During the years of persecution of the Orthodox Church, even the faithful Russian people have largely lost their spiritual traditions, including the traditions of fasting. For example, they began to eat fish as a lean food. Meanwhile, Typicon, Menaion, Triodion and the Great Book of Hours, where explanations are given about fasting, say the following: fish is eaten only on holidays. So, during Great Lent, fish dishes are allowed to be eaten on the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and on the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (on Lazarus Saturday at the meal you can “comfort yourself” with fish caviar), Uspensky - on the Transfiguration of the Lord, Peter and Christmas - on Saturdays and Sundays. In the last five days before Christmas, when a strict fast is kept, fish is not eaten even on Saturday and Sunday. Relaxation during fasting is given only on major holidays. On patronal feasts, fish dishes are allowed even if they fall on Wednesday or Friday.

When there are no fasts, fish is eaten on Wednesdays and Fridays only in the period from Easter to Trinity.

In addition, it was prescribed not to eat all kinds of fish, but only those that do not belong to predatory breeds. Wine and oil (vegetable oil) during the Great and Assumption fasts are allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on some holidays. On the other days there is no wine and oil. Peter and Nativity fast, wine and oil are consumed on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Mondays, in the last two fasts, the Typikon prescribes for the laity, as well as for the monks, to keep a strict fast in honor of the angels.

In general, in terms of quality, fasting food is divided, in accordance with the Church Charter, into 4 degrees: 1. "Dry food" - that is, bread, uncooked vegetables and fruits, fresh, dried or pickled. 2. "Cooking without oil" - boiled vegetables without vegetable oil. 3. “Permission for wine and oil” (wine is drunk as a measure to strengthen the strength of the fasting). 4. "Permission to fish."

In the first and passionate weeks of Great Lent, "dry eating" is prescribed, in other weeks from Monday to Friday - "dry eating" and "boiling without oil."

On the first Friday of Holy Fortecost, before the end of mass, it is taken out in the middle of the church and blessed with kolivo, that is, boiled grain seeds with dry fruits, and a canon is sung in memory of St. Theodore Tyrone. Emperor Julian the apostate secretly ordered that Christian food in the marketplace be defiled with the blood of an idol sacrifice; but God, through the great martyr Theodore Tyron, who appeared in a dream to Bishop Eudoxius, commanded Christians not to eat it, but to eat koliv - boiled wheat with honey.

Some believers believe that strict multi-day fasts exhaust a person and harm his health, that in our time it is difficult to fast because of the high prices for food, because of their monotony. This is a biased opinion, which is based on the desire to justify one's unwillingness to bear the feat of fasting. Firstly, for the weak, pregnant, on the road, eating in canteens, children under 14 years old, there is a weakened fast. If necessary, the priest can also weaken a person's measure of fasting, if he cannot afford it, and give permission for the use of specific fast foods. Secondly, the examples of the life of the saints show that fasting not only does not harm health, but also strengthens it. So, Macarius of Alexandria ate at the Holy Forty Day once a week and lived a hundred years, st. Anfim spent Great Lent without food and lived for a hundred and ten years, St. Alypy the Stylite died at the age of one hundred and eighteen, etc. Of course, we are far from the exploits of the saints, but we are able to follow the prescriptions of the Church Charter with God's help and prayer.

On Great Lent on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, the liturgy is not served in churches. On Wednesday and Friday, the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated, on Saturday and Sunday, the Liturgy of John Chrysostom and Basil the Great. Babies can only receive communion on Saturdays and Sundays.

To the Glory of the True Orthodox Lord!
Chapter:
Russian Orthodox cuisine
Traditions, prayers, recipes
2nd page

How to eat in fasting
LENTEN HOLIDAYS
Russian Orthodox cuisine
Charter on fasting according to the Typicon

PRAYERS BEFORE AND AFTER TASTING FOOD

BEFORE TASTING
Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us our daily bread today; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. The eyes of all in Thee, O Lord, trust, and You give them food in good time, You open Your generous hand and fulfill every animal goodwill.

AFTER TASTING
We thank Thee, Christ our God, for Thou hast satisfied us with Thy earthly blessings; do not deprive us of Your Kingdom of Heaven, but as if in the midst of Your disciples, Thou hast come, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us.

SECRET PRAYER BEFORE EATING FOOD FOR THE UNTEMPTABLE IN DIET
(prayer for weight loss)
I also pray to You, Lord, deliver me from satiety, voluptuousness and grant me in the peace of my soul to reverently accept Your generous gifts, so that by eating them, I will receive strengthening of my spiritual and bodily strength to serve You, Lord, in the little rest of my life on Earth.

Traditional thank you phrase:
"Angel to you for the meal!"

Jesus Christ, our Lord, did not bequeath to us fasting.
Churchmen borrowed fasts from Jewish Judaism, which arose and existed among the Jews in pre-Christian times, long before the holy Sermon of Christ, which laid the foundation for Christianity.

According to the good Christian tradition,
children and elders over 60 years of age are exempted from the hardships of fasting
(including ,
in old age, who sacredly believed in soul-saving truths
and baptized from a faithful communist-Leninist into a zealous pilgrimage candlestick
- for the mind is one, that the old, that the small).
After the completion of this baptism, the Lord completely deprived Russia of all His holy grace of God.

Total in the world Orthodox Christianity there are more than 20 different Orthodox Churches - autocephalous (headed by patriarchs) and autonomous (headed by bishops and metropolitans).
Among the Orthodox Churches of the world, the Russian Orthodox Church is traditionally ranked fifth.
The first and dominant among all the Orthodox Churches of the whole world is the Orthodox Church of Constantinople.
The Patriarch of Constantinople is the patriarch of all other patriarchs.
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia is the locum tenens of God on earth.

In addition, now in Russian Federation There are many different Orthodox Churches.
And they all differ greatly in their holy church ritual and liturgical customs.

The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC of the Moscow Patriarchate) is the one that since the revolution has always diligently cooperated with the authorities and competent authorities;

True Orthodox Church;

Apostolic Orthodox Church;

Russian Orthodox Church;

Russian Orthodox Autonomous Church;

The Russian Catacomb Church of True Orthodox Christians (the one that after 1917 did not cooperate with the Bolshevik authorities, therefore severely persecuted);

Two Russian Orthodox churches of the old rite ( Old Believer Churches- priestly and bespopovskaya);

Ancient Orthodox Pomeranian Church.

Therefore, when you say that you belong to the holy Orthodox faith, you always need to clarify - which Orthodox Church!

Orthodox church calendars fasts and holidays for the current year, see the traditions of multi-day and one-day Orthodox fasts.

LENTEN HOLIDAYS
Calendar of one-day posts

Wednesday - Day of remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas

Friday - Day of Remembrance of the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ

Troparion to the Beheading of the Forerunner and Baptist John

Troparion, tone 2
The memory of the righteous with praises, but the testimony of the Lord is sufficient for you, Forerunner: you showed me truly and the most honest prophets, as if you were honored with the Preaching in jets of baptism. There, having suffered for the truth, rejoicing, you proclaimed the gospel to those who are in hell of God, manifesting the flesh, taking away the sin of the world and giving you great mercy.

Kontakion, tone 5
The forerunner of the glorious beheading, watching was some kind of Divine, and even those who are in hell preach the coming of the Savior; Yes, and sobs Herodia, having asked for an unlawful murder: not the law of God, nor love the living age, but feigned, temporary.

magnificence
We magnify thee, John the Baptist of the Savior, and honor all your honorable heads of beheading.

TROPARIUM TO THE EXALATION OF THE HONEST AND LIFE-GIVING CROSS OF THE LORD

Troparion, tone 1
Save, O Lord, Thy people and bless Thy inheritance, granting victory to the opposition, and Thy keeping Thy Cross living.

Kontakion, tone 4
Ascended to the Cross by your will, to your namesake new residence, grant Your bounty, Christ God; rejoice us in Your strength, giving us victories for adversaries, Your help to those who have Yours, the weapon of the world, an invincible victory.

magnificence
We magnify Thee, Life-Giver Christ, and honor Your Holy Cross, by which Thou hast saved us from the work of the enemy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Fasting as the most important foundation of spiritual life was established by God immediately after the creation of Adam and Eve, when he commanded the first people not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Since then, fasting has been the main means of limiting the human self, a way that removes from sin and leads to life in the law of the Lord.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko wrote: “Fasting means taking care of the salvation of one’s soul, seeking freedom for one’s spirit, striving after the angels; and not to fast means to be like the dumb, who do not know fasting, to be cold to prayer and to cleansing one’s soul from lusts.

For the human spirit, fasting is a real spiritual school. Fasting is the spiritual soil that is capable of growing a rich spiritual field. Those who start fasting for the first time need to remember that a physical fast without a spiritual one is a useless exercise.

Physical fasting is, first of all, abstinence in food, alcohol, sleep, in the sexual life of a person, etc. A reasonably implemented physical fast in conjunction with the spiritual leads to a complete renewal of the human body.

What is spiritual fasting? According to the definition of a modern theologian, this is, first of all, a prayerful aspiration to God, a prayerful feat performed by a person... and replacing it with a truly human attitude towards people is the path of spiritual self-deepening, an honest analysis of oneself in the face of God, repentance and reconciliation with God ”(Father Dmitry Konstantinov).

In the 17th century, which we know as the time of the heyday of Holy Russia, according to the testimony of the Archdeacon of Antioch, Pavel of Aleppo, Russian people fasted daily until 2-3 pm. In addition, all annual fasts, as well as Wednesdays and Fridays, were observed very strictly. According to the Church Charter, there are more fast days per year than fast days, but, despite this, our believing ancestors also attached special personal fasts to them, which amazed the imagination of even Orthodox foreigners.

In the Charter on fasting, there are indications of strict fasts (without food or on one bread and water), dry eating (uncooked food), boiling (boiled food), permission to eat vegetable oil, fish and wine.

Since ancient times, the Orthodox Church has established three one-day fasts. The first is Epiphany Christmas Eve (eve of Theophany), on the eve of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the second - on the day of the beheading of John the Baptist; the third - on the day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord. One-day fasts also include weekly fasts. fast days: Wednesday - in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ by Judas and Friday - for the sake of the suffering on the cross and the death of the Savior. Exceptions are continuous weeks (weeks) and Christmas time.

Epiphany Christmas Eve ends winter Christmas time. On the eve of Epiphany, Christians consider it their duty to visit the temple. Now, as in ancient times, eating fish on the eve of the Epiphany is a great sin, oil is not eaten. If the eve happens on Saturday or Sunday, then instead of once (after the blessing of the water), it is allowed to eat twice: after the liturgy and after the blessing of the water. Indispensable dishes on Christmas Eve are kutia and fruit broth (uzvar).

On the day of the beheading of John the Baptist, the Church, for the sake of the temperate life of the saint, established a fast, so they do not eat fish. In the old days, the people called this rite Ivan Lenten.

Abstinence in food on this day sometimes went to extremes: they were careful not to eat anything round, such as cabbage. The Church considers such a precaution to be superstition. By establishing this fast, the Church instills in the faithful the abhorrence of gluttony combined with the slaughter of animals.

On the day of the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord, according to the Charter, “we will not dare to touch cheese and eggs and fish, since the veneration of the Cross consists in the mortification of the flesh.”

