When does Advent begin. Advent and food

Orthodox fasts are of great importance in the lives of believers. This is a time of spiritual and physical cleansing. It is important to understand that Orthodox parishioners refuse not only fast food, but also other earthly blessings. When the Christmas fast begins, it is forbidden to visit any entertainment establishments, lead an intimate life, and spend days in idleness. During this period, a Christian should analyze his actions, repent of sins, pray a lot for himself, his loved ones and the whole world, give alms and help those who need it. Forgiveness of any offenses, rejection of sinful thoughts is considered important. Eating during fasting excludes any animal food, including fish.

Time for Advent

The Advent begins and ends always on the same dates. Every year on November 27, the church celebrates the Memorial Day of St. Philip the Apostle. Immediately after this, abstinence begins for forty days. That is why the Nativity Fast is also called Filippov. From November 28, Orthodox Christians must stop eating fast food. The post ends on January 6, with the appearance of the first star. Until the 12th century, abstinence lasted only seven days, but at the sacred council of 1166, Patriarch Luke of Constantinople announced the will of the church to fast for 40 days. This period was considered sufficient to cleanse the soul and body from filth, so that it would be possible to celebrate the feast of the birth of Christ with pure thoughts and repentance. Since then, the Advent fast has lasted exactly forty days.

Foods not to eat while fasting

The main forbidden foods are meat, eggs, dairy products, spirits. They should not be eaten on any of the days of the Philippi fast. Fish is allowed on Saturday and Sunday, as well as during Orthodox holidays, such as the Entry into the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos. It must be remembered that the New Year, celebrated from December 31 to January 1, is not a holiday according to the rules of the church. Therefore, believers observe fasting on this day as strictly as on ordinary days.

But simply avoiding animal foods is not enough. The Orthodox calendar shows what kind of food should be on the days of fasting. In particular, Wednesday and Friday are dry days. These days you can not eat not only fish and wine, but even food with vegetable oil. If the great Orthodox holidays fall on Wednesday and Friday, then it is allowed to add some wine to the diet. On Tuesday and Thursday, food with vegetable oil is allowed, and on Saturday and Sunday it can be varied with fish dishes. If the holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday, fish is allowed.

Hot food and dry eating during the Advent

How the food is prepared also matters. There is in Orthodoxy such a thing as dry eating. This means that you can only eat food that has not undergone heat treatment. Usually these are vegetables, fruits, nuts, honey. Bread, oddly enough, also refers to dry eating. Hot drinks are strictly prohibited. You can only drink water. If a great feast falls on Wednesday or Friday, you may add some church wine to your table.

Dry eating is observed on Wednesday and Friday throughout the fast. These days you can eat only uncooked food without vegetable oil. On Monday, hot food is allowed, but also without oil, but not in the very last week of fasting. In general, food during the Advent consists of any non-fast food. It must be consumed in limited quantities. To observe proper nutrition on fasting days, you can purchase a special calendar and check the list of allowed foods every day.

What did they eat in Rus' on Christmas Lent

In Rus', on fasting days, they ate porridge, mushrooms, honey, berries, and vegetables. And in the southern regions, there are also fruits. From these products you can cook a variety of hearty dishes. On weekends and holidays, fish is added to them, so the food during the Advent can be tasty and nutritious.

Groats were in Rus' long before the appearance of potatoes. Therefore, porridges were varied, tasty and healthy. In the old days, they saved themselves from beriberi with sauerkraut, which contains a large amount of vitamin C. Delicious thick jelly was cooked from oat starch and dried berries and fruits. Where there were dried fruits, compotes were prepared.

What do they eat on Advent

People who have never fasted and are only planning to do so for the first time do not know what to eat. They ask: “What do they eat on Advent?” Meat and dairy products are the basis of the average Russian diet. If they are removed, not much food remains. But it seems so only at first glance.

Today, the choice of products is much greater than 100 years ago. Fruits and vegetables are available all year round, legumes such as lentils and beans have appeared in large numbers. Beans are an excellent source of energy.

