What date does Easter Lent begin? How many days does Lent last before Easter?

Lent in 2018 starts on Monday, February 19th. We'll tell you what you can eat during Lent before Easter according to the monastic rules, and how to eat it correctly.

Lent in Orthodoxy serves as the preparation of the soul for the celebration of Easter, which in 2018 falls on April 8.

According to church regulations, during Lent it is forbidden to eat products of animal origin - meat, milk, eggs, fish. But some days there may be relaxations. The Great Lent Nutrition Calendar, which is published on this page, will help you keep your fast correctly. This is a period of humility of the soul and renunciation of bodily joys.

Orthodoxy has special dietary rules during Lent.

How to eat healthy during Lent - 2018

Lent is considered strict. According to church regulations, during Lent it is forbidden to eat products of animal origin, such as meat, milk, eggs and fish. Accordingly, derivatives from these products, such as sour cream, cottage cheese and others, are also prohibited.

Moreover, according to the strict monastic rules, from Monday to Friday, if there is no holiday on these days, they also do not eat vegetable oil! Refusal of oil is dry eating, that is, eating without “oil,” as the clergy call oil. On Saturdays and Sundays of fasting, vegetable oil is allowed.

During Lent you are allowed to eat fish only twice: on the Annunciation Holy Mother of God and on Palm Sunday. On Lazarus Saturday you can eat caviar.

The strictest fast occurs on the first day of Lent - Clean Monday - and the penultimate day - Good Friday. It is recommended to spend these days without food!

How to properly observe Lent in 2018

When planning to observe Lent, we must remember that the purpose of refusing food is not to harm the body, but only to tame desires. Therefore, fasting is softened in relation to the sick, pregnant and lactating women, as well as travelers - those who undergo additional physical activity during this period.

We must remember that the rules of Lent do not apply to medications because they are not food. For example, if your doctor has prescribed you a special diet that uses butter, milk or eggs, then you should not refuse it while fasting. By eating all these foods, a sick person does not indulge in gluttony, but is healed!

Remember that, according to doctors, Fasting is strictly contraindicated for people with stomach ulcers, gastritis, pancreatitis, cholecystitis, and renal failure. In addition, patients with metabolic disorders, suffering from diseases such as diabetes, pancreatitis, gout, anemia, transition to plant foods can also be dangerous.

Consult with both your doctor and priest, tell them about your spiritual and physical condition and ask for blessings to fast in one form or another.

What you can eat during Lent in 2018 by day: nutrition calendar

February 20 – Tuesday. Refrain from food. For those who have health problems, as well as for the elderly, bread and kvass are allowed on Tuesday after Vespers. You can eat bread with salt and drink water or kvass (optional)

February 21 – Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, herbs, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (one dish to choose from). Dill infusion or decoction of berries/fruits with honey. Food is taken once a day, during the day.

February 24 – Saturday. Baked or boiled food with vegetable oil twice a day. Olives and black olives are acceptable. Allowed in small quantities is grape wine without alcohol and sugar, diluted in hot water, but abstinence from wine is recommended.

February 25 – Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, mostly diluted hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

February 26 – Monday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

February 27 – Tuesday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

February 28 – Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 1 – Thursday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200 g). Once a day, around 15.00. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 2 – Friday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 3 – Saturday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 4 – Sunday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil

March 5 – Monday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 6 – Tuesday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 7 – Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 8 – Thursday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 9 – Friday. Finding the head of John the Baptist (first and second discovery) - Orthodox holiday in honor of the most revered part of the relics of John the Baptist - his head. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 10 – Saturday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 11 – Sunday. The third week of Lent (third Sunday day of fasting) is the Worship of the Cross. On this day, they read traditions, consecrate prosphyra, do not work, visit churches to venerate the cross, reflect on the concept of “carrying one’s cross,” and fast (with the consumption of boiled oil and wine).

