All Copts are expected to fast following a prescribed set of guidelines. Dispensation is however granted under special circumstances, such as pregnancy and sickness. Observance of the fasting periods is very strict in the Coptic community.
The major fasting periods during the ecclesiastical calendar year are:
The Fast of the Nativity or Advent = 40 days
Preceding the Nativity of Christ (Christmas) on January 7. The 40 days correspond to the 40 days that the Prophet Moses fasted on the mountain, before receiving the Ten Commandments from God.
The people who are fasting are allowed to eat vegan food and fish.
The people who are fasting are allowed to eat vegan food and fish.
The Fast of Jonah = 3 days
|
It commemorates the three days that Jonah the prophet fasted while in the belly of the whale. For Christians, these 3 days are a direct parallel of and a prophecy about the three days that Christ spent in the tomb. The fast of Jonah begins on a Monday, two weeks before the Monday that marks the beginning of the Great Lent.
The Fast of Great Lent = 40 days
40 days, which correspond to the 40 days that Christ fasted on the mountain. It precedes Palm Sunday, and the Holy Week, which precede Easter. The seven days of the Holy Week is also a period of rigorous fasting.
There are an additional seven days of fasting before the beginning of the Great Lent, which serve as a preparatory period. Often called "Pre-Lenten Fast" or "Preparatory Week". It is, however, not a part of the fast of the Great Lent.
The Fast of the Holy Week - The Holy Pascha - Passion Week = 7 days
It is to be noted that in the early Church, since they are not related to each other dogmatically, the Great Lent Fast and the Holy Week Fast were fasted separately. It was later in the Church history, when the Fathers of the Church saw it as spiritually beneficial to join then concurrently, and later added the Preparatory week to enable the faithful to prepare themselves spiritually and bodily to experience the benefits of the fasts.
The Fast of the Apostles = 15 to 59 days
It begins on the Monday following the Sunday of Pentecost and extends to the feast day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul on July 12. This fasting period commemorates the struggles of the holy apostles to preach Christianity to the world. Its length varies yearly depending on the date of Easter, which in turn determines the date of Pentecost.
The people who are fasting are allowed to eat vegan food and fish.
The Fast of the Virgin Mary = 15 days
Precedes the feast of The Virgin Mary. This fasting period is fasted to ask for the intercessions of the Virgin Mary. It begins on August 7 and ends on August 22.
The people who are fasting are allowed to eat vegan food and fish.
Weekly Fasts
Coptic also fast every Wednesday in commemoration of Christ's betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and every Friday in commemoration of his crucifixion. Exceptions are the Wednesdays and Fridays between Easter and Pentecost, the 50-day period of joy during which fasting is not permitted.
The Paramon Fasts
The day or days preceding the Feast of the Nativity and the Feast of Theophany is/are a fast day(s) in preparation for the Feast day.
No comments:
Post a Comment