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Why do we fast?

On Fasting

St. John Chrysostom

Fasting is a medicine. But medicine, as beneficial as it is, becomes useless because of the inexperience of the user. He has to know the appropriate time that the medicine should be taken and the right amount of medicine and the condition of the body which is to take it, the weather conditions and the season of the year and the appropriate diet of the sick and many other things. If any of these things are overlooked, the medicine will do more harm than good. So, if one who is going to heal the body needs so much accuracy, when we care for the soul and are concerned about healing it from bad thoughts, it is necessary to examine and observe everything with every possible detail

Fasting is the change of every part of our life, because the sacrifice of the fast is not the abstinence but the distancing from sins. Therefore, whoever limits the fast to the deprivation of food, he is the one who, in reality, abhors and ridicules the fast. Are you fasting? Show me your fast with your works. Which works? If you see someone who is poor, show him mercy. If you see an enemy, reconcile with him. If you see a friend who is becoming successful, do not be jealous of him! If you see a beautiful woman on the street, pass her by.

In other words, not only should the mouth fast, but the eyes and the legs and the arms and all the other parts of the body should fast as well. Let the hands fast, remaining clean from stealing and greediness. Let the legs fast, avoiding roads which lead to sinful sights. Let the eyes fast by not fixing themselves on beautiful faces and by not observing the beauty of others. You are not eating meat, are you? You should not eat debauchery with your eyes as well. Let your hearing also fast. The fast of hearing is not to accept bad talk against others and sly defamations.

Let the mouth fast from disgraceful and abusive words, because, what gain is there when, on the one hand we avoid eating chicken and fish and, on the other, we chew-up and consume our brothers? He who condemns and blasphemes is as if he has eaten brotherly meat, as if he has bitten into the flesh of his fellow man. It is because of this that Paul frightened us, saying: "If you chew up and consume one another be careful that you do not annihilate yourselves."

You did not thrust your teeth into the flesh (of your neighbor) but you thrusted bad talk in his soul; you wounded it by spreading disfame, causing unestimatable damage both to yourself, to him, and to many others.

If you cannot go without eating all day because of an ailment of the body, beloved one, no logical man will be able to criticize you for that. Besides, we have a Lord who is meek and loving (philanthropic) and who does not ask for anything beyond our power. Because he neither requires the abstinence from foods, neither that the fast take place for the simple sake of fasting, neither is its aim that we remain with empty stomachs, but that we fast to offer our entire selves to the dedication of spiritual things, having distanced ourselves from secular things. If we regulated our life with a sober mind and directed all of our interest toward spiritual things, and if we ate as much as we needed to satisfy our necessary needs and offered our entire lives to good works, we would not have any need of the help rendered by the fast. But because human nature is indifferent and gives itself over mostly to comforts and gratifications, for this reason the philanthropic Lord, like a loving and caring father, devised the therapy of the fast for us, so that our gratifications would be completely stopped and that our worldly cares be transferred to spiritual works. So, if there are some who have gathered here and who are hindered by somatic ailments and cannot remain without food, I advise them to nullify the somatic ailment and not to deprive themselves from this spiritual teaching, but to care for it even more.

For there exist, there really exist, ways which are even more important than abstinence from food which can open the gates which lead to God with boldness. He, therefore, who eats and cannot fast, let him display richer almsgiving, let him pray more, let him have a more intense desire to hear divine words. In this, our somatic illness is not a hindrance. Let him become reconciled with his enemies, let him distance from his soul every resentment. If he wants to accomplish these things, then he has done the true fast, which is what the Lord asks of us more than anything else. It is for this reason that he asks us to abstain from food, in order to place the flesh in subjection to the fulfillment of his commandments, whereby curbing its impetuousness. But if we are not about to offer to ourselves the help rendered by the fast because of bodily illness and at the same time display greater indifference, we will see ourselves in an unusual exaggerated way. For if the fast does not help us when all the aforementioned accomplishments are missing so much is the case when we display greater indifference because we cannot even use the medicine of fasting. Since you have learned these things from us, I pardon you, those who can, fast and you yourselves increase your acuteness and praiseworthy desire as much as possible.

