in every possible way. What you leave is insignificant, you will receive much more from the Lord; leave the present, believe in the future. You have wasted so much time in vain work for the world, will you really not abstain on Holy Pentecost for the sake of saving your soul?” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem).

“The Lord sanctified the Feast of Lent for us with His fasting: He did this for our salvation, so as not only by word, but also by example, to teach us how to fast.”

“The Prophet Elijah, having completed a forty-day fast, became worthy to extinguish the long-term and terrible dry land with rain dew and quench the burning thirst of the earth with an abundance of heavenly waters. We must know that this was done for our edification, so that we, while in fasting, during the Holy Pentecost, would be rewarded with the baptismal waters of spiritual rain, so that this rain would descend from above onto our land, which had long since dried up, and water the long-term dry land of the unbaptized with soul-saving dew. baths For he who is not watered by the grace of Baptism is dry and suffers heat and a soul-destroying burning sensation.” (St. Ambrose of Milan).

“The days of Pentecost signify the life of the present age, just as the days of Easter prefigure eternal bliss. During Lent we have contrition, and on Easter we are filled with joy, since in this life we ​​must bear repentance in order to achieve eternal blessings in the future life.” (St. Augustine).

“Everyone in earthly life must give alms, sigh over sins and shed tears. But if the delights of the world often hinder us in this, then at least during the days of fasting let us fill our hearts with the sweets of God’s law.” (St. Augustine).

“A careless person who has not prepared anything in due time suffers hunger for a whole year; So the one who neglects fasting, reading the Holy Scriptures, and prayer at the present time will not be able to gather spiritual wheat and heavenly drink for the soul and will suffer eternal thirst and grave misery.” (St. Augustine).

“The more days of fasting, the better the treatment; The longer the period of abstinence, the more abundant the acquisition of salvation.” (St. Augustine).

“The forty-day fast is not a human invention, but the will of God, and this is something mysterious and inaccessible to comprehension.” (Saint Peter Chrysologus).

“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, the holy apostles established that we separate tithes from the very days of our lives and dedicate them to God, so that we too would 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.” (Reverend Abba Dorotheos).

“The Gospel shows us the need to observe fasts through the example of the Savior, who fasted for forty days in the desert (see: Matt. 4: 1-3). To the question of the disciples about the healing of the demon-possessed youth, Jesus answered: “This generation cannot be delivered by anything except prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:21). The Gospel also contains instructions for fasting on Wednesday and Friday: “The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on those days” (Matthew 9:15).”

“The Apostle Paul indicated an incorruptible crown, and ordered everyone who wants to take it to kill and enslave the body. I didn’t include any other means. Here is the mortification of the body, and there is an incorruptible crown. If you want the latter, take the first.” (St. Theophan the Recluse).

“Whoever does not crucify the flesh is not Christ’s, not a Christian. And our whole life must pass in the mortification and enslavement of the flesh. Otherwise, you will immediately end up among the inaccessible, and then you will suffer their fate: “bring an inaccessible slave into the pitch darkness, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” So that, through oblivion or being carried away by our affairs, we do not fall into this fate, the Holy Church reminds us of this mortification of the flesh every week - on Wednesdays and Fridays, and at every time of the year with long fasts.” (St. Theophan the Recluse).

On the correct understanding of Lent

“Fast God in the following way: do not be deceitful in your life, but serve God with a pure heart, keep His commandments, walk in His commandments, and do not allow any evil lust in your heart. Believe in God, have the fear of God, and you will refrain from every evil deed. By doing this, you will perform a great fast pleasing to God and live with God.” (Shepherd Hermas).

“Excessive food makes the body an overloaded ship, which, with little movement of the waves, goes to the bottom.” (Abba Leonty).

“He who hopes to acquire it through bodily fasting alone can never achieve perfect purity if he does not recognize that abstinence is necessary so that after pacifying the flesh through fasting, he can more easily enter into battle with other passions.” (Abba Serapion).

“Prayer is powerless if it is not based on fasting, and fasting is fruitless if prayer is not built on it.” (Reverend Mark the Ascetic).

