Lenten Fasting rules and History

1) Roman Rite Legislation
a) Current
b) 1953
c) 1908

2) History and Purpose of Lent from a Byzantine Perspective
3) The Pre-Lenten and Lenten Fast of the Byzantine
4) References

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    1a) Current Roman Rules for Fasting and Abstinence, Minimums

    Canon Law of the Catholic Church concerning fasting and abstinence for Latin Rite Catholics states:

    Can. 1249 All members of the Christian faithful in their own way are bound to do penance in virtue of divine law; in order that all may be joined in a common observance of penance, penitential days are prescribed in which the Christian faithful in a special way pray. exercise works of piety and charity, and deny themselves by fulfilling their responsibilities more faithfully and especially by observing fast and abstinence according to the norm of the following canons.

    Can. 1250 - All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the universal Church. [Although no particular penance is prescribed by the Church (ref. Can. 1250). the old discipline of abstinence on all Fridays and of fasting on all weekdays of Lent should be maintained. If not, it must be replaced by some other form of penance.]

    Can. 1251 Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference of bishops is to be observed on Fridays throughout the year unless they are solemnities; abstinence and fast are to be observed on Ash Wednesday and on the Friday of the Passion of the Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ. [Whenever a solemnity (first class feast) falls on a Friday, abstinence is dispensed.]

    Can. 1252 All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence; all adults are bound by the law of fast up to the beginning of their sixtieth year. Nevertheless, pastors and parents are to see to it that minors who are not bound by the law of fast and abstinence are educated in an authentic sense of penance.

    Can. 1253 It is for the conference of bishops to determine more precisely the observance of fast and abstinence and to substitute in whole or in part for fast and abstinence other forms of penance. especially works of charity and exercises of piety. [In the United States and many other countries the days of abstinence are Ash Wednesday and all Fridays of Lent. On other Fridays, one is allowed to commute abstinence into another form of penance (e.g., the The Way of the Cross). If no other form of penance is objectively substituted abstinence is required. ref. Can. 1251]

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    1b)FASTING AND ABSTINENCE IN THE UNITED STATES 1953

    ABSTINENCE: All Catholics seven years old and over are obliged to observe the Law of Abstinence.

    On days of complete abstinence flesh meat, soup or gravy made from meat, are not permitted at all. On days of partial abstinence flesh meat, soup or gravy made from meat, are permitted once a day at the principal meal.

    Complete abstinence is to be observed on all Fridays; Ash 'Wednesday; Vigils of Immaculate Conception and Christmas; an Holy Saturday. Partial abstinence is to be observed on Ember Wednesdays and Saturdays and on the Vigil of Pentecost.

    Fasting: All Catholics from the completion of their twenty first to the beginning of their sixtieth year are bound to observe the Law of Fast. The days of Fast are the weekdays of Lent; Ember Days; the Vigils of Pentecost, Immaculate Conception and Christmas.

    Only one full meal is permitted on a day of Fast. Two other meatless meals are permitted. These meals should be sufficient to maintain strength in accordance with each ones needs Both of these meals, or collations, together should not equal one full meal.

    It is permissible to eat meat at the principal meal on a Fast Day except on Fridays, Ash Wednesday and the Vigils of the Immaculate Conception and Christmas and on Holy Saturday.

    Solid food between meals is not permitted. Liquids, including coffee, tea, milk and fruit juices, are allowed.

    In connection with problems arising from the Laws of Fast and Abstinence, a confessor or priest should be consulted. Dispensations may be granted for a serious reason concerning health or the ability to work.

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    1c) The Church Law of Abstinence and Fast 1908

    I. The Law of Abstinence forbids the use of flesh meat and of the juice thereof (soup, etc.). Eggs, cheese, butter and seasonings of food are permitted. The Law of Fasting forbids more than one full meal a day, but does not forbid a small amount of food in the morning and in the evening.

    2. All Catholics seven years old and over are obliged to abstain. All Catholics from the completion of their twenty-first to the beginning of their sixtieth year, unless lawfully excused, are bound to fast.