The basis of nutrition during fasts is bread, cereals, kvass, mushrooms, honey, fruits and fruit drinks, vegetables, pickles, marinades, fermentations, nuts. Moderate - meat, eggs, dairy products - are excluded from the menu.

The charter of the Church teaches what should be abstained from during fasts - "all pious fasting must strictly observe the charters on the quality of food, that is, abstain in fasting from certain brushes [that is, food, food. - Ed. SC], not as bad ( let this not happen), but as from indecent fasting and forbidden by the Church.

Brasnas, from which, in the opinion of the Church, should be abstained during fasts, are: meat, cheese, butter, milk, eggs, and sometimes fish, depending on the difference in holy fasts.

The rules of abstinence prescribed by the Church during the Nativity Fast are just as strict as the Peter's Fast.
In addition, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday of the Nativity Fast, fish, wine and oil are forbidden by the charter and it is allowed to eat food without oil (dry eating) only after Vespers.
On the other days - Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - it is allowed to eat food with vegetable oil.
Fish during the Nativity Fast is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays and great holidays, for example, on the feast of the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos, on temple holidays and on the days of great saints, if these days fall on Tuesday or Thursday.
If the holidays fall on Wednesday or Friday, then fasting is allowed only for wine and oil.

From December 20 to December 25 (old style), fasting is intensified, and these days, even on Saturday and Sunday, the fish is not blessed.
Meanwhile, it is on these days that the celebration of the civil New Year falls, and we, Orthodox Christians, need to be especially collected so that we do not violate the severity of fasting with fun, drinking wine and eating food.

Christmas fast is sometimes called cereal. The mistress of the table at this time is porridge.

Kasha is one of ancient dishes humanity.
There is an opinion that bread came from porridge - thick, overcooked porridge was the prototype of unleavened cakes.
Gradually, the cereals for such a cake began to be crushed, and flour appeared, and with it - unleavened bread.

In Russia, porridge was one of the most important dishes.
However, porridge in Ancient Russia was called not only cereal dishes, but in general all dishes cooked from crushed products.
Ancient sources mention bread porridge cooked from crackers, fish porridge, etc.

Porridge was cooked from millet, oats, barley, buckwheat and other cereals. The most revered porridge in Russia was buckwheat.

While fasting bodily, at the same time we need to fast spiritually. "Fasting, brethren, bodily, let us fast also spiritually, let us resolve every union of unrighteousness," commanded the Holy Church.

Bodily fasting, without spiritual fasting, brings nothing for the salvation of the soul, on the contrary, it can be spiritually harmful if a person, abstaining from food, is imbued with the consciousness of his own superiority from the consciousness that he is fasting.
True fasting is associated with prayer, repentance, abstinence from passions and vices, the eradication of evil deeds, forgiveness of offenses, abstinence from married life, with the exclusion of entertainment and entertainment events, and the strict exclusion of viewing programs from the central television channels of Russian television.

Fasting is not a goal, but a means - a means to humble your flesh and cleanse yourself from sins.
Without prayer and repentance, fasting becomes just a diet.

The essence of fasting is expressed in the following church song: “Fasting from fasts, my soul, and not being cleansed of passions, we console ourselves in vain by non-eating: for if fasting does not bring you correction, then you will be hated by God as false, and become like evil demons, never eat."

1. Introduction

Fasting is essential in the spiritual life of a Christian. The first commandment given by God to the paradise created by him was the commandment to fast. “Because we didn’t fast, we were thrown out of paradise! Therefore, let us fast in order to ascend again into paradise,” says St. Basil the Great. The Lord Jesus Christ himself blessed the fasting of his disciples, saying: “The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they fast” ().

O importance fasting in the spiritual life was said by many holy fathers. “The soul is humbled by nothing more than if someone is temperate in food,” testified Abba Pimen. And the Monk John of the Ladder devoted a special stage of his spiritual “Ladder” to fasting, where he noted that “the head of demons is the fallen denier, and the head of the passions is gluttony.”

Of course, Orthodox fasting has never been seen as an end in itself. He, according to the Holy Fathers, is a means for true spiritual life, an aid in the struggle against passions and on the path to communion with God. “Abstinence is necessary so that, after pacifying the flesh with fasting, it is easier to enter into battle with other passions,” Abba Serapion instructed.

Bodily fasting must always be paired with spiritual self-restraint, primarily in passions, sinful desires, and lusts. “There is a bodily fast when the womb fasts from food and drink; there is spiritual fasting when the soul abstains from evil thoughts, deeds, and words… Physical fasting is useful for us, but spiritual fasting is indispensable, so that bodily fasting is nothing without it,” wrote St. Tikhon of Zadonsk.

However, the importance of bodily continence was recognized by all ascetics, from the reverends of the ancient monastic patericons to the elders of the twentieth century.

At the same time, the Orthodox Church over the centuries has developed fairly clear rules and recommendations regarding the order and quality of food necessary for the successful completion of the feat of bodily abstinence. These institutions are indicated in the Typicon and Triodion. At the same time, on the one hand, the number of meals per day is limited, on the other hand, the time of the first eating of food, and, finally, the quality of food. In some cases, the entire volume and composition of the meal is clearly specified.

It should be noted that the Orthodox charter is not divided into monastic and secular and is mandatory for all faithful children of the Orthodox Church. Only pregnant and lactating women, children, and seriously ill people are exempted from bodily fasting.

However, it should be borne in mind that the charter was nevertheless formed in the monasteries and mainly for the monastic community. Moreover, he was guided by countries with a hot climate. Even St. John Chrysostom, while in exile in the far north of the Roman Empire, noted that for the northern monasteries he founded, it was necessary to adjust the charter on fasting, taking into account the more severe climate and hard physical labor that the brethren had to endure.

The birthplace of the modern Church liturgical and disciplinary charter is the Palestinian monasteries, primarily the monastery of Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem; also, as a rule, the tradition of Mount Athos is reflected in the Typicon. Often these two traditions are cited in parallel as equally possible and acceptable.

It is possible that the requirements of the Orthodox statute will seem unbearable to a modern civilized person, but even the very knowledge of what was considered ordinary and normal for a pious Christian in former times will allow us, if not to imitate the ancient workers, then at least to soberly evaluate our own measure of abstinence and ascetic feat and thus acquire humility.

2. General provisions of the Orthodox charter on the meal

The Orthodox Charter does not require more than 2 meals a day. The first meal is usually served after the Divine Liturgy, i.e. around noon, and the second - after vespers, i.e. in the evening. If only one meal is laid, then it is usually offered at the 9th hour of Byzantine time.

All time indications of the Typicon are based on the Byzantine principle of time calculation. This principle tied clocks to sunrise and sunset. Currently, he continues to operate on Mount Athos. According to the Byzantine clock, the time from sunrise to sunset was divided into 4 guards of the day, and also the time from sunset to sunrise into 4 guards of the night. Each guard consisted of 3 hours. Accordingly, the 1st hour of the day began at sunrise, and the 12th hour of the day ended at sunset.

There is a tradition of roughly translating this system into modern clocks, when the 1st hour of the day according to the Typicon corresponds to 6 o'clock in the morning in our understanding, and the 1st hour of the night corresponds to our 6 o'clock in the evening (18.00). We will adhere to this generally accepted tradition, indicating the approximate time when it is necessary to have a meal according to the Typicon.

With regard to food quality, one can distinguish the following types of meals(listed in ascending order of severity):

1. Permission "for the whole" or "at the meal of the brethren, consolation is great." No restrictions (only non-tasting of meat by monastics in all cases is preserved)
2. Abstinence only from meat, all other products are allowed (this happens for the laity only on the cheese week - i.e. butter)
3. Abstinence from meat, eggs and dairy products, but fish is allowed (and, of course, hot plant foods, vegetable oil, wine)
4. Abstinence from meat, eggs, milk and fish. Hot vegetable food is allowed - "boiling" (ie, heat-treated - boiled, baked, etc.) with vegetable oil and wine.
5. Abstinence also from vegetable oil and wine. Hot food without oil is allowed.
6. Xerophagy. “Bread and water and the like” is allowed (Chapter 35), i.e. raw, dried or soaked vegetables, fruits (in the Typicon, for example: raisins, olives, nuts (Chapter 36), figs, i.e. figs) - “one every day” (chapter 36), i.e. every time one of these.
7. Complete abstinence from food and drink is what the Typicon actually calls the word “fasting”.

Naturally, a less strict establishment allows everything that is possible with a more strict fast. That is, for example, if, according to the charter, fish is prescribed, then of course you can eat vegetable oil, and if dairy products are allowed, then you can also eat fish.

Wine in the Byzantine tradition was used everywhere, mostly diluted hot water, and was considered a natural part of the usual meal. This explains the rather frequent permission for the use of wine in the charter of the meal. Naturally, we are talking only about natural grape wine without the addition of alcohol or sugar. The measure of wine is stipulated very clearly: from 1 to 3 krasovuls (i.e. bowls). The charter also notes that “praise to a monk, if you do not drink wine” (chapter 35), i.e. that abstaining from wine, even in those days when it is permitted by the charter, is highly laudable.

The order of the meal, especially during the Christmas and Petrov fasts, is closely related to the category, i.e. degree of holidays. From the point of view of the rules of fasting, the following three categories of church holidays are important: I - vigils, II - polyeleos and with doxology, III - small ones.

In the Typicon, the general order of the Meal is described in chapter 35. Additions and clarifications about the meal on holidays and during fasts are given in chapters: 32,33,34,36, as well as in the month itself (chapter 48), where instructions are made regarding the Christmas Fasting and the order of the meal on specific holidays. There are also instructions about the meal in chapters 49 and 50 - “On the Forty Day” and “On Pentecost” and 51 “The Beginning of the Fast of the Glorious and All-Praised Apostles (Peter and Paul)”. We will try to harmonize all these instructions into a common system.

3. The order of the meal outside of long fasts.

In non-fasting times and in non-fasting days, i.e. in addition to Wednesday, heel (and in monasteries Monday also belongs to fast days), it is supposed to eat twice a day without restriction as food.

On Sundays and the Twelfth Feasts of the Lord, three meals are served for lunch, and two for dinner. On other non-fasting days - two dishes for lunch, one for dinner.

Dishes for lunch and dinner are supposed to be the same. Typicon does not allow cooking specifically for the evening meal. However, the evening meal is supposed to be eaten warm.

Wine relies on a meal only on Sundays and holidays. On other, even non-fasting days, its use without special need or infirmity is forbidden.

Wednesday and Friday(in monasteries, Monday is also equated to them) - once a day “at the 9th hour” (about 15.00). According to the 69th canon of the Holy Apostles, to which the Typicon refers, fasting on Wednesday and Friday throughout the year is equated with Great Lent. This means that it is supposed to eat dry food once a day, "except infirmity and a holiday" (chapter 33).

For the violation of this fast, as well as Great Lent, the layman is subject to excommunication from Communion for a while, while the priest is deposed from the priesthood.

Holidays Post Wednesdays and Fridays relaxed as follows:

If on Wednesday or Friday (in the monastery - and on Monday) the feast of the Nativity of Christ or Theophany falls, then the fast is canceled, two meals are eaten without limiting the quality of food.

If on the same days the Twelve Feasts of the Theotokos fall (Nativity of the Theotokos, Assumption, Candlemas) or the great Sts. App. Peter and Paul, the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Intercession, vigilant saints, then two meals a day are supplied and eating fish is allowed. Fasting on dairy and meat foods is maintained.

