Featured Article for the Week of March 4th, 2007

Insight into the Christian Mysteries...

This article was taken from 'The Truth of Our Faith'. A booked published by Uncut Mountain Press in December 2000. It gives insight into the wisdom and teachings of Elder Cleopa Ilie, a monk of the Sihastria Monastery. During this Lenten time and during our preparation for the Holy holiday of Easter, I felt it was important to reflect upon the Christian Mystery of Fasting.

Chapter 12 - On Fasting

Inquirer: Some say that the great Apostle Paul conveyed a different teaching concerning fasting from that of our Saviour Christ. Can you explain this to me?

Elder Cleopa: Fasting, according to the testimony of Saint Basil the Great, is the oldest commandment given by God to man. This great father of the Church of Christ says:

"O Man, be pious and meditate with the fear on the antiquity of the fast, for as old as is the world so old is also the commandment of fasting. Indeed this commandment was given in paradise when God said to Adam: 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.'"

With the word "fasting" we mean abstinence from food, but also from all evil desires, so that the Christian may communicate his prayers to God with peace and fervour, kill his evil desires and acquire the Grace of God. The fast is a work of virtue for it bridles the desires of the flesh, strengthens the will, assists in repentance and thus is a means of salvation.

At the same time it is also a liturgical action, an effort that glorifies God, when it is done for Him, for it is a sacrifice which originates from our love and reverence for God. It is a means of perfection, of cutting off the inclinations of the body, a visible sign of our zeal and struggle to acquire the likeness of God and His angels who have no need of nourishment. The fast, according to Saint Symeon of Thessaloniki, "is a work of God for Whom the necessity of nourishment is non-existent."

The aim of the fast is the benefit of the body and the soul. The fast strengthens and toughens the body and cleans the soul, maintains the health of the body and gives wings of ascent to the soul. This is why the Old Testament recommends and imposes it many times, such as in Exodus 34:28, Deutoronomy 9:18, 1 Samuel 7:6, and Joel 2:15. And Jesus the son of Sirach hs this to say: "Be not insatiable in any dainty thing, nor too greedy for meats; for excess of meats bringeth sickness, and gluttony will turn into ill temper. By intemperance have many perished, but he that taketh heed prolongeth his life."

The Saviour Himself fasted 40 days and 40 nights in the desert before He began to preach the Gospel and He Himself teaches us how to fast. He tells us that the devil cannot be driven out except by prayer and fasting. his holy apostles and disciples also fasted, and they temselves instituted formal fasts for Christians.

Furthermore, we see how Holy Scripture honours the fast in certain cases and events. Moses fasted 40 days and 40 nights, with Daniel doing likewise. The fast is beneficial when the judges and magistrates sit before God in judgment of the people, during difficulties and dangers, and it is good with regards to impending peril. The fast is prescribed during both advantageous times and times of persecution for the Church. The fast must be accompanied by prayer, by the confession of sins, and by humility. The fast assists in the return of the alienated to God, and in times of grief and sorrow.

The Holy Fathers of the Church of Christ strenuously extol and commend the fast. Here is what Holy John Chrysostom says about the fast: "The fast tempers the volatility of the body, bridling the insatiable appetites, purifying and enlightening the soul, and raising it up high."

The fast in practice is of many types. In particular:

• The complete fast, when we don't eat and don't drink at all for almost an entire day.
• Fasting with uncooked foods, when we eat, privately, dry foods in evening only, i.e., bread and water, dry fruit, fresh fruit, etc.
• The conventional fast, when we eat all the accustomed fasting food, abstaining from such food as meat, fish, cheese, milk, eggs, wine and oil.
• The light fast, when we eat food such as fish, wine, oil, etc., allowed by the Church on great feasts which fall on days normally reserved for fasting.

Days reserved for fasting throughout the year are as follows:

• Wednesday and Friday
• The day of Elevation of the Holy Cross
• The Beheading of the Honourable Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist
• Eve of the Theophany of the Lord

All of these days were established from the earliest days of the Church when the catechumens were being prepared for their baptism on the feast by fasting and prayer.