    3. Abstinence alone is prescribed every Friday, unless a holy-day falls thereon. Fasting and abstinence are prescribed in the United States on the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent and Holy Saturday forenoon (on all other days of Lent fasting alone is prescribed and meat is allowed once a (day), the Ember days. viz.: the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday following the first Sunday of Lent, Pentecost or Whitsunday, the 14th of September. and the third Sunday of Advent; the vigils of Pentecost, Assumption, All Saints and Christmas. There is no fast or abstinence if a vigil falls on a Sunday. Whenever meat is permitted, fish may be taken at the same meal. A dispensation is granted to the laboring classes and their families on all days of fast and abstinence except Fridays, Ash Wednesday, Wednesday in Holy Week, Holy Saturday forenoon, and the vigil of Christmas. When any member of such a family lawfully uses this privilege all the other members may avail themselves of it also; but those who fast may not eat meat more than once a day.

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    2) The Holy Great Fast Institution and Duration Purpose

    "Fasting is not a new invention, but a treasure received, from the Fathers. All that is ancient is worthy of praise. Respect the antiquity of fasting! It is as old as man himself. " (St. Basil, On Fasting I)

    The Great Holy Fast, called also the Forty Days Fast, is one of the oldest and most sacred Christian practices. The history of the Great Fast is long and rich in tradition, dating from Apostolic times. The pre-paschal fast is called Great, not only because of its duration but also because of its significance in the life of the Church and of every Christian.

    The Fathers of the Church have the greatest respect and the highest praises for the holy fast. Regarding its antiquity, St. Basil (329-379) wrote: "Allow me again to appeal to history and to recall that fasting is very old and that all the saints observed it as though it were an inheritance from parents, transmitted from father to son. Thus did this treasure come down to us as an unbroken tradition." (On Fasting I)

    Let us examine the development and duration of this spiritual treasure of the Church.

    How Did the Pre-Paschal Fast Develop?

    From Apostolic times, the Apostles and the first Christian community began to replace the day of the Jewish Passover with that of the commemoration of the passion and death of our Lord. For them, the anniversary of the death of Christ was a very sad day, so to celebrate it worthily, they fasted on that day. Thus the original celebration of the Christian Pasch (Passover) began with a fast. This was the Pasch of the crucifixion. According to the testimony of St. lrenaeus (125-20.3), which the Church historian, Eusebius (260-340) mentions, the present Forty Days Fast can be traced back to a time when fasting was restricted to one or two days. This fast was not regarded as a pre-paschal fast but as the Pasch itself. According to this testimony some kept the Paschal fast for one day, others for two, others even more, and some fasted forty hours. (history of the Church, 5,24) In post-apostolic times the Church of the second and third centuries began to attend not only to the sad anniversary of the death of Christ, but also to the ,joyful anniversary of His Resurrection, so that along with the Pasch of the Crucifixion, the Pasch of the Resurrection with the elimination of the paschal fast slowly gained prominence. Even in apostolic times some had already begun to abandon the fast on the very day of the Jewish Pasch (Passover), and others on the following Sunday. According to the testimony of the historian Socrates (379-440), those who celebrated the Pasch together with the Jews, that is, on the fourteenth day of Nisan, affirmed that this had been handed down to them by the Apostles and the evangelist St. John: those who celebrated the feast of the Pasch on the Sunday following the Jewish Pasch. maintained that they had received this custom from Sts. Peter and Paul. "Neither one," remarks Socrates, "can produce any written documents to confirm their positions." (History of the Church, 5,22)

    From this disputes arose between those who celebrated the Pasch with the .Jews and those who celebrated it the following Sunday. These long disputes were finally resolved by the Council of Nicea (325).

    The canonical documents, of the third century speak of the time when the paschal fast ended. According to the canons of Hippolytus, the solemn conclusion of the fast took place at the dawn of Resurrection Day; according to the Didascalia, at the third hour of the night; and according to the Apostolic Constitutions, at cock-crow.

    The Duration of the Great Fast

    In the third century, the pre-paschal fast in some Churches lasted for a whole week, the week that today we call Passion Week. Toward the end of the third century the Great Fast had been extended to forty days. The first clear testimonies concerning the forty days pre-paschal fast (late from the fourth century. The first testimony is presented to us by the Council of Nicea, which states that local synods should convene "once before the Forty Days Fast, so that after removing all disorders, a pure gift may be offered to God, and they should convene one other time in the autumn.'' (can. 5)

    Although in the fourth century the Forty Days Fast became a recognized practice, nevertheless, it is not yet clearly defined, nor is it generally accepted. In certain places a fast still is observed which falls between the ancient short fast and the Forty Days Fast, namely, the twenty-day fast. This fast was observed, especially in the West, where the Forty Days Fast appeared at a much later (late than in the East.