If a middle feast falls on fasting days (polyeleos and with doxology), then two meals are served, and dry food is laid on the first, and boiled food with oil in the evening.

On minor holidays that fall on Wednesday or Friday (in the monastery - and Monday), the Typicon appoints to eat one meal at the 9th hour (15.00), but allows, "when the trouble of the soul is not seen", to eat boiled food without oil or even with oil (chapter 36).

During periods of long fasting, relief on the Twelfth and Great Feasts is specifically stipulated, namely:

On the Feasts of the Transfiguration, Entrance and Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem (which always fall during fasting), on any day of the week we allow fish, wine and oil, supplying two meals (chapter 33). Those. the rule is the same as on the great holidays that fell on Wednesday or Friday.

On the Feasts of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Beheading of John the Baptist (great, but fasting holidays), it is supposed to eat twice, allowing for wine and oil, but without fish.

On the Annunciation, which almost always falls on Great Lent, the charter of the meal depends not only on the day of the week, but also on which part of Great Lent it will fall on. We will talk about this holiday in the next chapter.

4. Meal during Lent

The Orthodox Church has established four long Lent - one for each season. Each of them prepares a Christian for one of the most important Church Feasts, and each has a different dedication.

The oldest, longest, strictest and most important Lent is the Great Lent. It is a preparation for the meeting of Holy Week and Easter of Christ.

Great Lent is offered to us in the spring and, according to the testimony of Church Tradition recorded in the Divine Liturgy, is itself a “spiritual spring” to the renewal of our spiritual feelings and pious thoughts.

Great Lent lasts 49 days. In the Typicon it is called "Holy Forty Day", and the very name emphasizes the special grace of these days. The name "Fourteen" is from the Church Slavonic numeral "fourty", i.e. "forty" is not accidental.

Lent itself lasts exactly 40 days, since the twelfth feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem are excluded from the total number of 49, on which fasting is relaxed and in the language of the Typicon can no longer be called a fast in the strict sense, as well as 6 days of Holy Week, which form a special Liturgical and ascetic cycle - Lent of Holy Week.

The Second Lord's Fast is winter, Christmas. It is also long - lasts 40 days, and is a preparation for the second most important Gospel event after the Resurrection of Christ - Christmas.

Third Post - autumn, Assumption. It is dedicated to the Mother of God and prepares us for the main Mother of God feast - the feast of the Assumption. It is the shortest, lasting only 14 days, but in terms of severity it is equal to Great Lent.

Fourth Post - summer, Petrovsky. This is an apostolic post, which is dedicated to the labors and deeds of the holy Apostles, who brought to us and to all peoples the Light of the faith of Christ. It ends with the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Historically, it was intended for those who violated or for some reason could not withstand Great Lent. And later extended to all Christians. The length of this post is different years different because it depends on Easter. It begins on the Monday after All Saints' Week and ends on June 29/July 12. Accordingly, its duration varies from 11 to 42 days.

In different Fasts, the charter of the meal is different, so we will talk about each Fast separately.

5. Great Lent

Great Lent begins on Cheese Week (Maslyanitsa). The charter assumes from Cheese (meat-free) Monday abstention from meat, while all other food is allowed. And this week is solid. This means that dairy products and eggs can also be consumed on Wednesday and Friday.

With regard to the number of meals on all days, except for Wednesday and Friday, two meals are laid. On Wednesday and Friday, one meal is laid in the evening "at the 9th hour" (chapter 35), i.e. around 15.00.

On Cheesefare Week (Forgiveness Sunday), a conspiracy is performed. Two meals are laid and “at Vespers there is consolation to the brethren at the meal” (sheet 407, p. 823)

First week of Great Lent according to the Charter, the most strict in relation to the meal.

The charter offers two options for fasting this week - the main (Palestinian) and Athos.

The first rank suggests the following meal order:

In the special chapter of the Typicon dedicated to Great Lent (chapter 32), the first rite (of the Palestine monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified) is given, but a little more about the first three days. Namely, for those who cannot endure complete abstinence from food and drink during the first two days of Great Lent, as well as for the elderly, “bread and kvass” is allowed on Tuesday after Vespers (i.e. after the 9th hour day according to Byzantine time, which roughly corresponds to from 14.00 to 15.00). On Wednesday, at the meal, “warm bread and warm vegetable meals are blessed, and dill (that is, a hot infusion or decoction of herbs or berries, fruits) with honey is given.”

The second rank of Athos suggests the following:

Saturday of the First Week the number of meals in the Typicon is not specifically specified. Instructions are given for only one meal, the second is not mentioned. However, the general structure of the Divine Liturgy appoints the first meal in the afternoon, after the Liturgy, which presupposes the presence of an evening meal. The absence of special instructions means that the previously formulated general principle namely, that the second meal is like the first in all respects. This principle of "default action" is in principle characteristic of the Typicon.

With regard to the quality of food, on the Sabbath of the First Week, boiled food with vegetable oil and wine is allowed. Boiled legumes, olives and olives are recommended at the meal, “we eat beans scalded with white and black olives, and boiled (i.e. boiled hot food) with oil. We drink wine according to krasovul ”(sheet 425ob, p. 858).

On the First Week of Great Lent, i.e. on Sunday, the charter definitely appoints two meals with boiled hot food, vegetable oil and wine - two bowls each. The same rule applies to all other Sundays of Great Lent.

In other weeks The Typicon (Chapter 32) prescribes on weekdays (from Monday to Friday) to abstain from food and drink until evening, which means eating at the 9th hour of the day, i.e. around 15.00, and eat dry food once a day. On Saturdays and Sundays, eat boiled food with vegetable oil and wine twice a day. (Although the number of meals on Saturday is not directly stated, but the whole structure of the Divine Services on Saturdays, as well as on Sundays, assumes the first meal after the Liturgy in the afternoon, which means that the evening meal is laid. When the Typicon prescribes one meal a day, it is served after Vespers at the 9th hour).

Fish for Lent allowed only twice - on the Feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday).

On the Feast of the Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist, which happened in Great Lent, there is one meal after Vespers, but it offers two dishes of hot boiled food with oil and wine. If it falls on Wednesday or Friday, then two dishes of boiled food without oil; wine is allowed.

On the feast of the Annunciation(on the eve of the holiday), if it falls before Lazarus Saturday, boiled food with wine and oil is allowed. If on Holy Week, then fasting will not be relaxed. There is one meal.

The self Feast of the Annunciation, if it does not fall on Saturday or Sunday, one meal is also laid, but eating fish is allowed. However, if the Annunciation falls on Holy Week, the fish is no longer eaten. On Great Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, if the Annunciation happens, wine and oil are allowed (one meal is supposed). If the Annunciation falls on Great Heel, only wine is allowed.

On Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent (Standing of St. Mary of Egypt), one meal is served at the 9th hour (about 15.00) - boiled food with oil and wine "labor for the sake of vigil" (p. 882). Some statutes allow only wine, and oil is not allowed (ibid.)

On Friday of the same week (before the feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos), the wine "Labor for the Vigilant Who Wants to Be" is allowed (p. 883). The meal is supposed to be one at the 9th hour.

The charter of Holy Mount Athos allows two meals at a meal and the tasting of wine and oil, not only on the feast of the Finding of the head of St. John the Baptist (regardless of the day of the week), but also for the memory of 40 MCH. Sebastian, On Wednesday of the Cross (on the middle of Lent), on Thursday and Friday of the fifth week (on the Standing of St. Mary of Egypt and on the Praise of the Mother of God).

On Lazarus Saturday in addition to boiled food with oil and wine, fish caviar “asche imams” is allowed, i.e. if possible, three ongi (i.e. 100 gr.)

On the Feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem(Palm Sunday) “consolation at the meal” - fish is supposed to. As on other Sundays, two meals are laid, and permission for wine and oil is naturally preserved.

On Holy Week Typicon in the first three days, i.e. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he prescribes dry eating, while indicating: “as it is on the 1st week of this holy Lent, on these days, on Great Monday, on Tuesday and on Wednesday it is fitting to fast” (Chapter 49, p. 902) .

There is an obvious contradiction here, since for the First Week, complete abstinence was prescribed for the first two days, and on Wednesday “warm vegetable meals” were allowed, i.e. boiled food. It is also not entirely logical to particularly emphasize the severity of these days, while all the weekdays of Great Lent the Typicon in another chapter appointed the same dry diet (chapter 35). Let's try to clarify this contradiction.

On the one hand, the Typicon often repeats information in different places with slight variations, so perhaps this is just such a case. But on the other hand, it can be assumed that in this case we are dealing with the fixation of different charters, which is also characteristic of the Typicon. One of them is more strict, prescribes dry eating during the weekdays of the entire Lent. Another suggests dry eating only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, like other Fasts, and on Tuesday and Thursday it still suggested boiled food, although once a day and without oil. Those. similar to the Dormition Fast, which is indirectly confirmed by the phrase in the Typicon, which equates the Dormition Fast to the Great.

On Maundy Thursday, food is eaten after Vespers, connected with the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, i.e. once a day, in the evening. The beginning of the Vespers Typikon appoints at the 8th hour of the day (i.e. from 14.00), respectively, its end will be at the tenth hour, i.e. around 15.30-16.00 hours.

Regarding the quality of food on Maundy Thursday, the Typikon gives three ranks:

According to the usual (Palestinian) order, one dish is laid, but boiled food with vegetable oil is allowed.

According to the Studian statute, “eat the same brew, and juicy, and the bean is scalded, and we drink wine” (p. 912), i.e. one boiled dish is supposed, but supplemented with sochi (any porridge) and legumes; oil is silent in this statute, i.e. Apparently it's not allowed.

According to the charter of the Holy Mount Athos, two boiled dishes with oil and wine are laid.

On Great Heel it is prescribed full post, i.e. complete abstinence from food and drink. “If anyone is very weak or old,” i.e. very old in age, and cannot bear a full fast, “bread and water are given to him after the setting of the sun” (p. 920).

On Great Saturday "at the 2nd hour of the night", i.e. around 19.00, the only meal is supposed. “He gives the brethren a single loaf of bread, half a liter of loaves, and 6 figs or dates, and one measure of a cup of wine. And where there is no wine, the brethren drink kvass from honey or from zhit. The studio charter is also cited, prescribing the same thing: “eat nothing like this, but bread and vegetables and little wine” (p. 929)

Those who break Great Lent even by eating fish, except for the prescribed two Holidays, the Typikon forbids Communion on Holy Pascha and prescribes two more weeks of repentance (chapter 32).

The post of St. Apostles:

Typikon gives two ranks, close, but not identical. According to the first (chapter 34):

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one meal is laid at the 9th hour (15.00), dry eating.

On Tuesday and Thursday boiled food with oil and wine is laid. Regarding the number of meals, it is not directly stated, but according to the general logic of the text (from the opposition to Monday, Wednesday and Friday), one can conclude that two meals were eaten. This is also confirmed by the fact that in the next chapter, devoted to the Dormition Fast, the need to fast until 9 o'clock in the afternoon (that is, until 15.00) and, accordingly, eat once a day on all days of the week is specifically stipulated.

Fishing is allowed on Saturday and Sunday. Regarding the number of meals, it is not directly stated, however, the Typikon directly prohibits fasting as complete abstinence on Saturdays and Sundays, therefore it is obvious that two meals are laid - in the afternoon and in the evening (for example, see about Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ and Theophany: “on Saturday or the week of fasting does not happen” (p. 351, chapter 48, December 25)).

