Christmas Lent begins on November 15. Father Arsenie Boca's advice on the period of abstinence

The Christmas fast begins on November 15 for Orthodox believers and represents for many Romanians a period of spiritual preparation before the Feast of the Nativity. Fasting is also an opportunity to “cleanse” the body, through a plant-based diet.

Vegetables are an important resource for fasting days. Photo: Freepik.com

The Christmas fast lasts 40 days, starting on Friday, Nov. 15, and ending on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, according to church ordinances.

“The Christmas fast reminds us of the long fast of the patriarchs and the righteous in the Old Testament, waiting for the coming of the Messiah – the Savior. According to some interpreters of the Orthodox cult, through its duration of 40 days, this fast also reminds us of the fast of Moses on Mount Sinai, when he was waiting to receive the words of God, the Decalogue (the 10 commandments), written on the stone tablets of the Tablets of the Law”. showed the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

Those who observe this fast avoid the consumption of animal products, replacing them with vegetables, fruits, cereals, legumes and other products considered fasting, which make up a simple diet.

“Like any fast, first of all it must represent an abstinence from the bad things that distance us from God and people. From the point of view of nutrition, the Christmas Fast is easier than that of Easter, with many indulgences in fish, oil and wine. There is indulgence in fish and fish dishes, as well as wine, oil on all Saturdays and Sundays between November 21 and December 16 inclusive. The days with untying are marked, as a rule, in the Orthodox Christian Calendar, either by the mention “untying to the fish”, or by the symbol of a fish”, showed the Archdiocese of Bucharest.

Three great feasts are during Lent: the Entry into the Church of the Mother of God (November 21), Saint Andrew the Apostle (November 30) and Saint Nicholas (December 6).

According to the priests, fasting is also a spiritual exercise meant to prepare the soul for the celebration of the Nativity of the Lord. The Church urges during this period to do good deeds, support the needy and avoid excesses.

Monk Arsenie Boca's advice on fasting

Arsenie Boca (1910–1989), one of the great personalities of Orthodoxy in Romania, led an austere life in which, according to his former close associates, fasting was an essential thing. In his writings, the saintly monk offered some advice on fasting.

“The food should be of one kind, of insignificant dishes that can be found without fuss and that the soul does not crave. Let them eat one kind every day, with restraint. Wine is useful in old age, in weakness and cold, and then a little. And in youth, heat and health, water is better, but even this little, because thirst is better than all bodily desires”. reported Arsenie Boca, quoted in the volume “Cărarea Împărătiei” (2007).

He advised the Romanians to pray more during the fast before the great holidays, considering this a cure for diseases and a spiritual help.

“The eyes see things, the mind sees thoughts. Fasting cleans the eye, prayer cleans the mind. The Holy Fathers, those of old, noticed that all evils begin in the stomach; that's why they said a harsh word, that fasting is the gate and the fourfold is the door (to the Kingdom of God). Whoever does not renounce meat and fat will soon be cornered by anger and debauchery, the other two sides of the gluttony of the stomach,” was one of the tips given by Arsenie Boca.

Former close friends of the monk reported that he kept extremely severe fasts, and the food he prepared was dominated by vegetables, especially grated carrots.

“He ate very little and only vegetables, only for fasting. He slept low on the floor and prayed incessantly, kneeling for hours in prayer“, recounted a former relative of his, in an informative note given to the Security of the communist regime.

Very severe fasts and austere living in a cell in the Făgăraș Mountains, during the first years of his monkhood, led to his illness.

“He was an extremist, he was rigorous and exaggerated in his demands for a clean life, fasting, prayer, self-restraint, spiritualism. His physical structure was not strong: he was always weak, pale, anemic; he got sick from his chest. The doctors forbade him to fast and recommended food and rest.” complete the author of the information.

Fasting, a centuries-old custom, embraced by Romanians

The first mentions of the observance of this period of dietary and physical restraint come from the 4th–5th centuries and referred to the fasting period dedicated primarily to the celebration of the Nativity of God.

Initially, not all Christians fasted in the same way and for the same number of days, but from 1166, the local Synod of Constantinople standardized the duration of this fast in the Orthodox churches, deciding that all believers should fast for 40 days, starting on November 15.

For centuries, Romanians have been recognized for the religiosity with which they fasted before the big holidays. In the 18th century, the scholar Ignaz von Born, stated in his diary during his travels in Transylvania, that the Romanians did not have much religion, but they strictly respected the fasts.

“Besides their repeated fasts which last nearly half a year, and which are so strict that they dare not eat any meat, eggs, or milk, they have scarcely any idea of other religious duties. But this fast they observe with such sanctity, that nothing can make them lighten or break it, even if they disregard all other laws, divine or human. A robber will not allow himself to fight against this abstinence, nor will he disgrace his wife or another for fear that God will no longer bless his deeds”. wrote the scientist.

Francesco Griselini, another famous scholar from the 18th century, claimed that Romanians fasted with great antiquity.

“Not only do they content themselves with bread, greens, and vegetables, but some go so far with self-restraint that they separate themselves from their wives during the fast, and do not even let their blood flow, no matter how serious the disease that threatens them. They still drink wine, beer, and brandy, sometimes even to excess, which has such an influence on the nervous system that it gives them nightmares, dreams, and the like kind of pitiful visions and, in less resistant temperaments, they attract a weakness of the most terrible”. informed the Italian who traveled to Transylvania at that time.