Fasting is a period of spiritual and bodily abstinence for religious reasons. Physical fasting without spiritual will not bring anything for the salvation of the soul, therefore the main thing is not only to limit oneself in food, but also to undergo purification through physical and moral limitations.
Instructions
Step 1
The most significant fasts in Orthodoxy are Great Lent - it takes place before Easter and lasts forty-eight days. And also the Nativity Fast, which begins on November 27, forty days before the birth of Christ. These days, give up carnal pleasures, do not marry, do not perform a wedding ceremony, restrain your emotional impulses, do not drink alcohol, do not smoke, do not swear …
Step 2
Pay more attention to spiritual growth, prayer and reading of spiritual literature, confess and receive communion at least once.
Step 3
Completely exclude the use of eggs, butter (vegetable on weekdays), as well as animal products (sour cream, milk, cream, meat). You can eat on these days rice, buckwheat, pearl barley porridge, potatoes, salted cabbage, mushrooms, juices, crackers, teas, vegetables, fruits - lean food. Allow yourself on ordinary days to eat only once in the evening, and on Sunday and Saturday - two times (lunch and dinner), while vegetable oil and a little red wine are allowed.
Step 4
Make it a rule during Lent to eat only cold dishes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, boiled ones on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and only on Saturday and Sunday allow yourself a little vegetable oil.
Step 5
Always remember to abstain, not exhaust your body, therefore, observe the above requirements taking into account your strength and readiness to fast. During the fast, the Church allows the elderly, the sick, and those who have not had the opportunity to eat regularly during the year (low-income families). Priests can give indulgences to a pregnant woman during Lent, as well as, in some cases, to soldiers and travelers.
