Lent calendar: what is possible and what is not? What can you eat in the last week of fasting by day?

IN last week Before Easter, which will take place on April 28, 2019, many are wondering what to eat. This is the time of the strictest diet, the culmination of Lent. The article describes in detail what people with poor health can eat and what to do.

Lent, which lasts 6 weeks, until Easter - this is the longest period of food restriction. It is clear that believers are preparing to celebrate the most important holiday - the Holy Resurrection of Christ. Therefore, in the last week they adhere to the strictest rules. In fact, on Good Friday and Saturday, eating is generally prohibited.

Features of the diet on all days of Holy Week are described in the table.

In fact, only on Thursday you can eat regular Lenten dishes, which include:

• pearl barley;
• buckwheat;
• wheat cereal;
• millet;
• couscous;
• fruits in any form;
• vegetable and fruit juices.
• mushrooms;
• nuts;
• vegetable oil;
• cabbage;
• potato;
• carrots and other vegetables.

And at the beginning of the week (the first three days) only dry eating is allowed.

That is, you can eat any lean foods, but not those that are cooked over fire (heat-treated) and those that do not contain fat (without vegetable oil). You can eat and include the following products in your menu:

• pickled or raw vegetables;
• fruits;
• greenery;
• bread;
• vegetable and fruit juices;
• herbal infusions.

The only sweets allowed are honey. Jam, marmalade and jelly should not be taken. After all, they were also prepared by heat treatment, which means they have nothing to do with dry eating.

Meals on Friday and Saturday before Easter

During Holy Week it is not allowed not only to eat, but even to take water until the end of the service and the removal of the shroud. Such strict restrictions are quite understandable: on this day Christ was condemned and sentenced to death on the cross. The Savior died on Friday, so this is the most tragic day of the year.

Such restrictions continue: during the day you can only take water and bread. It’s best to wait until the end of the all-night vigil: when the service is over, you can start eating with virtually no restrictions.

The sacred meaning of fasting

Fasting is one of the main church customs. This is a time when believers consciously, voluntarily abstain from certain animal products and certain other foods. Through this abstinence people express their obedience and respect to God and the church.

Of course, the central place in the year is occupied by Lent, which is both the longest and the strictest (especially when it comes to last days Holy Week, when food is actually prohibited).

But what is the point of fasting? Why does it occupy a special place in the life of every Christian who strives to keep the commandments of God and the instructions of the church? It is interesting that Christ also fasted, and for a whole 40 days and 40 nights, after which he experienced incredible strong feeling hungry and “hungry”, as it is written in the Bible.

It is known that after fasting, a very difficult event awaited the Savior - he had to undergo three tests from the evil spirit, which were incredibly insidious. However, Christ managed to resist, including because he had already tested his spiritual strength while abstaining from food.

Thus, by fasting, a person undergoes his own test, and thanks to this, his spiritual strength increases many times over.

Abstinence is always a voluntary act. And in a broad sense, fasting can be associated with temporarily depriving oneself of any pleasure - television, intimacy, parties, etc. And such self-control really leads to successful results.

For example, we have to deny ourselves a lot while studying or working. Sometimes you have to endure hardships in union with loved ones, but the trials you go through together only bring you closer. And in general, are there victories without a fight?

And one more shining example is a diet to keep the body healthy and beautiful. Yes, a person can deny himself nothing, eat sweets, fried meat, pies and any other dishes that are truly incredibly tasty. But what's the downside? Loss of external attractiveness, excessive stress on the stomach with corresponding consequences.

Of course, a diet is not a fast, but there are certainly similarities between them: in both cases, a person voluntarily pacifies his natural need. But the goals are different - the diet is designed to maintain beautiful shape, as well as to improve the health of the body.

Fasting is service to the Lord. Both goals are wonderful and undeniably motivating. They just differ from each other in essence.