It is useful to diversify your fasting table with soy products, such as vegetable tofu cheese, it will make up for the lack of protein in the body. It is also recommended to add sesame seeds to the diet. They compensate for the lack of calcium in the body, which occurs due to the lack of dairy products. On days when hot food is allowed, it will be useful to boil cereals. The absence of milk in porridge is easy to replace with fruits, vegetables and dried fruits. So, it is very tasty to serve buckwheat porridge with prunes, rice porridge with raisins, millet porridge with pumpkin and dried apricots. The strictest period in Orthodoxy is Lent. Food at this time excludes fish food, there are much more dry days.

Last week of fasting

The food during Advent during the last week is the strictest. Fish are completely excluded. On Monday, the menu is the same as on Wednesday and Friday, that is, you can not eat hot food and vegetable oil. On Christmas Eve, complete fasting is prescribed all day and evening until the first star appears in the sky. This is a sign of the birth of Christ. Now we can start celebrating Christmas. The main dish on the table that day, or rather the evening, is juicy - grains of wheat, lentils and other grains boiled in honey. Nuts, raisins, poppy seeds are added to steamed porridge. No other food is eaten that evening. The next morning, after the service and communion, it is allowed to eat dairy products, an egg, vegetable oil. Thus ends the Advent.

Relaxation during fasting

Keeping fasts is an important duty of every Christian, but there are categories of people for whom violation of prohibitions is not considered sinful. If the diet during the Advent is, according to all the rules, harmful to health, the daily diet should be changed. It is impossible to refuse the necessary food. The decision to start a fast or refuse it should be agreed with your doctor. The use of prohibited foods is replenished with pure sincere prayers addressed to God.

Pregnant women and small children should not fast. For them, the only ban is established - on the use of meat. Dairy products and eggs are allowed. Children learn to fast gradually. The first restrictions begin from the moment when the child already knows and understands why it is important to abstain from this or that food. Concessions are also made for travelers on the road, people engaged in hard physical labor, and those who suffer from certain diseases. But before you start eating fast food, it is strongly recommended to take the blessing of your spiritual father for this.

Fasting is not a diet!

Fasting times are often used to lose weight. Especially popular in this sense is Great Lent, the menu of which consists only of plant foods. In fact, giving up meat and dairy rarely results in weight loss. More often there is some increase in body weight due to the high content of carbohydrates in food. Nutrition during fasting should be balanced so that there are no health problems. It is very difficult for a person who fasts for the first time to fulfill all church prescriptions. Therefore, you need to prepare for fasting fasts in advance, and not when the Christmas fast begins. The most important thing is to remember that spiritual cleansing is much more important than physical cleansing.

Orthodox Christians are having Christmas post, which is also called Filippov post. This post is in honor of Christmas.

When does Advent start and end in 2016-2017

Believers begin to fast on November 28 (November 15, old style), 2016, and end on January 6, 2017 (December 24, old style), with the onset of the feast of the Nativity of Christ.

So the post lasts forty days - November 28, 2016 to January 6, 2017 inclusive. Advent ends with the feast of the Nativity of Christ. Conspiracy (the eve of Lent) -27 (14) November - falls on the day of memory of the saint Apostle Philip, so the post is also called Filippov.

What is another name for the Advent

Advent or Philip's Fast popularly called Filippovka. There is an even more ancient ancient Russian folk name for the Christmas fast - Karachun.

Meaning of Christmas

saint John Chrysostom He characterized the essence of fasting in this way: “The one who believes that fasting is only abstinence from food is mistaken. True fasting is in keeping away from evil, in curbing the tongue, in putting off anger, taming lust, ceasing slander, lies and perjury.

The history of the establishment of the Advent

The establishment of the Nativity fast dates back to the times of early Christianity. At first, the fast was seven days, but gradually transformed into forty days. In Orthodox churches, Advent is one of the four multi-day fasts of the church year and serves to prepare the body and spirit of the believer for the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. The Christmas Lent is not the strictest and, in its rules, is similar to the summer Peter's Lent. According to the church charter, meat and dairy products, as well as eggs, are completely prohibited during the entire Nativity Fast.

