Sermons & Teachings

Why Do Orthodox Christians Fast?

Fasting is not simply a rule about food. It is a spiritual discipline through which we learn obedience, restraint, prayer, repentance, and freedom from the passions.

The Church does not teach that food is evil. Food is God's gift. By temporarily abstaining from certain good things, we learn not to be controlled by every desire that arises within us.

Fasting begins in Paradise

The first lesson in fasting appears in Paradise.

God gave Adam and Eve an abundance of food, but He also gave them one command:

"And the Lord God gave a charge to Adam, saying, Of every tree which is in the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it ye shall not eat, but in whatsoever day ye eat of it, ye shall surely die." — Genesis 2:16–17, Brenton Septuagint

The tree was not evil. Everything God had created was good.

The command gave Adam and Eve the opportunity to live in trust and obedience. They were permitted to receive every other fruit of Paradise, but they were asked to abstain from one.

The first fast was therefore a fast of obedience.

The serpent tempted them to see God's command as a deprivation rather than an expression of His loving care. Their fall was not merely the breaking of a food rule. They placed their own judgment and desire above communion with God.

Fasting teaches us to reverse this movement. It teaches the heart to say: "I will not be governed by every desire. I will place obedience to God above immediate satisfaction."

Christ, the New Adam

At the beginning of His public ministry, Christ entered the wilderness and fasted for forty days.

When the devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread, Christ answered:

"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." — Matthew 4:4, KJV

Adam and Eve stood in a garden filled with food but did not keep the one command given to them. Christ stood hungry in the wilderness and remained perfectly obedient to the Father.

Where the old Adam yielded to temptation, Christ—the New Adam—was victorious.

Saint John Chrysostom describes fasting as:

"...a most powerful shield against the devil." — Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Matthew, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Volume X

We do not fast because food is sinful. We fast because our desires must be restored to their proper place.

Christ teaches us how to fast

The Lord assumes that His disciples will fast, but He warns them not to make fasting a public performance:

"Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance." — Matthew 6:16, KJV

Christ continues:

"But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly." — Matthew 6:17–18, KJV

These words appear in the Sermon on the Mount, together with Christ's teaching on prayer and almsgiving.

We should not advertise our fasting, complain continually, or examine what other people are eating. Fasting should make us humbler, gentler, and more merciful—not proud of our discipline.

The whole person must fast

Saint John Chrysostom teaches:

"...let not the mouth only fast, but also the eye, and the ear, and the feet, and the hands, and all the members of our bodies." — Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on the Statues, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Volume IX

Bodily fasting is important, but it must be joined to fasting from sin.

The mouth must fast from gossip, condemnation, and harsh speech.
The eyes must fast from impurity and envy.
The ears must fast from slander.
The hands must fast from greed and injustice.
The mind must fast from proud and judgmental thoughts.
The heart must fast from hatred and resentment.

A person may abstain carefully from meat while consuming another person through gossip. He may refuse oil while remaining filled with anger. Such fasting has not yet reached the heart.

Fasting, prayer, and mercy

Christ says:

"Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." — Matthew 17:21, KJV

Fasting weakens the tyranny of uncontrolled desire. Prayer turns the heart toward God.

Without prayer, fasting can become only a change of diet. Without mercy, it can become self-centered discipline.

The money saved through simpler meals may be given to someone in need. Hunger may become a reminder to pray. The discomfort of fasting may teach us patience with those around us.

The goal of fasting

Fasting does not earn salvation. Salvation is the gift of Christ.

Fasting trains our will to cooperate with divine grace. It helps us return from self-will to obedience and from slavery to spiritual freedom.

Each time we refuse an unnecessary desire for the sake of Christ, we practice obedience. Each time we remain silent instead of condemning another person, the mouth learns to fast. Each time we join fasting with prayer and mercy, the whole person turns toward God.

Fasting begins with food, but its goal is the healing of the heart.

Sources and further reading

Genesis 2–3, Brenton's 1851 Septuagint translation.
Matthew 4:1–11; Matthew 6:16–18; Matthew 17:14–21, King James Version.
Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Matthew.
Saint John Chrysostom, Homily 3 on the Statues.
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Volumes IX and X.

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