As for Lent, at this time believers want to show their special respect to the Savior, as if to share his suffering (especially in the last week before Easter). After all, how can you feel the pain of another person? Everyone can understand suffering. But only he will be able to feel for his loved one who sincerely shares his problems with him.

Relaxations in fasting

Along with the question of what can be eaten during Holy Week before Easter, believers are often interested in the following:

1. Who is allowed to relax in fasting?
2. Should children fast?
3. Is it possible for a person suffering from diseases digestive system, not to participate in the post?

Here it is necessary to immediately make a reservation that the church has long determined the norm for fasting: restrictions on food are not allowed if this is harmful to human health. Each of us is obliged to take care not only of our soul, but also of our body. After all, if the soul is pure, but the body is not in order, then living in such a state will also not be easy.

Pregnant women, children and people in poor health

Suppression of one's natural needs can also be harmful in a psychological sense. A person becomes angry and can take it out on loved ones. And then it turns out that fasting leads to evil in the most literal sense of the word. Is such a feat necessary? The answer is clear: no, fasting should only work for good. And pregnant women, children and people with poor health should not risk their bodies.

Relaxations for beginners

What should a person do if he has just started fasting? Of course, it will be especially difficult for him: he lacks experience, lacks patience and fortitude, which is quite normal. We, for example, cannot immediately get behind the wheel and drive. Everything takes time - no one has repealed this law.

The clergy believe that certain concessions for beginners are allowed. However, all questions, including what can be eaten in the last week before Easter and what cannot, should be discussed with the priest.

If you haven't started fasting from the very beginning

This is another frequently asked question along with what you can eat in the last week of Lent before Easter. It seems that if initially a person did not fast, then does he have the right to join the ritual on the last (Passion) day? That is, how fair is this, and is there any sin in this?

In fact, everyone acts according to their own conscience. And even if a person (whether he is a beginner or not) begins to fast only in the last days before Bright Resurrection, the church welcomes such a decision. Sharing the sufferings of Christ in memory of the Savior is a pleasant duty, and not a heavy cross that should frighten and dishearten.

Thus, fasting is not a ritual, not an empty custom that a person observes simply because “it’s necessary.” Each of us represents sentient being endowed with freedom of choice.

Therefore, the decision to fast should be meaningful and personal. This means that you cannot do without a positive attitude and blessing in this matter, as in most others.

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Fasting, by its definition, is a strict prohibition or restrictions on the consumption of food or only certain products, for example, meat or dairy products.

Great Lent is the path to the Bright Feast of Great Easter, through which a believer must go through, keeping himself in strictness. The ban is imposed not only on eating food, but it is also prohibited to spend this time in fun and pleasure. Great Lent is one of the strictest fasts church calendar, it begins seven weeks before Easter and consists of forty days (Quentum) and a week before Easter (Holy Week). Pentecost is celebrated in honor of the fact that Jesus Christ fasted in the desert for forty days, and Holy Week commemorates the life of Christ in the last days of his life, His crucifixion and resurrection.

Lent in 2018- from February 19 to April 7

During Lent, it is not recommended to eat food of animal origin - meat, eggs, milk. However, it is allowed to eat fish, but only on the holidays of Palm Resurrection and Annunciation Holy Mother of God. Eating seafood such as squid, shrimp, and mussels is not prohibited during Lent.

But we should not forget that Great Lent is not an Orthodox diet, and the purpose of fasting is not so much to cleanse the stomach as to cleanse the human soul.

According to church regulations, Lent is a tribute to the memory of the Lenten feat of the son of God - Christ. After his baptism, Jesus wandered through the desert in thought for 40 days without water or food. This act marked the beginning of his great saving deeds in the name of all mankind. And in order to thank the Savior and honor him, the church introduced the strictest restrictions on the entire Lent, preceding Easter.