If at the same time on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday there will be a memory of a polyeleic saint or a saint “with doxology” (middle holiday), then fish is allowed on these days. On Monday, there are also two meals a day, like Tuesday or Thursday.

If the memory of such a saint (middle feast) falls on Wednesday or Friday, then only wine and oil are allowed. The meal is supplied one per day.

If on Wednesday or Friday there is a memory of a vigilant saint or a patronal feast, then fish is allowed. Regarding the number of meals, the Typicon is again silent, but according to the general logic, one meal was specially stipulated when permitting fish, so it is logical to assume that on such holidays it is supposed to eat two meals a day.

Another rank (chapter 35 and 51 in part) suggests the following:

On Tuesday and Thursday, eat one dish of boiled food without oil once a day at about 15.00. Also, at the meal, “other dry food” is supplied, i.e. raw and soaked vegetables and fruits.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dry eating “bread and water and the like” is prescribed, once a day.

On Saturday and Sunday - two meals of boiled food with oil and fish. Two meals.

Regarding the relaxation of fasting on holidays, the second rank does not give special instructions that differ from those given above.

Thus, there are only a few differences between the two ranks. The first involves eating two meals with oil and wine on Tuesday and Thursday, and the second blesses eating once a day and without oil, unless a feast happens. All other provisions of the two ranks of the Petrov post are similar.

6. Dormition Fast

On weekdays, except Saturday and Sunday, one meal is served at the 9th hour (15.00). On Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry food, on Tuesday and Thursday - boiled food without vegetable oil. On Saturday and Sunday - two meals with vegetable oil and wine. Fish is allowed only for the Transfiguration.

7. Advent Post

According to the Typicon, its charter is in all respects similar to the charter on the fast of Sts. App. Peter and Paul.

When committing the so-called. "alleluium service", i.e. a purely Lenten service, similar to the Lenten rite, when the celebration of the Liturgy is not supposed, it is supposed to eat dry food at the 9th hour (chapter 48, November 14). On the first day of both the Christmas and Peter's fasts, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, such a service is recommended. On other days of these fasts, when the memory of the minor saints is celebrated, the choice is left to the rector.

The Typikon appoints the following dates as feast days when a polyeleic or vigil feast is celebrated and two meals, wine and oil are laid: November 16, 25 and 30, and December 4, 5, 6, 9, 17, 20 according to Art. style. Feasts in honor of Russian saints are also added to these days.

With the beginning of the Prefeast of Christmas, i.e. from December 21, according to the old style, fish permits are canceled even for Saturdays and Sundays.

On Christmas Eve and Epiphany, fasting is laid, i.e. abstinence from food and drink until evening. Food is laid boiled with oil once a day after Vespers, i.e. not earlier than 9 o'clock (15.00).

If these days fall on Saturday and Sunday, so that there is no fasting as a complete abstinence on Saturday or Sunday, it is necessary after the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, performed at the 6th hour (until 12.00), to taste little” (Chapter 48, December 25, p. 352). After Vespers, “we eat completely, but we don’t eat fish, but with wood oil (that is, with vegetable oil), and scalded sochivo or kutia with honey; we also drink wine, but in poor countries we drink beer (drinking home-made - kvass, homemade wine, beer, etc.) ”

8. Meal on Pentecost

In the Bright Week, “we allow: monks for cheese and eggs and fish, but for the whole world” (chapter 32, p. 86)

During Pentecost, i.e. from the Week of Antipascha to Trinity on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, two meals are laid: the first is dry eating, the second is “more perfect than eating” (chapter 32), i.e. boiled food with oil. Some also allow fish (chapter 33). Undoubtedly, the fish is laid on the Feasts of Mid-Pentecost and Passover.

From Trinity to All Saints Week - permission for everything, including Wednesday and Friday.

9. Conclusion

Concluding the review of the charter on fasting set forth in the Typicon, I would like to emphasize that it was formed on the basis of the living experience of the centuries-old ascetic life of our ancestors and was considered feasible for every average person.

The lives of the venerable fathers often describe marvelous deeds of fasting that surpass human understanding. Some holy fathers did not eat the whole Great Lent, others fasted until the 9th hour daily and ate food once a day without being satisfied, and still others did not eat not only milk, but even fish all their lives, and they put oil on the table - only once a year, at Easter. Examples of such fasting can be found even in the biographies of Athos elders of the 19th-20th centuries.

Therefore, it seems very useful to recognize one's weakness in the feat of fasting, comparing the customs of Orthodox fasting generally accepted today and the recommendations of the Church Charter. And also, with the blessing of the spiritual fathers, to diversify the personal fasting feat, accepting as a rule at least one or another separate requirement of the charter for a certain period of time.

10. REFERENCE APPENDIX

Some ancient food names and ancient measures used in the Typicon

CAULIFLOWER AND CARROT SALAD

Ingredients :
300 g cauliflower, 4 carrots, 1 fresh cucumber, 1/2 lemon, 4 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, dill.

Cooking

Scald cabbage with boiling water, finely chop, combine with carrots, grated on a coarse grater, finely chopped cucumber, salt, put in a salad bowl, season with a mixture of vegetable oil, lemon juice and chopped dill.

BEANS SALAD

Boil the peeled beans in unsalted water (they should be soft and keep their shape) and cool.
Add boiled carrots, celery, greens (all this must be crumbled beforehand).
Pour a mixture of mustard, salt, vegetable oil, vinegar or citric acid(lemon juice) and stir.

BEANS PATE

Mix pre-peeled and boiled beans with fried onions, add vegetable oil, salt, pepper, spicy lovers can drop vinegar or citric acid.
Sprinkle with finely chopped savory, parsley and dill, mix well and refrigerate.

BEET CAVIAR

Ingredients :
100 g beets, 50 g pickles, 1 clove of garlic, 15 g onions, 5 g vegetable oil, vinegar, salt.

Cooking

Wash the unpeeled beets, boil, cool and peel. Pickled cucumbers are peeled and seeds are removed. Lightly fry the onion in vegetable oil. Peel the garlic.
Pass all prepared vegetables through a meat grinder, season with salt, pepper, vegetable oil, vinegar and mix well.

MUSHROOM CAVIAR

I. Soak two cups of dry mushrooms in water for 6-13 hours, rinse, boil in a small amount of water, pass through a meat grinder. Finely chop the onion and fry in vegetable oil until light brown. Mix mushrooms with onions, add salt, vinegar, sugar and mushroom broth to taste.
II. Boil dry mushrooms as above and mix them with mushroom broth, salt, black pepper, crushed garlic and mayonnaise.

CAVIAR FROM BAKED EGGLANTS
IN EKATERINODARSKI

Ingredients :
600 g eggplant, 1 onion, 2-3 tomatoes, salt, pepper, vegetable oil, lemon juice.

Cooking

Bake a few eggplants in the oven until soft, remove the skin, grind the pulp with a wooden spoon, add finely chopped onion and fried in vegetable oil, ripe tomatoes, diced, salt, pepper, vegetable oil and lemon juice or vinegar - to taste.
Mix everything thoroughly so that the caviar is not liquid.
Lay in a bowl on a plate, take out to the cold.
When completely cold, serve.

CABBAGE WITH ONIONS

Ingredients :
150 g sauerkraut. 30 g pickled cucumbers, 30 g onions, 20 g sugar, 12 g vegetable oil, 10 g cranberries, greens.

Cooking

Sort sauerkraut, chop large pieces. Chop the onion, pour over the cabbage brine, heat almost to a boil and cool.
Add onions to the cabbage, mix, season with sugar, pour over with oil, put in a salad bowl, and put sliced ​​pickles on top, garnish with cranberries and sprinkle with herbs.

CABBAGE WITH APPLES

Ingredients :
125 g sauerkraut, 75 g apples, 10 g sugar, 25 g vegetable oil, 10 g herbs, 10 g cranberries.

Cooking

Sort the sauerkraut, squeeze out the brine. Peel apples, cut into slices and put in brine so that they do not darken.
Mix prepared apples with cabbage, season with sugar, pour over with oil, transfer to a salad bowl, garnish with cranberries and sprinkle with herbs.

CABBAGE WITH NUT SAUCE

Ingredients :
1 medium white cabbage, 2 onions, a few cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup shelled walnuts, pepper, salt, herbs to taste.

Cooking

Cut a medium-sized head of cabbage and boil in salted water. Then put it in a thin layer on a baking sheet, and put something heavy on top.
An hour later, season the cabbage with crushed nuts, garlic, chopped onions, herbs, black ground pepper.

APPETITE APPETITE FROM BEET HOLMS

Ingredients :
beet greens, 10–15 walnuts, 1–2 cloves of garlic, 2 onions, 1 bunch of dill, red pepper, salt, cilantro, wine vinegar.

Cooking

Pour beet tops with a small amount of water and cook for 30-40 minutes, then put in a colander, squeeze and cut. Pound walnut kernels in a mortar and add garlic, salt, a little red pepper and a couple of sprigs of cilantro, previously ground together. Chop onion and dill.
Mix everything and season with wine vinegar.
Instead of beet tops, you can use radish tops, only it needs to be boiled for 15-20 minutes. Cauliflower leaves (broccoli, kohlrabi) are also suitable, but you need to take those that are softer (they grow closer to the head, in the upper part of the plant).

BEET BASKETS WITH MUSHROOMS

Boil the beets in water with vinegar until tender, peel and pick out the middle with a spoon to make a basket. Put the filling in the baskets and bake in a baking sheet in a heated oven.
For the filling, pass dry boiled mushrooms through a meat grinder, fry together with onions and add boiled rice, salt and pepper.
Instead of dry mushrooms, you can use salted mushrooms, but they must first be soaked for 1-2 hours.
You can make the filling differently: fry the onion in vegetable oil, add tomato paste, chopped beet pulp, finely chopped salted or pickled mushrooms, salt, pepper to taste.

BORSCH LEAN

Boil the beets, peel and cut into strips.
Soak dry mushrooms in cold water for 3-4 hours, squeeze and strain the broth. Mushrooms cut into slices, fry in vegetable oil. Finely chop the carrots and fry in vegetable oil with finely chopped onions (without color change), add tomato puree or peeled tomatoes and heat for 5-10 minutes.
Boil the soaked prunes, remove the stones and cut into slices.
Put chopped fresh cabbage into boiling mushroom broth, boil for 10-15 minutes, add fried mushrooms, carrots, roots, prunes and bring to readiness, seasoning with vinegar, sugar and salt to taste.

BOTVINA LENT

Sort the sorrel, let it go, adding a little water. Do the same with spinach separately.
Rub the sorrel and spinach through a sieve, cool the puree, dilute with kvass, add sugar, lemon zest and refrigerate.
Pour the botvinia on plates, adding slices of boiled or smoked fish to each.

LENTEN BORSCHOK

Ingredients :
4-5 potatoes, 1/4 head of cabbage, 1 beetroot, 1 carrot, 1 onion, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of flour, 1 tbsp. spoon of salt, 1 tbsp. spoons of tomato paste, peppercorns, white roots, 1-2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, herbs.

Cooking

In boiling water, lower the potatoes cut into cubes, chopped cabbage and boil for 15 minutes.
Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, sauté flour in it, add chopped onions, carrots, beets, white roots, tomato paste, salt, pepper and lightly fry.
Then pour in 1 glass of water, boil over low heat so that there are no lumps and, having combined with borscht, cook for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the finished borscht with chopped or dried herbs.