To the brothers, though, who cannot fast because of bodily illness, encourage them not to abandon this spiritual word, teaching them and passing on to them all the things we say here, showing them that he who eats and drinks with moderation is not unworthy to hear these things but he who is indifferent and slack. You should tell them the bold and daring saying that "he who eats for the glory of the Lord eats and he who does not eat for the glory of the Lord does not eat and pleases God." For he who fasts pleases God because he has the strength to endure the fatigue of the fast and he that eats also pleases God because nothing of this sort can harm the salvation of his soul, as long as he does not want it to. Because our philanthropic God showed us so many ways by which we can, if we desire, take part in God's power that it is impossible to mention them all.

We have said enough about those who are missing, being that we want to eliminate them from the excuse of shame. For they should not be ashamed because food does not bring on shame but the act of some wrongdoing. Sin is a great shame. If we commit it not only should we feel ashamed but we should cover ourselves exactly the same way those who are wounded do. Even then we should not forsake ourselves but rush to confession and thanksgiving. We have such a Lord who asks nothing of us but to confess our sins, after the commitment of a sin which was due to our indifference, and to stop at that point and not to fall into the same one again. If we eat with moderation we should never be ashamed, because the Creator gave us such a body which cannot be supported in any other way except by receiving food. Let us only stop excessive food because that attributes a great deal to the health and well-being of the body.

Let us therefore in every way cast off every destructive madness so that we may gain the goods which have been promised to us in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Abridged from St. John Chrysostom homilies "On Fasting"

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WHAT DO WE MEAN BY THE WORD ORTHODOX
BY St John Maximovich

Shortly after the doctrine of Christ began to be propagated among the Gentiles, the followers of Christ in Antioch began to be called Christians (Acts XI:26). The word "Christian" indicated that those who bore this name belonged to Christ -- belonged in the sense of devotion to Christ and his Doctrine. From Antioch the name of Christian was spread everywhere. The followers of Christ gladly called themselves by the name of their beloved Teacher and Lord; and the enemies of Christ called His followers Christians by carrying over to them the ill will and hatred which they breathed against Christ. However, quite soon there appeared people who, while calling themselves Christians, were not of Christ in spirit. Of them I Christ had spoken earlier: Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven (5t. Matt. VII: 5). Christ prophesied also that many would pass themselves off for Christ Himself: Many shall come in my name, sayings I am Christ (Matt. XXIV: 5). The Apostles in their epistles indicated that false bearers of the name of Christ had appeared already in their time: as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many antichrists (I John II:19). They indicated that those who stepped away from the doctrine of Christ should not be considered their own: They went out from us but were not of us (I John II:19)" Warning against quarrels and disagreements in minor matters (I Cor. 1:10-14), at the same time the Apostles strictly commanded their disciples to shun those who do not bring the true doctrine (II John 1:10). The Lord, through the Revelation given to the Apostle John the Theologian, sternly accused those who, calling themselves faithful, did not act in accordance with their name; for in such a case it would be false for them. Of what use was it of old to call oneself a Jew, an Old Testament follower of the true faith, if one was not such in actuality? Such the Holy scripture calls the synagogue of Satan (Apocalypse II:9). In the same way, a Christian in the strict sense is he only who confesses the true doctrine of Christ and lives in accordance with it. The designation of a Christian consists in glorifying , the Heavenly Father by one's life: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (St. Matt. V:I6). But true glorification of God is possible only if one rightly believes and expresses his right belief in words and deeds. Therefore , true Christianity and it alone may be named "right-glorifying" (Ortho-doxy). Thus, by the word orthodoxy" we confess our firm conviction that it is precisely our Faith that is the true doctrine of Christ. When we call anyone or anything Orthodox, we by this very fact indicate his or its non-counterfeit and uncorrupted Christianity, rejecting at the same time that which falsely appropriates the name of Christ.
ORTHODOX HERITAGE -JUNE 2005- BROTHERHOOD OF ST. POIMEN

What is the biblical passage that shows that Easter was after Passover and
that the Last Supper was not the Sedar dinner?

