Orthodox Christians start Lent

The Orthodox Christians have started the Lent, the longest and most important of all fasts, on Monday, March 2, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Lent is the period of preparing for Easter that is often associated with a spiritual travel toward the Passion Week and the Resurrection. The Easter Fast lasts 40 days. It starts officially on Monday, 7 weeks before Easter, after the Sunday when Adam was banished from paradise (it is also called Shrove Sunday) and it ends on Lazarus’s Saturday evening, preceding the Palm Sunday. However, the fast continues the next week, called the Passion Week. The Lent is characterized by renouncing much food, intensifying public and particular prayers, personal improvement and much generosity with those in need. The food that is traditionally forbidden is meat and dairy products, fish, wine and oil. According to some traditions, only olive oil is banned; other traditions ban all vegetal oils. Because canonically the strict fast is stopped on Saturday and Sunday, wine and oil are admitted on these days. If the Annunciation holiday is during Lent, then fish, wine and oil are allowed on that day. Besides the church services, it is considered necessary to pay much attention to the prayers at home. The priests consider fasts without prayer as being “the demons’ fast,” because demons do not eat due to their non-corporal nature, they don’t pray. During the Lent, on week-days (from Monday to Friday), the church urges to fast till evening. That is why the ritual of the Eucharist (Holy Communion) of these days was connected to the evening service, which marks ceasing the fast. This ritual, simple enough at the beginning, was gradually added a bigger solemnity to which several elements of the High Mass were added. The Lent is followed by Holy week, which starts with the Palm Sunday that precedes Easter. Easter will be celebrated on Sunday, April 19, this year.