|
“When you fast, do not be like the hypocrites with their gloomy faces… when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that people may not see that you are fasting. Only your Father who is in secret will see, and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.” Mt. 6:16-18
Way of Fasting Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
Fasting is another way of rejecting the split between heaven and earth. It is a way of recognizing the catastrophic results when reality is by false spirituality. The early ascetics deeply valued fasting. So, too, do contemporary monastics. Indeed, even lay Orthodox Christians endeavor to meet the requirements of fasting, by abstaining from dairy and meat products almost half of the entire year. Perhaps this in itself is an unconscious effort to reconcile one half of the year with the other, secular time with the sacred time of eternity.
more...
"The undefiled beauty of fasting is the pure mother of character. It causes philosophy to gush forth, and offers a crown. It negotiates Paradise for us and grants a paternal family for those who fast. Of this Adam was deprived, and he attracted death when he dishonored the worth of fasting. For at the time when it was treated scornfully, the God of all, the Creator and Master, was at once displeased. To those who honor it, He grants eternal life." -Hymn of St. Romanos, on fasting
Is Lent Still Relevant in the Age of Technology? Joseph H. Kouyoumjian
In this Technological Age, human accomplishments appear dazzling. Looking back across our understanding of history, we sense that we are making progress and figuring out how the world works.
more...
|
Lenten Cookbook
Find a selection of Lenten Recipes here, and please check back occasionally for updates and additions!
more...
Helpful Lenten links:
15 Favorite Lenten recipes: http://greekfood.about.com/od/guiderecommendations/tp/lenten_favorites.htm
more...
Why We Fast From Olive Oil and Not From Olives By Dr. Ioannis Fountoulis - translated by John Sanidopoulos Mar-21-2011
It is true that we often hear this question from well-meaning believers and more than a few who view the fasts as an irony....
more...
 | Humus & Humility is a donation-based online exhibition illustrating the beautiful relationship of Orthodoxy and the environment. Through photographs of gardens
and the landscape surrounding monasteries on the Mount Athos peninsula and
texts from Orthodox bishops we hope to inform and inspire humanity of the
importance of caring for the natural environment.
|
|