Advent Post 2016-2017: food calendar by day

Advent and New Year

On the New Year, it is better for believers not to break the fast, but one should not condemn unchurched relatives and friends who are not averse to celebrating the New Year's holiday with a feast. The believer must remember that judging one's neighbor is a sin, especially during fasting. Also, when inviting guests, care should be taken that on the festive table, at which they will sit, including those who are fasting, there are both quick and fasting dishes. And since the New Year 2017 will come on the night from Saturday to Sunday, it will be easy for believers to observe the rules of fasting and not quarrel with their neighbors: fish and wine are allowed to fast on this day.

What do you eat on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve This is the last day of Advent and the eve of the Nativity of Christ. The word "Christmas Eve" comes from the name of the dish "sochivo", which is made from grains of wheat, lentils or rice. Sochivo is traditionally eaten on the evening of January 6 (after the appearance of the first star in the sky). According to the strict monastic rule, this should be done after a complete abstinence from food throughout the day. And after eating sochiv, you can start a festive meal.

Folk omens

The last day before the Advent (Philippov) fast is Philip's day, the day of memory of the Apostle Philip. In the people this day, which falls on November 27 (14), is called Kudelitsa. This day is considered a conspiracy (eve) before fasting. On Kudelitsa in the villages, the last weddings were finished, because during the wedding fast it was forbidden. The kudelnitsa ended by the spell - the time when women and girls prepared a tow - a purified flax or hemp fiber prepared for spinning.

Filippov's conspiracy is the beginning of the Christmas "cold" fast. Another name for the post is Karachunovsky, Karachun. The ancient word "karachun" meant darkness, death and the longest night of the year, which falls on December 21-22.

Sayings and rituals on Kudelitsa and Filippovka

Filippovka - the deadline for the wedding to celebrate.
On Filippov’s conspiracy, they take out a snack for the brownie from the house to the yard so that cattle can be found, and the brownies are also invited for dinner.
Whoever did not get married before Filippovka - pray to God and wait for a new meat-eater.
Fasting is not a drinker for weddings, he won’t brew beer, he won’t call for a feast conversation.
If you do not spin in the winter, there will be nothing to weave in the summer.

Blessed is the hour when the world knows the Lord. Each of us coming into this world is sinless. There are many temptations in earthly life, and over time we become all not without sin. The Nativity fast helps us to repent, to cleanse ourselves from worldly fuss. By fasting we purify not only the body, but above all the soul.

The most blessed period of the year. It has strong energy and magnetism. The period of fasting gives the Orthodox strength, allows you to strengthen the faith.

During fasting, believers learn the truth, find themselves. Whoever asks receives the help of the Lord. Whoever believes in a miracle will surely receive it.

This is the time to fight evil. And there is so much evil in our world. It tests believers by sending them various trials, sometimes very difficult ones.

Advent is not the strictest of the year. Fasting must be approached with understanding, God's blessing. Ask the priest to bless you if you have not fasted before, or if your heart is heavy. You need to enter the fast with ease, faith in the Lord, and everything will certainly work out.

The Savior of the world was born, illumined everyone with his appearance. No wonder a star lit up in the sky. He came to save everyone.

When does Advent start?

How many days does Advent last

The duration of the fast is 48 days. It includes four tithes, (tithe - 10 days) - this is a remembrance of Jesus' stay in the wilderness and trials of hunger. Holy Week is seven days of strict fasting.

End of Advent number

Christmas post essence

The essence of the winter fast is to purify the flesh and soul. We cleanse the flesh with lean foods, adhering to the nutrition calendar. The soul needs special purification. For a blessing from above, it is necessary to confess, take communion. Thank the Lord for the past year, giving to the destitute, helping the needy. The more good deeds are done, the better the soul will be.

