Dear Maria!
Everything must be approached rationally and with reason.
Fasting is, first of all, a spiritual cleansing from the filth of passions and sinful attachments in order to draw closer to God. A necessary condition for achieving this is restriction in food.
Indeed, there are differences between the monastic charters and the rules for the laity.
Bread, simple loaves, oat cookies, gingerbread, cookies "cracker" are considered lean, all the rest of the buns, cookies and other products, on the packaging of which it is written that they contain dairy products during fasting and fasting days, it is better not to eat, in addition, on the Assumption and the Great ( except for 1, 4 and Holy Week) fasts for the laity are blessed with food with vegetable oil, except for Wednesday and Friday, and on Christmas and Petrov fasts are blessed fish, except Wednesday and Friday.
During fasting, the following simple rules are required. This is an exception to the diet of all meat, fish(depending on the severity of fasting) and dairy products, as well as products containing animal fats and proteins. But you can and should use as much as possible. raw vegetables and fruits and necessarily greens. Fried foods should be kept to a minimum and overcooked foods should be avoided once and for all, especially those cooked in recycled or long-simmering oil. During fasting, you should consume liquids as much as possible: kvass, kissels, compotes should take their rightful place on your table.
If you are going to fast, then you will most likely subject yourself to severe trials, not so much because you will have to limit yourself in food, but because your relatives, friends, acquaintances and work colleagues for the most part do not fast and are not going to fast. observe. Maybe they think something like this:
“What is there in the post - one potato and pasta? So after all, the stomach can be spoiled!
Of course, if there is one potato and pasta, there really will be no benefit. But the thing is that in the post no one forces you to limit yourself to these products. You can't even imagine what a variety of recipes meatless dishes created throughout the history of mankind. You can say: fasting is fasting, what a variety there is, there are only restrictions, you can’t eat almost anything ... And you will be wrong. Fasting involves choosing from a gigantic, without exaggeration, set of products. Even the strictest canons of Great Lent (which no one obliges us to observe today) are far from being just bread and water. After all, what is the so-called "dry food", which involves the rejection of everything boiled? This, by the way, is not only raw cabbage and carrots, but also, for example, raisins, nuts, various fruits. What is a fish lean table? Do you think this is one boiled fish? Nothing like this. These are red and black caviar and a variety of seafood, up to oysters and lobsters.
Of course, the wallet of most of our fellow citizens today does not allow them to eat red and black caviar and oysters. Yes, we do not call you to this. With this example, we only want to emphasize that you can approach the lenten table creatively, with imagination, abandon the usual culinary stereotypes - and you will see that the lenten table can sometimes be even richer than your usual table!
Someone, perhaps, will say that in our time the majority of people have such a low material wealth that even without any posts they are forced to deny themselves everything. I foresee such a reproach: we are already. they say, we are sitting on bread and water, which is why we are called here to fast and show humility, they inspire us that it is useful to starve in order to distract people from social problems and prevent manifestations of popular anger.
Yes, it's true, now a lot of people are forced to deny themselves everything. But think about the prophecy of the holy Optina elders. Here it is: “If they don’t want to fast voluntarily, they will fast involuntarily.” Is this prophecy coming true now? Maybe it comes true for you, or for someone from your relatives and friends? Is it not for many years of rejection of Orthodox traditions, is it not for our universal atheism that we are now paying? Think about it. Perhaps you will come to the conclusion about the need for conscious abstinence from food? In order not to have to refrain from it forcibly ...
Especially since a person, starting to observe fasts, immediately notices the result: instead of being angry at the government and reforms and envying the well-fed and rich, we feel peace of mind, peace, and most importantly, confidence in our rightness, because we know that, unlike from the well-fed and rich, by fasting, we save our souls.
And over time, you will feel that fasting has already become your need and it is actually not so difficult to observe it.
Before you start fasting, you need to think very carefully about your diet. No one forces you to eat only dry crusts, and please, let's do without such extremes. So it’s really not long and you get gastritis, and some other bad things, especially if your faith is not very strong yet and you can’t hold on to spiritual food alone, as the saints and ascetics did. Be prudent, do not earnestly "mortify" your flesh. Better learn to live with your body in friendship, listen carefully to its signals, understand what it really needs.
So, what can you eat during fasting? Of course, the most welcome guests on the table at this time are fruits and vegetables. It has the highest amount of vitamins minerals needed by our body. So in the summer on your table every day let there be salads from fresh vegetables, and in winter - sauerkraut, pickles, carrots, beets.
We eat during fasting and boiled and vegetable stew. But here, too, we must remember that the less heat treatment, the better - more useful substances will be preserved in ready dish. Therefore, it is better to lay the vegetables already in boiling water, and then make sure that they are not digested. Do not cook vegetables in a large amount of water, and do not allow a strong boil when cooking.
And remember that it is not at all necessary to be limited to one potato and cabbage. The whole variety of the fruit and vegetable world is open before you, do not forget about zucchini, peppers, cauliflower, corn, green peas. The more varied, the better.
Can be cooked and vegetable soups, adding there cereals - rice, pearl barley.
A very important component of the lean table is porridge. Of course, brewed with water, not milk, and without adding butter. But this does not mean that porridge will necessarily be tasteless. Remember that there are many fasting foods that can be added to porridge for flavor. These are raisins, nuts, carrots, and mushrooms, which can be combined with buckwheat, rice, and other cereals. Experiment, give scope to your culinary imagination!
It is believed that by not eating meat, eggs, dairy products, a person deprives himself of the required amount of protein. This is true, but only if you approach the post illiterately. Remember to include plant-based protein in your diet and you'll be fine. These are mushrooms, and eggplants, and legumes, and, of course, soybeans. Now on the shelves there are a lot of various products from the so-called " soy meat”, which, when properly prepared, flavored with spices and sauces, perfectly replaces real meat. Nutritionists argue that soy protein in its composition and biological value is an equivalent substitute for meat and fish protein.