March 12 – Monday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 13 – Tuesday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 15 – Thursday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 16 – Friday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 17 – Saturday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 18 – Sunday. Fourth week of Lent (fourth Sunday of fasting). Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 19 – Monday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 20 – Tuesday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 21 – Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 22 – Thursday. Memorial Day of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste. Standing Rev. Mary of Egypt. On Standing Rev. Mary of Egypt - hot food without oil.

March 23 – Friday Dry eating: bread, water, herbs, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs – one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 24 – Saturday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 25 – Sunday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

March 26 – Monday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 27 – Tuesday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 28 – Wednesday. Dry eating: bread, water, greens, raw, dried or soaked vegetables and fruits (for example: raisins, olives, nuts, figs - one of these every time). Once a day, around 15.00.

March 29 – Thursday. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. No oil. Once a day, around 15.00.

March 31 – Saturday. Lazarev Saturday. Fish caviar up to 100 grams is allowed. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

April 1 – Sunday. Sixth week of Lent (sixth Sunday of fasting). Fish is allowed. Hot food that has been cooked, i.e. boiled, baked, etc. With vegetable oil and wine (one bowl 200g) twice a day. Pure grape wine without alcohol and sugar, preferably diluted with hot water. At the same time, abstaining from wine is highly commendable.

So, let's figure out how to fast before Easter in 2017, what you need to do, how to behave correctly, so that fasting will benefit us and not turn out to be another profanity and undermined health.

Every fast is accepted by the church for our good, but in no way should it bring harm. Therefore, before you begin to fast with zeal, like the monks, with the risk of ending up in the hospital, you need to understand for yourself what it is, what it is actually needed for, how to observe it, what result we want to get, and so on.
A good recipe on days when fish is allowed: .

What is fasting

Actually, fasting is abstinence, it is, so to speak, a test of the truth of our faith, proof of our love. These are the efforts that a Christian makes to abstain from sin, to distance himself from passions, destructive habits, evil, condemnation, and so on. And physical fasting is only intended to strengthen the state of prayer, to prevent our flesh from having fun and overeating - otherwise what kind of abstinence is there? The memory should fast from resentment, the mind - from vanity, the tongue - strive to avoid condemnation, the body - from overeating and drinking. In addition, modest food inflames passions, which is why bodily fasting is established in the form of abstaining from animal food. This makes it easier to focus on cleansing the soul. How is that spring-cleaning before the holiday - cleansing all the nooks and crannies of the soul from all dirt, passions and evil thoughts.

During Lent, the main thing is to show love, compassion, be merciful and help your neighbor. All together with prayer and abstinence in food and entertainment. idleness - leads to good result: We greet the bright resurrection of Christ with a pure soul and an equally bright conscience, with joy and reverence.

Where did the post come from?

Actually, the early Christians fasted for only one week before Easter - that week that we call Passion. For 40 days before this, the catechumens, that is, the pagans who were preparing to receive Baptism, fasted. And so Christians, in solidarity with them, also established the same fast for themselves. Because it didn’t turn out very well - a person comes to visit, who was already weak from fasting, as they say, and at the same time you are mashing the meat. Well, what will it look like? Both fasting and prayers for the catechumens were accepted by the church to help him, and were thus enshrined in the church charter.

Fasting in food

Then monasticism introduced its own food regulations, which also took root in the church, it is called the Typikon, and it looks like this:
The first week (that is, the week) they fast most strictly - on the first day they do not eat food at all, on the second or third day they eat dry food.
The next 2 days - you can cook food, but do not add oil; on the weekend you can cook it with butter.
Next week there will be a little relaxation, on the weekend you can have a little grape wine and butter.
On the third (Worship of the Cross) there are also more strict restrictions, then again relaxation, and the last, seventh week, following the example of the first, is also very strict; on Good Friday, according to monastic custom, they do not eat anything until the Shroud is taken out; on Saturday you can have boiled food.