“Fasting does not allow rancor. And those who collect in memory the sorrows and the evil they have done, although they apparently pray and fast, are like people who draw water and pour it into a broken barrel.” (Reverend Ephraim the Syrian).

“What does fasting do? Heals diseases, dries up phlegm, drives away demons, destroys evil thoughts, makes the heart pure. If anyone is greatly troubled (struggled) by an unclean spirit, then let him know the medicine that is in the words of the Lord: “This kind cannot come out except through prayer and fasting.” (Saint Athanasius the Great).

“Beware of measuring fasting by simply abstaining from food. Anyone who abstains from food and behaves inappropriately is likened to the devil, who, although he does not eat anything, does not stop sinning.” (St. Basil the Great).

“Abstinence from food in itself is not enough to make fasting commendable, but it is necessary that in other respects the behavior, that is, speech, and treatment, and rapprochement should be with those from whom one can benefit, so that abstinence from food was a complement to asceticism" (St. Basil the Great).

“If fasting is commanded, then be careful not to despise it. And even if hunger forces you every day to evade fasting, overcome by intemperance, you better prepare yourself for heavenly pleasure.” (St. Ambrose of Milan).

“We fast not in order to provide any benefit to the Lord who suffered for us, but in order to assimilate (confess) for our salvation the suffering of the Lord, which He deigned to endure for us. Thus, our fast will be favorable to God.” (St. Epiphanius of Cyprus).

“The one who fasts most of all needs to curb 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 almsgiving, drive out from the soul all anger toward one’s neighbor.” (St. John Chrysostom).

“The fasting person should be calm, quiet, meek, humble, strong, despising the glory of this life. The fasting person must make prayers and confessions before God with great zeal. Do you see what true fasting consists of? (St. John Chrysostom).

“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 grant you the fruits of repentance in abundance.” (St. John Chrysostom).

The head of virtues is prayer; their basis is fasting.

Fasting is constant moderation in food with prudent pickiness in it.

Proud man! you dream so much and so highly about your mind, but it is in complete and continuous dependence on your stomach.

The law of fasting, while outwardly a law for the belly, is in essence a law for the mind.

The mind, this king in man, if it wants to enter into the rights of its autocracy and preserve them, must first of all submit to the law of fasting. Only then will he be constantly cheerful and bright; only then can he rule over the desires of the heart and body; only with constant sobriety can he study the commandments of the Gospel and follow them. The basis of virtues is fasting.

The newly created man, introduced into paradise, was given a single commandment, the commandment of fasting. Of course, one commandment was given because it was sufficient to preserve the primordial man in his integrity.

The commandment did not speak about the quantity of food, but only forbade the quality. Let those who recognize fasting only in the quantity of food, and not in quality, remain silent. By delving deeper into the experiential study of fasting, they will see the importance of food quality.

The commandment of fasting, announced by God to man in paradise, is so important that, along with the commandment, a threat of execution was pronounced for violating the commandment. The execution consisted of defeating people with eternal death.

And now sinful death continues to strike violators of the holy commandment of fasting. He who does not observe moderation and proper discernment in food, cannot preserve either virginity or chastity, cannot curb anger, indulges in laziness, despondency and sadness, becomes a slave of vanity, the home of pride, which introduces into a person his carnal state, which is most luxurious and well-fed meals.

The commandment of fasting is renewed or confirmed by the Gospel. “Take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be burdened with gluttony and drunkenness.”(), the Lord bequeathed. Overeating and drunkenness impart fatness not only to the body, but to the mind and heart, i.e. They bring a person’s soul and body into a carnal state.

On the contrary, fasting puts a Christian into a spiritual state. Purified by fasting, he is humble in spirit, chaste, modest, silent, subtle in his heartfelt feelings and thoughts, light in body, capable of spiritual achievements and speculation, capable of receiving Divine grace.

The carnal man is completely immersed in sinful pleasures. He is voluptuous in body, heart, and mind; he is incapable not only of spiritual pleasure and the acceptance of Divine grace, but also of repentance. He is generally incapable of spiritual pursuits: he is nailed to the ground, drowned in materiality, alive - dead in soul.