Bakery products are not prohibited on fasting, and on non-strict fasting days - and vegetable oil, and all the variety fish products. And how many different dishes can be prepared from all this, you will see by getting acquainted with recipes in section How to spend Petrov post heading "Fundamentals of Orthodoxy".
Just remember that you can’t overeat in fasting in any case - even if you are limited to strictly lean foods. Remember that fasting excludes any abuse - spices, spicy, salty, sour, sweet, fried foods. It's better to prioritize boiled dishes as well as steamed or grilled. Keep your food varied but simple. And you, of course, will be able to feel and appreciate this joy and sanctity of the simplest food.
At the same time, it should be borne in mind that after the end of the fast, it is necessary to switch to normal nutrition gradually and in no case should you immediately attack fatty meat, smoked sausage, fried entrecote ... It will not lead to anything good. Gradually, day by day, introduce small amounts of animal products into your diet - a little cheese, a little butter, and if it is meat, then in small pieces, boiled or steamed.
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The Epistle to the Romans of the Apostle Paul contains the words: “If your brother is grieved for food, then you no longer act out of love .... Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.” During fasts and fasting days at work in a secular team, it is customary to celebrate birthdays, other non-church holidays and treat colleagues. How, in such cases, not to violate Church discipline in relation to fasting and at the same time act out of love, and not out of human pleasing?
Hello Eugene!
If you carefully read the 14th chapter of Romans, you will see that most of this chapter is devoted to instructions about not condemning those who, for one reason or another, do not fast, and not about leaving the fast in order not to upset those who are not fasting. Yes, in the lives of saints, patericons, one can come across situations when the saints, out of love for their neighbor, broke the fast, but these were isolated cases, this was done with the deepest humility and love for the neighbor, and was of a single, not systematic nature.
At work, it is quite possible to come to the holiday, spend a little time with the team, congratulate the hero of the occasion. But no one is forcing you to eat junk food!
Do not be ashamed to tell colleagues that you are fasting. Perhaps at first it will surprise them, but over time it will even cause respect for you. On a table that gathers in honor of the new year or another common holiday, you can always find something lean: fish, vegetables, fruits, olives, etc. food.
Why can't you get married in Lent? Saturday and other days? Tatyana
Hello Tatiana!
The wedding is not performed on those days when Orthodox Christians must refrain from marital intimacy (fasting, the eve of fast days - Wednesdays and Fridays, and Sundays). In addition, fasting is a time of special repentance for sins; a wedding celebration during this period is inappropriate.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Answer please! I fast, but at work they don’t cook fast food for us, because. basically no one follows it. And so, for example, I eat soup without meat, but on meat broth. Question: Is it considered that I am breaking the fast? Can I refuse the first course? Elena
Hello, Elena!
Yes, you are breaking the fast, and if possible, it is better to refuse the first course.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Hello! Tell me, please, what is the right thing to do in such a situation? My husband and I have been living for a month and a half. They got married, got married. But although he accepts my opinion about the fasts and life of a believer, he does not understand it. He wants a child. I don't want us to have fights. Family is very important...
Hello Katherine!
You are right - if the refusal of marital relations during fasting causes a negative reaction from the spouse and discord in the family, then there is no need to insist on this. According to the word of the Apostle Paul, it is not the wife who has power over her body, but the husband, and it is necessary to refrain from intimacy by mutual agreement. For the future, try to negotiate with your spouse about abstinence on the eve of Communion and on the most important days: for example, on Passion Week of Great Lent. Pray for your spouse, ask the Lord to grant him faith and bring him to the temple.
Help you Lord!
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Hello! Please tell me, is it possible to baptize a child during Lent? Marina
Hello Marina!
Yes, you can baptize a child during fasting. Remember that it is important not only to baptize the baby, but also to educate him in Orthodoxy, to regularly partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Good day! Is it possible to get married (register a marriage) during fasting?
Hello Anastasia!
It is possible to register a marriage in fasting, but in this case it is better to time the wedding and the beginning of family life to coincide with the wedding, which can be performed after the end of the fast (after August 28).
God bless you to create a strong and happy family!
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Father, what to do if it is difficult to fast, if by the end of the fast there is no appetite, although you want to eat? In our family, everyone fasts, but after fasting, problems with food begin. Everyone is too lazy to cook (me too), and it turns out that all the time pasta, potatoes with salad, and cookies with chocolate.
At the beginning of the post, I feel normal and physically endure the post normally, but by the end I can barely stand it. When I fasted for the first time, I got a stomach ache, so I broke the fast. How to eat in fasting if you get sick during fasting?
Hello Ulyana!
Yes, if there are serious health problems, then fasting can be weakened (with the blessing of the priest), but you don’t need to bring yourself to such a state. After all, judging by your letter, your problems are not because of your health, but because you are too lazy to cook for Lent. Lenten table can be varied, tasty, and healthy. For a sick stomach, by the way, oatmeal boiled in water is very useful - what's non-lean here? On our site there are recipes for lenten dishes, there are even special cookbooks, there would be a desire to cook!
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Hello. Help me please. My fiancé's parents are very negative about fasting and fasting food. Every day her parents put pressure on her and make her eat meat. I have already become involved in this, so they take care of our health. We are far from fat and are engaged in intellectual work. It got to the point where they said there would be no wedding if we continued our fasts. What to do: eat meat for them and keep the peace, or go into an ever-increasing confrontation and continue to fast according to the rule?