    Referring to the duration of the fast before the Pasch (Easter) in various countries, the historian Socrates, reports: "The fast before the Pasch is observed variously in localities: namely, in Rome, before the Pasch the faithful fast for three weeks, except Saturdays and Sundays. In Illyrium, throughout all Greece and Alexandria they fast for six weeks before Easter and this is called the Forty Days Fast. In other places, the people fast seven weeks before the feast of the Pasch." (History of the Church. 5,22)

    In Egypt, important testimony regarding the gradual transition from the short fast to the Forty Days Fast is found in the paschal letters of St. Athanasius the Great (c. 297-:37:3). In 329, in the first of these letters, he does not specifically mention the Forty Days Fast but speaks only of the beginning of the "holy fast" associated with the Monday of Passion Week. In the eleventh paschal letter of :340 written in Rome and addressed to bishop Serapion of Thmuis, who in the absence of St. Athanasius had governed the Church in Egypt, St. Athanasius gives the following instruction: "Notify the brethren regarding the Forty Days Fast and at the same time instruct them that when the whole world fasts, we alone, who live in Egypt should not expose ourselves to ridicule by not fasting, but rather rejoicing during that time." In the nineteenth letter of 346, St. Athanasius speaks of the observance of the Forty Days Fast as an indispensable condition for a worthy celebration of the Pasch (Easter)- "he who neglects the Forty Days Fast and enters without reflecting the Holy of Holies with an impure heart, he does not celebrate the feast of the Pasch."

    Wherever the custom of the six week fast was in practice, it began on the Monday of the second week of our present day Fast. At the time this practice prevailed, the first week of the Forty Days Fast had not yet become an integral part, of the fast.

    According to an ancient tradition of the Eastern Church, Saturdays and Sundays were not regarded as fast days. Therefore, so that the total number of fast days would be forty, the fast was extended from six to seven weeks. By the end of the fourth century the pre-paschal fast or Forty Days Fast had already become an accepted practice in both the Eastern and Western Churches.

    Is the Number "40" to be Taken Literally or Symbolically?

    Although we speak of a "forty day fast", nevertheless in the Eastern Church this forty day fast lasts only thirty-six and a half days. Seven weeks of fast, excluding Saturdays and Sundays, leaves only thirty-five days. To this number Holy Saturday and half the night before Easter must be added. But this still leaves thirty-six and a half (lays of fast which constitutes one tenth of the whole year. The Latin Church has a six week fast, including Saturdays, so that even in the West the Quadragesima (or Forty Days Fast) consisted of only thirty-six (lays. Therefore, in order to have a full forty days fast, the Latin Church in the seventh century added still another four days to the beginning of the fast. The Latin Church therefore, begins her fast on ''Ash Wednesday", that is, the Wednesday of our first week of the fast.

    From ancient times the number "40", like the numbers 3, 7 and 9, was regarded as having a symbolic meaning, and it is in the symbolic rather than the literal sense that ''40" (lays of the pre-paschal fast must be understood. In the Old Testament we read about the Flood which lasted for 40 (lays (Gen. 7,4), the forty years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness (Nm 14,33), the forty (lays fast of Moses, before he received the tablets of the law from God (Ex. :34.28), and the 40 days journey of Elias to the mountain Horeb (I Kings 19,8). In the New Testament, the Gospels speak of the fortieth day on which Joseph and Mary presented the child Jesus in the temple, the 40 days fast of our Lord in the desert (Mt. 4,2), and the 40 days sojourn of our Lord on earth after His resurrection (Acts 1,2).

    Holy Church from the very beginning sanctified the number "40". During the first centuries, the practice of a forty day penance was customary. This was followed by the Forty Days Fast before the Pasch (Easter). In our Rite, a child is brought to church forty (lays after its birth so that the rite of Churching may he performed over it; also on the fortieth day after death, we commemorate the dead.

    The Purpose of the Great Fast

    'Because we did not fast we were banished from paradise. So then let us fast so as to return back to paradise. " (St. Basil, On Fasting I) The Forty Days Fast has significance for our spiritual life. For various reasons, today we may be unable to fast in the same way as our ancestors did; yet even today we are obliged to a spiritual fast - that is, we are obliged to refrain from sin, and from giving in to our evil inclinations. We are also obliged to pray and to practice virtue and good deeds. In reality then, the most important goal of the Great Fast is our spiritual renewal.