“Woe to you who are now full: for you will hunger!”(). This is the saying of the Word of God to those who violate the commandment of holy fasting. What will you eat in eternity, when here you have learned only to be satiated with material indulgences and material pleasures that are not in heaven? What will you eat in eternity, when you have not tasted a single heavenly good? How can you eat and enjoy heavenly blessings when you have not acquired any sympathy for them and have acquired disgust?

The daily bread of Christians is Christ. Insatiable satiation with this bread is satiety and saving pleasure, to which all Christians are invited.

Feast insatiably on the Word of God; be insatiably satisfied with the fulfillment of the commandments of Christ; be insatiably satisfied with the meal, "prepared to resist the cold x to you,” and revel in "by the cup of sovereignty" ().

Where should we begin, says Saint Macarius the Great, who have never studied our hearts? Standing outside, let us knock by prayer and fasting, as the Lord commanded: “Push and the opening will be opened to you” ().

This feat, which one of the greatest teachers of monasticism offers us, was the feat of the holy apostles. From among him they were privileged to hear the broadcasts of the Spirit. "To those who serve the Lord, says the writer of their deeds, and to those fasting, the Holy Spirit said: Separate Me Barnabas and Saul for the work for which they were called. Then having fasted and prayed and laid hands on her, she let them go.”(). From the midst of the feat, in which fasting and prayer were combined, the command of the Spirit was heard to call the pagans to.

A wonderful combination of fasting and prayer! - is powerless if it is not based on fasting, and fasting is fruitless if prayer is not created on it.

Fasting detaches a person from carnal passions, and fights spiritual passions, and, having defeated them, penetrates the entire makeup of a person, cleanses him; She introduces God into the purified verbal temple.

Whoever sows the land without cultivating it destroys the grain and reaps thorns instead of wheat. So we too, if we sow the seeds of prayer without thinning our flesh, then instead of truth we will bear fruit in sin. will be destroyed and plundered by various vain and vicious thoughts and dreams, desecrated by voluptuous sensations. Our flesh comes from the earth, and unless it is cultivated like the earth, it can never bear the fruit of righteousness.

On the contrary, if someone cultivates the land with great care and expense, but leaves it unsown, then it will be thickly covered with tares. So, when the body is weakened by fasting, and the soul is not nourished by prayer, reading, humility: then fasting becomes the parent of numerous tares - spiritual passions: arrogance, vanity, contempt.

What is the passion of gluttony and drunkenness? The natural desire for food and drink, which has lost its correctness, requires a much greater quantity and varied quality of them than is needed to maintain life and bodily strength, on which excessive nutrition acts opposite to its natural purpose, acts harmfully, weakening and destroying them.

The desire for food is corrected by a simple meal and abstinence from satiety and enjoyment of food. First, one must leave satiety and pleasure: this is how the desire for food is refined and receives correctness. When the desire becomes correct, then it is satisfied with simple food.

On the contrary, the desire for food, satisfied by satiety and pleasure, is dulled. To excite him, we resort to a variety of tasty foods and drinks. The desire at first appears to be satisfied; then it becomes more whimsical, and finally turns into a painful passion, seeking constant pleasure and satiety, constantly remaining unsatisfied.

Intending to devote ourselves to serving God, let us make fasting the basis of our endeavor. The essential quality of any foundation must be unshakable firmness: otherwise it is impossible for a building to stand on it, no matter how strong the building itself is. And we will never, never, under any pretext, allow ourselves to break our fast through satiety, especially drunkenness.

The Holy Fathers recognize that the best fasting is eating food once a day without being full. Such fasting does not weaken the body through prolonged abstinence and does not burden it with excess food, and moreover preserves it capable of soul-saving activities. Such a fast does not represent any striking feature, and therefore the fasting person has no reason for the exaltation to which a person is so inclined regarding virtue itself, especially when it is sharply exposed.

Whoever is busy with bodily labor or is so weak in body that he cannot be content with eating food once a day: he must eat twice. Fasting is for man, not man for fasting.

But with any consumption of food, both rare and frequent, satiety is strictly prohibited: it makes a person incapable of spiritual achievements, and opens the door to other carnal passions.