BORSCH LENTEN HUTSUL

Ingredients :
270 g potatoes, 250 g fresh white cabbage, 150 g beets, 25 g dried mushrooms, 50 g beans. 100 g carrots, 50 g parsley root, 10 g sugar. 10 g flour, ground black pepper, salt to taste, 2 liters of water and mushroom broth, tomato paste, vinegar.

Cooking

Peel and chop fresh white cabbage. Cut peeled carrots, parsley and onion into strips and sauté. Sort the dried mushrooms, rinse well, boil and also cut into strips.
Boil beans previously sorted and soaked in cold boiled water in the same water until tender. Put peeled and chopped potatoes into boiling water, bring to a boil, then add shredded cabbage and cook for 15–20 minutes.
After that, put boiled, chopped mushrooms along with broth, boiled beans, beets stewed in sunflower oil with tomato, sugar and vinegar, browned carrots, parsley and onions, browned flour in vegetable oil, season with salt, ground black pepper and cook 5– 7 minutes.

CHI LENTENING

Ingredients :
500 g sauerkraut, 2 onions, 1 carrot, 1 tbsp. spoon of tomato paste, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 bay leaf, 5-7 black peppercorns. 2 tbsp. tablespoons of flour, salt, sugar to taste, parsley and celery.

Cooking

Rinse sauerkraut, squeeze and cut into smaller pieces. Saute in vegetable oil for 10-15 minutes. Add water and simmer covered for about an hour over low heat.
Transfer to a saucepan, add browned carrots, onions, tomato paste, water.
Put pepper, bay leaf, salt, sugar, season with flour fried in vegetable oil, and boil for 10 minutes.
Serve sprinkled with herbs.

BEANS SOUP

Ingredients :
1.5-2 liters of water, 300 g of dry beans, 2-3 medium-sized potatoes, 1 large onion, 1 carrot, parsley, savory, dill, salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking

Boil the peeled beans until tender. Add parsley, savory, dill, peeled and chopped potatoes.
Then saute onions and carrots in vegetable oil. Fill soup. Put salt and pepper to taste.

SOUP-PUREE PEA (lean)

Ingredients :
1 cup shelled peas. 1 onion, 1 parsley root, 1 tbsp. spoon of vegetable oil, 1/2 tbsp. spoons wheat flour, salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking

Pour peas into a saucepan, pour water and put to boil, adding a little water from time to time. Cut the parsley, onion and lightly fry in vegetable oil, add a little flour and keep on fire.
Rub boiled peas through a colander, mix with vegetables; dilute with boiled water to the density, which is necessary, add salt, pepper and boil.
Ready soup served with croutons.

PEA SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS

Boil dried mushrooms, pre-soaked, in the same water, pour boiled peas into the broth and boil.
Before removing the soup from the heat, season it with onions and carrots fried in vegetable oil, do not forget to add salt.

LENTENING DUMPLINGS WITH MONASTERY MUSHROOMS

Soak dried mushrooms in water until they are soaked (1.5–2 hours). Then finely chop them and fry them in vegetable oil. Salt and sprinkle with pepper.
Chop a few onions, fry separately in vegetable oil and put in the same place.
Mix this mass and, when it is completely fried, make ordinary dumplings from unleavened dough.
Boil water in a saucepan, dip dumplings into it, and when they float, take them out with a slotted spoon and pour vegetable oil with fried onions.

BAKED POTATOES

I. Wash the potatoes well, put them on a sheet and bake in the oven.
II. Wash the potatoes well, wrap in foil, place on a wire rack and bake in the oven.
III. Pour salt into a frying pan or baking sheet with sides, put well-washed and dried potatoes in it and bake it in the oven.
IV. Peel the potatoes, rinse, dry, roll in rye flour mixed with salt, lay on a metal sheet and bake in the oven. When serving, pour vegetable oil with fried onions.

ZRAZY POTATO

Ingredients :
500 g raw grated potatoes, 500 g boiled potatoes (mashed), 0.5–1 cup wheat flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cooking

Mix raw grated potatoes and mashed potatoes, add flour, knead the dough, roll it into a layer, cut into squares or rectangles, spread the filling (carrot, onion, mushroom, pumpkin) on them.
Form pies and fry in the oven on a baking sheet, greased with oil, or in a pan with vegetable oil.

POTATO Dumplings with GRINS

Ingredients :
12 potatoes, 1 cup barley groats, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 3 onions, dill.

Cooking

Peel raw potatoes, grate, squeeze juice. Add the settled starch to the potato mass.
Cook porridge from barley groats.
Mix porridge with potatoes, add salt, mix, make round dumplings and boil in salted water.
Serve dumplings sprinkled with butter-fried onion and dill.

BEANS WITH POTATOES

Ingredients :
1 cup beans, 500 g potatoes, 2 onions. 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 tbsp. spoons of tomato puree, salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking

Boil beans and potatoes separately.
Cut the potatoes into slices, fry, mix with beans, add finely chopped, fried onions, tomato puree, salt, pepper, mix again, cover the pan with a lid and put it in the oven over low heat.

SOLYANKA FROM CUCUMBERS

Large, overgrown cucumbers are more suitable for this dish. After peeling them from the skin and removing the seeds, finely chop, put in a pan and, stirring, simmer until the liquid has evaporated.
Then transfer the cucumber mass to a bowl with thick walls. Separately, in vegetable oil, sauté onions and carrots with tomatoes.
Then combine them with cucumbers, add salt, pepper, herbs and simmer for another 15 minutes.

YERALASH FROM VEGETABLES

Line the bottom and walls of a clay or ceramic pot with cabbage leaves. Lay any vegetables in layers: chopped white cabbage, small cauliflower buds, sliced ​​\u200b\u200bcarrots, turnips, tomatoes, turnips, celery, etc. - everything that is at hand.
In this case, do not salt the vegetables in any case.
Cover the pot with a lid, cover the edges with dough (or make a lid from the dough) and put in a heated oven for 1 hour.
Serve with vegetable oil and salt.

SAUTED VEGETABLE WITH PASTA

Ingredients :
200 g pasta, 2 onions, 2 tomatoes, 2 eggplants, 1 pod bell pepper, 1 bunch of dill, salt, pepper to taste.

Cooking

Boil macaroni. Cut the onion into rings and fry until golden brown. Finely chop eggplant, tomatoes and peppers, combine with onions and simmer for 40 minutes.
Then put the boiled pasta and mix everything. Salt, pepper.
Sprinkle with dill before serving.

VERMICHEL WITH APPLES

Ingredients :
180 g vermicelli, 4 apples, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, salt, sugar.

Cooking

Boil vermicelli in salted water, put in a colander and let the water drain.
Peel the apples, remove the core, cut into slices and lightly fry in vegetable oil.
Then add the vermicelli, with constant stirring, bring to readiness, sprinkle with sugar.

BAKED PUMPKIN

Cut a small pumpkin (no more than 1 kg) across, remove the seeds and part of the pulp. Grind the pulp, mix with finely chopped onions, boiled rice, season with salt, pepper, you can add crushed garlic (no more than 1 clove) and fill the pumpkin halves with this stuffing.
Place them on a greased baking sheet, drizzle with vegetable oil and bake until tender in a heated oven.
Drizzle with onion sauce while cooking.

CARROT STEW

Ingredients :
1 kg of carrots, 2 teaspoons of wheat flour, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 250 g of dried fruits, salt.

Cooking

Peel the carrots, cut into circles or slices, put in a saucepan, half-fill with water, salt, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of oil, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Season the carrots with flour mixed with the rest of the butter and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
You can cook stewed carrots with prunes, dried apricots, and other dried fruits. In this case, first boil the carrots until half cooked and combine with washed dried fruits, season with flour and butter and simmer until tender.

Eggplant Straw

Cut the eggplant into strips, fry in vegetable oil and transfer to a bowl. Separately, fry the onion, add tomato sauce, 3-4 cloves of garlic, bay leaf, 3-4 tbsp. tablespoons of water, salt and lay out the straw.
Simmer until liquid evaporates.
Sprinkle the finished dish with grated garlic and mix.

AUPLANT SCHNITZELS

Bake small eggplants, peel and cut lengthwise. Salt, lightly squeeze, roll in flour or breadcrumbs, fry in well-heated vegetable oil.
When serving, sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and dill.

ONION SAUCE

Ingredients :
1 st. a spoonful of flour, 2 tbsp. tablespoons of vegetable oil, 1 onion, vegetable broth, salt.

Cooking

Mix the flour with an equal amount of vegetable oil and sauté until light brown. Dilute with vegetable broth (beetroot, carrot) and cook for 10 minutes at a low boil.
Finely chopped onion fry in vegetable oil and transfer to the sauce.
Add salt to taste.

LENTENING SAUCE FROM FRESH VEGETABLES

Ingredients :
150 g carrots, 20 g parsley root, 150 g kohlrabi, 75 g onions, 300 g green peas, 100 g sunflower oil, 2.5 liters of water, salt, parsley.

Cooking

In a saucepan in hot sunflower oil, simmer finely chopped onions until half cooked, add chopped carrots, kohlrabi, parsley root, pour a little water, salt and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
Top up with warm water (depending on the number of servings).
At the end of cooking, add canned green pea and finely chopped parsley.

PIE WITH ONION FILLING

Ingredients :
For the dough: 800 g wheat flour, 30 g yeast, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2 cups water.
For the filling: 8 onions, 3/4 cup vegetable oil.

Cooking

Knead the dough from flour, yeast, water and salt and let it rise.
Roll out 5 very thin round cakes, bake them, layer them with finely chopped onion and fried in vegetable oil and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Does the great Jewish-biblical Lord let into His rich Paradise to taste in it the inexpressible heavenly bliss of His God-chosen Jewish prophets and holy Apostles any foreigners who do not belong to the God-chosen Jewish people, and, often, Jews beloved by the Lord and not at all revered? - This theological issue has not been reliably resolved by anyone.
Although no one forbids anyone to believe in such unrealizable Jewish happiness for foreigners. That's what holy faith is for, so that the laity believe in all sorts of church notions.

Of course, the Hebrew-Biblical Lord does not have any reasonable grounds to spoil the eternal paradise life His God-chosen Jewish righteous the presence in Paradise of all alien persons of non-God's chosen non-Jewish origin.
For the great Jewish-biblical God in His holy Paradise does not need national strife introduced by foreigners.
Unless, of course, the Lord divided His Hebrew-Biblical God's Paradise into some parts with insurmountable walls between them, so that foreigners would not penetrate into Paradise to the Jews and interfere with their eating holy Jewish God's grace.
But there is no evidence of such a division of the Lord's Paradise into parts.

Some saints who communicate with God testify that over the Gates of the rich and happy Jewish-Biblical Paradise, the wise Lord, in order to firmly admonish those who are hungry to get there, placed a red-decorated inscription, shining with gold and precious stones:
“BEFORE THESE HOLY GATES, LEAVE HOPE EVERYONE, FOR THE SINS OF THE ANCESTORS CREATED BY A FOREIGNER”.
Past the vigilant Apostle Peter standing at the gates of Paradise, no foreigner will slip into the blessed Jewish Paradise.