Hello, Alexander! Unfortunately, your letter does not reflect the motives that prompt your fiancée's parents to protect her health so zealously. If this is an anti-religious prejudice, pray for them, commemorate them in church. For example, order a magpie about their health. For the time being, it is better to prefer a family world to a post. But at confession it is obligatory to repent of not keeping the fast, explaining its reasons. Perhaps at confession, the priest, having delved into the situation, will give you more specific and effective advice. Sincerely, priest Mikhail Samokhin.
What is needed for growth to occur so that fasting does not turn into only abstinence from food?
– I always remember the story about St. Mitrophanius of Voronezh during fasting. He had a cell-attendant, whom he loved very much. And somehow, at the end of Great Lent, he goes to his cell and feels that from the room of his cell-attendant there is a strong smell of fish. The saint knocked, went in, and saw: the cell-attendant was sitting with some man and, indeed, was eating fish soup. He says: “Brother, how are you? What suddenly? And he had a strict monastery, he himself was a strict faster. He replies: “You see, this is my fellow villager, a childhood friend, we were inseparable, he came to me for the first time in 15 years. And he brought fish as a gift. I can’t throw it away, otherwise it will be lost ... And we cooked this soup with him ... ”. “Well, okay,” says the saint. Mitrofaniy, - such a fish soup and I will sing with you. Sat and ate. Not because I wanted to, but because compared to this friendship and love, the ban on fish during fasting was simply nothing ... But you and I do not need to break the food fast. What do we observe then if we violate it? Agreed - agreed. Must be fulfilled. It's a matter of loyalty. And faith without fidelity practically does not exist.
Or here's another post story. One of my friends had problems, and she went to a spiritual person. The problems were real, very serious. She tells him: “I myself took upon myself such an obedience, to read 2 kathismas a day for this misfortune. This is fine?" And he: “Why 2 kathismas? You have it all on fire and dying. So you take it and read the entire Psalter at once! And read more, and more. What are you mumbling…” And her life has changed, really. If you really need something, donate something serious! Or do you want to pay 5 kopecks all the time? So you simply do not need anything - neither a good groom, nor health for children, nor decent housing. Any sacrifice, everything that a person does, really tearing blood from himself, instantly responds. Nobody wants you to suffer. And if you pay 5 kopecks each time, they will give you 5 kopecks. Nothing in life will change. If you read novels, you won’t be pulled by the ears, and the Psalter is 15 minutes, and even then not every day, then it may turn out that you are just a bibliophile, and not an Orthodox Christian ...
And post, after all, is such a time when something in oneself can be changed for real. This is the time when requests are heard, when tears are especially considered. The Lord Himself gave us such a time. And if it were unimportant, what, at the end of it, would the Holy Fire descend? Fasting cannot be an ordinary life, it is some kind of movement, a breakthrough. And yet - this is a time when the fruit of spiritual life is obvious.
Archpriest Alexander Volokhov
Hello! Please tell me why it is in fasting that relations become so aggravated - both at work and personal. Quarrels occur, from which it is then difficult to get out. How to avoid such situations or prevent them? Thanks. Tatyana
Hello Tatiana! The main reason for this is that we often only care about bodily fasting, sometimes very carefully reading the ingredients on the packages (so as not to break the fast), but we forget that spiritual fasting is much more important. The elders used to say: “Eat meat while fasting, but don’t eat each other.” That is, for all the importance of bodily fasting, it is much more important to fast in such a way that you do not become exhausted from hunger and fatigue (and irritability usually appears at the same time) and because of this, do not “aggravate relations” with your neighbors.
You need to be very attentive to your inner mood, try to be calm and friendly with everyone, and pray regularly. Let's say, every hour, devote 1-2 minutes to reading the Jesus Prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" If you have sinned with irritability - immediately repent fervently before the Lord, ask for forgiveness from the one whom you have offended. Ask the Lord to grant you humility, patience and meekness.
Please tell me, is it possible to drink tea with chocolate during fasting if it is without milk? Thanks!
Cocoa is a plant product, so milk-free chocolate is a lean food that can be eaten fasting.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Father, bless. There is no temple here, so please tell me how to do it right. The team refused to prepare a festive program, thereby offending some people. After all, my husband and I try to observe fasting. But I didn’t explain to people that fasting, I was afraid, a sinner - they wouldn’t understand me. Now I’m still helping to prepare the program, but I said I won’t conduct it. I am very worried that my husband and I will be called to participate in competitions and dances. How to find the middle - and not have fun, and not sit like a downtrodden. I understand that it’s a sin to offend people, but I didn’t think that I could offend someone by refusing. How to reconcile with people? Is it a sin to help prepare a festive program for a corporate holiday? Save you Lord. Svetlana
Hello Svetlana!
It seems to me that helping to prepare a program is not a sin if the program itself does not contain any obscene jokes, etc. At the holiday itself, you can and should congratulate your colleagues from the bottom of your heart, tell them kind words, wishes. Dancing, probably, is not worth it, but participation in competitions (again, not beyond the bounds of decency) is quite possible. You can come up with and conduct any competition yourself. As for fasting, try to participate in the preparation of fasting dishes. published regularly on our website.
Help you Lord! Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
How is fasting time different from regular time? I already try to lead a strict spiritual life… how and what can I change with fasting?
Lent is a special time of knowing one's own weakness and overcoming one's own "I". Why does the Church single out special periods of fasting? In order for a person to be able to consolidate what has been achieved at this special time in everyday realities: the situation of fasting mobilizes us, we are aware of something, we embark on the path of struggle with certain inclinations - we bring this awareness and struggle from fasting to everyday life.
The next post brings something of its own. That is why the Fathers say that fasting is a ladder that leads us to Heaven. If you have a feeling that fasting is easy for you, then consult with your confessor or with the priest with whom you constantly confess: they will help you understand what exactly is wrong, what is the reason for this relaxing ease.
It happens that the pious exercises of fasting are given to us easily due to natural inclinations - there are, for example, people who do not like meat or entertainment. But each of us has something that can become the subject of special care during fasting days - imperfection is not outside, it is inside us, and fasting helps to see it.