Immoderate fasting, i.e. prolonged excessive abstinence in food is not approved by the Holy Fathers: from immeasurable abstinence and the exhaustion that results from it, a person becomes incapable of spiritual achievements, often turns to gluttony, and often falls into the passion of exaltation and pride.

The quality of food is very important. The forbidden fruit of paradise, although it was beautiful to look at and tasty, but it had a detrimental effect on the soul: it imparted to it the knowledge of good and evil, and thereby destroyed the purity in which our forefathers were created.

And now food continues to have a strong effect on the soul, which is especially noticeable when drinking wine. This effect of food is based on its varied effect on flesh and blood, and on the fact that its vapors and gases from the stomach rise to the brain and have an effect on the mind.

For this reason, all intoxicating drinks, especially bread drinks, are forbidden to the ascetic, as they deprive the mind of sobriety, and thus victory in mental warfare. A defeated mind, especially by voluptuous thoughts, having delighted in them, is deprived of spiritual grace; what has been acquired through many long labors is lost in a few hours, in a few minutes.

A monk should not drink wine at all, said the Monk Pimen the Great. This rule should be followed by every pious Christian who wants to preserve his virginity and chastity. The Holy Fathers followed this rule, and if they drank wine, it was very rarely and with the greatest moderation.

Hot food should be excluded from the abstinent meal, as it excites bodily passions. These are pepper, ginger and other spices.

The most natural food is that which was assigned to man by the Creator immediately upon creation - food from the plant kingdom: God said to our forefathers: “Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb that yields seed, which is on the top of the whole earth; and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit in it will be for you to eat.”(). After the flood, eating meat was allowed ().

Plant food is the best for an ascetic. It warms the blood the least, fattens the flesh the least; vapors and gases that separate from it and ascend to the brain have the least effect on it; finally, it is the healthiest, as it produces the least mucus in the stomach. For these reasons, when using it, purity and vigor of the mind are especially conveniently preserved, and with them its power over the whole person; when using it, passions are less active, and a person is more capable of engaging in deeds of piety.

Fish dishes, especially those prepared from large sea fish, have a completely different effect: they have a more noticeable effect on the brain, fatten the body, warm the blood, and fill the stomach with harmful mucus, especially with frequent and constant use.

These effects are incomparably strong from eating meat food: it extremely fattens the flesh, giving it a special plumpness, and heats the blood; its vapors and gases greatly burden the brain. For this reason it is not used at all by monks; it belongs to people living in the middle of the world, always busy with intense bodily labor. But for them, constant use of it is harmful.

How! the imaginary wise men will exclaim here: meat food is permitted to man by God, and do you forbid its consumption? – To this we respond with the words of the Apostle: “All my years are the essence (i.e., everything is allowed to me), but not all is for good: all are years, but not all are edifying.”(). We shy away from eating meats not because we consider them unclean, but because they produce special fatness in our entire composition and interfere with spiritual success.

The rules of fasting were established to help her children, as a guide for the entire Christian society. At the same time, everyone is instructed to consider himself with the help of an experienced and prudent spiritual father, and not to impose on himself a fast that exceeds his strength: because, we repeat, fasting is for man, and not man for fasting; food given to support the body should not destroy it.

“If you hold your belly,” said Saint Basil the Great, then you will ascend to heaven; if you don’t hold back, you will be a victim of death.” The name of paradise here should mean a grace-filled prayerful state, and the name of death a passionate state. A person’s state of grace during his stay on earth serves as a guarantee of his eternal bliss in heavenly Eden; the descent into the power of sin and into a state of spiritual deadness serves as a guarantee of the descent into the hellish abyss for eternal torment. Amen.