We fast only in order to meet the birth of the Savior with a pure soul and good thoughts.

Christmas post story

The roots of fasting go back centuries. From the fourth millennium, St. Ambrose wrote about the fasting of believers. Initially, the fast was seven days. Later, by the Council of 1166, the Byzantine ruler, Patriarch Luke, established that believers fast for 40 days. Fasting lasts until the birth of the Savior.

In the church canons, Patriarch Balsamon introduced the unwritten rule "Fasting from November 15 until the birth of the Savior."

Lent ends the old year and begins a new one. It keeps its beginning according to the new calculation from November 28 to December 7, according to the old one, from November 15 to December 25. Keep it for 40 days. In church canons, the name was given to him in the old days of Forty Days. In terms of duration, it is the same as the Big.

The first mention of Christmas celebrations is described in the apostolic decrees in the 1st millennium. They say that the Virgin Mary gave humanity a Savior. The date of the celebration is December 25 according to the old style.

In a scripture from the 2nd millennium, Clement writes that believers fast until the birth of the Savior. In the III millennium Hippolytus writes about the birth of the Savior. Believers were persecuted en masse. In the IV millennium, on the eve of the celebration, the Nicodemian ruler Diocletian burned 20 thousand Veryans in the temple during prayer.

In a writing from the 4th millennium, Nicephorus wrote that the ruler Justinian introduced the obligatory celebration of the birth of the Savior throughout the world. During this period, the patriarchs wrote many Christmas prayers and hymns, in the aura of which you can plunge into today. They also, as in the old days, praise the birth of the Savior.

They also time the fasting to the stay of the Savior in the desert desert. After being baptized by John the Baptist,

The Savior went hungry for 40 days. Tempted by the Serpent, he stayed there without bread and water.

There are scriptures that testify that before accepting the Life-Giving Cross, being baptized, one had to endure the test of hunger. Baptized, as a rule, adults who accepted the Christian faith and this was timed to coincide with the big celebrations: Christmas and Easter.

Therefore, they began to starve 40 days before the start of the celebrations. Such believers were called catechumens. They were supported by already baptized Christians, and over the years the number of fasting people only increased. The whole world is fasting today.

Christmas fast food by day

Fasting is not the strictest of the year. The church allows the use of fish products.

Eating on fast days:

• during the week, food is allowed once a day;
• twice on weekends. Small quantities of wine are allowed.

Patients, children and expectant mothers, you can not keep a strict post.

Before the very birth of the Savior, they keep a strict fast on bread and water. Before the Savior's birthday, it is only allowed to drink water. When the first star appears, they leave the fast, eat sochivo: boiled wheat or rice in honey water, add dried fruits.

During fasting on December 4, there is a temple feast, the Presentation of the Virgin. On this day it is allowed to cook fish.

Do's and Don'ts on Christmas Day

On especially fast days, only dry food is allowed, and then after the end of the service in the evening.

If temple holidays fall on fast days, wine and vegetable oil are allowed.

Those who fast diligently, on the eve of the new year, a great test falls. Breaking the fast is considered a great sin.

A food fast without a spiritual one is considered inappropriate. You are supposed to pray. Anger, resentment, boldness, condemnation are prohibited. You need to repent, ask the Savior for forgiveness of sins.

Viewing entertainment programs, festivities is also considered a sin. If you pray and fast, keep it in everything.

If both spouses fast in the family, then intimacy is not appropriate. If only one is fasting, then there is a good scripture about this, Paul said: “To avoid fornication, the husband should have his wife, and the wife of her husband” (1 Cor 7: 1-7). You can not destroy the family, church foundations are aimed at recreating and strengthening the family. That gives the right to an exception.

Many come to the conclusion that today, given the not very easy situation in the country, when there is not enough money for daily bread, fasting is not a reason for reflection. But this is far from true. The Optina elders say that: “Whoever does not want to fast voluntarily will be compelled to do so.” In simple words: “Even in grief or trouble, keep fasting, otherwise the Lord will give such trials that there will be no strength to endure.”

