The calendar of the Christian church is filled with fasting periods. The fasting periods mean that one abstains from all animal products and only eats food that is vegan (with an exception for fish in the Syriac Orthodox Church). From a spiritual viewpoint, one fasts from all sinful deeds in speech, thought, and action. The fast is a period of recreation [spiritual renewal], prayer, and abstinence.
To understand the connection between almsgiving and the fast’s abstinence from food—which is an important connection in the Christian life—here follow some excerpts from the Bible on how the Christian should conduct themselves during the fast.
Fasting & The Bible
"Prayer is good with fasting and alms and righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than much with unrighteousness. It is better to give alms than to lay up gold: for alms delivereth from death, and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life." (Tobit 12:8-9)
In the Book of Tobit, we can read about how the angel Raphael spoke to Tobit. Summarized, it deals with the three foundations of faith: fasting, prayer, and charity. These are the duties through which the believer who performs them is saved from sin, receives the forgiveness of sins, and wins eternal life. The believer is then likened to the wise man Jesus spoke of in the Gospel of Matthew:
"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." (Matthew 7:24–25).
This man’s wisdom and insight consisted in the fact that he fulfilled his Lord’s commandments in action. It was not enough for him to just be a believer and follower, but he translated his faith into action. Let us repeat:
"It is better to give alms than to lay up gold, for alms delivereth from death and shall purge away all sin. Those that exercise alms and righteousness shall be filled with life." (Tobit 12:8-9).
The Great Fast [Lent], which starts 50 days before Easter, provides in this way an excellent opportunity to test our souls' convictions. It is a time to abstain from vices and devote oneself to virtues. "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life" (John 6:27).
During the fast, the believers abstain from eating animal products. In this way, their hearts beat a beat of holiness and they grow in strength by subjecting the body to the spirit:
"For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish" (Galatians 5:17) says the Apostle Paul.
This great fast before Easter is also called the 40-day fast. It is not known when this fast was established in the Church, but it has its foundation in the 40 days that Moses and Elijah fasted, just as our Lord Jesus Christ fasted in the desert for 40 days to then be put to the test by the devil (Matt 4:1–11).
The fast has been extended to 48 days (7 weeks). The added week is the Holy Week [Passion Week] which is fasted in memory of Jesus' passion, that is, His suffering and humility. St. Ephrem the Syrian, who died in the year 373, has mentioned the church's 40-day fast in his hymns, which is why it must have existed earlier than that. At a church council in Laodicea in the year 364, a number of rules for the fast were established, such as that no communion masses should be held on Wednesdays and Fridays except for the Wednesday that falls in the middle of the fast. This Wednesday is now celebrated with the commemoration of the Holy Cross, King Abgar the Black, and the Syriac–Aramean martyrs who lost their lives during the genocide of 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.
Through fasting, believers can avoid the body's desires and instead focus on the inner will. God has in truth instituted the fast. He commanded it to the first human. When he broke this commandment, he fell into sin. After having been so close to God, man was driven far away from Him. He hid himself from God’s holy face and could no longer look upon Him (Gen 3:8) because he had broken God’s word and not kept the fast he was recommended. To please God, our forefathers and the prophets fasted in many different ways.
God commanded Moses to sanctify himself through fasting and thus the people sanctified themselves together with him before they came to Mount Sinai to receive the 10 commandments (Exodus 19:1-25). Moses fasted forty days and forty nights (Exodus 34:28). He found grace in God’s eyes and became worthy to see His glory (Exodus 33:13 and 18) and he brought down God’s law to the people. The Prophet Elijah fasted forty days and forty nights (1 Kings 19:8) and triumphed over the heathen priests and got the people to follow the law. The Prophet Daniel’s fast lasted for three weeks during which he did not eat meat or drink wine (Daniel 10:2). He was able, through his fast, to close the lions' mouths so they could not harm him. The people of Nineveh fasted with their children and livestock (Jonah 3:7). It ended with God accepting their conversion and their city was saved from ruin.
The forefathers and the good prophets practiced the virtue of fasting as a way to please God and to avoid sins, especially in times of crisis and temptation. Jesus taught us to fast; He fasted for us for forty days and forty nights and finally He became hungry (Matthew 4:2) and was tempted by Satan. He defeated Satan and gave us the secret to triumphing over the power of sin by saying: "This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21). When Jesus was asked why his disciples ignored the fast – as their enemies claimed – He answered them that His disciples would fast when He had been taken up to heaven: "But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast" (Matthew 9:15). In another place, Jesus describes the pure fast by saying: "When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do" (Matthew 6:16).
The Church and Fasting
Furthermore, we learn from the Acts of the Apostles that the disciples fasted, especially before they chose a leader or during times of persecution, war, and plagues. Paul fasted constantly (2 Corinthians 6:5; 11:27 and Acts 27:33). The disciples taught the believers to fast. The Church learned from them and commanded the fast. Church history shows that Christians fasted the Great Fast from the beginning of Christianity, together with Passion Week and a weekly fast every Wednesday and Friday. The Church’s laws punished priests and believers who broke the fast. For the elderly, children, the sick, menstruating and pregnant women, exceptions were made; these exceptions were not some form of luxury, but a necessity. Saturdays and Sundays are not complete fast days because the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on these days; after Communion, those who are fasting break their fast and eat.
To sanctify Sunday, a fast never begins in the Syriac Orthodox Church on a Sunday; if a fast were to fall on a Sunday, the fast begins on Monday, the day after, instead. This is out of respect for the Lord’s Day.