This is what monasticism is all about. The laity must weigh their health, infirmities, the extent of their churching, the severity of their work, and so on. Because if one lifts 50 kg, it’s a piece of cake, but for another, it’s death. Therefore, first of all, you need to consult with a priest, especially for the sick, pregnant, nursing, children and the elderly.
It happens that an old lady comes to visit and says: Father blessed us not to fast, we are old people. And he sits, kneading smoked lard. Well, where is this good? Is it good for old people to eat this kind of food so that the priest will bless it?
You can have this dish for the weekend.

Abstinence of spouses

In some families that began to become churchgoers, let’s keep fasting to the fullest, even serious problems arose when the husband, unable to restrain himself from sin, left. This again is excessive abstinence. Even the Apostle Paul said to separate from spouses during Lent, but in moderation, so that the evil one does not turn away from the path. Everything must be agreed upon by both spouses, and if a woman sees that avoiding marriage is fraught with consequences, she must give in to her husband, for the sake of preserving the family.

The essence of the post

By and large, the essence of the post can be expressed in a few lines:

Avoid everything that is not useful for salvation;
get away from idle talk and entertainment;
remember how Jesus fought temptations for 40 days, and follow him at least in a small way;
It is imperative to begin Communion, without it, the holy fathers say, fasting is just a diet, nothing more;
strengthen the prayer rule.

And also remember the purpose of fasting. It's like a motorist driving on a highway - the point of the trip is not the number of kilometers he will travel, but in reaching the final destination? Likewise, in fasting the goal is to achieve purification of the soul in order to joyfully celebrate Easter.
You can create such a dish for the Annunciation.

Lent is the main fast for Christians, regardless of denomination. Of course, the Russian reader is primarily interested in the Orthodox Lent and its features. Lent in 2017: what date does it start, what date does it end, what can be done on these days and what cannot.

Lent in 2017: what date does it start?

Lent lasts seven weeks leading up to the celebration of Easter. As you know, Easter is a moving date, the date of which is calculated separately for each year. Accordingly, the dates of Lent are different every year.

It should be recalled that the week that precedes Lent is traditionally given over to the celebration of Maslenitsa - in fact, the pagan holiday of the Slavs, which found its place in the official church calendar and feels great in such conditions. In 2017 it will be held from February 20 to 26.

The week before Maslenitsa is preparatory, meat and fish dishes alternate every other day.

In 2017, Lent will last from February 27 to April 15, Easter services will be held on the night of April 16, and Orthodox Christians will celebrate Sunday April 16.

Lent 2017: meals by day

Fasting is associated with abstinence from food and worldly passions; it is a time of prayer and reflection. Limiting yourself in food is not the most important attribute, it is just one of the most noticeable. Giving up food has a specific purpose - it helps cleanse the body and, as a result, the mind, mobilizes the body and makes thinking clearer. Refusal of food is only a means of achieving a certain religious enlightenment, a way of pacifying oneself and one’s natural urges, and developing the will. Abstaining from food should not be an end in itself; this is a limited and initially incorrect view of fasting.

Over the course of many centuries, a certain diet has been developed that everyone who fasts must adhere to. Fasting in the first and last of the seven weeks is particularly strict regarding food. So, on the very first day you cannot eat food at all, on the second day only bread and pure water. Complete abstinence from food is also provided for the last Friday of Lent, which is called Holy.

During Lent there is a complete ban on eating meat and an almost complete ban on eating fish. The emphasis is on food of plant origin. It is permissible to eat fish only on Palm Sunday (a week before Easter), as well as on Annunciation, if it does not fall in the last week of Lent. In 2017, the Annunciation, which is always celebrated on April 7, falls on the penultimate week of Lent, so fish is acceptable on this day. On Lazarus Saturday (Saturday of the sixth week of fasting) a little fish caviar is allowed.