The Church says, learn to pray:

• Read prayers at home, regularly, at least for the coming dream.
• If you read daily oral prayer, buy a prayer book, strengthen it with additional reading of prayers throughout the day.
• If there is a prayer book in the house, start reading the Psalter on Sunday. Reading it builds faith.
• If you attend church on holidays, start attending regularly on weekends.

Learn to say no to bad habits. So you will begin to cleanse your soul from sins. Start small. Great sacrifice will not lead to anything good.

• If someone is discussed in a conversation, say that you are not interested.
• If someone screams or loses their temper in front of you. Say goodbye, or stop this person. Don't take on someone else's negativity.
• If someone in a conversation uses obscene words, explain to the interlocutor that you are in a hurry. Thus, show that he is wrong, and you will not accumulate sin. He will understand everything. And he will stop doing it.
• If a deep resentment has settled in the soul, this is also a sin. Sorry. You can't, pray. God will give strength to understand and forgive.

Learn to repent.

After all, not everything can be told to the priest during confession. Something ashamed, but something we are afraid to even say out loud. Read the evening prayer. In the prayer book for the coming dream there are several pages and at the end of the "Confession". Read regularly and ask the Savior to forgive you. These are secret sins.

Learn to do something good. You don't have to donate a lot of money. Sometimes helping a random person is more than just giving in church. Try at least once, to help someone who really needs, he will bless you more than once.

After all, he prays and asks the Savior for help. And the Lord helps with our hands. After all, when you ask, you also receive help where you did not expect it, and this is what you asked the Lord for.

Learn to be happy:

• Rejoice that the sun has risen and the day is beautiful. You will go to work in a good mood. Everything will work out and you will do a hundred times more than before. After all, radiating happiness, without realizing it, thank God. And he is never in debt.
• Be happy with the people around you. Radiating happiness, you give them a piece of your heart. And God fills it with such power that you sometimes work miracles without noticing it.

Learn to love, even your enemies. It will only make them worse. After all, the light within you is the Lord. Trust your troubles to him. Only he knows what, and to whom, and when to give.

Learn to be patient. It will deliver you from sin. Only by enduring, and not rushing into battle, you will not break firewood, and do not anger the Lord.

The time of fasting is especially blessed, start and do not be afraid. You will certainly succeed.

Wedding in Advent

There are two opinions on holding such a celebration in the post:

1. Sign and celebrate after the end of the post. The Church does not give its blessing to the young, and even more so does not crown;
2. If it is not possible to transfer, diversify the menu with a choice of lenten dishes.

Many wedding agencies, in order to improve their well-being, say that fasting is prejudice. That you can celebrate a wedding, only without frills. You can immediately tell that they are wrong. The celebration, though modest, is already a sin. You will still have fun, the table will be full of far from lean products. You can’t keep track of all the guests and don’t impose your opinion. Someone will definitely sort out the excess. You can carry out a painting in the registry office in accordance with all the rules with photo and video shooting, and the feast itself after the end of the post. There is a possibility, be sure to transfer. Not a single clergyman will crown you in fasting.

If the situation is such that it is impossible to pull. Then it is permissible, but only without the wedding. It will have to be carried out after the end of the post. The menu for guests should be varied with lenten dishes. Surely there will be guests at your holiday who keep fasting. They must have the right to choose. Not to come to the holiday, they cannot out of respect for you, but they can choose lenten food, thereby not completely violating the rules of fasting.

Baptism in Advent

In Orthodoxy, the year is divided into four major fasting periods. Of the 365 days in a year, 200 are fast. Therefore, many parents are wondering if it is worth baptizing in big posts?

According to the canons of the church, it is allowed to baptize a baby no earlier than 40 days after birth.

But in life there are different situations:

• The baby may be weak, and for the complete recovery of the child, he simply needs to be christened;
• There are such critical situations that the priest is brought directly to the hospital. Because, without the blessing of the Lord, I simply will not save.

