Minimum requirements for posts
According to the decision of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, we have received the minimum requirements that we must observe during fasting.
Refrain from eating meat on all Fridays of the year, except:
- Christ's or Virgin's holidays, which fall on Fridays or on the so-called general days (a time when we are not obliged to fast). Common are:
- The time between Christmas and Epiphany
- The time between the Sunday of the publican and the Pharisee and the Sunday of the Prodigal Son
- The time between Easter (Sunday) and St. Thomas' Sunday
- The time between Pentecost and the following Sunday (All Saints).
- Refrain from eating meat and dairy products on the first day of Great Lent and Good Friday.
- Refrain from eating meat (dairy is allowed), depending on local traditions, on the following days:
- Christmas Eve (December 24/January 6) and Epiphany (January 5/January 18)
- Exaltation of the Cross (September 14/September 27)
- Beheading of John the Baptist (August 29/September 11).
- Christ's or Virgin's holidays, which fall on Fridays or on the so-called general days (a time when we are not obliged to fast). Common are:
Other traditional posts:
While the fasting requirements listed above are indeed the minimum for Greek Catholics, the church also encourages us Eastern Christians to observe the following fasts:
- Great Lent: begins 40 days before April Fool's Day, on the Monday after Forgiveness Sunday and lasts until the Friday before April Fool's Day. Holy Week is a special week that commemorates the Lord's Passion and lasts from the evening of Palm Sunday to Holy Saturday inclusively.
- The Petrivka fast: begins on the Monday after the feast of the Equal-to-the-Apostles Peter and Paul (the Sunday after Pentecost) and lasts until June 29 (July 12), the day of the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. This fast has a different duration, depending on the date on which Easter falls.
- Assumption fast: begins before the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on August 1 (14) and lasts until the eve of the feast on August 15 (28).
- Pylypivka: begins before Christmas on November 15 (28) and lasts until Christmas Eve on December 24 (January 6).
Holidays
Excerpt from the book "Our Easter Pilgrimage" by the Most Reverend Bishop Vasyl Losten:
Saturdays, Sundays and major liturgical holidays are not fasting days according to our tradition; The Typicon prescribes celebrating the full Eucharist on these days, and the services do not have the signs of fasting that are present on weekdays during Great Lent. This does not mean that we should not abstain on holidays, but such abstinence is not strict. Even during Lent, Sunday dinner should be a joyful family event.
Food is a beautiful gift from God. We do not give up on him; fasting is not a sign of disdain for food. On the bright holiday of Easter, we celebrate the food that we will share, and we all probably know from experience that nothing tastes as good as our holy Easter after fasting! There is a time for everything - a time to fast and a time to celebrate. If we fast properly, our feast will be even tastier. Both fasting and celebration at the appropriate time should teach us to know the Lord through His Creation.