The periods of fasting established by the Church of Christ are:

• The Great Fast or Great Lent, being the 40 days before Holy Week and Pascha
• The Nativity Fast, being the 40 days before Christmas
• The Dormition Fast, being the 15 days before the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God; celebrated on August 15th
• The Apostles' Fast, being the period between the feast of All Saints and the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29th

Inquirer: Father, isn't it possible that this is all an exaggeration? Man is free to eat whatever food he likes, for food in and of itself does not injure or defile him. Thus, we shouldn't make a distinction between fasting and non-fasting foods since they are clean, as the Saviour said: "Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth man, but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defilth man." The Lord explains further to the Aposle Peter: "Do ye not yet understand that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the drain? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart, and they defile the man." Consequently, there is no reason to make a distinction among foods, since neither by fasting foods are we saved, nor by non-fasting foods are we defiled or punished.

Elder Cleopa: It is true that man is not deflied by the food he eats, for all is clean. However, this does not mean that fasting should not exist. Previously, I established from Holy Scripture that the fast is the oldest commandment given by God to man. Next I enumerated certain Biblical passages that witness to the law of fasting and its benefits. The aim of fasting is not only to make a distinction between certain foods, but to discipline the body and the powers of the soul in order to realize the purification from the passions. If the Holy Prophets, Apostles and all the Saints of God were thinking as you are, they would not have fasted so often in their lives, nor would they have left teachings on fasting to their disciples.

The passages to which you made reference do not support whatsoever the abolition of fasting, but rather refer only to the practices of the Scribes and Pharisees who never ate without first washing their hands. The Saviour explains to His disciples that which they do not understand, teling them that for someone to eat with unwashed hands is not an impure action, for the impurity of mand does not originate externally but rather internally, i.e., from his heart. Such was often the case with the hearts of the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees, from which sprang words of blasphemy, hate, non unclean hands, were the cause of their defilement. Our God and Saviour, seeing, in the depths and innermost parts, this spiritual filthiness, reproved them and called them "blind." The Scribes had the need to clean their hearts of the passions and be pure before God, and although they were, in fact, hypocrites, they appeared to the people to be zealots for their customs, such as cleaning their hands before each meal, thinking that this pleased God. This is the actual meaning of the passage that you quoted me. With the words of this passage the Saviour is not saying to his disciples "don't fast any longer," nor can this even remotely be inferred, especially if we remember that the Saviour Himself, even as the only sinless One, fasted for us and our salvation 40 days and 40 nights.

Inquirer: There is also another passage about which I have been thinking. The Apostle writes concerning the false prophets that will appear in the last times: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the Word of God and prayer...For bodily exercise profiteth little, but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."

Elder Cleopa: Some are convinced that we should eat of all foods, at all times, without discretion. They say that we should cast off all the restrictions of the fast and make wide the road to the belly. However, we have a teaching from our Saviour Christ that the demons are not cast out except by prayer and fasting. HIs holy disciples and apostles ministered to the Lord with fasting, as it is written: "As they ministered to the Loard and fasted..." and again, "And when they had fasted and prayed and laid their hands on them, they sent them away." The Great Apostle Paul did not set aside the work of fasting even in the midst of his trials: "in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in sleeplessness, in fasting..."
  Thus, whom should the Christians obey? Our Saviour Christ and His holy Apostles or he who subverts and distorts the meaning the of Scripture? The passage, which came to you in your thoughts, does not assert the abolition of fasting. From a similar misreading of this passage sprang the delusion of the ancient heretics, the so-called Gnostics. The Gnostics forbade marriage and the eating of meat. These prohibitions they kept not in short stretches of time, as we do during the periods of the fast. but they perpetually forbade marriage so as not to propagate "matter", while meat they considered to be unclean.

Inquirer: Is it possible that fasting is something neutral or negligible? In other words, that it is not a matter of being good or bad, and therefore by keeping the fast we cannot become more pleasing to God. They holy Apostle says, "But food commendeth us not to God, for neither are we the better if we eat, nor are we the worse if we eat not." "For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Thus, shouldn't we conclude that it is not sin to neglect the fast? Those who are observant do not do wrong, but neither do those who are unobservant. Likewise, if someone keeps the fast it is not a virtue, nor are those who neglect the fast committing a sin.