Father may refuse. Guided by the fact that it is impossible to baptize before the 40th day. It can be asked. After all, God is merciful, and without his help, you can’t do anything. And besides, it can be argued that mom will be absent at this moment. Only the godparents and the child's father will be present. Mom, on the other hand, cannot be present either in church or at baptism at home until 40 days have passed, it is believed that she is not clean.

The clergy explain: “Once a child is born, then it must be baptized!” After all, he could not wait until the fast was over, so he should not wait until he was christened. If the end of the 40th day after childbirth falls into fasting, then it is necessary to baptize.

You may be asked to reschedule the date, as the schedule of services on some days is very busy, and the priest simply may not be in time.

However, you may also be denied. Motivating by the fact that after baptism, you will celebrate. And in the post of festivities is a sin. The only thing that can be done in this case is to convince the priest. Having explained that you are deeply religious, the feast will be modest, exclusively from lenten products, and from alcoholic wine, in a small amount.

If it doesn't work, find another priest.

You can christen the baby. The Church does not forbid it.

Fish in Advent

Fasting Orthodox on the 4th, on the day of the Entrance of the Mother of God into the temple, are allowed to eat fish. On the 19th, on the day of St. Nicholas and on weekends as well.

The monks keep a very strict fast. But on weekends, they are allowed to eat fish.

Signs Christmas post

• If there is gloomy weather in fasting, or constant snowfall, expect bad weather in May;
• If a blizzard circles from morning to evening throughout Lent, wait for early spring;
• If Christmas itself is warm, the spring will be very cold;
• If you clean up the house in the evenings throughout Lent, by Christmas you will have a lot of evil spirits at your party. Since ancient times, all housewives cooked and cleaned only in the daytime;
• If on the holy evening before Christmas there are 12 dishes on the table, then the coming year will be full of happiness, harvest, wealth;
• If there was no reconciliation in the family during the fast, then the whole year, they will not see peace;
• As you meet Christmas, so the whole year will pass;
• If money was spared in the post for the purchase of products, then the whole year there will be a shortage;
• If the Christmas snow in the very celebration sweeps famously, the apiaries will be full of honey;
• If at Christmas the frost grows stronger, bread will be born;
• If you celebrate in a dressing gown, you will need money all year round;
• If at Christmas the first boy enters the house, and even a dark one, happiness in the house will be a constant guest;
• The house of guests is full, and the hostess is having fun, to be prosperous in the house;
• If a baby is born on Christmas, he will be happy and lucky;
• A lit candle throughout the fast attracts wealth to the house. Drives out trouble;
• They do not hunt or fish during fasting. Such activities attract trouble;
• Do not lose anything, the year will be in waste and annoyance. If you find something, be sure to make a profit;
• If something spilled on Christmas itself, do not be sad, good luck.

As you can see, the post is given to humanity to correct mistakes. Reunion with the Lord. Humility. To cleanse the body and soul. The Lord loves his children. Be blessed!

How to eat right in the Christmas post 2019-2020, when you can eat fish and when you can’t, our food calendar for the days of fasting before Christmas will tell.

When does Advent 2019-2020 start?

The Nativity Fast is also called Philip's Fast, since the Conspiracy for it usually falls on the feast day of the holy Apostle Philip - November 27, according to the new style. (In 2019, November 27 falls on Wednesday and is a fast day, and Zagovenye is November 26 on the day of St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople).

Filippov is one of the four multi-day fasts in Orthodoxy, he prepares believers for the Bright Feast of the Nativity of Christ, which is celebrated on January 7th. Orthodox Christmas fast begins on November 28 and lasts until January 6.

Like other multi-day fasts, the Advent fast has been observed in Orthodoxy since ancient times. The first mention of it is found in the writings of St. Ambrose of Mediodalan in the fourth century.

Eating on Advent: What to Eat and What Not to Eat

It is believed that the Advent fast is less strict than fasting and fasting. So, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, you can eat food with vegetable oil. During the days of Advent, it is strictly forbidden to eat only meat, eggs and dairy products. On Wednesday and Friday, one should not drink wine, and food should be eaten without oil.