    Above we discussed the institution and duration of the Great Fast, now we shall speak about its purpose as recorded in three different periods of history:

    1. Apostolic Times:

    For the Apostles and First Christians, the day of the Jewish Pasch was a sorrowful day commemorating the death of Jesus Christ, therefore, they celebrated this day with prayer, contrition and fasting. This association of the Pasch with fasting lasted a long time. Even in the second century one may find the word "Pasch" used to denote "fasting". This practice seems to echo the time when the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ took place on one and the same (lay. This association of the sad event of Christ's death with the joyful event of His resurrection has left its traces in our Great Saturday services in which the Lenten service is merged with the resurrection service.

    2. The Paschal Fast and the Catechumenate:

    The third and fourth centuries witnessed the greatest flourishing of the Catechumenate. Catechumens were those who were being prepared for the sacrament of Baptism. This preparation extended over a period of three years and terminated solemnly during the Great Fast. The concluding acts of this preparation were: the giving of a name to the catechumen at the beginning of the Great Fast, an exorcism of evil spirits which took place daily throughout the whole Lenten period, the last instructions in the truths of the holy faith, the final examination and then, the Baptism itself which took place on Great Saturday. Some of these acts were incorporated into the daily service. To become a Christian and a member of the Church through Baptism was regarded as an important event in the life of the newly-baptized and in the life of the Church. For this reason, this joyful event was usually celebrated on the great feasts of the Pasch (Resurrection), Pentecost or the Theophany. In the third century, the rite of baptism was associated above all with the feast of the Pasch. The catechumens prepared themselves for baptism by fasting and prayer. Under the influence of the Catechumenate the pre paschal fast was extended to forty days. As time went on, the rest of the faithful also began to observe this fast together with the catechumens. St. Justin the Martyr (t167) speaks about this custom of the faithful observing the fast together with the catechumens. He says that those who embraced the Christian faith "were taught to implore God by fasting and prayer for the forgiveness of past sins, and we pray and fast together with them." (Apol. 1,61)

    3. The Great Fast - An Endeavor of Soul and Body:

    The institution of the Catechumenate contributed not only to the extension of the Great, Fast to forty days, but also to the fact that, in time, all the faithful adopted this fast so that it became the pre-paschal fast for the whole Church. Later, when the institution of the Catechumenate lost some of its meaning, the Forty Days Fast became an independent ritual. Today, it is observed by the faithful as a time for special prayer, fasting and penance, and as a spiritual preparation for the feast of the Pasch (Resurrection). This attitude of the Church finds its most beautiful expression in our Lenten services, customs and practices. We shall mention certain ones here.

    a.) Lenten Services:

    The Lenten services differ from the ordinary church services in that they include more prayers, more psalms and more readings, especially from the Old Testament. During Lenten services the entire Psalter is read twice a week. Predominant throughout these services is the spirit of penance and sorrow for sins. The Lenten sticheras in Vespers and Matins either lament the fall of man into sin, summon us to penance and sorrow, extol the benefits of fasting and good works, or inspire us to master our senses and to practice virtue. "Let us fast in a manner pleasing and acceptable to God," says one of the stichera of the aposticha in the Vespers of the first. Monday, "genuine fasting is alienating oneself from evil, restraining the tongue, putting aside hatred, parting company with concupiscence, falsehood and the breaking of oaths, - abstaining from all these things is real fasting." In the aposticha of Matins of the first Monday, we sing: "The fast has arrived, the mother of purity, the discoverer of sins, the preacher of penance, the companion of the Angels and the salvation of man: Let us, the faithful, cry out: 0 (god, have mercy on us."

    b. Lenten Penances and Prostrations:

    In the first centuries of Christianity the practice of public penance for various sins and offences prevailed in the Church. Following the wishes of the Church, many penitents performed their penance during the Great Fast. •Just as the faithful adopted the Forty Days Fast from the catechumens, so too, under the influence of Church discipline they began to regard themselves as penitents and to perform various penitential acts (luring the Great Fast. From this stems the profound penitential spirit of our Lenten services.

    Closely connected with our Lenten services are inclinations. These inclinations are made either by bowing from the waist or to the ground (the low, profound bow or prostration), and they are performed at all Lenten services from Monday through Friday.

    The prayer of St. Ephrem (373) with accompanying prostrations merits special consideration. This prayer, repeated at every Lenten service, can be regarded the official Lenten penitential prayer of our Church, expressing, as it does, the whole content and purpose of the Great Fast. We give it here in its entirety:

    "0 Lord and Master of my life, drive from me the spirit of discouragement., negligence, ambition and idle talk. (Prostration).