However, there is another version of the origin of the ritual of long pre-Easter fasting. At the dawn of Christianity, before the baptismal rite, future “children of the church” were ordered to pray fervently for 40 days and strictly limit food and water. The christenings themselves took place only 1-2 times a year on major holidays, most often on Easter. Everyone who wanted to join the religion was called catechumens. And being in solidarity with them, the rest of the Christians adhered to 40 days of abstinence in the period before the ritual (that is, before Easter). As a result, the post known to us today was established not all at once, but rather gradually. True, over hundreds of years, the conditions of fasting have undergone changes more than once.

The main rules of modern Lent:

1. Rejoice in everything and thank the Lord;
2. Visit the temple during Lent 2018;
3. Repent at Pentecost and you can be cleansed during Holy Week;
4. Take care of your health. In case of illness, soften the conditions of fasting;
5. Don't think about food;
6. Look at your plate;
7. Hasten to do good;
8. Remember why you entered into fasting;
9. Give up temptations and imaginary pleasures in favor of tireless prayers to the Lord;

As for the meal, according to the Church Charter, there are some rules:

• During the first and last weeks of Great Lent, a particularly strict fast is observed.
• Meat and dairy products (butter, cheese, cottage cheese, milk), eggs, are excluded. That is, all products of animal origin.
• You can eat only once a day, in the evening, however, on Saturdays and Sundays you are allowed to eat twice a day, at lunch and in the evening.
• On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, eat cold food, without vegetable oil. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, hot food without oil is allowed.
• On Saturdays and Sundays it is allowed to add vegetable oil to food, and it is also allowed to drink grape wine (except for Saturday of Holy Week).
• On Good Friday (this is the last Friday of Lent) you should abstain from food altogether.
• On Saturday, many who observe fasting also abstain from food until the onset of Great Easter.

How to fast correctly for Orthodox laypeople and what to eat on different days

The annual pre-Easter Lent is flexible in the calendar and in 2018 it falls from February 18 to April 7. The ritual of fasting lasts 49 days, of which 40 are the days of the Fourth Day, two twelfth holidays (the Annunciation and the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem) and the ascetic 6-day cycle of Holy Week. According to the church charter, Lent 2018 is as follows:

• first week - February 18-24, 2018;
• second week - February 25 - March 3, 2018;
• third week - March 4-10, 2018;
• fourth week - March 11-17, 2018;
• fifth week - March 18-24, 2018;
• sixth week - March 25-31, 2018;
• Seventh “Holy” Week – April 1-7, 2018.

In addition to the church charter, it is important to know how to fast correctly and what Orthodox laity can eat by day in the 2018 Lent calendar. According to strict conditions, there can be no more than two meals per day. The first traditionally occurs around lunchtime (after church liturgy), and the second in the evening (i.e. after Vespers). If there is only one meal, its time is 15.00 Moscow time. In terms of nutrition, the first and last “passion” weeks are the strictest. They include days of dry eating and complete fasting. On certain days in other weeks, hot dishes with or without butter are allowed, sometimes fish caviar, and on the twelve holidays - wine and fish. It will help you understand each week and its meaning in more detail. orthodox calendar Lent for 2018: what the laity can eat according to the days, read further in our article.

What foods are allowed to be consumed during fasting?

If you approach your diet wisely during Lent, then, firstly, you will not have to go hungry, and secondly, even during the period of strict fasting, nutrition can be quite varied and balanced.

So, the main products allowed during fasting:

• Black bread, cereal crispbread.
• Cereals (oatmeal, buckwheat, rice, corn, wheat, barley)
• Salted and pickled vegetables, berry and fruit jam.
• Mushrooms of various preparations.
• Legumes (beans, lentils, peas)
• Dried fruits, nuts, honey.
• Seasonal vegetables (potatoes, beets, carrots, onions, cabbage, radishes, etc.)
• Fruits in season (apples, bananas, grant, oranges, etc.)
• Fish is allowed to be consumed twice during the entire fast. On the feast of the Annunciation (in 2016 it falls on April 7) and Palm Sunday(April 24, 2016)

Nutrition calendar by day (menu)

The first week of fasting (the most strict). It is important to enter the fast correctly on the eve of the start. It is also important to know the personal contraindications, who should not fast.