But it is worth remembering that the sick and children are allowed to relax physical fasting.

Fish days of Advent 2019 – 2020

Fish during the Nativity Fast is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays and great holidays, for example, on the feast of the Entry into the Temple of the Most Holy Theotokos (December 4), as well as on temple holidays and on the days of great saints, if these days fall on Tuesday or Thursday. According to the mildest charter, fish can be eaten on all days except Wednesday and Friday.

The meal schedule below will help keep the Advent fast in accordance with all the rules of the Orthodox Church. But we must remember that any fast is not a diet, the main thing is spiritual rigor and purification of the soul.

Nutrition calendar by day for Advent in 2019 - 2020

December 4, Wednesday - Entry into the Church of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary. Fish are allowed.

December 19, Thursday - St. Nicholas, Archbishop of Mir Lycian wonderworker. Food with vegetable oil.

Post and New Year. It is better for Orthodox Christians not to deviate from fasting on the New Year, but they should not condemn relatives and friends who do not fast either. Put on the New Year's table both lenten and fast dishes in order to maintain peace in the family and not turn the household away from the faith with your condemnation, the priests advise.

How do they work during the New Year holidays:

Every year on November 28, according to the new style, the time of the Nativity Fast begins in the Russian Orthodox Church, almost as long as Great Lent, but not so strict and mournful. For 40 days, believers are spiritually preparing to celebrate the Nativity of our Lord and Savior - the coming of the Divine Infant into our world. The main meaning of this preparation is the meeting of such an important holiday for Christians not in the usual daily bustle, but in a special state of mind - humble, but at the same time solemn.

The establishment of the Nativity Fast as a multi-day fast is rather late. In the first millennium from the Nativity of Christ, it lasted only a week, and only in the 12th century did the Patriarch of Constantinople Luke Chrysoverg make this fast longer and more strict. Patriarch Luke was in close relations with Russia, personally corresponded with Grand Duke Andrei Bogolyubsky, and therefore this pious tradition was immediately adopted by Russian Orthodox Christians, whose Church at that time was part of Constantinople.

Today it is widely known that Roman Catholics also have a period of preparation for Christmas, called "Advent". "Advent calendars" for 24 days before Christmas are widely spread in Russia today. Gifts or notes with wishes are put into the pockets of these calendars, although conservative Catholics still have a tradition of putting patristic instructive sayings into them.

All this does not contradict the Orthodox tradition, but it is worth remembering that Catholics have largely departed from true, Orthodox Christianity, and in this case, that our fast is longer and stricter. The very same Christmas for Orthodox Christians is the same joyful holiday as for Catholics and Protestants, but we must not forget that above it is “the feast of holidays and the triumph of celebrations” - the Bright Resurrection of Christ, Easter of the Lord.

Why is the Nativity Fast often called "Filippovsky"?

Among Russians, the Nativity Fast is often referred to as "Filippovsky", or even "Filippovka". The explanation for this is quite simple: the eve of Lent, November 27, according to the new style, falls on the day of the holy Apostle Philip, one of the first disciples of Christ. What is known about this great saint is that he, like the apostles Andrew and Peter, was a native of Bethsaida and became the third whom the Savior called to the apostolic service.

It was the Apostle Philip who brought Nathanael and the Greeks (Greeks) to the Savior, talked with Christ about bread for many people, and also asked the Lord at the Last Supper to show the Father. After Christ's Resurrection and Ascension, according to church tradition, the Apostle Philip preached in Galilee and Syria, Greece and Scythia, accompanying his sermons with numerous miracles, including repeatedly resurrecting the dead through prayers to the Savior. This aroused the wrath of the pagans, and around the year 80 from the Nativity of Christ, by order of the proconsul of the Roman Empire, the Apostle Philip was crucified upside down.

