Ukrainian Orthodoxy		Orthodoxie ukrainienne

A Great, Fast Approach to Environmental Protection
Environmentalism is all the rage these days and with good reason. We have come to realize just how intimately we really are connected to nature and how dependent we are on the air we breathe, the quality of the food we eat and our relationship to the plant and animal worlds. The Great Fast is a time when all this is brought home to us in a special way.

The Orthodox Version of "Fast Food": A Quick Byte of History
Those who are making a commitment to experience the spiritual rejuvenation that is offered us by the Church in the keeping of the Great and Holy Fast should also realize that they walk a path that has been trodden by millions before us.

The Fast of the Apostles: On being sent into the world
Is the Orthodox Church serious - another fast so soon after the Great Fast? Why do the Apostles require us to deprive ourselves of food? What is the significance of this period of preparation? What are we preparing for?

What's in a name? Orthodox vs. Unorthodox Terms
"Words, words, words," cried Shakespeare's Hamlet when asked what he was reading. Words are important, the way we use them and what they mean can be critical as any lawyer or legislator will tell us. So when some use the word "Lent," and others say "the Great and Holy Fast," aren't these two different ways of defining the same thing? Well, no actually. Let's take a closer look.

Lent and Today's Christian
Lent is just around the corner. It will be on us before we know it. But some people want to know what is the big deal about the Great Fast?

Mardi Gras and Lent:  Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!
Western Christianity begins its Lent in the middle of the first week on Ash Wednesday.  The day before is called "Mardi Gras" or "Fat Tuesday" (some call it "Pancake Tuesday") and the week leading up to this is "Carnival" which, in some places, is quite the orgiastic party.

A question from a visitor: How should our spiritual life be different during Lent? Could you provide some practical advice? See answer

Crossing the Threshold: The Tree of Life and Its Fruit
The Orthodox Holy and Great Fast has nothing to do with gloomy attitudes toward the body and self-deprecation through depriving our basic appetites of what they need.  In fact, it is about the celebration of the victory in our lives that God brings us in our Lord Jesus Christ.  The joy of victory is the repeated punctuation mark of the Fast.

A question from a visitor Would you kindly breakdown the fasting during Lent. I would like my family this year to observe the fasting laws but need to prepare so that we can.
Your help would be appreciated. My husband is Orthodox and I was raised a Ukrainian Byzantine Catholic. There are so many similarities but I would like this to be a special Lenten Season for my family. See answer

Hunger for Righteousness' Sake: A "how to" of fasting Fasting is one of those things that we all take for granted, even though we really shouldn't. Recently, I conducted a poll among individuals in my own immediate family, asking them to define what fasting actually is all about. The result was that every person seemed to have his or her own private definition in terms of what it is and how to do it. But how does the Church understand the rules of fasting? How do we truly fast?

The Olympics and the Great Fast: A comparison of training and judging techniques It has been a while since we've had an Olympic Games that hasn't been as controversial - and exciting - as the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Yet despite charges of corruption and scandal, unfairness and favoritism, the Olympics continue to mesmerize us. At the centre, of course, are the Olympic champions who stand in an age-old tradition that embraces both ancient Greece and . . . Christianity!

Reaching out to touch someone: Prayer and fasting as social ministry
The Great Fast is a time when we, as Christians, "plug in" to the well-springs of the Holy Spirit. With Christ, we too enter the desert to be alone with God. Prayer and fasting, along with charitable deeds, are the key elements of our spiritual training. At the same time, these should not be so much "inward looking," as they should be tools we can use to touch the lives of others in Christ - but how so?

Prayer and the Great Fast: A "how to" of praise and worship Prayer is another aspect of Christian spirituality that is often taken for granted. What we mean by "prayer" is often the recitation of some learned formulas either as a group, in Church or alone. We often have an idea that we are paying tribute to God by way of responsibility to do so. But prayer is much more than this. If prayer to our soul is like breathing to our bodies, the time of the Great Fast is as good as any to review how we spiritually inhale . . .

A Visitor's Question on the Number of days in Great Lent See answer

Spiritual Treasury of the Great Fast: The Prayer of St Ephrem the Syrian The time of the Great Fast (aka "Lent") is a time for self-renewal in accordance with the rules of the Church with respect to fasting and her great prayer traditions that help us enter into the spirit of repentance ever more deeply. One such pearl of great price is the short and oft-repeated prayer of St Ephrem. Let's have a look at it up close . . .

WHY ARE WE HERE?  Once again we stand upon the threshold of Great Lent. It is not necessarily a comfortable place to be. For we have gotten used to being lax in our living out of the gift and call we received at Baptism: to be Jesus to the world around us. And now Lent has come by again to trouble us – to challenge us, to recall our mission. Shall we try? Perhaps we can begin by looking at who Jesus was when He walked among us.

Why do the Roman Catholics and Episcopalians receive ashes on Ash Wednesday and the Orthodoxs which I am of the Greek Orthodox faith do not. See answer

Could you please instruct me specifically as to how to fast these fourty days? What days are meals allowed? Is dairy food or fish allowed? What about > wine, olive oil, and octypus? See answer

A visitor's question concerning conception during the Great Fast. See answer

[ Home ] [ Articles ] [ Prayer ] [ Saints ] [ Theophilus ] [ Q & A ] [About Us] [ ]