The main principle of the fasting diet is otherwise as follows: on Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the evening you can eat cold food without oil, on Tuesday and Thursday - hot food without oil, also in the evening. On Saturday and Sunday, in addition to hot food, wine is allowed, and you can eat twice a day.

The fasting diet in our country usually consists of dishes prepared on the basis of vegetable and fruit preparations from the previous summer, as well as carrots, cabbage, beets, canned green peas and other legumes, apples, oranges, nuts and dried fruits. There are a huge variety of dishes based on these products. However, you should not get too carried away with tasty and interesting dishes, since, again, this will be a departure from the very idea of ​​fasting. Dishes should be simple and modest.

It is worth reminding those who are just joining Christian faith and is going to observe the necessary fasts, including the Great Fast, which states that first of all the fast should not be external, but internal. It is not enough to adhere to its external attributes, including refusal to eat. It is necessary to restructure your thoughts; it is especially important when fasting not to become proud of your righteousness and not to begin to feel better and superior to those who do not adhere to fasting. It is worth remembering this constantly and you need to catch yourself at the slightest manifestation of such pride and complacency, since such impulses are much worse and more sinful than failure to fast. The feeling of one’s own superiority is nothing more than pride, and it is one of the most terrible human sins that are described by the Christian religion.

The start and end dates of fasting are different every year. They depend on the date of Easter. The duration of Lent is 48 days. It begins on Monday, seven weeks before Easter and ends on Saturday, before this great holiday. In 2019 it lasts from March 11 to April 27 (inclusive).

It consists of two parts - Holy Lent (the first 6 weeks) and Holy Week (the last week - 6 days).

What can you eat during Lent: nutritional rules

Lent is the strictest. The main food products in this period are pickles and jams from vegetables and fruits, onions, carrots, cabbage, beets, legumes, apples, oranges, nuts, dried fruits.

The first week is strictly adhered to strict fasting. On the first day (Clean Monday) you must completely abstain from eating. Then, from Tuesday to Friday, you can eat bread, salt, raw fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, honey, drink water (dry eating is allowed), and on Saturday and Sunday - hot food with butter.

In the second to sixth weeks of fasting, dry eating is prescribed on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, hot food without oil on Tuesday and Thursday, and hot food with butter on Saturday and Sunday.

During Holy Week they adhere to strict fasting. On all days of this week, dry eating is allowed, and on Friday you cannot eat food until the shroud is taken out.

On the church holiday of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (April 7) (if it does not fall on Holy Week) and on Palm Sunday (7 days before Easter) you can eat fish. On Lazarus Saturday (before Palm Sunday) it is allowed to eat fish roe.

IN Orthodox calendar four multi-day fasts are scheduled, preceding the annual ones church holidays. However, the most significant and important period in the life of Orthodox Christians is considered to be Lent, which is designed to awaken repentance in believers and realize their sins. Let's take a closer look at the most important rules that must be observed during Lent, its purpose and the dates on which it will take place in 2017.

When does Lent begin?

This post does not have a clear and unambiguously defined start and end date, since it is directly related to the time of occurrence. The duration of Lent is seven weeks. In 2017, this will be the period from February 27 to April 15, after which Orthodox Christians will joyfully celebrate the holiday of the Holy Resurrection of Christ.

Easter is one of the most joyful Christian holidays, but preparation for this event requires renunciation of worldly vanity and temptations, manifestation of spiritual and physical fortitude, helping the laity to cleanse themselves of sins. The pre-Easter fast is one of the strictest fasts. In addition, this is also one of the oldest fasts - according to some written sources, Christians have adhered to it since the time of the apostles!

By adhering to Lent, believers seem to repeat the feat of Jesus, who renounced food for forty days during his wanderings in the desert. Throughout this entire period, under no circumstances should you allow sad thoughts into your soul, cultivate resentment, or experience envious or angry feelings. This time should be spent in soul-saving prayers, bringing a peaceful state and absolute peace of mind.