Sincerely, Priest Alexy Kolosov
| Photo: Patriarchia.ru |
Good afternoon! My mother is 72 years old, she has poor eyesight. She strictly maintains fasts, because of poor eyesight she only cooks potatoes for herself. all year round. It turns out that the body does not receive any useful substances. Please tell me if there are any restrictions on fasting for health reasons and age?
Of course, the measure of fasting depends on the state of a person's health, but this is determined by him in a personal conversation with a priest, and not by his children in absentia via the Internet. Besides, as far as I understand, your mother “cooks potatoes for herself all year round” - so the reason is not fasting, but poor eyesight.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
What post should be at the age of 13. Please describe if you can. Arthur
Dear Arthur!
At your age, fasting is determined by what your mom cooks. You can limit yourself to some delicacies, you can not watch TV at all, help your mother more, if possible, go to church more often, not offend anyone. If you haven’t learned it yet, then learn the prayers “Our Father” and “Virgin Mother of God, rejoice.” The Lord is with you!
Is it allowed to eat seafood in ? And these include shrimp, squid, oysters?
In all severity, seafood should be consumed, like fish, that is, on the holidays of the Annunciation and on Palm Sunday. Shrimp, squid and oysters are non-vegetarian foods. However, issues of personal measures of fasting must be agreed with the confessor.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
How to fast as a student?
The measure of fasting depends primarily on the state of human health, it must be established in a personal conversation with the priest. Remember that fasting is not a hunger strike, lean food can be both satisfying and varied. Do not forget about spiritual fasting: try to go to church more often, devote more time to prayer, exclude watching entertainment programs and films during fasting. Be kind and merciful to your loved ones, try not to judge anyone, not to quarrel with anyone, to avoid irritability.
Tell me, during fasting, it is forbidden to consume animal products only, as they say, “inside”? The fact is that most cosmetic creams, foams and masks contain milk, cream, and animal fat ... Is it possible to use honey during fasting?
Yes, you can use creams and eat honey during fasting.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Father, I'm ashamed to admit; I can’t stand fasting by the monastic rule, I’m at war with myself for a year, but nothing good comes of it: I break down, suffer from guilt, fear, or fall into grumbling and protest. I was not able to get clear advice and an answer to the question about the measure of fasting from my parish priest, unfortunately, on your website, the answer to the question about the monastic charter of fasting and the charter for the laity is also evasive. It's not that I'm looking for indulgence for myself, it's that I can't go straight up. I need help with advice on how to curb my belly and when fighting with it, not to miss everything else. God bless you.
Try to start small - observe the established fast on Wednesdays and Fridays: do not eat meat and dairy products, and eggs these days. Observe the indicated restrictions during Lent, and also refrain from fish dishes on Wednesdays and Fridays. Lenten table can be hearty and tasty, recipes for lean dishes are published on our website.
Ask the Lord for strength to fast. Also pay more attention to spiritual fasting: go to church more often, devote more time to prayer, exclude watching entertainment programs and films during fasting. Be kind and merciful to your loved ones, try not to judge anyone, not to quarrel with anyone, to avoid irritability.
Help you Lord! priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Is fasting (restriction in food) so obligatory? Reading spiritual literature, intensified prayers, abstaining from entertainment, confession before communion may be sufficient. Especially for children.
If you mean fasting before Communion, then for those who commune regularly (once every 2-3 weeks), it can be facilitated, but only with the blessing of the confessor. Small children (up to 7 years old) may not fast in food before communion.
As for the one-day and multi-day fasts established by the Church, they must be observed if health permits. The measure of fasting for children is again different from that for adults. But, I repeat, all issues of personal fasting must be resolved with the priest individually.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Our body is not killed by restrictions on food and other pleasures, but by excess in them. And besides, even if we do not harm others and do not violate the commandment to love our neighbor, we still need to love God. This is where certain restrictions on pleasure come from, because love, when it exists, is manifested in action, in our actions.
For example, it's easy to say, "I don't love myself," but our deeds show that we love ourselves exactly as we should love God. And you can say with the same ease: "I love God", but only there is nothing easier than words - love is known from deeds. And if we at least want to love God, we will limit ourselves to what separates us from God. There is no such goal - neither in worldly life, nor in spiritual life, for the sake of which we would not sacrifice something else. Those who do not want to sacrifice anything are left with nothing - they do not acquire anything worthwhile, and at the same time they lose what they had.
Priest Mikhail Nemnonov
Dear Anastasia!
The first thing that comes to mind is to cook for yourself and your loved ones: this will serve your family, gain experience in housekeeping, which is so useful in family life, and avoid reasons for disagreements. If for some reason this is impossible, think about the fact that your mother is prompted to such reproaches by sincere concern and concern for you - being a non-church person, she still cannot understand the true motives for your actions and this irritates her: console her with love, signs of attention, a kind word.
Be a good daughter, as befits an Orthodox Christian. Tell her that “everything is permissible, but not everything is useful” - explain to her the real meaning of fasting, as strengthening the will in small things in order to be worthy of the Lord in big things. Most of all, take care of meekness - remember the commandment to honor your parents: although we do not choose them, we are obliged to honor them!
Peace to you and God's blessing!
Is it possible to refrain from fasting a 15-year-old boy, because the school is preparing for exams, and this requires a lot of activity? Denis.
Hello Denis. Fasting is a time of repentance and intense prayer to fight sin and the manifestation of original sin in human nature by passions, and abstinence in food is only one of the means of our approach to God, the return of the prodigal son to the Father. The Church in one of her hymns sings: "From my youth, passions have been fighting me." At the age of 15, a person should be ready to fight passions, so fasting must be observed.