In Rus', this saint was always deeply revered, many churches were erected in his honor. And therefore, it is no coincidence that the Nativity Fast, the conspiracy of which falls on the day of the Apostle Philip, is also called "Filippovsky" or "Filippovka". Of course, this is an unofficial statutory church name, but it has long been firmly established in the Russian Orthodox tradition.

What are the main rules of Advent?

The rules of the beginning of fasting differ little from any other fasting time, including Great Lent. Despite the fact that food prohibitions (which will be discussed a little later) are not as strict as during Great Lent, and the liturgical structure does not actually change, believers should understand that this is a time of restrictions, primarily related to entertainment. Although, according to the Gospel, while fasting, we do not have the right to make a sad look in order to stand out from others:

When you fast, do not be despondent like the hypocrites, for they take on gloomy faces in order to appear to people who are fasting. I tell you truly, they already receive their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may appear to those who are fasting, not before people, but before your Father who is in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.

Nevertheless, this does not mean that fasting is limited exclusively to internal work on oneself. Of course, at this time it is worth going to church more often than usual, praying more, helping others, but also, of course, trying to fast in terms of the food restrictions already mentioned. But realizing that this is not a “sacrifice to God” (He does not need our refusals from our favorite sausages or kefir), but, firstly, church discipline, a lesson in loyalty to the Church and its Holy Tradition, which includes the charter on fasting, and in secondly, a very important help in the fight against their own passions.

One of the best sayings on this subject refers to the true treasury of patristic thought, written by St. John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople.

Saint John Chrysostom. Photo: pravoslavie.ru

Saint, who lived and worked in the 4th - early 5th centuries, but whose words are always so relevant that it may seem as if they were uttered in our time:

The fasting person most of all needs to curb anger, learn to meekness and condescension, have a contrite heart, cast out unclean desires by presenting that unsleeping fire and impartial judgment, be above monetary calculations, show great generosity in almsgiving, expel from the soul any malice against one’s neighbor ... with great zeal he should make prayers and confessions before God and, as much as possible, help himself with alms.

Of course, food restrictions without spiritual work on oneself are anything - diet, vegetarianism, veganism - but not Orthodox fasting. Therefore, every believer needs spiritual support and guidance, which each of us can receive in any Orthodox church. It is desirable, of course, to have a personal confessor, but if one is not yet available, you can turn to any Orthodox priest.

Before proceeding directly to the statutory requirements, it must be noted that in the history of the Church, exceptions to the rules have always been allowed in relation to pregnant women and the sick, prisoners and military personnel, students and travelers. But all these indulgences should not be self-willed, but with a priestly blessing.

Dietary restrictions for Advent

Photo: Yuri Mashkov / TASS

To begin with, it must be said that even in monastic practice, the prescriptions of the Rule are different. In practice, it is customary to fast like this. Until the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker (“Nikolas of the Winter” - December 19, according to a new style): on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays - fast (vegetable) food with fish, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - only with vegetable oil or even without it (the latter is rarely observed).

After the day of St. Nicholas, fasting becomes stricter: on Tuesdays and Thursdays, only food with vegetable oil is allowed. On the eve of the Nativity of Christ, fasting becomes even more strict, and even on Saturday and Sunday, food with vegetable oil, but without fish. The strictest post is on Christmas Eve, January 6, according to the new style. On this day, only food without oil is allowed, and only in the evening (as the people say, “after the first star”).

That is why believers should spend such beloved New Year holidays with Christian reasoning. And if a glass of champagne is not forbidden even according to the Church Charter (usually drinking a little wine is blessed on those days when Lenten food with fish or butter is allowed), then you should refrain from reckless entertainment. However, every Christian should protect himself from riotousness outside of fasting.

Once again, it is important to repeat that these rules are not generally binding on everyone, but if you have a desire to observe food restrictions in strict accordance with the Church Charter, take a blessing from the priest and carefully follow the Orthodox calendar, which is published daily on the pages of our website.

With the start of Christmas Lent! Grant us, Lord, an auspicious Fast!