Above we described one week, how, according to all the rules and canons, fasting should be observed; this is more acceptable for monks, or for people who strictly observe all the regulations of the church. If you decide to fast for the first time, then you should not take on excessive loads! It is quite possible, for example, to eat oil.

Here sample menu, which you can take as a basis by adding or replacing certain dishes:

In the subsequent fifth and sixth weeks After fasting, you can repeat your menu as in the second and third weeks.

The seventh (Holy Week) week of Great Lent is as strict as the first.

The sixth Sunday of Great Lent falls on the celebration of the Lord's entry into Jerusalem, or it is also called Palm Sunday. On this day you can eat fish, food with butter, and consume a little Cahors.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - dry eating. Thursday you can eat warm food, but cooked without oil, and only once a day. On Friday only bread and water. Eating is prohibited on Saturday.

And finally, Sunday, the end of the strictest fast falls on the celebration of Easter.

It is important to watch this video for your safety!

It is worth noting that if you decide to fast for the first time, it is recommended to talk with a priest and decide for yourself the severity of fasting, because you need to understand the very important truth that main goal Observance of fasting is not a restriction in food, but humility and repentance, prayer!

Voluntary refusal of food and abstinence from any entertainment is called fasting. True Christians who want to reunite with, decide to fast. But what can you eat while fasting to maintain strength for everyday life?

The essence of fasting

Many Orthodox Christians who are just beginning their path to God believe that fasting means giving up eating altogether. But this is not entirely correct. First of all, you need to limit yourself from activities that bring idleness and pleasure:

• do not participate in pleasure festivities;
• stop watching entertainment programs;
• do not do bad things;
• not fulfill marital duties;
• do not use foul language or gossip.

Secondly, you need to stop eating fast food. Only lean foods are allowed.

There is a basic list lean products that can be eaten:

1. Various types of cereals: semolina, barley, buckwheat, rice, oatmeal, pearl barley.
2. Any vegetables: potatoes, cabbage, onions, beets, carrots.
3. Fruits and berries.
4. Mushrooms.
5. Nuts: walnuts, almonds, peanuts, pine.
6. Bee products.
7. Canned vegetables, fruits and berries (compotes, jam, vegetable salads).
8. Seasonings, spices and herbs (dill, parsley, Bay leaf, black and red pepper, cardamom, etc.)

You can eat during fasting, because this is a test, not a test of survival. In order for the body to function fully, it requires a sufficient amount of protein. Where can I get it if the meat is in fast days under strict ban? The answer is simple, you should replace meat products with those that contain vegetable protein. Legumes (beans, soybeans, chickpeas, peas) are especially enriched with such protein.

Try making lean soup using any type of legumes, vegetables and grains. Season with spices to taste, and you will understand that fasting can be delicious. But don't overeat. After all, excess food is a violation of fasting. You should eat everything in moderation, trying only to satisfy your hunger, and not to eat to satiety.

When can you eat fish during fasting?

Fish is a unique product that is prohibited on strict days. To answer the question “When can you eat fish during fasting?”, you should study the basic rules for its consumption.

Most often, fish can be included in your diet when fasting days coincide with big days. church holidays. For example, April 7 (Annunciation), the last Sunday before Easter (The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem), the Saturday of Lazarus.

During the Dormition Fast, fish is allowed on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

Peter's Fast allows you to eat fish on the following days: Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday.

During the Nativity fast, fish can be included in the menu on weekends: Saturday and Sunday.

Special rules apply to people with poor health. When talking with the priest, you can ask for relief, then you will be allowed to eat fish products at any time.

Meals on different days

During the week, you need to know on which days you should relax, and on which days, on the contrary, you should completely abstain from food.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday are the days of the most strict fasting. At this time, if possible, you should completely refuse food or you can allow yourself to eat very little raw, uncooked foods. In addition, during these 3 days you cannot add vegetable oils to your dishes. The main food is Rye bread, vegetables, fruits and unsweetened jelly or compote.