Why in Orthodoxy are there so many restrictions on pleasures, food, sexual relations? This, it seems, does not cause harm to others, does not violate the commandment to love one's neighbor. Why is it necessary to “kill your body”, your desires? Why such lack of freedom?
Our body is not killed by restrictions on food and other pleasures, but by excess in them. And besides, even if we do not harm others and do not violate the commandment to love our neighbor, we still need to love God. This is where certain restrictions on pleasure come from, because love, when it exists, is manifested in action, in our actions. For example, it's easy to say, "I don't love myself," but our deeds show that we love ourselves exactly as we should love God. And you can say with the same ease: "I love God", but only there is nothing easier than words - love is known from deeds. And if we at least want to love God, we will limit ourselves to what separates us from God. There is no such goal - neither in worldly life, nor in spiritual life, for the sake of which we would not sacrifice something else. Those who do not want to sacrifice anything are left with nothing - they do not acquire anything worthwhile, and at the same time they lose what they had.
Priest Mikhail Nemnonov
What about fasting for children? Should we limit them in food as well as ourselves, or can growing organisms be given a weak spot?
We have determined the following restrictions for our children - no sweets and cartoons. In all other respects, limiting children at 5 and 3 years of age seems unreasonable to me. Although there are tough parents, but these are their children. These restrictions at the moment are quite enough for them to understand that everything is not just like that. Priest Dimitry Karpenko
How is fasting time different from regular time? I already try to lead a strict spiritual life… how and what can I change with fasting? Kseniya
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Hello Xenia!
Lent is a special time of knowing one's own weakness and overcoming one's own "I". Why does the Church single out special periods of fasting? In order for a person to be able to consolidate what has been achieved at this special time in everyday realities: the situation of fasting mobilizes us, we realize something, we embark on the path of struggle with certain inclinations - we bring this awareness and struggle from fasting into everyday life. The next post brings something of its own. That is why the Fathers say that fasting is a ladder that leads us to Heaven. If you have a feeling that fasting is easy for you, then consult with your confessor or with the priest with whom you constantly confess: they will help you understand what exactly is wrong, what is the reason for this relaxing ease. It happens that the pious exercises of fasting are given to us easily due to natural inclinations - there are, for example, people who do not like meat or entertainment. But each of us has something that can become the subject of special care during fasting days - imperfection is not outside, it is inside us, and fasting helps to see it.
Sincerely, Priest Alexy Kolosov
Is it possible to eat soy products in fasting? Elena
Hello, Elena!
Use in fasting soy products quite acceptable. However, here, too, a certain caution should be observed: with what feelings, with what mood do we eat them? We refrain from fasting not because it is “bad” or “bad”, but for the sake of acquiring the habit of obedience to the Church and self-control - therefore, with regard to soy products, abstinence must be observed, both in terms of quantity and quality, avoiding delicacy or self-pleasing .
Sincerely, Priest Alexy Kolosov
Mom is against the fact that I fast, I depend on her, what should I do? She is a believer, but she does not go to church, she believes that it is enough just to be a good person. Anastasia
Dear Anastasia!
The first thing that comes to mind is to cook for yourself and your loved ones: this will serve your family, gain experience in housekeeping, which is so useful in family life, and avoid reasons for disagreements. If for some reason this is impossible, think about the fact that your mother is prompted to such reproaches by sincere concern and concern for you - being a non-church person, she still cannot understand the true motives for your actions and this irritates her: console her with love, signs of attention, a kind word. Be a good daughter, as befits an Orthodox Christian. Tell her that “everything is permissible, but not everything is useful” - explain to her the real meaning of fasting, as strengthening the will in small things in order to be worthy of the Lord in big things. Most of all, take care of meekness - remember the commandment to honor your parents: although we do not choose them, we are obliged to honor them!
Peace to you and God's blessing!
Priest Alexy Kolosov
Great Lent in the temple, an akathist to the Mother of God is read (on the fifth Saturday of Lent), and also during the celebration of the Passion, an akathist to the Passion of Christ. This does not allow us to say that akathists are not read at all during Lent. But, according to tradition, their reading is significantly reduced in comparison with other times of the church year. Priest Mikhail Nemnonov.
Is it possible to celebrate the father's anniversary with unbelieving family members during fasting? Natalia.
Your refusal to participate in a family celebration will upset your loved ones. In my opinion, you need to support this holiday, from the bottom of your heart to congratulate a person close to you. In order not to break the fast, try to eat lean meals.
Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
When you go to visit during a fast or a fast day, what should you do if there are almost no Lenten dishes on the table? The hostess may be offended that we do not eat anything. Larisa
Hello Larisa!
In order not to offend the hostess who tried and cooked for you, either eat those dishes that are lenten, or simply refrain from visiting these people during fasting, visit them at another time. Sincerely, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko
Please tell me, if you receive guests during fasting, should the food for them be lenten? (Guests do not fast)
It is advisable to treat guests with lean food. But in any case, we ourselves, receiving such guests, must keep the post. Priest Mikhail Nemnonov
Is it possible to refrain from fasting a 15-year-old boy, because the school is preparing for exams, and this requires a lot of activity? Denis.
Hello Denis. Fasting is a time of repentance and intense prayer to fight sin and the manifestation of original sin in human nature by passions, and abstinence in food is only one of the means of our approach to God, the return of the prodigal son to the Father. The Church in one of her hymns sings: "From my youth, passions have been fighting me." At the age of 15, a person should be ready to fight passions, so fasting must be observed.
And how to fast in your circumstances should be established by the confessor. The degree of fasting depends on many reasons. It is not necessary to be on a dry diet, but it is imperative to pray more and more often than usual, and most importantly, limit yourself in entertainment (do not watch TV, do not take part in noisy entertainment, limit yourself to sweets), do not judge your neighbor, confess and take communion.