Therefore, in the holy Russian hopes for the mercy of the Jewish-Biblical God, not everything is as simple as many non-Jewish believers would like.
It is easier for a camel to crawl through the eye of a needle than for a non-Jew to get into the rich Jewish-Biblical Paradise.
For the great Jewish-Biblical Lord Himself firmly defends His God-chosen Jewish righteous living in Paradise from alien foreign influences.
As it is reasonably said in Holy Russia, I would be glad to Jewish Paradise, but nationality does not let.

For blessed, soul-saving church assurances for gullible parishioners are one thing, but God's inexpressible holy reality is quite another. And they will never get together.

In the steppe, covered with mortal dust,
The man sat and cried.
And the Creator of the Universe walked by.
Stopping, he said:
"I am a friend of the downtrodden and the poor,
I save all the poor
I know many sacred words.
I am your God. I can do everything.
Your sad look saddens me,
What misfortune are you pressing?
And the man said: "I am Russian",
And God wept with him.

Other revelations and spiritual advice of St. see father Vasily on other pages.

Typicon, or Charter

This book contains detailed instructions on what days and hours, at what divine services and in what order the prayers contained in the Missal, the Book of Hours and, especially, the Octoechos, Menaia and Triods should be offered up. This is the most necessary guide for worship to be done in a proper manner and according to order.

According to its content, the Typicon is divided into three parts. The first part, from chapters 1 to 47, contains general instructions about different services, indications of what prayer disposition the worshipers should be in during various services, and rules of life for monastics. The second part from chapters 47 to 52 contains the calendar for the whole year, indicating the features of worship for all days of the church year, the features of worship in St. Forty to the Sunday of All Saints. The third part of 52 ch. to the end is, as it were, an appendix and addition to the first two parts. Attached to the Typikon is another table for determining the day of the celebration of Easter, the so-called "sighted Paschalia".

From the book Language and Religion. Lectures on Philology and the History of Religions author Mechkovskaya Nina Borisovna

74. The cycle of readings in the Christian church. Missal, Typicon, Menaion, Trebnik All Christian communal services, including the main of them - the liturgy - include common prayers, singing and reading passages from sacred books (Old and New Testaments and writings

From the book Explanatory Typicon. Part I author Skaballanovich Mikhail

Another type of worship. The Typicon of the Holy Sepulcher Along with the described type of worship, which is rightly called song, from the very beginning of the present period, another type existed and had no less, if not more distribution, - the one whose description

From the book Explanatory Typicon. Part II author Skaballanovich Mikhail

Typikon of Empress Irina in disciplinary terms Of these Typikons, the Typikon of imp. Irina, as the first (and almost the only) experience of a female monastic charter. The difference from men's statutes: Lenten regimen is easier: on Wednesday and Friday, usually firs; daily

From the book History of the Christian Church author Posnov Mikhail Emmanuilovich

The current Greek Typicon The Greek Church now uses for cathedral and parish churches not the Jerusalem Typicon, but a special one, representing the adaptation of the Jerusalem Rule to the practice of the Studian and even St. Sophia (the charter of the Great Church). This practice, living

From the Liturgical book author Krasovitskaya Maria Sergeevna

The meaning of the word "Typicon" In each book, its title is very important. A good book title immediately shows the reader what new he will find in it, even leads to the solution of the issue to which the book is devoted. The book, now called the Typikon, had previously had other names,

From the book History and Theory of Religions: Lecture Notes the author Alzhev D V

Typikon about the 9th hour on Sunday The Typicon assumes that the 9th hour should be celebrated on Saturday in the porch, but allows it to be celebrated in the temple, in the latter case, the 9th hour, as it more closely merges with Vespers, has no leave. About the actual celebration of the 9th hour, the Typicon is limited to

From the book Lectures on Historical Liturgy author Alymov Viktor Albertovich

From the book Cry of the Third Bird author (Lepeshinskaya) Abbess Theophilus

5. Special case: Studian Synaxarion and Jerusalem Typicon. The results obtained can be used when considering particular issues of historical liturgy, one of which is the question of the origin of the Jerusalem typikon. In this case, you should

From the book Explanatory Bible. Volume 5 author Lopukhin Alexander

Typicon of Patriarch Alexy Studit. This typikon was created on the basis of Studite texts in 1034-1043 for the cenobitic monastery of the Assumption of the Most Holy Theotokos, founded by Patriarch Alexy the Studite (1025-1043) in Constantinople, and consisted of two parts:

From the book of Nil Sorsky and the traditions of Russian monasticism author Romanenko Elena Vladimirovna

Evergetid typicon. In the second half of the 11th century, significant changes began to take place in the organization of the internal life of some Byzantine monasteries, caused by opposition to the charitable practice (transfer of monasteries to private individuals in conditional and

From the author's book

Athos-Studio typicon. Quite early, the studio tradition was transferred to Athos. Already the Monk Athanasius of Athos was guided by it when creating the Great Lavra (963) and organizing monastic life in it, as evidenced by the establishment of the cinovial

From the author's book

6. The cycle of readings in the Christian church. Missal, Typicon, Menaia, Trebnik All Christian communal services, including the main of them - the liturgy, include common prayers, singing and reading passages from sacred books (Old and New Testaments of the writings of the fathers

From the author's book

7. Typikon st. Savva the Sanctified Biographer of St. Savva, the Palestinian monk Cyril of Scythopol (6th century) brings us an almost anecdotal episode, indicating that even an audience with the greatest Orthodox emperor Justinian could not distract the initiator

From the author's book

... Tired of what protects us from us And on your strict paradise Give strength to the heart ... E. Boratynsky. This same Abba Palamon was the teacher of Pachomius the Great; probably, looking at the torment of the elder, the Lord sent an angel to give the monk a charter, on a copper board, with the inscription of the most

From the author's book

5. He who keeps the commandment will not experience any evil: the heart of the wise knows both the time and the rule; 6. because for every thing there is a time and a rule; but it is a great evil to a man, 7. because he does not know what will happen; and how it will be - who will tell him? As in this, and in any other

From the author's book

The monastery's typicon The location of the monastery, its layout create external conditions on which the structure of monastic life largely depends. The basic principles of the inner life of the monastery are determined by its charter. Now let's consider the question of the monastery charter - typikon

Today there is a lot of debate about who and how should observe Great Lent. What is the measure for beginners, what for workers, what kind of priest blesses them to eat what food, what they write about this on the Internet, etc. However, those who argue will probably be very surprised if they find out that everyone has one measure - this is the Typikon, or the Charter of the Church. More about this in the answers of Hieromonk Elijah.

Question: Batiushka, some say that the Typikon was compiled by monks for monks, and that monks must fast strictly, while laymen can fast according to their strength. Is it so?

Of course, everything needs a measure. And this measure was established by our Holy Fathers, who took into account every little thing. And if you really believe, then you trust the Mother Church, which determined the statutes (Typicon) to be fulfilled for everyone. Another thing is that if you do not fulfill these charters, then you need to repent of this. But do not look for an excuse for your gluttony.

That the Typicon was compiled by monks is not surprising. In the Church, all decisions have always been adopted by councils of bishops, who, of course, were monks. Yes, and remember the words of St. John of the Ladder that the light for the monks is the Angels, and the light for the laity is the monks.

The monks have always fasted and are fasting much more strictly than the Typicon requires. They move especially. These are their exploits in Christ. There are also pious lay people who observe fasting more strictly than it is written in the Typicon. But the Typicon is the lower limit of what is permitted. This is something we must all do.

Question: Batiushka, some, even priests, say that it is easy for monks to fast, because they practically do not move, they conserve their strength. He walked from the cell two meters to the temple and back. And the laity have to go by public transport to get to the temple. We have to work to feed ourselves. And that takes a lot of energy...

Hieromonk Elijah: I think it is somehow indecent to support a dispute between monks and laity. If you think that it is easier for monks, then go to the monastery. There is such an ancient folk proverb: "The fish is looking for where it is deeper, and the man is looking for where it is better." If you think that it is easier in a monastery, then with God. What's stopping you?

Monks also have obediences (work), and priestly monks have many spiritual children. Believe me, it takes no less physical strength than a builder at a construction site. When the Typicon was compiled, then the monks generally lived in the Egyptian desert and gathered in the temple from their cells, which were not a stone's throw away from the monastery. It was necessary to walk several kilometers to the temple through mountainous bumpy terrain, and not ride, sitting on an easy chair of a trolleybus or subway.

In general, a lot can be said about this. But the essence of the severity of Great Lent is simple. If you are a true Christian, and not just put on the mask of a believer, then you should always be ready to die for Christ. Is not it? Well, and what then to trifle with the Post? If you are not able to force yourself to observe the Fast, then how can you force yourself to die for the sake of Christ?

Fasting is essentially a test for beginners. And for a churched person, this is a great joy. “We fast with a pleasant fast,” is sung in liturgical hymns.

Question: Father, what about the fact that different priests speak differently about Lent? Some say that you need to define a measure for yourself, for example, do not eat chocolate or cakes in Lent, and this is already enough.

Hieromonk Elijah: You can say whatever you want. But we, Orthodox, should not choose what is, as it were, closer and more accessible to us, but take the Typicon as a basis. Then we can hope for salvation.

The apostle Paul spoke of our times like this: For there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own whims they will choose for themselves teachers who will flatter their ears; and turn their ears away from the truth and turn to fables (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

The Christian always chooses the narrow and thorny path, not the easy and wide one. Help us all Lord!

(106 votes : 4.7 out of 5 )

Introduction

Fasting is essential in the spiritual life of a Christian. The first commandment given by God to the man he created in Paradise was the commandment to fast. “Because we didn’t fast, we were thrown out of paradise! Therefore, let us fast in order to ascend to paradise again,” says the saint. The Lord Jesus Christ himself blessed the fasting of his disciples, saying: “The days will come when the Bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they fast” (). Many holy fathers spoke about the importance of fasting in the spiritual life. “The soul is humbled by nothing more than if someone is temperate in food,” testified Abba Pimen. And the monk dedicated a special stage of his spiritual “Ladder” to fasting, where he noted that “the head of demons is the fallen morning star, and the head of the passions is gluttony.”

Of course, Orthodox fasting has never been seen as an end in itself. He, according to the Holy Fathers, is a means for true spiritual life, an aid in the struggle against passions and on the path to communion with God. “Abstinence is necessary so that, after pacifying the flesh with fasting, it is easier to enter into battle with other passions,” Abba Serapion instructed. Bodily fasting must always be paired with spiritual self-restraint, primarily in passions, sinful desires, and lusts. “There is a bodily fast when the womb fasts from food and drink; there is spiritual fasting when the soul refrains from evil thoughts, deeds, and words… Physical fasting is useful for us, but spiritual fasting is indispensable, so that bodily fasting is nothing without it,” the saint wrote.

However, the importance of bodily continence was recognized by all ascetics, from the reverends of the ancient monastic patericons to the elders of the twentieth century.

At the same time, the Orthodox over the centuries has developed fairly clear rules and recommendations regarding the order and quality of food necessary for the successful completion of the feat of bodily abstinence. These institutions are indicated in the Typicon and Triodion. At the same time, on the one hand, the number of meals per day is limited, on the other hand, the time of the first eating of food, and, finally, the quality of food. In some cases, the entire volume and composition of the meal is clearly specified.

It should be noted that the Orthodox charter is not divided into monastic and secular and is mandatory for all faithful children of the Orthodox Church. Only pregnant and lactating women, children, and seriously ill people are exempted from bodily fasting.