    Grant me, your servant, the spirit of chastity, humility, patience and charity. (Prostration).

    Yes, my Lord and King, grant me to see my own sins, and not, judge my brother, for you are blessed forever, and ever. Amen." (Prostration).

    The Kievan Metropolitan George (1073) in his "Rules" for priests and laity prescribes for all the faithful to make three hundred prostrations daily during the Forty Days Fast.

    c. The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts:

    A typical Lenten service is the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts. Already in the first centuries there was a custom (luring the Forty Days Fast to omit the celebration of the Divine Liturgy because, at that time, it was still linked with agape, that is the love banquet, and this was not in keeping with the spirit of fasting. Furthermore, the Divine Liturgy was regarded as a joyful mystery; for this reason, its celebration was limited to Saturday and Sunday. On the other days of the week, to give the faithful an opportunity to receive Holy Communion, the Divine Liturgy was replaced by other services, from which the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts developed in time. Actually, this is not a Liturgy in the sense of the word, for it does not have the consecration of bread and wine; but. rather, it is a Vespers service combined with the rite of Holy Communion, for which the bread was previously consecrated. Hence the name of Presanctified Gifts.

    The Council of Laodicea (c. 364) prescribed: "It is not permitted during the Great Fast to offer up the Bread (that is the Holy Liturgy), except on Saturday and Sunday" (rule 49). The Sixth Ecumenical Council of Trullo (691) decreed: "On all the days of the Great Fast, with the exception of Saturday and Sunday, and the feast of the Annunciation, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts must be celebrated." (rule 52).

    When the zeal of the first Christians gradually began to diminish and the custom of daily and frequent Holy Communion was abandoned, the Great Fast became also the time of preparation for a worthy reception of Holy Communion on the feast of the Pasch.

    d. Lenten Sermons:

    In former times, the faithful attended services even twice a day during the Great Fast. At these services, sermons were delivered. St. Basil the Great, during one week in lent, delivered in nine homilies a series of beautiful discourses on the "Hexameron" that is, on the six days of the creation of the world. It was then that he preached twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. He has left us two beautiful discourses on the meaning and benefits of fasting.

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    3) The Sundays of Meatfare and Cheesefare

    "The Lord is coming and who will not fear Him? Who will be able to appear before His face? 0 my soul, prepare for this encounter. " (Ode 3 of the Canon in the Matins of the Sunday of Meatfare)

    The parable of the Prodigal Son, read on the preceding Sunday, portrays in a symbolic way the unfathomable mercy of God who accepts even the greatest sinner that repents and is sorry for his sins. However, to prevent man from sinning boldly and presuming on God's mercy, holy Church in the two succeeding Sundays sets before our eyes two truly dramatic scenes as a warning: the day of the Terrible Judgment and the banishment of our First Parents, Adam and Eve, from paradise. These two staggering scenes depict the justice of God in all its severity. The Gospel of Meatfare Sunday describes the day of the Terrible Judgment, while Cheesefare Sunday laments the expulsion of our First Parents from paradise.

    On the Sunday of the Prodigal Son the Church spoke to us, saying: Wayward children, turn away from the path of sin and in all humility and repentance return to the father's house, for our Heavenly Father is infinitely merciful and He will forgive you also. The Sundays of Meatfare and Cheesefare, on the other hand, warn us in threatening tones: The Lord God is not only infinitely merciful, but also infinitely just, therefore, do not toy with sin but fear the severe hand of God's justice and punishment.

    The day of Judgment reminds all of us about the strict and comprehensive account we shall all have to render concerning our life. The quick and very severe punishment of God that fell upon our First Parents because of one single grievous sin should convince us that with God there is no playing games. Both Sundays, therefore, point out to us the need of amendment of life, sorrow for sins, fasting and penance, for only in this way can we hope to obtain the mercy of God on the day of the Terrible Judgment.

    Meatfare Sunday

    What do we mean by "meatfare"?

    The week following the Sunday of the Prodigal Son is called Meatfare week and it terminates on the Sunday called Meatfare Sunday. Meatfare Sunday is the last day on which it was still permissible to eat meat before the Great Fast. Meatfare means "farewell to meat." Hence, the name "meatfare" Sunday. Of course, we are speaking here of the time when the Great Fast was observed in all strictness.