God help, Priest Dimitry Lin
My daughter is one and a half years old, I breastfeed her. I tried to keep the post, but my teeth began to deteriorate, and now I don’t keep the post, am I right? Evgenia.
Hello Evgenia!
No one has the right to cancel a fast established by the Church, not even a priest, not even a patriarch. But we must not forget that fasting is not only about food. Therefore, with regard to food, the priests most often allow everything that is required for pregnant and lactating women, because the purpose of fasting is not to harm health, but to conquer passions. In such cases, fasting may be to listen to less music, watch less TV, and limit other entertainment. But, if possible, read something spiritual more, say a prayer to yourself, keep bad emotions in yourself and carry out other accessible feats. So eat dairy, it is required not by gluttony, but by motherhood.
You can ask your parish priest for more details.
Help you Lord!
Priest Pavel Ilyinsky
In my post I try to avoid watching entertainment programs on TV. Is it possible to watch educational programs in the post, for example, BBC films about nature, culture and civilizations, about history?
My children and I watch such films in Lent, and I think that they can really be watched in Lent (excluding Holy Week). Sincerely, Priest Mikhail Nemnonov
How should you set the table at the wake, after the cemetery? What to feed? Does it matter on fasting days? Nowhere to read it. A lot of people are interested.
There is only one obligatory requirement for a memorial meal - that no one gets drunk during it, and that people go home, standing firmly on their feet and in a clear mind. Fasting for the sake of commemoration is not canceled - if they happen on a fast day, then the table should be fast. What exactly will be on the table is not so important. This does not affect the soul of the deceased in any way, and we will proceed from our capabilities and from what we know how to cook.
Sincerely, Priest Mikhail Nemnonov
Before you start talking about dishes that are not allowed to be eaten on certain days, and decide whether pasta can be fasted, you should remember some church rules. Refraining from eating - what is it? How many posts per year? What are their names? In addition, it should be noted that the restrictions imposed during fasting are different for different categories of people. This will be our story.
What are
The fasts established by the Orthodox Church are divided into several categories. One-day - there are four of them in a year. This Great Lent, Petrov, Assumption and Rozhdestvensky. In addition, they were installed on Epiphany Christmas Eve, on the eve of holidays and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. They are called one day. For the rest of the year, Orthodox people fast on Wednesdays, in memory of the betrayal of Christ by Judas, and on Fridays, remembering the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross.
Everything that is eaten on fasting days must meet a number of specific requirements. They are established by the Church Charter. These requirements may vary depending on which particular post is meant. Even during the period of multi-day restrictions on the intake of certain types of products, there are certain days - exceptions to the general rules. So, for example, during Great Lent there are days on which complete abstinence from food is prescribed, and there are days when the eating of fish caviar is blessed. Everyone who wishes to fast must, according to the church calendar, clarify daily what features of the menu are prescribed on this day.
Reasonable approach to restrictions
Dishes in fasting are selected in such a way as to exclude certain products - meat, dairy and fish. These restrictions serve to tame the flesh to the utmost and direct all thoughts to prayer, repentance and thoughts about God. But the flesh must be pacified, not mortified.
And gastritis will not save the soul. This is important to remember. Therefore, having soberly assessed his strength, everyone must decide for himself to what extent he will follow the general rules. In this case, it is recommended to consult a priest or one of the more experienced people. By the way, the Church Charter exempts from fasting sick people, pregnant women, young children, as well as people traveling and participating in hostilities. And now let's move on to the question of whether pasta can be fasted. The product seems to be dietary - and there should be no problems with it.
Do they eat pasta in fasting?
Many people love this product for the speed of preparation and the ability to diversify their menu with it and various sauces. The question of whether pasta can be fasted cannot be answered unambiguously. It all depends on the ingredients that make up their composition. If we are talking about the simplest ones consisting of flour and water, then, of course, you can.
There is no barrier to eating them, just as there is no barrier to eating bread. But the industry also produces varieties that have a more complex composition. They may include eggs, dairy components and all kinds of components of animal origin. In this case, you should refrain from them. Thus, pasta is eaten in fasting, but the list of incoming components should first be clarified.
Vegetables on the table
In general, fasting dishes can be very diverse. Each hostess, with a little imagination, will be able to make a completely acceptable menu. It will include, first of all, vegetables cooked by the most in a different way. For example, fried potatoes is a constant guest of Lenten tables, and without sauerkraut and cucumbers in general these days are indispensable. Recipes during fasting also include mushrooms prepared for the winter and waiting in the wings in tubs and buckets. Dried and pickled, they will be a good help for a lean table.
Recommended boiled and As for the technology of their preparation, housewives can be advised to try to minimize heat treatment. This will keep the content contained in them useful material. It is advisable to lower the vegetables into the already boiling water and make sure that they are not digested. Also, do not boil them in a large volume of water and allow excessive boiling. When choosing vegetables, you should try to expand the range as much as possible, including zucchini, beans, corn, cauliflower etc.
Fruits and nuts during fasting
An integral part of the menu is fruits, nuts and all kinds of dishes made from them. An excellent dessert mix can be prepared from dried apricots and prunes with the addition of nuts - walnuts or peanuts. A particularly tasty and nutritious dish will turn out if it is seasoned with honey.
Each component will perform a specific function: nuts will restore strength, and dried fruits and honey will add flavor. Honey deserves special attention, as with it you can cook a lot of all sorts of treats. Modern cooking offers a wide range of recipes that do not include sugar and milk, but use honey. For example, honey cake can only be baked from lean ingredients.
Flour products and cereals
Recipes during fasting contain a lot of cereals. Of course, they need to be boiled in water, not in milk, and butter should be avoided. But even with these restrictions, you can cook very delicious porridge. No one forbids adding raisins, nuts or carrots to it. And mushrooms go well with buckwheat, rice and other types of cereals. It all depends on the imagination of the hostess and her ability to experiment.
