Fasting on Wednesday and Friday

[MichaelGWBurke]

Must we fast from all food and drink on Wednesdays and Fridays (i.e. all day, twice a week, every week)?

 

[ArmyMatt]

well, Orthodox should, and should under spiritual direction.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

Must we fast from all food and drink on Wednesdays and Fridays (i.e. all day, twice a week, every week)?

From all food and drink? Never heard that at all! These are normal fasting days - from meat, dairy & alcohol.

 

[ArmyMatt]

From all food and drink? Never heard that at all! These are normal fasting days - from meat, dairy & alcohol.

haha, wow I did not even read that part. yeah, we go vegan when we fast.

 

[MichaelGWBurke]

From all food and drink? Never heard that at all! These are normal fasting days - from meat, dairy & alcohol.

Does no meat mean no fish?

And when you say no dairy, does that mean no bread, rolls, pancakes, or anything containing milk or eggs?

 

[Anhelyna]

No meat does include fish - except for fish without spines and , as I was taught , faces. This means shellfish is permitted - though for us in the UK Lobster is a very expensive commodity so should probably not be considered fasting food - but many folk would disagree with this.

Dairy includes milk, butter , cheese, eggs [ possibly they should be considered meat ] and all products containing them.

Go vegan for food during fast periods and you are fine .

Having said all that , you should never start strict fasting without permission and help from your priest , it is necessary to ease yourself in at the beginning.

 

[MichaelGWBurke]

No meat does include fish - except for fish without spines and , as I was taught , faces. This means shellfish is permitted

So you can eat shellfish, like shrimp, and crab, and lobster, but you can't eat free swimming fish, with spines, and scales, and faces (like sole, and trout, and flounder), am I right?

 

[ArmyMatt]

So you can eat shellfish, like shrimp, and crab, and lobster, but you can't eat free swimming fish, with spines, and scales, and faces (like sole, and trout, and flounder), am I right?

the rule of thumb is nothing that had a backbone, will have a backbone, or came from something that had a backbone.

 

[buzuxi02]

So you can eat shellfish, like shrimp, and crab, and lobster, but you can't eat free swimming fish, with spines, and scales, and faces (like sole, and trout, and flounder), am I right?

Your not supposed to gorge yourself neither. As for the other; Nothing which is derived from a blood animal or has blood can be eaten, octopus having ink and no skeleton can be eaten.

 

[ArmyMatt]

Your not supposed to gorge yourself neither. As for the other; Nothing which is derived from a blood animal or has blood can be eaten, octopus having ink and no skeleton can be eaten.

Fr Schmemann points this out as well. that folks who might not eat meat, but indulge in something nondairy (like Oreos) to the point of gluttony, are not fasting. it'd probably be better if they actually had a small amount of meat and know they are not fasting, rather than gorge on something Lenten and think they are.

 

[MichaelGWBurke]

Fr Schmemann points this out as well. that folks who might not eat meat, but indulge in something nondairy (like Oreos) to the point of gluttony, are not fasting. it'd probably be better if they actually had a small amount of meat and know they are not fasting, rather than gorge on something Lenten and think they are.

If Orthodox believers must abstain from the meat of anything with a face and a backbone, and from all dairy products, wouldn't Oreo's be out?

I mean unless there's a store near you that caries vegan imitations (and I don't know of any in my area--and even most of the limited vegetarian products available at my local grocery store contain dairy products like cheese and eggs), all cookies, pastries, breads, and bread products you find are gonna contain eggs (and maybe milk), so wouldn't you have to abstain from all such foods on Wednesdays and Fridays to be within cannon law?

If you eat at all on those days, wouldn't you have to limit yourself entirely to greens, fruits, grains (like maybe a bowl of rice, or plain oatmeal with no butter), and shellfish?

Wouldn't anything else be a sin?

