Observance and keeping of fasts is an important component in the life of an Orthodox Christian. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself set an example for man when he went to retire into the wilderness before going out to public ministry. The holy apostles also mention fasting in their epistles.
For an Orthodox person, fasting is not just abstaining from eating animal products. He is not a diet! Fasting is a time of special repentance and a desire to improve one's life for the better, a desire to become at least a little cleaner and kinder. This time is called "the spring of the soul" because a person seeks to turn his heart and mind to God, and also to look into the depths of his conscience.
According to Christian doctrine, the main goal of a person's life is the striving for mystical unity with God, the achievement of holiness (in Orthodox theology this is called deification). Fasting is precisely that small step to the ascent of the human soul to the Lord.
The Christian is trying not only not to eat forbidden foods by fasting. The most important essence of abstinence can be called the rejection of evil, removal from those actions that negatively affect the human personality. Fasting is a kind of "training" the moral qualities of people. Believers on fast days tend to swear less, attend services more often, refrain from idle entertainment, and suppress their pride. It turns out that the Orthodox are fasting because they have a desire to be closer to God. This means that the main goal of fasting is considered to be the purification of the soul. It is imperative that you try to overcome any sin or passion for fasting. It is necessary to confess and receive communion. At the same time, one must be aware that with the end of the fast, one should not go on "all bad" again. Otherwise, fasting will be useless, because the main reason for abstinence is to climb at least one step to God and strive to remain at this spiritual height.
With the onset of the next fast, it is necessary to try again to improve and continue in this way throughout life, because the main reason for keeping the fast for a Christian is the desire to be better and better.