The use of various bakery products and pastries is blessed. It is only important that they do not include eggs and milk. The question of whether or not to eat bakery products is similar to the question of whether pasta can be fasted. In some cases it is possible, in others it is not. You just have to be careful and not be lazy to clarify their composition.
The food industry produces many different substitutes for conventional fasting products. For example, instead of the usual mayonnaise, which includes yolks, you can take its analogue, prepared without using them. Thus, recipes during fasting can be used differently in cooking, choosing ingredients suitable for fasting.
Quantitative food restrictions
It is very important during fasting, in addition to qualitative restrictions in food, to take into account the amount of food eaten. Fasting will be completely meaningless if, getting up from the table, we are burdened with food. Excessive consumption of products, or otherwise - gluttony, according to church canons, is one of the deadly sins. If it is condemned on ordinary days, then it is all the more unacceptable during the period of fasting. The same can be said about alcohol consumption. On some days of fasting, it is allowed to drink some wine. However, the abuse of alcohol is condemned by the church, regardless of whether it happened on a fast day or a fast day.
Physical Fasting and Spiritual Fasting
Fasting is not limited to a temporary refusal to use certain products. Otherwise, it would all come down to a normal diet. Fasting includes a conscious abstinence from everything that prevents you from concentrating on your own as much as possible. It is important to understand how much your life corresponds to Christ's teachings, to recognize sins and sincerely repent of them. To do this, for the duration of the fast, one should move away from everything vain and coming. Fasting bodily must be combined with fasting spiritual. The question of whether they eat pasta in fasting or other foods is, of course, important, but even more important than what thoughts are occupied with. Let rest, entertainment and all kinds of pleasures fade into the background these days. Their time will come. It is necessary to devote the days of fasting to the soul, and for the body there will still be a lot of days in the year.
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Fasting is an integral part of the Orthodox faith. First of all, it is aimed at purifying a person spiritually. In addition, you can also cleanse the body, removing all toxins. Therefore, those who are going to fast, try to learn all the rules for its implementation and learn how to cook dishes without oil, what you can eat and drink, what foods you should enjoy.
This question is as basic during this period as the question of whether vegetable oil can be fasted. These two products are closely related, so if bread is allowed, then vegetable oil should not be denied. After all, the main prohibition is products prepared using animal fats and proteins.
It is best to use black bread, you can fry croutons in vegetable oil, but you should refuse white bread because forbidden ingredients are often used in its preparation.
Thus, the question of the use of bread is not very important for the church, the main thing is to choose the appropriate variety. But is it possible to post pasta causes a lot of discussion. Macaroni is flour product, therefore, the problem of their use during fasting is among many believers. They are loved because you can quickly cook a dish without much effort and waste of time.
Just like with bread, you should pay attention to the composition of pasta. If there are no products of animal origin - please, to the table. The choice of pasta is now very huge, and manufacturers are trying to take into account the needs of different buyers, including fasting ones, so finding lean pasta will not be difficult.
Can honey be fasted
Since ancient times, when the traditions of Orthodoxy were strictly observed, honey was one of the main products during fasting:
- many recipes of ancient lenten dishes, which included honey, have survived to our times;
- on Honey Spas, it is customary to consecrate this product and keep it for the next year;
- honey has always been served to the needy, because it is considered a gift from God.
Honey contains a lot of beneficial trace elements, such necessary during the period of abstinence. It has a positive effect on the entire human body and perfectly replaces sugar, because it contains a lot of glucose and fructose. Therefore, the use of honey in fasting will only bring great benefits.
In addition to honey, as a healthy treat, halva can also be on the table. Halva in fasting is not prohibited, only if it does not contain egg yolk. You should carefully study the composition of the product or cook it yourself at home. To prepare halva at home, you will need:
- 250 grams of sunflower seeds, previously peeled;
- a couple of tablespoons of raisins;
- a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, not necessarily refined.
Using a blender, grind the seeds and raisins. Then add oil and beat a little more. Form a sausage from the finished mixture or place it in a prepared container. Refrigerate for 60 minutes. Halva is ready to use!
Wine in post
Is it possible to fast wine? There are two answers to this question. According to the charter of the monasteries, you can drink wine on weekends. But the priests believe that this rule is not acceptable today.
Previously, it was allowed to drink wine instead of water and medicines, since the inhabitants of Byzantium and Syria had a lack of this raw material. It was in these parts that the Charter was written. Now there is no shortage of this drink, so there is no need to drink wine in fasting.
To the question of whether it is possible to drink wine in, there is a definite answer - it is possible, only on certain days. Wine is allowed to drink only twice a week: on Saturday and Sunday. On other days, alcohol is prohibited. When choosing a wine, it is best to give preference to red, it is good if it is Cahors.
Orthodox people can drink wine, but the clergyman is still recommended to abandon it for the duration of abstinence, because it harms the spiritual development of a person.
Is it possible to fast chocolate
You can eat chocolate during fasting, but not in all confectionery dishes. Often, unscrupulous manufacturers add ingredients prohibited by fasting to chocolate, and mark the label that the chocolate is lean. You can use bitter chocolate, but from milk and white chocolate should be discarded, because they contain animal proteins and fats.
Proceeding from this, in order not to sin, it is better chocolate desserts cook at home on your own.
For chocolate lovers delicious treat can be a dish like bananas in chocolate. For cooking you will need:
- bitter chocolate bar;
- 2 bananas;
- dried fruits.
Dried fruits should be crushed. Cut bananas into thin slices. Chocolate should be melted using a microwave oven or water bath. Then the banana slices should be dipped in warm chocolate and sprinkled with prepared dried fruits. The treat is ready to eat. You can also leave these candies in the freezer to harden.
