When does the post end? Fasting before Easter

Lent is cleansing the mind, soul and body from excesses and negative emotions. It is a tireless work on oneself, deliverance from sin. Time for reconciliation and mercy. Reconciliation of pride, vanity, anger, envy. Body and spiritual abstinence, which is designed to prepare a person for repentance.

When the post ends, The need for daily prayers, good deeds, and good relations disappears. After him, the person decides whether there should be piety in his heart. A conscious choice of spirituality is the main goal of Christianity.

What is the post

The church statute explains that the Orthodox fast is for clergymen and monks. If the layman does not have the strength and ability to sustain it all, then one should turn to the priest. He, depending on the state of health and financial situation of a person will make an allowance or allow you to confine yourself to prayers.

Fasting is refraining from taking fast food. It can not be started at will. All days long and one-day posts are timed to memorable dates. Therefore, the charter states when the post ends and begins.

In total there are 4 long periods of abstinence from fast food. Clergymen recommend laymen only to restrain themselves from excess during fasting, and not to bring the organism to a painful state by a strict restriction in food.

The main goal of fasting is purification of the physical and spiritual, the subordination of the body to the spirit. You can allow indulgence in food because of illness. Fasting should not be harmful to health. But daily prayers, modesty and kindness in relationships should last the whole period until the moment when the fasting ends. At the end of abstinence, the Christian himself decides whether to be further benevolent or not.

History of the Post

The history of the origin of the fast began as early as the time of the apostles. They are the witnesses of the life path of the Savior. Apostles testify that before his baptism Christ spent 40 days in the desert. Loneliness, lack of adequate food, thoughts and prayers are the basic moments of the emergence of fasting.

You should know that the Savior was tempted by Satan during his time in the wilderness. He stood the test, giving up bread and power.

In the desire to become like the Savior, a forty-day fast was formed. Later it was timed to Easter - the brightest holiday in Christianity. Passion of Christ with their tragedy and the subsequent heavenly glory gave a special meaning to the entire four-month-old. Fasting before Easter Called the Great. It involves not only a restriction in food, but also in worldly joys.

It is right to start and finish fasting, to pray, to avoid temptations. Concentrate forces and opportunities on spiritual struggle with them.

Fasting before Easter

Over time, a few more memorable dates were added to the fourteenth calendar of the Ecumenical Council.

• Lazarev is Saturday - in honor of the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus.
• The entrance of the Lord to Jerusalem, or Palm Sunday - a solemn entrance to the capital.
• Passionate Week - the judgment, suffering, the martyrdom of Christ.

Therefore, the post lasts 48 days. It begins on the day after the Forgiveness Sunday. Easter is the day when fasting ends. Every year it falls on different dates. This is due to the fact that the calculation of the days of celebration or fasting is determined by the astronomical calendar.

For example, in 2016, on March 14, the Lent will begin. The numbers for 2015 are February 23 (the beginning of the post) and April 12 (Easter holiday).

How to pray during Lent

Fasting is the time that is responsible for the soul. Restriction in food can bring anxiety, irritability. And this is unacceptable during any post. Therefore, much attention should be paid to relationships with loved ones. Avoid quarrels and bad moods. There will be no benefit in abstaining from food if a person is angry or lies. Therefore, good relations with people and charity are so important.

Daily prayers will help keep your soul from evil. You can attend church services. Clergymen recommend that they confine themselves to several prayers, but read them daily, with love for God.

If possible, then add the reading of the akathists, the Psalter, the canons in moderation. If you wish, you can add to them the works of Seraphim of Sarov, John Chrysostom, Augustine the Blessed.

What you can not eat on fast before Easter

The church provides exceptions during fasting. It may not be observed at all or partially sick, traveling, underage children, pregnant and lactating women.

Fasting is not meant to harm health. Therefore, if there are fears, it is necessary to discuss them with the priest, the attending physician. You need to gradually prepare for the post, step by step limiting yourself to food.

Prohibited during the whole fasting products of animal origin (meat, eggs, milk, cottage cheese, sour cream, butter). Baking, sweets, fast food are not allowed.

• A complete refusal of food occurs on the first day, on Pure Thursday, Good Friday.
• Fish are allowed in the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. Fish caviar - in Lazarev Saturday.
• Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dry.
• Tuesday, Thursday - hot, boiled food is allowed 1 time per day (without oil).
• Saturday, Sunday - hot, boiled food 2 times a day with butter and dressings (except for the Great Saturday).

When the Lent ends, Do not throw on a festive treat. This can lead to serious health problems. It is necessary to gradually increase the diet for 2-3 weeks.

Admissible food in the post

It must be remembered that for laymen the rigor of fasting is an optional condition. It is better to devote this time to increased spiritual growth. If health allows, you can adhere to food restrictions throughout the Lent.

Porridges are prepared on water, without adding oil. Vegetables and fruits are allowed for laymen in any form - boiled, baked, stewed. Nuts, honey, beans, dried fruits, greens, jelly, tea, jam. It is permissible during the fast to drink alcohol to 2 glasses to maintain the body - no more.

When the fasting ends, on the morning of Easter, try not to abuse meat, alcohol, baking. It is better to limit one egg a day. Prefer not fresh, but yesterday's pastries. Meat add to the diet for 3 days after fasting, before eating fish.

Limitations during Lent

Fasting before Easter is time for the perfection of one's soul. It is a renunciation of pleasures, excesses in everything. Time of meditations, prayers, loneliness, good deeds. It is necessary to consciously treat the Great Post. Determine your physical and spiritual abilities, do not allow extremes.

It is not recommended to deplete your body with fasting or strengthened prayers. Do not completely abandon it, devoting yourself only to pleasures.

Gradually restrain emotions, pacify the flesh. Avoid anger and irritation. Try to avoid guests (as far as possible). Prohibited during the post the intimate relationship of the spouses. Try to analyze their relationship, make adjustments to improve them. Asking forgiveness and forgiving offenders.

If this is the very first post In life, you need to seek help from your father. He will advise how to start, how to do charity and to overcome pride, how to participate in the liturgy, what prayers to read at home.

Last week before Easter

Holy Week - the last week before Easter. Every day is called great in it. This week is the last days of the Savior's earthly life. His torment, suffering, reflection.

It is not for nothing that the phrase "bear your cross" means not only physical possibilities or weaknesses. It is the awareness of your path, its understanding and acceptance. Not everyone is able to submit to the will of God, many try to avoid their problems or shift them to other people.

For each man his way is prepared. Therefore, the foundations of Christianity are the avoidance of envy, pride, anger, hypocrisy, revenge, vanity. Acceptance of the path, agreement with it is humility, repentance.

In the last week before Easter, you should devote yourself to a strengthened fasting, prayer. And also to restore order in the house. General cleaning will help clean the room of the accumulated negative. Water will wash away negative energy. The purity of the house, body, soul will testify to the approach of the bright holiday of Easter.

The Significance of Lent

It is worthy to bear your cross, your suffering - one of the possibilities of spiritual improvement of a person. Another possibility is helping others. Often behind the illnesses, losses, tests the person does not see weakness of another. The reluctance to help, the refusal of charity bring with it indifference. Therefore, so often in prayers to God, the basic requests for patience, humility, and the power to bear their cross resound.

The last week before Easter is the possibility of realizing what the Savior has endured, what spiritual effort he has made for the sake of people. Therefore the Great post as a whole is not gastronomic restrictions, but pacification of the negative displays. From idleness and idle talk he asks to give up Orthodoxy for this period. Fasting is a call to virtue, a special state of mind and spirit. The significance of Lent is to approach God, his Grace.