    The service of Meatfare Sunday:

    The Sunday of Meatfare is also called the Sunday of the Terrible Judgment. In this day's Gospel Christ speaks of the Terrible Judgment, of the reward of the righteous, and the eternal punishment of the wicked. The entire service of this day is devoted to the Last Judgment. By recalling the manner in which the Terrible Judgment, will be carried out, this service is designed to fill us with salutary fear, sorrow for our sins, and to stress the importance of good works, especially works of mercy.

    No one shall escape this Judgment. All our deeds will be exposed and rewarded or punished. This is clear from the following stichera, taken from the solemn Vespers of that Sunday: "The books will be opened and the acts of men will be revealed before the unbearable ,judgment seat: the whole vale of sorrow shall echo with the fearful sound of lamentation, as all the sinners, weeping in vain, are sent by your just judgment to everlasting torment. Therefore, we beseech you, O compassionate and loving Lord: Spare us who sing your praise, for you alone are rich in mercy."

    "The trumpets shall blow, the graves shall be opened and all mankind shall rise trembling. Those who have done good shall rejoice with joy, waiting to receive their reward, while those who have done evil shall tremble greatly, moaning and shaking, as they are separated from the elect and sent to suffering. Therefore, 0 Lord of glory, be compassionate toward us and make us worthy to he counted among those who love You."

    Everyone shall appear at the Terrible Judgment where they shall be no respect for persons, as the following hymn of the canon of the Matins service of that Sunday makes clear: "The day is approaching, already at the door is the judgment! 0 Soul, where kings and princes, the rich and the poor gather, where all people shall be judged and receive according to their deeds." (Ode 4)

    Cheesefare Sunday

    What is meant by "cheesefare"?

    Holy Church in gradually preparing us for the fast, permits us to eat meat for the last time on Meatfare Sunday. During Cheesefare week, however, she permits us to eat only dairy products. Just as we bid farewell to meat on Meatfare Sunday, so too we bid farewell to dairy products on Cheesefare Sunday. Hence, the name Cheesefare Sunday. Our people called this week cheese-or butter-week. This Sunday was the last day for pre-lenten amusements.

    In Western Europe our pre-lenten merrymaking was called a "carnival", a word similar in meaning to meatfare. It is derived from the Italian words "carne vale" which literally means "0 flesh, farewell!" In the Latin Church, the Great Fast begins on the Wednesday of our First Week of Lent, or Ash Wednesday. On this day, ashes are sprinkled on the heads of the faithful as a sign of penance. In the Latin Church meat may be eaten and merrymaking is permitted until this day. In some places this pre-lenten revelry is very riotous and rowdy.

    The practice of Cheesefare week and Cheesefare Sunday is very ancient. It was mentioned by Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexandria (t412). However, it is known that even before that time Meatfare week and Meatfare Sunday had already been established. The synaxary of Cheesefare Saturday states that in the opinion of some writers Cheesefare week received the force of law under the Greek Emperor Herachius (610-641). For six years he had carried on war with the Persian King, Chosroes, without success. Finally, he made a promise that if he won the war, he would abstain from eating meat for a whole week before the Great Fast.

    On the Saturday before Cheesefare Sunday, in order to provide us with an example and an incentive for fasting and penance, holy Church celebrates the memory of those men and women who, from earliest times, devoted their lives to prayer, fasting and penance in monasteries or as hermits in the desert.

    The liturgical service of Cheesefare week begins more and more to embody the theme of fasting, especially on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. On Tuesday of Cheesefare week during the Vesper service ritual, bows and prostrations are prescribed which are continued throughout the Lenten season.

    The Ceremony of Forgiveness on Cheesefare Sunday

    In ancient times in Eastern monasteries a beautiful custom existed in which the rite of mutual forgiveness on Cheesefare Sunday was performed. This rite of forgiveness was carried out in the evening, following a modest repast. All the monks in the presence of the faithful asked pardon of one another for past offences, then embraced, and gave each other the kiss of peace. The faithful did the same among themselves. In some places, while this rite of forgiveness was being carried out, the stichera of the Pasch (Resurrection) was sung: "Today the sacred Pasch has been shown forth to us..." The last stichera ends with an appeal for mutual forgiveness: "and let us embrace one another and say: 'Brethren' even to those who hate us, and let us forgive all things..." The singing of the sticheras of the Pasch (Resurrection) was to signify that just as during the season of Pasch or Eastertide, so now at the threshold of the Great Fast we should mutually ask pardon for offences for the sake of Christ who fasted. suffered, and rose for our sake.