Seafood in post
It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question of whether it is possible to eat seafood in a fast. The use of seafood in our country is considered a matter of gourmets, but more and more often, those who fast are asking if shrimp, squid, mussels, and so on can be fasted.
Since seafood remains a delicacy for many, it is undesirable to use them during fasting, because the church prohibits gluttony. Fasting is aimed at ensuring that a person can come to terms with his desires, engage in the purification of his soul, and not indulge his whims in food, in the first place. Therefore, if seafood is a delicacy, it must be abandoned for this period.
You should not completely abandon seafood if they are in your regular diet. After all, in every post there are days on which you can eat fish. And sometimes they refer to fish different kinds marine products. It is also possible in fish days eat caviar in fasting . Since ancient times, caviar has not been considered a delicacy, especially red caviar. But black caviar is strictly forbidden to use.
Fish and seafood should be on the menu, because they contain such useful substances as omega-3 acids and high-quality protein, which remove bad cholesterol and improve the functioning of the heart system.
The question often arises among the Orthodox: what kind of fish can be eaten during the Assumption fast. The answer is none. Fishing during the Assumption Lent is strictly prohibited. You can enjoy this product only on the feast of the Transfiguration during the exit from the post.
Potato in the post
You can cook potatoes in fasting various options. You can fry on those days when it is allowed to use vegetable oil, you can bake, boil, add to soups. The main thing is that in the finished dish, there are only permitted products. Potatoes should be avoided on dry days. But in general, this product is allowed by the charter, but it must be prepared correctly.
Before deciding to fast, you should study all the rules for fasting. Strict - characteristic only for monasteries, in worldly life some indulgences are possible, which should be found out from a church employee. You should also receive blessings from him. Pregnant women and sick people should fast especially carefully.
The Lord is always with you!
Fasting for me is a kind of adventure. An adventure to a land of new tastes. It is at this time that you can discover many interesting and unusual dishes, which in ordinary life we neglect. What do you cook during Lent? Buckwheat, rice, barley? Agree that such food gets boring very quickly, however, there is a great alternative - pasta! It is this dish that I love so much for its flavor variety.
Sometimes it seems to me that I could eat pasta every day, because this is a rare dish, of which there are so many types that it is probably simply impossible to count them. For at least 48 days of fasting, you can cook pasta according to a new recipe absolutely every day. Use different types the pasta itself (fusilli, spaghetti, pappardelle, rigatoncini, tagliatelle, stellina, etc.) and combine them with many lean sauces(classic tomato-basil, parmesan-free pesto, garlic aioli and olive oil, sauce from baked vegetables, etc.). I am sure that after such an experiment, you will definitely include several new recipes in your daily menu, and the post itself will be remembered as a wonderful gastronomic experience.
What kind of pasta can you eat during fasting
The most important thing you should pay attention to when buying pasta is the absence of eggs in its composition. Only pasta without eggs is lean.
Buy durum wheat pasta
pasta from durum varieties wheat does not harm the figure and benefits the body. It has no fat, and also contains more vegetable protein than soft pasta. Carbohydrates in durum wheat pasta break down more slowly and are not deposited in “problem areas”. According to experts, durum wheat pasta will not add a single gram to your weight, while soft wheat pasta, on the contrary, affects your figure and health very adversely.
In Italy, for example, all pasta is made exclusively from durum wheat, and what is made from soft varieties is not even called pasta. In Russia, the best pasta made from hard flour of the highest grade can be recognized by the marking "Group A. Premium".
What is durum wheat
Durum wheat is a separate plant species called Triticum Durum. Durum wheat flour, which is essentially semolina, is called "Semola", and the phrase Pasta Di Semola on packs of Italian pasta indicates that this pasta is made from durum wheat.
Durum wheat pasta does not make the water in which it is cooked cloudy, does not boil soft and practically does not stick together.
Production process of quality pasta
Ingredients. High-quality pasta is made from selected durum wheat flour, ground in a special way exclusively for making pasta. Such flour is significantly different from baking flour, it has a coarser structure and contains a high percentage of gluten (30% or more), which affects the elasticity, plasticity and strength of the dough. The freshness of the flour is also important (stale flour can spoil the taste of the pasta, making it bitter), so many producers of high-quality pasta grind their own wheat. However, the guarantee of high-quality pasta is not only the use of selected durum wheat flour, but also the use of the purest mountain water for kneading dough, so the producers of the best pasta pay special attention to the choice of water for dough.
Paste formation. The paste is formed by pressing and then passes through a special matrix. The material from which such a matrix is made directly affects the type of surface of the paste. The best matrices are bronze. It is thanks to them that the pasta acquires a rough surface, which contributes to its uniform cooking and allows the pasta to better absorb and hold sauces. IN industrial production, as a rule, the paste is made on matrices with a nylon or teflon coating. This increases productivity, however, makes the surface of the paste perfectly smooth, which significantly harms its quality.
Drying. Drying the paste takes from 1 to 72 hours. The slower the paste dries, the higher its quality. Accordingly, the temperature for drying a good paste should not exceed 30-40 degrees. In industrial production, drying is carried out at a high temperature (about 60 degrees) for several hours, which adversely affects the taste, nutritional value and quality of the product, however, significantly reduces labor costs and the final cost of the paste.
The process of preparing high-quality pasta is very labor-intensive and involves the use of only the most the best ingredients and expensive equipment. In addition, it takes a long time to produce good pasta, because it only takes about 50-60 hours to dry. Therefore, such a paste cannot be cheap. Usually really quality product costs from 300 rubles for a pack weighing 250 grams.
One of the leaders in the production of high quality pasta is Rustichella d`Abruzzo, which produces pasta according to the most traditional Italian recipe since 1924.
The beginning of the fast is the perfect time to take a fresh look at the pasta and try a really high-quality product.
