www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Fasting Before Communion

What are the guidelines to fasting before receiving communion in the various Eastern Catholic Churches? Are they the same as the guidelines for Orthodox? Additionally, if someone could outline the days of the year on which Greek Catholics are obliged to practice fasting/abstinence (and what these respective terms mean in "Eastern" language) I'd be very thankful.

ChristTeen287

dear CT287:

The Eucharistic fast for the Orthodox In Communion with Rome should be generally the same as those for our Orthodox siblings. We may not be quite as strict as Rocor or Palaiocalendarist jurisdictions, but we should fall somewhere with the Greeks, OCA or Antiochians.

I say "should" because I recognize that we still partake of much of the Latin ecclesial culture, where the Eucharistic fast does not seem to be a big thing any more. So a lot of our more Latinized people don't follow this too closely alas.

Clearly the Latin rule of 1 hour before Communion cannot apply to us. Else we could down a sandwich after the Sermon and still be Ok :rolleyes:

There are 4 main Fast seasons for the Orthodox in Communion with Rome of the Byzantine tradition:

1. The Great Fast [which the Latins call "Lent"]
2. The Apostle's Fast [ends with the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul]
3. The Dormition Fast [2 weeks before the Dormition]
4. St. Philip's Fast [from the Feast of St. Philip till the Feast of the Nativity]

There is generally every Wednesday and Friday [except during Fast Free periods].

There are specific pre-Feast or Feast Fasts: e.g.: Holy Cross, Beheading of St. John the Baptist etc.

If you look into the Liturgical Calendar published by St. John of Kronstadt Press, you will find the Fasts all laid out, plus what mitigations are allowed on what days, e.g. we get to eat Fish during the Dormition Fast on the Feast of Transfiguration, during the Great Fast on Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Fish is a feast food for us!

Generally we are allowed invertebrates and abstain from vertebrates and vertebrate products, e.g.: meat, dairy products, fish, poultry, fish, eggs, etc. plus wine and olive oil. [Technically I suppose such invertebrates as lobster and oyster fall within the "law" of fasting but I would think certainly contradict the "spirit" of fasting.]

One of our priests, when he was a kid, tried to convince his parents that chips and coke was "Fast food"! (Technically, he was right) But his parents didn't buy it.

There are lots of sites out there with Fast recipes!

The best "treatise"/article/blurb that I have read on fasting is found in His Grace, Vladyka Kallistos' (Ware) edition of the Lenten Triodion - in the Introduction.

It deals with the technical side of it, how much, when, abstinence, "dry-eating", etc. - probably more than you wanted to know.

But more importantly it deals with the spirit of fasting, how it is prayer and part of one's spiritual journey and ascesis - and the temptations and spiritual dangers that accompany same.

Enjoy the upcoming "Pilipivka"!

herb.

ps: what happened to the other 286 ChristTeens? Too much fasting?

Fast every Sunday from midnight to noon.

Dan Lauffer

Well,

From Midnight until one approaches the Chalice. The time of which differs in many parishes.

Brian

Herb,

Thanks for the info. I wish there were 286 other Christ teens on this message board, but unfortunately there are not

Dan and Brian,

Isn't fasting from midnight until the reception of communion the traditional Latin practice?

ChristTeen287

dear CT287:

If you prefer a more rigourous alternative, you can follow the tradition of Fasting from Vespers onward. (or Litiya onwards, if there is a great Feast.)

herb.

ps: clearly these rules have evolved some in the Church's development. E.g. one of the earliest Orthodox Fasting principles was: Never Fast on Sat. or Sundays, since these were the Sabbath and the Lord's Day!

Teen,

However that may be, this is the practice of the Orthodox Church in America, the former Russian Orthodox Metropolia. In Russia itself, the fast is much more rigorous before Communion.

The discipline also includes a recent Confession (ROCOR demands a Saturday Night Confession before Communion on the Sunday), attendance at Vespers, the reading of the Communion Canon and Pre-Communion prayers etc

Peace,
Brian in Sacramento

Dear Teen in Christ,
Someone with more knowledge than I have must fill you in here on the forum regarding the history and recent changes in fasting times in the Latin church, but my impression was that about thirty years or so ago, the practice from fasting from midnight until reception of Holy Communion the following day was universal, when it was changed from that to three hours and now it is one hour of fasting prior to reception of the Eucharist. I wonder if those who attend the traditional Latin Mass (Tridentine) do fast from midnight. Anyway, as of now, the rule is one hour. It doesn't seem very much time, does it? As I say, I don't know what the specific years are in which these changes were implemented.

By the way, I have a friend who says she misses the church of her youth in the Latin Church, when she and her family fasted from midnight, and she had a sense of both the discipline and the mystery involved in the whole thing.

Herb,

Thanks for the information. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a complete liturgical calendar on the 'net that outlines year-round fasting guidelines for Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.

C of S,

I believe that many who attend the Tridentine Mass do indeed submit to the pre-V2 fasting rules of the Latin rite. I am almost positive that the very few parishes in North America (one is actually just 45 minutes away from me) that are fully Tridentine parishes in full communion with Rome follow the pre-V2 fasting rules.

ChristTeen287

These fasting rules changed even before Vatican II- It was Pius XII who allowed the mitigation of the Midnight Fast to 3 hours and the Dialogue Mass etc etc.

Brian in Sac

Thanks, Brian.

When was the fasting rule changed from three hours to one hour, or has it been officially changed?

I love many things about both Western and Eastern Catholicism, but one thing that "turns me off" about Roman Catholicism is an overriding mentality that many of them have to "do the bare minimum."

ChristTeen287

Yes, indeed and it is one of the reasons Orthodoxy tends to turn its nose up at the idea of reunion.

Dan Lauffer

Yes, but perhaps you and others will be inspiring in that you will not be doing the 'minimum,' and in any case, you won't be basing your decision, I would think, on what individual parishes do or don't do ... Surely there will always be some annoying things about any place ...

Dan,

Well they can jump right of their high horse if they think everyone in Orthodoxy is perfect. But, in all fairness, I must admit that it seems that faithful Orthodox do more than faithful Roman Catholics.

C of S,

Actually, part of the reason I am considering entering the Latin Church is because so many of them do the bare minimum. If all the good people leave, then the Latin Church will be left full of liberals and the like, even more so than today. Also, if I enter the Latin Church maybe I can encourage some others to change things around too. (I know all this sounds like I'm saying I'm Mr. Holy, but I don't mean to imply that at all, I just can't think of another way to phrase it).

ChristTeen287

Dear ChristTeen,
Thanks for your reply. I might have missed it before, but are you deciding between Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin, or, are you also considering Orthodox churches that aren't in communion with Rome -- just curious.