Tuesday and Thursday. These days you are allowed to eat food that can be pre-cooked or fried. But sunflower oil again, adding is prohibited.

Saturday and Sunday. Days of relaxation. You can cook your own soup or prepare a vegetable stew with the addition of fish and vegetable oil.

This fast is the strictest and longest. Therefore, before you start committing it, you need to think about whether it will harm your health. Sick people and nursing mothers are allowed to eat even a little meat on fasting days.

You should refuse:

• from any type of meat, fish and even seafood;
• dairy and fermented milk products, eggs and even egg powder;
• baking, since prohibited products are added to the dough during cooking;
• mayonnaise and other sauces if they contain milk or eggs;
• alcoholic drinks, as they have cheerful properties.

It must be remembered that fasting people do not eat at all on the first day of Lent and every Friday.

In the first and last 7 days, you can only eat vegetables and fruits and drink only fresh water.

On other days, you are allowed to consume honey, sunflower oil, and sometimes fish.

Are sweets allowed?

Some sweet tooth lovers are interested in whether it is sometimes possible to drink tea with sugar or eat a bar of chocolate during Lent? The Church gives a positive answer.

During fasting, it is allowed to add sugar to food; in addition, you can eat dark chocolate in small quantities without adding dairy ingredients, dried berries, kozinaki, marmalade candies and honey.

Some Orthodox Christians believe that eating honey is undesirable. Old Believers and monks especially adhere to this opinion. But church officials are not against honey being present on the table of Orthodox Christians during Lent. They advise choosing buckwheat or linden varieties, as they contain many trace elements and vitamins.

Menu for one day of Lent

For people who have decided to start fasting for the first time, we can recommend the following approximate meal plan:

• Breakfast: a piece of black bread, 250 g of any porridge cooked in water.
• Lunch: lettuce salad with tomatoes and cucumbers, seasoned with lemon juice and salt.
• Afternoon snack: one apple or pear. A glass of berry compote.
• Dinner: stew of stewed vegetables: potatoes, cabbage and carrots.

According to the clergy, the most important thing is the purification of the soul. But the question “What can you eat during fasting” has no such of great importance. The main thing is to sincerely believe that through spiritual and physical abstinence we...

When is the last week of fasting and what can you eat by day? Of course, here we are talking specifically about Lent, in which the last Holy Week is especially important, responsible and, of course, strict. In this article we will not talk about what Holy Week is from a spiritual point of view, because you can read about this in other materials on our portal.

We suggest that you specifically consider the menu on. It's about specifically about six days, because the seventh day of Holy Week is Great Easter and you can already eat everything that was under the strictest ban for so long.

Maundy Monday

Palm Sunday had just ended, when the Lent menu was so loyal that even fish dishes were allowed. Today, from Holy Monday, fish, like all other meat products, are strictly prohibited. Only food of plant origin can be included in the diet again.

According to the church charter, we will make a reservation that it is strictly observable only for clergy; on this day you can only eat cold food and without vegetable oil. That is, there can be no talk of any heat treatment; bread is allowed, but only cold (and not just out of the oven). You can only drink cold drinks and eat only once a day, preferably in the evening.

Maundy Tuesday

All rules that apply to Monday of Holy Week also apply to Tuesday. You cannot include any meat products (including dairy products and eggs) in your diet. If possible, you should eat food only once a day and completely avoid cooking it.

Great Wednesday

Another day when you need to give up hot food, vegetable oil and even hot drinks again. Food can be taken, according to the strictest nutritional rules for this period, only in the evening. That is, once a day. You should not think that the last week of fasting, that you can eat by day, is completely the same as Monday. On Thursday, a relaxation of the fast is expected, but on Friday - its strictest part. So, we suggest moving further through the menu.