However, it should be borne in mind that the charter was nevertheless formed in the monasteries and mainly for the monastic community. Moreover, he was guided by countries with a hot climate. Even the saint, while in exile in the far north of the Roman Empire, noted that for the northern monasteries he founded, it was necessary to adjust the charter on fasting, taking into account the more severe climate and hard physical labor that the brethren had to bear.

The birthplace of the modern Church liturgical and disciplinary charter is the Palestinian monasteries, primarily the monastery of Savva the Sanctified near Jerusalem; also, as a rule, the tradition of Mount Athos is reflected in the Typicon. Often these two traditions are cited in parallel as equally possible and acceptable.

It is possible that the requirements of the Orthodox statute will seem unbearable to a modern civilized person, but even the very knowledge of what was considered ordinary and normal in former times will allow us, if not to imitate the ancient laborers, then at least to soberly assess our own measure of abstinence and ascetic feat and thus acquire humility.

General provisions of the Orthodox charter on the meal

The Orthodox Charter does not require more than 2 meals a day. The first meal is usually served after the Divine Liturgy, i.e. around noon, and the second - after vespers, i.e. in the evening. If only one meal is laid, then it is usually offered at the 9th hour of Byzantine time.

All time indications of the Typicon are based on the Byzantine principle of time calculation. This principle tied clocks to sunrise and sunset. Currently, he continues to operate on Mount Athos. According to the Byzantine clock, the time from sunrise to sunset was divided into 4 guards of the day, and also the time from sunset to sunrise into 4 guards of the night. Each guard consisted of 3 hours. Accordingly, the 1st hour of the day began at sunrise, and the 12th hour of the day ended at sunset. There is a tradition of roughly translating this system into modern clocks, when the 1st hour of the day according to the Typicon corresponds to 6 o'clock in the morning in our understanding, and the 1st hour of the night corresponds to our 6 o'clock in the evening (18.00). We will adhere to this generally accepted tradition, indicating the approximate time when it is necessary to have a meal according to the Typicon.

With regard to food quality, one can distinguish the following types of meals(listed in ascending order of severity):

1. Permission "for the whole" or "at the meal of the brethren, consolation is great." No restrictions (only non-tasting of meat by monastics in all cases is preserved)
2. Abstinence only from meat, all other products are allowed (this happens for the laity only on the cheese week - i.e. butter)
3. Abstinence from meat, eggs and dairy products, but fish is allowed (and, of course, hot plant foods, vegetable oil, wine)
4. Abstinence from meat, eggs, milk and fish. Hot vegetable food is allowed - "boiling" (ie, heat-treated - boiled, baked, etc.) with vegetable oil and wine.
5. Abstinence also from vegetable oil and wine. Hot food without oil is allowed.
6. Xerophagy. “Bread and water and the like” is allowed (Chapter 35), i.e. raw, dried or soaked vegetables, fruits (in the Typicon, for example: raisins, olives, nuts (Chapter 36), figs, i.e. figs) - “one every day” (chapter 36), i.e. every time one of these.
7. Complete abstinence from food and drink is what the Typicon actually calls the word “fasting”.

Naturally, a less strict establishment allows everything that is possible with a more strict fast. That is, for example, if, according to the charter, fish is prescribed, then of course you can eat vegetable oil, and if dairy products are allowed, then you can also eat fish.

Wine in the Byzantine tradition was consumed everywhere, mostly diluted with hot water, and was considered a natural component of an ordinary meal. This explains the rather frequent permission for the use of wine in the charter of the meal. Naturally, we are talking only about natural grape wine without the addition of alcohol or sugar. The measure of wine is stipulated very clearly: from 1 to 3 krasovuls (i.e. bowls). The charter also notes that “praise to a monk, if you do not drink wine” (chapter 35), i.e. that abstaining from wine, even in those days when it is permitted by the charter, is highly laudable.

The order of the meal, especially during the Christmas and Petrov fasts, is closely related to the category, i.e. degree of holidays. From the point of view of the rules of fasting, the following three categories of church holidays are important: I - vigils, II - polyeleos and with doxology, III - small ones.

In the Typicon, the general order of the Meal is described in chapter 35. Additions and clarifications about the meal on holidays and during fasts are given in chapters: 32,33,34,36, as well as in the month itself (chapter 48), where instructions are made regarding the Christmas Fasting and the order of the meal on specific holidays. There are also instructions about the meal in chapters 49 and 50 - “On the Forty Day” and “On Pentecost” and 51 “The Beginning of the Fast of the Glorious and All-Praised Apostles (Peter and Paul)”. We will try to harmonize all these instructions into a common system.

The order of the meal outside of long fasts.

In non-fasting times and in non-fasting days, i.e. in addition to Wednesday, heel (and in monasteries Monday also belongs to fast days), it is supposed to eat twice a day without restriction as food.

On Sundays and the Twelfth Feasts of the Lord, three meals are served for lunch, and two for dinner. On other non-fasting days - two dishes for lunch, one for dinner.

Dishes for lunch and dinner are supposed to be the same. Typicon does not allow cooking specifically for the evening meal. However, the evening meal is supposed to be eaten warm.

Wine relies on a meal only on Sundays and holidays. On other, even non-fasting days, its use without special need or infirmity is forbidden.

Wednesday and Friday(in monasteries, Monday is also equated to them) - once a day “at the 9th hour” (about 15.00). According to the 69th canon of the Holy Apostles, to which the Typicon refers, fasting on Wednesday and Friday throughout the year is equated with Great Lent. This means that it is supposed to eat dry food once a day, "except infirmity and a holiday" (chapter 33).

For the violation of this fast, as well as Great Lent, the layman is subject to excommunication from Communion for a while, while the priest is deposed from the priesthood.

Holidays Post Wednesdays and Fridays relaxed as follows:

If on Wednesday or Friday (in the monastery - and on Monday) the feast of the Nativity of Christ or Theophany falls, then the fast is canceled, two meals are eaten without limiting the quality of food.

If on the same days the Twelve Feasts of the Theotokos fall (Nativity of the Theotokos, Assumption, Candlemas) or the great Sts. App. Peter and Paul, the Nativity of John the Baptist, the Intercession, vigilant saints, then two meals a day are supplied and eating fish is allowed. Fasting on dairy and meat foods is maintained.

If a middle feast falls on fasting days (polyeleos and with doxology), then two meals are served, and dry food is laid on the first, and boiled food with oil in the evening.

On minor holidays that fall on Wednesday or Friday (in the monastery - and Monday), the Typicon appoints to eat one meal at the 9th hour (15.00), but allows, "when the trouble of the soul is not seen", to eat boiled food without oil or even with oil (chapter 36).

During periods of long fasting, relief on the Twelfth and Great Feasts is specifically stipulated, namely:

On the Feasts of the Transfiguration, Entrance and Entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem (which always fall during fasting), on any day of the week we allow fish, wine and oil, supplying two meals (chapter 33). Those. the rule is the same as on the great holidays that fell on Wednesday or Friday.

On the Feasts of the Exaltation of the Cross and the Beheading of John the Baptist (great, but fasting holidays), it is supposed to eat twice, allowing for wine and oil, but without fish.

On the Annunciation, which almost always falls on Great Lent, the charter of the meal depends not only on the day of the week, but also on which part of Great Lent it will fall on. We will talk about this holiday in the next chapter.

Meal during Lent

The Orthodox established four long Lent - one for each season. Each of them prepares a Christian for one of the most important Church Feasts, and each has a different dedication. The oldest, longest, strictest and most important Lent is the Great Lent. It is a preparation for the meeting of Holy Week and Easter of Christ. Great Lent is offered to us in the spring and, according to the testimony of Church Tradition recorded in the Divine Liturgy, is itself a “spiritual spring” to the renewal of our spiritual feelings and pious thoughts. Great Lent lasts 49 days. In the Typicon it is called "Holy Forty Day", and the very name emphasizes the special grace of these days. The name "Fourteen" is from the Church Slavonic numeral "fourty", i.e. "forty" is not accidental. Lent itself lasts exactly 40 days, since the twelfth feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem are excluded from the total number of 49, on which fasting is relaxed and in the language of the Typicon can no longer be called a fast in the strict sense, as well as 6 days of Holy Week, which form a special Liturgical and ascetic cycle - Lent of Holy Week.

The Second Lord's Fast is winter, Christmas. It is also long - lasts 40 days, and is a preparation for the second most important Gospel event after the Resurrection of Christ - Christmas.

Third Post - autumn, Assumption. It is dedicated to the Mother of God and prepares us for the main Mother of God feast - the feast of the Assumption. It is the shortest, lasting only 14 days, but in terms of severity it is equal to Great Lent.

Fourth Post - summer, Petrovsky. This is an apostolic post, which is dedicated to the labors and deeds of the holy Apostles, who brought to us and to all peoples the Light of the faith of Christ. It ends with the Feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Historically, it was intended for those who violated or for some reason could not withstand Great Lent. And later extended to all Christians. The length of this Lent varies from year to year, because it depends on Easter. It begins on the Monday after All Saints' Week and ends on June 29/July 12. Accordingly, its duration varies from 11 to 42 days.

In different Fasts, the charter of the meal is different, so we will talk about each Fast separately.

Great Lent

Great Lent begins on Cheese Week (Maslyanitsa). The charter assumes from Cheese (meat-free) Monday abstention from meat, while all other food is allowed. And this week is solid. This means that dairy products and eggs can also be consumed on Wednesday and Friday.

With regard to the number of meals on all days, except for Wednesday and Friday, two meals are laid. On Wednesday and Friday, one meal is laid in the evening "at the 9th hour" (chapter 35), i.e. around 15.00.

On Cheesefare Week (Forgiveness Sunday), a conspiracy is performed. Two meals are laid and “at Vespers there is consolation to the brethren at the meal” (sheet 407, p. 823)

First week of Great Lent according to the Charter, the most strict in relation to the meal.

The charter offers two options for fasting this week - the main (Palestinian) and Athos.

The first rank suggests the following meal order:

In the special chapter of the Typicon dedicated to Great Lent (chapter 32), the first rite (of the Palestine monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified) is given, but a little more about the first three days. Namely, for those who cannot endure complete abstinence from food and drink during the first two days of Great Lent, as well as for the elderly, “bread and kvass” is allowed on Tuesday after Vespers (i.e. after the 9th hour day according to Byzantine time, which roughly corresponds to from 14.00 to 15.00). On Wednesday, at the meal, “warm bread and warm vegetable meals are blessed, and dill (that is, a hot infusion or decoction of herbs or berries, fruits) with honey is given.”

The second rank of Athos suggests the following:

Saturday of the First Week the number of meals in the Typicon is not specifically specified. Instructions are given for only one meal, the second is not mentioned. However, the general structure of the Divine Liturgy appoints the first meal in the afternoon, after the Liturgy, which presupposes the presence of an evening meal. The absence of special instructions means that the general principle previously formulated applies, namely, that the second meal is in all respects similar to the first. This principle of "default action" is in principle characteristic of the Typicon.

With regard to the quality of food, on the Sabbath of the First Week, boiled food with vegetable oil and wine is allowed. Boiled legumes, olives and olives are recommended at the meal, “we eat beans scalded with white and black olives, and boiled (i.e. boiled hot food) with oil. We drink wine according to krasovul ”(sheet 425ob, p. 858).