    This very moving rite of forgiveness was still observed at the Kievan Pecherska Lavra until the Communists took over the government. Here also, the monks first had a meager pre-lenten repast, after which all superiors and monks donned their mantles and proceeded to the church. All the superiors of the Lavra, from the highest to the lowest, stood side by side in the middle of the church and the whole monastic community, consisting of several hundred members, one by one approached the superiors, then kneeling, they kissed each other three times while saying, "Forgive me, Father," or "Forgive me, Brother." During this time, the choir sang the stichera taken from the solemn Vespers of Cheesefare Sunday: "Adam sat opposite paradise bewailing his nakedness..." After the completing of the ceremony, all departed in silence.

    Truly, these four pre-lenten Sundays have a deep significance for our spiritual life. For whoever beats his breast as did the Publican and learns humility from his example; whoever learns from the parable of the Prodigal Son to trust. in God's mercy; whoever on Meatfare Sunday, after meditating on the Terrible Judgment, is seized with fear of God's justice, which fell so severely upon our First Parents, as we have seen in the service of Cheesefare Sunday - for him the fast will not be so terrible. Rather, he will understand that it is necessary for his heart and soul. He will willingly fast and make prostrations, knowing that fasting and sorrow for sins can best prepare him for the feast of the Resurrection of our Lord.

    The Practice of the Holy Great Fast

    "The beginning of the fast - it is time for repentance, the day of salvation, 0 Soul; watch, therefore, and close the doors to the passions and lift up your eyes to God. " (Canon of the Monday Matins of the First Week of Lent).

    The time of the Great Fast is for every Christian a time for spiritual combat in which the soul and body are engaged. The soul engages in this combat by praying and meditating more fervently, keeping watch over the senses, by practicing the virtues, and by doing good works. This interior disposition of the soul is manifested outwardly in our body through corporal acts of fasting and penance. There is no spiritual fasting without mortification of the body. "The more you subtract from the body," says St. Basil the Great, "the more brightness of spiritual health you will add to the soul. For it is not by increasing bodily strength, but by perseverance and patient endurance in trial that we gain strength against the invisible enemies." (On the Fast I)

    The traditional practice of the fast in the Church is carried out in two ways: either by total abstinence from all food and drink for a certain period of time, that is fasting in the strict sense of the word; or, by abstaining from certain foods only for a certain period of time, and this kind of fasting is called abstinence.

    Having considered the development, duration and purpose of the Great Fast, we shall consider the manner of fasting.

    The Original Fast Properly So-Called

    Originally, there was no definite norm or Church rules governing the duration or the manner and practice of the Great Fast. Since this was left to the good will of the faithful, different ways of fasting developed. The historian Socrates (c. 379-440) gives the following testimony regarding contemporary fasting: "One can see also a disagreement about the manner of abstinence from food, as well as about the number of days. Some wholly abstain from things that have life; others feed on fish only of all living creatures; many together with fish, eat fowl also, saying that according to Moses, these were likewise made out of the waters. Some abstain from egg,,, and all kinds of fruits; others partake of dry bread only; still others eat not even this; while others having fasted till the ninth hour (that is, to three o'clock in the afternoon our time . afterwards take any sort of food without distinction." (History of Church, 5,22)

    The last words of Socrates in the above testimony indicate that in his time, the essence of fasting was not the kind of food to be eaten, but was rather the duration of the time of total abstinence from food. In other words, the essential thing in fasting was that during the day only one meal was eaten, usually after three o'clock in the afternoon or after sunset. St. Basil, in his treatise on Fasting says: "You wait till evening to eat, while all day you sit in court." (10) St. John Chrysostom says: "No one among us will think that abstaining once till evening will be sufficient for salvation." (On Genesis, hom. 4). Even in monasteries where food was eaten only once a day throughout the year, during the Great Fast the monks did not eat at all for several days.