On March 27th of this year, Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrated Easter. Five weeks later, Orthodox Christians celebrated the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I believe most of our faithful are familiar that
we, as Orthodox Christians, continue to follow the decree of the First Ecumenical Council in 325 A.D. in Nicaea that stated, "The Resurrection of our Lord should be celebrated on the First Sunday, after the first full
moon, after the Vernal (Spring) Equinox and after the Jewish Passover and never coinciding with the Passover. On Saturday, April 23rd, the Jewish faithful observed Passover.

On May 1st Orthodox Christians celebrated Pascha. We continue to not only follow the decree of the First Ecumenical Council, but, historically from the scriptures, Christ rose after the Passover, whereas this year, Western Christians celebrated Easter 5 weeks before Passover.

Was the Last Supper the Passover meal or not? As Orthodox Christians, the answer is "NO!" The time our Lord was crucified, Jews were to celebrate Passover on a Saturday (actually the Jewish way of reckoning time was from sunset on Friday till sunset on Saturday). Therefore at the meal called the Last Supper, Jesus gave the Apostles leavened bread to eat.

Passover is also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread and again, Jews during the time of our Lord's death would have been eating unleavened bread (no yeast), starting that Friday evening with the setting of the sun. The result of the above is that as Orthodox Christians we use leaven bread for Holy Communion,
while Western Christians use unleavened (wafers). To further defend our point of when Passover started that year, we go to John 18:29: where Jesus is being taken from Caiaphas, the high priest, to Pilate, the governor. The chief priest and elder only took Christ to the entrance of Pilate's courtyard (Praetorium) for, "But they themselves did not go into the Praetorium, lest they should be defiled (become unclean) and not eat of the
Passover meal." Thus, Passover had not yet started.

Just an added note: If the chief priests, elders and scribes would have done all that is recorded in the scriptures on the day of Passover, the seizing and arrest of Christ, his trial, the mob that led Jesus to the place of the Skull, as well as the Crucifixion of Jesus and two others, would have been political suicide to some, public embarrassment and humility to others and a huge loss of respect from the people.

Father R. Michael Zak

Why does the date of Pascha differ from Western Easter so much?

Determining the date of Pascha has been an issue for the Church since its earliest days. Christian converts from Judaism who were familiar with the date of Passover would often celebrate Pascha on the same date of Passover. That date was the 14th day of the Hebrew month Nisan. In Asia Minor, the churches celebrated Pascha on the 14th of Nisan whether it fell on Sunday or a weekday. Many other churches celebrated Pascha on the Sunday that followed the 14th of Nisan.

Eventually, somewhere towards the end of the Second Century, the churches of Asia Minor agreed to celebrate Pascha with the other churches on the Sunday after the 14th of Nisan. So the date for the observance of Pascha was based on the Jewish Passover. The Jews celebrated the Passover on the first full moon following the vernal equinox.

With the dispersion of the Jews after the Destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., the date of calculating the beginning of the month of Nisan and the full moon of Passover varied due to the use of local pagan calendars. For this reason, many Christians stopped utilizing the Jewish Passover to determine the date for Pascha.

Paschal cycles were then devised as a way to determine the date of Pascha. Two cycles developed. In the East, they adopted a 19-year-cycle, while in the West they used a less accurate 84-year-cycle. Due to the usage of two different Paschal cycles, the Eastern and Western Churches had differences in when they would observe Pascha. Also added to the problem was the observance of the vernal equinox: the West used March 18th and the East March 21st.

Finally, in 325 A.D. at the First Ecumenical Council in Nicea, the Church officially addressed the problem and stated how to determine the date of Pascha. The following rules are to be applied:

1) Pascha must be celebrated after the vernal equinox;

2) it must be celebrated after the first full moon following the vernal equinox;

3) it must be celebrated on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox;

4) and it must also follow the seven day period of the Passover.

Very Rev. R. Michael Zak, Pastor
Phone:(724)254-4343