On the First Week of Great Lent, i.e. on Sunday, the charter definitely appoints two meals with boiled hot food, vegetable oil and wine - two bowls each. The same rule applies to all other Sundays of Great Lent.

In other weeks The Typicon (Chapter 32) prescribes on weekdays (from Monday to Friday) to abstain from food and drink until evening, which means eating at the 9th hour of the day, i.e. around 15.00, and eat dry food once a day. On Saturdays and Sundays, eat boiled food with vegetable oil and wine twice a day. (Although the number of meals on Saturday is not explicitly stated, the whole structure of the Divine Services on Saturdays, as well as on Sundays, assumes the first meal after the Liturgy in the afternoon, which means that the evening meal is laid. When the Typicon prescribes one meal a day, it is served after Vespers. at the 9th hour).

Fish for Lent allowed only twice - on the Feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday).

On the Feast of the Finding of the Head of St. John the Baptist, which happened in Great Lent, there is one meal after Vespers, but it offers two dishes of hot boiled food with oil and wine. If it falls on Wednesday or Friday, then two dishes of boiled food without oil; wine is allowed.

On the feast of the Annunciation(on the eve of the holiday), if it falls before Lazarus Saturday, boiled food with wine and oil is allowed. If on Holy Week, then fasting will not be relaxed. There is one meal.

The self Feast of the Annunciation, if it does not fall on Saturday or Sunday, one meal is also laid, but eating fish is allowed. However, if the Annunciation falls on Holy Week, the fish is no longer eaten. On Great Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, if the Annunciation happens, wine and oil are allowed (one meal is supposed). If the Annunciation falls on Great Heel, only wine is allowed.

On Thursday of the fifth week of Great Lent (Staying of St. Mary of Egypt), one meal is laid at the 9th hour (about 15.00) - boiled food with oil and wine "labor for the sake of vigil" (p. 882). Some statutes allow only wine, and oil is not allowed (ibid.)

On Friday of the same week (before the feast of the Praise of the Most Holy Theotokos), the wine "Labor for the Vigilant Who Wants to Be" is allowed (p. 883). The meal is supposed to be one at the 9th hour.

The charter of Holy Mount Athos allows two meals at a meal and the tasting of wine and oil, not only on the feast of the Finding of the head of St. John the Baptist (regardless of the day of the week), but also for the memory of 40 MCH. Sebastian, On Wednesday of the Cross (on the middle of Lent), on Thursday and Friday of the fifth week (on the Standing of St. Mary of Egypt and on the Praise of the Mother of God).

On Lazarus Saturday in addition to boiled food with oil and wine, fish caviar “asche imams” is allowed, i.e. if possible, three ongi (i.e. 100 gr.)

On the Feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem(Palm Sunday) “consolation at the meal” - fish is supposed to. As on other Sundays, two meals are laid, and permission for wine and oil is naturally preserved.

On Holy Week Typicon in the first three days, i.e. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he prescribes dry eating, while indicating: “as it is on the 1st week of this holy Lent, on these days, on Great Monday, on Tuesday and on Wednesday it is fitting to fast” (Chapter 49, p. 902) .

There is an obvious contradiction here, since for the First Week, complete abstinence was prescribed for the first two days, and on Wednesday “warm vegetable meals” were allowed, i.e. boiled food. It is also not entirely logical to particularly emphasize the severity of these days, while all the weekdays of Great Lent the Typicon in another chapter appointed the same dry diet (chapter 35). Let's try to clarify this contradiction.

On the one hand, the Typicon often repeats information in different places with slight variations, so perhaps this is just such a case. But on the other hand, it can be assumed that in this case we are dealing with the fixation of different charters, which is also characteristic of the Typicon. One of them is more strict, prescribes dry eating during the weekdays of the entire Lent. Another suggests dry eating only on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, like other Fasts, and on Tuesday and Thursday it still suggested boiled food, although once a day and without oil. Those. similar to the Dormition Fast, which is indirectly confirmed by the phrase in the Typicon, which equates the Dormition Fast to the Great.

On Maundy Thursday, food is eaten after Vespers, connected with the Liturgy of St. , i.e. once a day, in the evening. The beginning of the Vespers Typikon appoints at the 8th hour of the day (i.e. from 14.00), respectively, its end will be at the tenth hour, i.e. around 15.30-16.00 hours.

Regarding the quality of food on Maundy Thursday, the Typikon gives three ranks:

According to the usual (Palestinian) order, one dish is laid, but boiled food with vegetable oil is allowed.

According to the Studian statute, “eat the same brew, and juicy, and the bean is scalded, and we drink wine” (p. 912), i.e. one boiled dish is supposed, but supplemented with sochi (any porridge) and legumes; oil is silent in this statute, i.e. Apparently it's not allowed.

According to the charter of the Holy Mount Athos, two boiled dishes with oil and wine are laid.

On Great Heel, a full fast is prescribed, i.e. complete abstinence from food and drink. “If anyone is very weak or old,” i.e. very old in age, and cannot bear a full fast, “bread and water are given to him after the setting of the sun” (p. 920).

On Great Saturday "at the 2nd hour of the night", i.e. around 19.00, the only meal is supposed. “He gives the brethren a single loaf of bread, half a liter of loaves, and 6 figs or dates, and one measure of a cup of wine. And where there is no wine, the brethren drink kvass from honey or from zhit. The studio charter is also cited, prescribing the same thing: “eat nothing like this, but bread and vegetables and little wine” (p. 929)

Those who break Great Lent even by eating fish, except for the prescribed two Holidays, the Typikon forbids Communion on Holy Pascha and prescribes two more weeks of repentance (chapter 32).

The post of St. Apostles:

Typikon gives two ranks, close, but not identical. According to the first (chapter 34):

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, one meal is laid at the 9th hour (15.00), dry eating.

On Tuesday and Thursday boiled food with oil and wine is laid. Regarding the number of meals, it is not directly stated, but according to the general logic of the text (from the opposition to Monday, Wednesday and Friday), one can conclude that two meals were eaten. This is also confirmed by the fact that in the next chapter, devoted to the Dormition Fast, the need to fast until 9 o'clock in the afternoon (that is, until 15.00) and, accordingly, eat once a day on all days of the week is specifically stipulated.

Fishing is allowed on Saturday and Sunday. It is not directly stated regarding the number of meals, however, the Typikon directly prohibits fasting as complete abstinence on Saturdays and Sundays, therefore it is obvious that two meals are laid - in the afternoon and in the evening (for example, see about Christmas Eve of the Nativity of Christ and Theophany: “on Saturday or a week of fasting does not happen” (p. 351, chapter 48, December 25)).

If at the same time on Monday, Tuesday or Thursday there will be a memory of a polyeleic saint or a saint “with doxology” (middle holiday), then fish is allowed on these days. On Monday, there are also two meals a day, like Tuesday or Thursday.

If the memory of such a saint (middle feast) falls on Wednesday or Friday, then only wine and oil are allowed. The meal is supplied one per day.

If on Wednesday or Friday there is a memory of a vigilant saint or a patronal feast, then fish is allowed. Regarding the number of meals, the Typicon is again silent, but according to the general logic, one meal was specially stipulated when permitting fish, so it is logical to assume that on such holidays it is supposed to eat two meals a day.

Another rank (chapter 35 and 51 in part) suggests the following:

On Tuesday and Thursday, eat one dish of boiled food without oil once a day at about 15.00. Also, at the meal, “other dry food” is supplied, i.e. raw and soaked vegetables and fruits.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dry eating “bread and water and the like” is prescribed, once a day.

On Saturday and Sunday - two meals of boiled food with oil and fish. Two meals.

Regarding the relaxation of fasting on holidays, the second rank does not give special instructions that differ from those given above.

Thus, there are only a few differences between the two ranks. The first involves eating two meals with oil and wine on Tuesday and Thursday, and the second blesses eating once a day and without oil, unless a feast happens. All other provisions of the two ranks of the Petrov post are similar.

Assumption Post

On weekdays, except Saturday and Sunday, one meal is served at the 9th hour (15.00). On Monday, Wednesday and Friday - dry food, on Tuesday and Thursday - boiled food without vegetable oil. On Saturday and Sunday - two meals with vegetable oil and wine. Fish is allowed only for the Transfiguration.

Christmas post

According to the Typicon, its charter is in all respects similar to the charter on the fast of Sts. App. Peter and Paul.

When committing the so-called. "alleluium service", i.e. a purely Lenten service, similar to the Lenten rite, when the celebration of the Liturgy is not supposed, it is supposed to eat dry food at the 9th hour (chapter 48, November 14). On the first day of both the Christmas and Peter's fasts, unless it falls on a Saturday or Sunday, such a service is recommended. On other days of these fasts, when the memory of the minor saints is celebrated, the choice is left to the rector.

The Typikon appoints the following dates as feast days when a polyeleic or vigil feast is celebrated and two meals, wine and oil are laid: November 16, 25 and 30, and December 4, 5, 6, 9, 17, 20 according to Art. style. Feasts in honor of Russian saints are also added to these days.

With the beginning of the Prefeast of Christmas, i.e. from December 21, according to the old style, the fish permit is canceled even for Saturdays and Sundays.

On Christmas Eve and Epiphany, fasting is laid, i.e. abstinence from food and drink until evening. Food is laid boiled with oil once a day after Vespers, i.e. not earlier than 9 o'clock (15.00).

If these days fall on Saturday and Sunday, so that there is no fasting as a complete abstinence on Saturday or Sunday, it is necessary after the Liturgy of St. o, performed at the 6th hour (until 12.00), to taste “we eat a little bit of bread and wine” (chapter 48, December 25, p. 352). After Vespers, “we eat completely, but we don’t eat fish, but with wood oil (that is, with vegetable oil), and scalded sochivo or kutia with honey; we also drink wine, but in poor countries we drink beer (drinking home-made - kvass, homemade wine, beer, etc.) ”

Meal on Pentecost

In the Bright Week, “we allow: monks for cheese and eggs and fish, but for the whole world” (chapter 32, p. 86)

During Pentecost, i.e. from the Week of Antipascha to Trinity on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, two meals are laid: the first is dry eating, the second is “more perfect than eating” (chapter 32), i.e. boiled food with oil. Some also allow fish (chapter 33). Undoubtedly, the fish is laid on the Feasts of Mid-Pentecost and Passover.

From Trinity to All Saints Week - permission for everything, including Wednesday and Friday.

Conclusion

Concluding the review of the charter on fasting set forth in the Typicon, I would like to emphasize that it was formed on the basis of the living experience of the centuries-old ascetic life of our ancestors and was considered feasible for every average person. The lives of the venerable fathers often describe marvelous deeds of fasting that surpass human understanding. Some holy fathers did not eat the whole Great Lent, others fasted until the 9th hour daily and ate food once a day without being satisfied, and still others did not eat not only milk, but even fish all their lives, and they put oil on the table - only once a year, at Easter. Examples of such fasting can be found even in the biographies of Athos elders of the 19th-20th centuries. Therefore, it seems very useful to recognize one's weakness in the feat of fasting, comparing the customs of Orthodox fasting generally accepted today and the recommendations of the Church Charter. And also, with the blessing of the spiritual fathers, to diversify the personal fasting feat, accepting as a rule at least one or another separate requirement of the charter for a certain period of time - for example, for the Christmas fast that has now begun.

- eating uncooked food, such as: bread, nuts, dried fruits, raw vegetables and fruits, olives, etc.
dill- decoction or infusion of herbs, fruits, berries.