March 9 martyrs and the release of oil and wine. What is the meaning of the covenants of Great Lent?

The Easter Fast, the most severe of the fasts of the year, also has several days of rest for the weakness of the human body and in honor of the days on which great holidays take place.

The fast days on which it is suggested to indulge in oil and wine are those days when you can cook with oil and wine or drink a glass of wine after your meal if you wish. Untying is performed only on certain days, such as every Saturday and Sunday during Easter Lent, after the Holy Liturgy, on the feast of the 40 martyrs, March 9, on the Annunciation, March 25, but only if it is on Thursday, Friday or Saturday of Holy Week, and not this year, when it falls on Saturday, and only the tying of the fish is done.

During the year, it is still permitted to cook with oil and wine or drink wine on February 24, when the Finding of the Head of John the Baptist is celebrated, and during the Nativity Fast, November 23 and 30, as well as December 4, 5, 6, 9, 16 and 20 , if they fall on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, during major holidays.

Why should you not consume oil and wine during Lent?

Among the foods that we all know to exclude from the diet during fasting are butter and wine. Few people take into account the ban on consuming them during fasting on the grounds that they are also of plant origin. Priest Andrei Atudori explained why the rule for excluding them was introduced in a response to Slavoslovie.ro: “Oil is a vegetable product, but fasting without oil is not related to the origin of the oil, but to the fact that eating cooked food without oil is a great need . In general, food cooked with oil tastes better than without it.

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The monastic fathers and some laymen add to this the urge to eat without oil during fasting, so as not to sweeten their senses with the good taste of food. That is, do not turn food into pleasure in itself, but use it only in order to maintain the functions of the body and that’s all.”

What you need to know about Lent

This year, Lent began on February 20 and will end on April 16, when the Resurrection of the Lord will be celebrated. It is held in memory of the Savior's sacrifice and His Resurrection, as well as the 40-day fast that Jesus observed before the temptation on Mount Carantania. During these seven weeks, no weddings, christenings, parties, singing or dancing are allowed.

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Those who have the strength can fast every Wednesday and Friday, and in the first two days of fasting and in the last week, Holy Week, they can eat only bread and water, once a day, in the evening. On the remaining days of the usual fast, they refuse cheese, dairy and meat, and on Christmas Eve they fast until the evening, when they can eat pretzels, fruits, boiled wheat, sweetened with honey.

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Church canons offer fasting to children under seven years of age because they are pure in soul, to pregnant women, for the strengthening and health of infants, as well as the sick.

Fasting involves more than just abstaining from food

In addition to fasting from the mouth (meat, eggs, dairy products, cheeses), it is necessary to care for the soul through prayer, caring for one’s neighbor, and reconciliation with all one’s friends. Since fasting means not only abstinence from food of animal origin, those who observe it, but also those who have indulgence, need to be abstinent in everything, pray more and do good deeds through alms, forgiveness of those who are angry, avoidance of anger, quarrels, abandonment of small pleasures. All of them are designed to remind us of the passion of the Savior.

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