    The pilgrim Silvia Egeria (fourth century) speaking of the monks of .Jerusalem says that some of them during the Great Fast "having taken food after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, do not eat again until Saturday". (28)

    Abstinence from Certain Foods

    Originally, after a whole day of fasting, the faithful ate every kind of food in the evening. In the fifth century restrictions were placed on certain types of food. This occurred under the influence of the desert monks who took food only once a day and also put restrictions on the type of foods. The common food of the desert. monks was bread, water and fruit. The pilgrim Silvia Egeria reports in her Diary that the monks of Jerusalem during the Great Fast, "take no leaven bread, no olive oil, nothing which comes from trees, but only water and a little flour soup." (28) Slowly the dry food of the monks became also the common food of the laity during the Great Fast. The Council of Laodicea (c. 364) decreed that. the faithful fast on dry food "throughout the entire Forty Days Fast". (50)

    Saturdays and Sundays of the Great Fast

    In the Eastern Church the Saturdays and Sundays of lent are not regarded as fast days, in the sense that on those days there is no strict fast, i.e.., total abstinence from food to a designated time, but even on those days there gradually came into existence the practice of eating only certain types of food, such as - bread, fruits, fish and in some places even milk. This means that on Saturday and Sunday there was no strict fast, but only abstinence.

    The Kievan Metropolitan George during the Great Fast permitted all the laity to eat only fish twice a day on Saturday and Sunday. The Synod of Lviv (1891), speaking of the Forty Days Fast declared: "that, according to the present custom among the people, also Saturdays and Sundays are to be observed as fast days." (Title XI) However, considering the distinction between fasting, in the strict sense, and abstinence, the Synod says: "However, in this matter one must consider local customs and needs.'' (Title XI)

    The Great Fast in our Church

    Among our people the holy Great Fast has always been held in great respect and strictly observed. The Kievan Metropolitan George (1072-1073) commanded such a fast during the Forty Days Fast, i.e., the Great Fast. During the first week of fasting: dry food, i.e., bread, water and fruit could be eaten once a day, without any other drink. During the remaining weeks of the fast on Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry food was permitted once a day; on Tuesday and Thursday - thin gruel with olive or poppy-seed oil was allowed once a day; on Saturday and Sunday - fish could be eaten twice a day; on the feast of the Annunciation - fish only was permitted.

    St. Theodosius Pechersky (c. 1035-1074), following the rule of St. Theodore the Studite, introduced the following fast into the Kievan-Pechersky monastery (also called the "Monastery of the Caves" - "pechera" is the Ukrainian word for "cave"). Throughout the six weeks of the Great Fast food was permitted once a day. During the first week it consisted of dry food, that is - bread and fruit. During the remaining five weeks, on Wednesday and Friday, as in the first week, and on other (lays - vegetables and porridge without oil was permitted. During the first week of the Great Fast, and afterwards on Wednesday and Friday of the remaining weeks wine was forbidden; exceptions were made, however, for the sick and the aged. Instead of wine (luring that. time, a special drink was prepared which consisted of pepper, caraway seeds and anise. On the other remaining days of subsequent weeks, one glass of wine was allowed. On Saturdays and Sundays food could be taken twice a day with wine. During Passion Week the fast was even stricter.

    Our Synods, first the Synod of Zamost (1720), then afterwards the Synod of Lviv (1891), relaxed this once very strict fast somewhat for the faithful of our Church. The Synod of Zamost permitted dairy products during the Forty Days Fast. With regard to this matter it issued the following prescription: "Beginning with Monday following the Sunday of Cheesefare to the feast of the Holy Pasch (Easter) and even before that fast one week only with dairy products." ('Title XVI) The Synod of Lviv, besides dairy products during the Great Fast permitted meat also on certain days, after the recitation of certain prescribed prayers.

    This decree also reminds all the faithful of the continuing obligation of prayer, mortification and the cultivation of the spiritual life: "Let all these great relaxations," the final words of the decree states, "be at the same time a strong incentive and encouragement to repent. and to avoid sin and offences against God. Let all faithful Christians remember that the Christian spirit, scarcely dwells, if at all, in the family where prayer has become silent, the practice of fasting has disappeared, and even the memory of it is forgotten. Therefore, let the relaxed fast increase our zeal in prayer, meditation and participation in divine services, almsgiving, labor, frequent Confessions and Holy Communions." (Blahovisnyk, Year II, Bk. 2-4)

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    4) Lenten References:

    1. Code of Canon Law 1983 ISBN 0-943616-20-4
    2. Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches 1991 ISBN 0-943616-53-0
    3. Liturgical Ordo 2003 F.S.S.P. www.fssp.com
    4. A Byzantine Rite Liturgical Year; Ukrainian Spiritual Library 1983
    5. Marian Missal 1958
    6. My Prayer Book, Fr. Lasance Sept. 19, 1908