Thoughts of the Holy Fathers on Fasting “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: do not take it down is the legalization of fasting and abstinence” St. Basil the Great. “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 earth...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.” St. Basil the Great. “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.” Rev. Avva Dorotheus. “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 virtues will be shaken and blown away from bad thoughts and from the flow of passions, like sand blown away by the wind, and the entire edifice of virtue collapses.” . Simeon the New Theologian. “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 now, with a loud voice, cry out, testify, ask and beg - not with an unclean, not with a vicious conscience, approach this sacred meal, because otherwise it will not be communion, .. but condemnation, torment and increased punishment." St. John Chrysostom “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?” St. John Chrysostom. “Strict fasts become in vain when they are followed by excessive consumption of food, which soon reaches the vice of gluttony” Rev. John Cassian the Roman. “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.” St. John Chrysostom. “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.” Rev. Avva Dorotheus. “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. » St. John Chrysostom. “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.” Blessed. Diadochos. “We must pay attention so that, through excessive abstinence, weakening the 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” St. Basil the Great. “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.” Rev. John Cassian the Roman. “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 no lower in wisdom than 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.” St. Basil the Great. “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, as a Christian, you want fasting to be useful to you, then, while fasting physically, fast mentally, and always fast.” St. Tikhon of Zadonsk. “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 is not food that is evil, but sin that is evil.” St. John Chrysostom. “Whoever eats food and cannot fast, let him give abundant alms, let him pray fervently, let him be intensely zealous in listening to the word of God; here bodily weakness does not hinder us at all; let him be reconciled 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 even abstinence from food so that we, curbing the lust of the flesh, make it obedient in fulfilling the commandments.” St. John Chrysostom. “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” St. John Chrysostom. “Just as healthy eyes are characterized by a desire for light, so fasting, observed with prudence, is characterized by a desire for prayer.” Rev. Isaac the Syrian. “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)” St. John Chrysostom. “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” St. John Chrysostom. “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.” St. Basil the Great. “Tighten your belly with abstinence, and thereby stop your mouth; for the tongue takes strength from many foods” Rev. John Climacus. “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.” Rev. John Climacus. “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.” Rev. Isaac the Syrian. “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.” Rev. John Climacus. “Whoever serves his own belly, and at the same time wants to overcome the spirit of fornication, is like someone who extinguishes a fire with oil” Rev. John Climacus. “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” St. John Chrysostom. “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.” Simeon the New Theologian. “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.” Rev. Isaac the Syrian.

Do not neglect the Pentecostal Day, it is an imitation of the life of Christ. (St. Ignatius the God-Bearer)

May God be glorified, who has given us three ways to fight the devil: confession, fasting and prayer. ( Equal to the Apostles Cosmas of Aetolia)

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

Fasting the body is food for the soul. (St. John Chrysostom)

Some, while observing the prescribed fasts, do not refuse, however, to satisfy the desire to eat plenty and sweetly, which completely destroys the dignity of fasting. ( Venerable Nicodemus the Holy Mountain)

The Pentecostal 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. (St. Asterius of Amasia)

The natural consequence of this is that those who love their well-fed flesh and the comforts of life love people carnally and are spiritually destroyed by their own flesh. (St. Paisiy Svyatogorets)

The more you take from the body, the more you give to the soul. (St. Basil the Great)

Let us attend the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, because they are filled with contrition and grace... (St. Ephraim of Philotheus)

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. (St. John Kolov)

Abstinence starves demons. (St. Theophan the Recluse)

Just as intemperance in food is the cause and source of countless evils for the human race, so fasting and contempt for carnal pleasures have always been the cause of untold blessings for us... Just as light ships quickly cross the seas, but those burdened with a large load sink; So fasting, making our mind lighter, helps it quickly swim across the sea of ​​real life, strive for the sky and celestial objects. (St. John Chrysostom)

It’s not just the mouth that should fast—no, let the eye, the ear, the hands, and our whole body fast. (St. John Chrysostom)

True fasting is elimination of evil deeds. Forgive your neighbor's insult, forgive him his debts. “Do not fast in courts and quarrels.” You do not eat meat, but you eat your brother. You abstain from wine, but you do not restrain yourself from taking offense. You wait until evening to eat food, but you spend the day in court. (St. Basil the Great)

True fasting is avoidance of evil, abstinence of the tongue, suppression of anger, avoidance of lusts, slander, lies, and perjury. (St. Basil the Great)

A thick womb will not give birth to subtle meaning. (St. John Chrysostom)