Maundy Thursday

What exactly are the relaxations in Lenten menu was said in this material? Of course, you still cannot eat any meat products, including fish. But food can be cooked by thermal processing and adding vegetable oil to it. You can eat twice during Maundy Thursday. Options, .

Good Friday

If possible, on this day of fasting you should abstain from eating completely. Even bread and water are not allowed. You can drink water and eat a piece of bread only after the evening service, when the shroud will be brought to the center of the temple. If initially you, as a layman, do not adhere to such a strict fasting menu as is described in this material, then you just need to make your meal schedule stricter on Friday. Don't forget what a sad day Good Friday is. This is the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Holy Saturday

On this day you can eat only once; you can process food thermally, but you are not allowed to use vegetable oil. In the evening you should already collect Easter basket, in which to put Easter cakes, colored eggs, meat and go to church service. There, after the service, a food blessing ceremony will take place. This is the food you should start your meal with on Easter Day. On Easter Sunday, fasting ends and you can eat any food. But don't overeat right away.
To break fast safely, you need to do it gradually.

The last week of Lent, what you can eat by day, was described in detail and without unnecessary information in this material. We wish you a lot of physical and spiritual strength to properly prepare for Easter.

Holy Week marks seven of the most the strictest days per year. Eat right, in accordance with the recommendations of the church, to cure many diseases and cleanse your soul of sins.

The last week before Easter is the most difficult and strict compared to other days. This period is very important for Orthodox people, because we remember the last days of Jesus’ life on earth and his suffering. It is advisable to spend Holy Week in prayers that will help you better understand yourself.

Proper diet for the week

Monday: the most difficult day of Holy Week. In addition to the fact that you can only eat food once in 24 hours, it must be eaten raw. Therefore, for most of us it is difficult and unusual. Righteous people who firmly believe in God try to give up food altogether on this day. For beginners, it is permissible to include flour products in the Monday diet, in particular bread and vegetables. They can be consumed in any form: dried, fried and pickled. This day is also characterized by the use of fruits and mushrooms. You can drink unlimited quantities of water, cool compotes and fruit drinks. It is important to know that you can only eat in the evening.

Tuesday: On Tuesday you can eat whatever you cook. However, remember that during Lent we exclude sweets, flour, meat, fish, dairy and eggs from our usual diet. It is permissible to eat vegetables and fruits on Tuesday, but only in limited quantities. You should eat food, as on Monday, in the evening and only once a day.

Wednesday: on this day people remember Judas, who betrayed Christ. You should visit church and repent of your sins. It is known that this is the most best time to cleanse your soul. Dry food is served at the table, it is advisable to refuse food altogether, so that nothing interferes with cleansing the body and thoughts on this day.

Thursday: It passes easier than the previous days, because from now on you can eat twice a day. Hot food, which was previously prohibited, and vegetable oil appear in the daily diet. Active preparations for Easter begin: people bake Easter cakes, paint eggs, prepare treats for the festive table.

Thursday is characterized by various rituals to expel evil spirits and evil from the house. One of them is that when cleaning your home you need to throw a handful of small items into a basin of water. This will attract prosperity and wealth in the future. Water on Maundy Thursday has magical power, so you can consecrate your apartment and, after washing, rid yourself of illnesses for a whole year.

Friday: is a time of sorrow for Orthodox people. It was on the fifth day of the week that Jesus Christ was crucified. It is prohibited to consume any food, the exception applies only to infants and weak people. Any household chores should be postponed. By doing anything on this day, you show your disrespect for God. It is necessary to gain strength and try to endure this day, honoring Christ, who gave his life for our sins.

Holy Week is very important for people: these days many people come to rethink their lives. During this time, a person is spiritually cleansed and greets Easter with pure and bright thoughts. It is imperative to keep all the commandments, pray and not denigrate yourself with sinful deeds and thoughts. It is known that if you repent on the Bright Resurrection of Christ with a pure heart and firm faith, then God will definitely forgive you for everything. Find out how to properly prepare for confession. Good luck,and don't forget to press the buttons and