 

[ArmyMatt]

If Orthodox believers must abstain from the meat of anything with a face and a backbone, and from all dairy products, wouldn't Oreo's be out?

no, they are non dairy

I mean unless there's a store near you that caries vegan imitations (and I don't know of any in my area--and even most of the limited vegetarian products available at my local grocery store contain dairy products like cheese and eggs), all cookies, pastries, breads, and bread products you find are gonna contain eggs (and maybe milk), so wouldn't you have to abstain from all such foods on Wednesdays and Fridays to be within cannon law?

well, most groceries contain non-dairy everything nowadays, and if not, most towns have some area that has vegen stuff (my wife and I just got back from shopping). but either way, the Church takes that into consideration. obviously, if the only bread you can get contains some milk or eggs, that is what you get. the canons are guides, more than set in stone rules.

If you eat at all on those days, wouldn't you have to limit yourself entirely to greens, fruits, grains (like maybe a bowl of rice, or plain oatmeal with no butter), and shellfish?

yeah, it is possible to go twice a week being a vegan. that is not as hard as many of us think.

Wouldn't anything else be a sin?

depends, but normally yeah, because most of us just don't fast because we don't want to, not because we cannot get vegan food or because of health concerns.

 

[MichaelGWBurke]

no, they are non dairy.

You're right.

well, most groceries contain non-dairy everything nowadays, and if not, most towns have some area that has vegen stuff (my wife and I just got back from shopping).

We have a Wall Mart and a Food Lion, and neither of them have any vegan products.

And I've never seen anything marked "non-dairy" (not even the Nabisco Oreo cookies they do carry.)

Also, I know of no vegan grocery stores in town (or even in this county.)

Do you know of any other popular brand name products that would be acceptable on Wednesdays and Thursdays?

 

[buzuxi02]

If you eat at all on those days, wouldn't you have to limit yourself entirely to greens, fruits, grains (like maybe a bowl of rice, or plain oatmeal with no butter), and shellfish?

There is actually a grain of truth in this. The strictest fast is based on xerophagia. You can actually Google the word. It basically means 'dry foods'. Nuts, fruits, dry vegetables, olives. You can have bread and veggies boiled in water. Lentils boiled in water etc. This was a common fast amongst some old timers in the villages. In other words you can go far beyond the standard call of duty.

Xerphagia is still expected from Good Friday til Easter Sunday.

 

[MichaelGWBurke]

I was just reading the ingredients on a loaf of bread, and I was wrong about that too.

No milk and no eggs.

 

[ArmyMatt]

You're right.

We have a Wall Mart and a Food Lion, and neither of them have any vegan products.

And I've never seen anything marked "non-dairy" (not even the Nabisco Oreo cookies they do carry.)

Also, I know of no vegan grocery stores in town (or even in this county.)

Do you know of any other popular brand name products that would be acceptable on Wednesdays and Thursdays?

Wegman's has them and I know farmer's markets often have them. and I would not be that legalistic to check ingredients of bread or whatever. that defeats the purpose of the fast.

 

[“Paisios”]

Wegman's has them and I know farmer's markets often have them. and I would not be that legalistic to check ingredients of bread or whatever. that defeats the purpose of the fast.

I know this is an old post, but curious....are caffeine and sugar permitted on regular Orthodox fasting days?

 

[FenderTL5]

I know this is an old post, but curious....are caffeine and sugar permitted on regular Orthodox fasting days?

I don't know of a prohibition. We have coffee during strict fast days. The prohibition essentially deals with food from animals of any kind. Oil and wine are also prohibited because they were traditionally stored in containers made of skins.

 

[“Paisios”]

I don't know of a prohibition. We have coffee during strict fast days. The prohibition essentially deals with food from animals of any kind. Oil and wine are also prohibited because they were traditionally stored in containers made of skins.

Thank you.

 

[ArmyMatt]

I know this is an old post, but curious....are caffeine and sugar permitted on regular Orthodox fasting days?

yes, although even those things that are permitted should be taken in moderation, especially on Fast days