Tag: Fasting
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Lent and the Shaping of Desire
by John A. Monaco | српски Christianity is a religion of desire. At first glance, this statement may seem counterintuitive and contradictory. After all, Christians are told to deny themselves, to take up their cross and follow Christ (Mt 16:24). Several prayers, especially in the Divine Liturgy, also seem to downplay desire. In the Divine […]
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Fasting and Ecological Awareness
by Chris Durante During Lent, lay, clergy and monastic alike partake in fasting, and unlike other fasting periods, such as the nativity fast prior to Christmas, many modern Orthodox Christian laity do still partake in the Lenten fast, at least to some degree and for some extent of time. As the laity partake in this […]
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The True Meaning of Fasting in the Orthodox Church
by Philip Kariatlis | български | ქართული | ελληνικά | Română | Русский | Српски When we think of fasting in the Orthodox Church today, our mind almost immediately goes to certain rules relating to what we can and cannot eat. Moreover, this practice is especially associated with Great and Holy Lent. And so, when […]
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Transfigurating Practices
by Aristotle Papanikolaou | ру́сский On the day of our Lord’s Transfiguration, whose feast day is celebrated on August 6th, Jesus took with him three disciples, Peter, John and James (Mt 17:1-9; Mk 9:2-8; Lk 9:28-36). They are at the ‘high’ mountain, which is often a place of revelation in the Bible, and at this […]
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Reflection on “The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today”
by Rev. Dr. Stelyios Muksuris, Rev. Dr. Alkiviadis Calivas, Rev. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko, John Klentos, Paul Meyendorff, Lewis Patsavos, Teva Regule, and Rev. Dr. Philip Zymaris. In accordance with Orthodox Christian scriptural and patristic tradition, fasting finds its origins in the divine commandment given in paradise (Gen 2.16-17; St. Basil, On Fasting 1.3; PG 31.168A), where man […]
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Fasting, the Church, and the World
Rev. Dr. Michael G. Azar, Elizabeth Theokritoff, Very Rev. Dr. Harry Linsinbigler Reflecting Jesus’s own Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7)—a passage which has been and remains the standard of Orthodox Christian ethics—the preconciliar document, “The Importance of Fasting and Its Observance Today”, carefully balances two points: first, the Church’s emphasis on admittedly “lofty” fasting standards (cf. §5) and, second, […]
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Fasting Reaffirmed
by Philip Mamalakis, Very Rev. Dr. Nathanael Symeonides, and Gayle E. Woloschak The draft of the Holy and Great Council’s document, The Importance of Fasting and its Observance Today, affirms the importance of fasting for the spiritual development of the person. The documents provides a Scriptural and Patristic foundation for the spiritual benefits of fasting, […]