Many Orthodox Christians attend evening and morning services during the pre-Easter fast. During this time, the church prohibits loud music, noisy entertainment, laughter and loud conversations, as well as foul language. Important point for young people: you cannot spend the entire Lent!

Great Lent - best time for spiritual and physical cleansing

Features of nutrition during Lent

According to the Typikon (the liturgical charter containing information about church traditions and rituals), during seven weeks of fasting one cannot eat products obtained from animals. That is, modest food in the form of meat, milk, butter, animal fat, eggs and the like is strictly prohibited. The church also includes in the group of forbidden foods alcoholic drinks(except red wine), coffee and tea.

The strictest periods of fasting are the first and seventh weeks. As soon as the first day of fasting arrives - Clean Monday - believers must refuse food and spend this day, renouncing the bustle of the world as much as possible, tuning in for a period of cleansing. The dietary rules that should be followed during Lent can be summarized as follows:

• Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday are characterized by particular severity in comparison with other days. Believers can eat dry food - for example, bread, vegetables, nuts, honey or fruits. Only plain water is allowed to drink. However, you can eat only once a day after sunset;
• Tuesdays and Thursdays are characterized by some relaxation of fasting, since on these days Orthodox Christians can eat hot food, in the preparation of which cereals and vegetables were used. Dishes cannot be seasoned with oil, and you can eat only once a day in the evening;
• On Saturdays and Sundays dishes can be seasoned with vegetable oil. You are also allowed to drink a little red wine twice a day to maintain strength;
• On the Feast of the Annunciation (April 7), Orthodox Christians can diversify the Lenten menu with fish. However, this rule does not apply to days when the holiday falls during Holy Week;
• Palm Sunday also gives the Orthodox a slight relaxation of fasting. You can prepare fish-based dishes;
• Lazarev Saturday allows believers to diversify the Lenten table with fish caviar dishes;
• In a day Good Friday Believers must adhere to especially strict fasting rules, if possible not eating food at all.

Each day of Lent is characterized by certain rules

Traditions and memorable dates of Lent

During the seven weeks during which Lent continues, believers must observe certain traditions and remember the most significant deeds of the holy saints:

• Fedorov's week (first week of fasting) takes place in remembrance of the defenders of the Christian faith. On Saturday, believers honor the memory of the martyr Theodore of Amasea, who, under threats of hunger, torn with iron and burning at the stake, did not break and refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods;
• Second week of fasting takes place in commemoration of Gregory Palamas. This hereditary aristocrat at the age of twenty abandoned brilliant prospects and left the royal court of the rulers of Constantinople to spend his life as a hermit on Mount Athos in the confinement of monasteries and work his way up to the rank of Archbishop of Thessaloniki, Orthodox theologian, polemicist and philosopher;
• Third week of fasting called the Worship of the Cross. At this time, believers worship the Life-Giving Cross;
• Fourth week of fasting is dedicated to the life of John Climacus, who at the age of sixteen went to the mountains of Sinai to become a monk. Subsequently, he lived in the desert as a hermit for another forty years, and then became abbot of the monastery in Sinai. It was John who became the author of the Ladders - spiritual ascetic tablets that are designed to help believers achieve spiritual perfection;
• Fifth week of fasting takes place in commemoration of the life and deeds of the patroness of all repentant sinners - Mary of Egypt;
• Sixth (Palm) week- it's time to remember the events when Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem;
• Seventh week, which ends the post, is called Passionate. This week you need to repent of voluntary or involuntary sins, take communion and cleanse yourself of everything sinful, since during this week Jesus endured cruel torment for the sake of people. Every day of this week is Great, as it was accompanied by the most important biblical events: the Last Supper, the betrayal of Jesus, the execution at Calvary and the miraculous Resurrection. This week, believers should isolate themselves as much as possible from the bustle of the world - do not watch television programs, do not listen to music and stay at home as much as possible.