The Church does not prescribe what type of food one should eat or avoid on a given day. The purpose of the fast is instead that the believer submits to God’s will through pious exercises and virtues, especially the virtue of obedience by listening to the commandments that God, through the bishops with authority to enact laws, bind and loose them, gives. They enact laws that benefit the believers and that glorify God’s holy name.
Patriarch Elias III (+1932) permitted eating fish during the Great Fast. He also permitted believers in America to only fast the first and last week of the Great Fast, as well as the Wednesdays and Fridays in between. Patriarch Aphrem I (+1957) permitted the same thing for the Syriac Orthodox church in India and shortened the number of fast days in 1946. Later, Patriarch Jakob III (+1980) also permitted priests to only fast the first and last week, as well as Wednesdays and Fridays in between. In 1966 he also permitted festivals, weddings, baptisms, the Divine Liturgy and memorial days that are celebrated to fall on whichever day they may be between the two aforementioned weeks. The Patriarchs' relaxations, which involved a shortening of the fast days in the Great Fast, come as a work of mercy and grace for the believers so that they do not break the church's commandments. Those who thus utilize these relaxations do not sin, nor do they go against the church's laws. However, it is not uncommon that believers who are able, fast according to the original fast.
Fasting becomes perfect only when one, besides abstinence from food and drink, also abstains from evil deeds and sins. One fasts from evil imaginations, the tongue from meaningless utterances, and the body from the desires of sin. The wills of the fasting person shall be subordinated to God’s will and thereby the fast becomes accepted by God through the prophet Isaiah’s words:
"Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out... Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am’" (Isaiah 58:6-9).
Compiled from the Patriarch’s Fasting Letter 2013, Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I (+2014).
Table Prayer - Before and after a meal
The table prayer is a short prayer read before and after a meal to bless the food, thank God, and remember His goodness. If a priest is present, he always prays the table prayer before and after the meal. If no priest is present, one often prays the "Lord’s Prayer" together.
Prayer before meal:
Taste and see that the Lord is good! Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Lord, let your care, your fullness, your abundance and your blessings come to this table, which you have set for your servants and worshippers. Pour over it your goodness and your blessings, which never end. Show grace and have mercy on your whole creation, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit, now and always and forever. Our Father, who art in heaven...
The Lord’s Prayer (Fader Vår) Our Father, who art in heaven! Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven; Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.] Amen.
Prayer after meal: Glory be to God for his goodness. Glory be to God for his gifts of grace. Glory be to God who has fed us from his goodness. Glory be to God in whose love we live. Glory be to God, the merciful. May his grace come over us all, through God’s mother Mary and all the saints' prayers, forever and ever. Amen.
Food and Patron Saints
In the Christian tradition, regardless of church orientation, feast days are most often celebrated with divine services in the churches. Many countries, cities, and villages in different parts of the world are often associated with specific saints who have a connection to the place and the area. Some saints function as patron saints for certain professions, others for certain illnesses. Often saints are associated with something that touched their martyrdom or life.
Syriac–Arameans in general revere their saints highly as they have been spiritual protectors during difficult periods. By distributing food and sweets in connection with the saint's memorial day, one wishes to revere the saint. The food is usually distributed in connection with the church coffee after the service to all who participated in the Divine Liturgy.
Among Syriac–Arameans, for example, the Virgin Mary is strongly associated with the city of Beth Zabday (Azech, Idil) in southeastern Turkey due to the apparitions in connection with the genocide in the year 1915, but also with the village of Hah (Anıtlı). St. Kyriakos is associated with the villages of Arnas (Bağlarbaşı) and Kferburan (Dargeçit), while St. Malke is associated with the town of Arkah (Üçköy). The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste are revered primarily by Syriac–Arameans from the city of Mardin, while St. Gabriel is celebrated by all Syriac–Arameans from all over Turkey. Syriac–Arameans from Iraq and above all the city of Mosul celebrate St. Matta and have one of the world's oldest monasteries dedicated to this saint.
In connection with the expulsion of the Christian Syriac–Aramean group from the Middle East, and then primarily from Turkey, many of the cities were emptied of inhabitants and their churches stood empty. In Europe and the USA, Syriac–Arameans have again built and established many new churches that have been given their names after the many saints who were revered back in the homeland.
Different saints are associated with different types of dishes or fruits because the season played a large role in the access to goods. In connection with the Assumption of the Virgin Mary to heaven, which is celebrated annually on August 15, it is grapes and bread that the day is associated with. The holy St. Aho, who is celebrated on the first Monday after Easter Monday, is celebrated with bulgur, egg omelet, and chicken. During the entire Great Fast (50 days before Easter), one offers bread after the morning prayer.
The traditions vary depending on area and country. What is common to the tradition, however, is the biblical exhortation from the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus says:
"For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink" (Matt 25:35).
To give food to one who hungers is thus a direct biblical exhortation that the Syriac–Aramean ethnic group has strongly embraced. Among Syriac–Arameans from the area in Tur Abdin, it was common occurrence that for a whole year a food ration was distributed to needy families in connection with a death in the family.
Today, food is regularly distributed after the funeral ceremony. Distributing food or sweets in connection with a child being born is still today a very common occurrence.
Even though many of these traditions are still alive among Syriac–Arameans, they have with time changed or adapted to the new conditions the new societies, where Syriac–Arameans live today, have given.