Elder Cleopa: This is how it appears to you, my dearest to Christ, however it is not at all like this. You say that the fast cannot make anyone acceptable before God. What did the Ninevites do in order not to be lost and to call off the just judgement of God? They fasted. Their fasting brought down God's mercy upon them and averted the destruction of the 120,000 inhabitants who had fasted together with their king and animals. Was not the Prophet King David able to appease God with his prayer and fasting after his fall into debauchery and murder? Listen to what he says: "I ate ashes like bread," and elsewhere he says, "But as for me, when they troubled me, I put on sackcloth. And I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer shall return to my bosom." Did not the fast of the three youths who were cast into the fire without being burned please God? Did not the Prophet Daniel close with fasting the mouths of lions in the den? Let these testimonies suffice, for here there is not room to show you how many other people pleased God throught fasting.
  Besides this, you should know what the two passages you cited do not at all refer to fasting, but to the sacrifices of food offered by the idol worshippers, as is apparent from the text of the two passages. Examine the above passages and you will see that those who were scandalized by the sacrifices of food offered to idols were judaizing Christians who kept with great accuracy the laws of the Old Testament pertaining to the handling of food. They did not eat the meat from the sacrifices and wanted to prohibit those Christians who come from among the Gentiles from doing so. With this pretext the Aposle Paul wrote the above passages.

Inquirer: Father, in our thoughts perhaps we should remain far from such matters, as the Aposlte Paul says: "Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him that eateth not, judge him that eateth; for God hath received him. Who art thou who judges another man's servant...He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not and giveth God thanks." "Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat or drink, or in respect to a holy day or the new moon or the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ."

Elder Cleopa: The first passage, like those to which you made appeal earlier, does not forbid or abolish the fast. The Apostle is referring only to the distinction made between foods forbidden and allowed or betweent clean and uncleand food, according to the old order of the Old Testament. In the second passage cited he is countering the judaizing Christians who accused certain Christians coming from the gentiles, of eating the meat of animals offerend to idols. The Apostle shows that the actions of the gentile Christians have no implication for their salvation. From this dispute arose the opportunity to put an end to the unrest, disorder and disagreement that had appeared between the Jewish and Gentile Christians as concerned, particularly, the handling of food and, generally, the problem of the obligations of Christians to the mosaic law. The text gives ample explanation as to the nature of the problem. If you read the Holy Scripture, with care, with the help of the patristic commentaries, you will understand the text clearly and won't be lead astray into error. However, if you only read one passage or one text and give rest to your thoughts falling into agreement with a few others, then little by little delusion overtakes you.

Inquirer: Some believe that the true fast is only the so-called "black fast" which consists of total abstention for a designated length of time from every type of food and drink. This fast should be assumed, however, with a free will, according to the abilities and conditions of each, and never on defined days or in determined periods of they year.

Elder Cleopa: Neither does our Church condemn the "black fast." On the contrary, it commends it for it has a Biblical basis. Yet, this fast may be very difficult and everyone is not able to practice it, owing to differences in the health and temperament of the body. For this reason the Church ordained another, more lenient type of fast, that also has Biblical basis, to be obligatory for each Christian.

Inquire: How then are we to observe the true fast according to the teaching of the Orthodox Church?

Elder Cleopa: The ture fast, my brother, must be observed not only with the body, but also with the soul. In other words, we don't only eat fasting foods but we abstain from the passions, enticements and sin. When we abstain from lush and pleasurable food, we struggle to purify not only the body but also the soul by means of prayer and repentance. The complete, true and perfect fast is not only of the body, but also of the soul.
  We are taught this in the troparion (hymn) which we chant during Great Lent: "Let us keep the acceptable fast, that which is pleasing to the Lord." The true fast is the estrangement from evil, the bridlingof the tongue, the negation of wrath, the turning away from lust, hate, deceit, lies, and from untruthfulness.
  Let's end our discussion on this subject with the teaching of Holy John Chrysostom:

"Dost thou fast? Give me proof of it by thy works! Is it said by what kind of works? If thou seest a poor man, take pity on him! If thou seest an enemy, be reconciled to him! If thou seest a friend gaining honour, envy him not! If thou seest a beautiful woman, pass her by! For let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies. Let the hands fast, by being pure from pillaging and avarice. Let the feet fast, by ceasing from running to the hateful theatres and along the pathways of sin. Let the eyes fast, being taught never to fix themselves rudely upon handsome countenances, or to busy themselves with strange beauties. For looking is the food of the eyes, but if this be such as is unlawful or forbidden, it mars the fast; and upsets the whole safety of the soul; but if it be lawful and safe, it adorns fasting. For it would be among things the most absurd to abstain from lawful food because of the fast, but with the eyes to touch even what is forbidden. Dost thou not eat flesh? Feed not upon lasciviousness by means of they eyes. Let the ear fast also. The fasting of the ear consists of refusing to receive evel speaking and calumnies. Let the mouth, too, fast from disgraceful speeches and railing."