Posts in August: Orthodox Calendar

Orthodox people from time immemorial are familiar with fasting. Fasting is not only a restriction in eating, that is, a bodily restriction. It also implies spiritual limitations. It is impossible to imagine a person's body without a soul. Therefore, to say that you can limit yourself to food and at the same time be spiritually unbridled, means not fasting.

How and why to fast

Faith, first of all, lives inside each person. The Lord is in thoughts, deeds, mental torments. If there is no God within a person, then fasting does not make sense. This is not a fad. This is a kind of hardening, a test of spiritual power.

If a person is able to give up everything that can inflame sinful thoughts in him, including from a plentiful meal, he can count on the mercy of God.

Observing posts in August, as in other months, it should be remembered that the body post is first and foremost a refusal of tasty and sweet food. The abundance of lean food should also be neglected. If we talk about spiritual abstinence, then the foreground is the rejection of passionate movements that sweeten low-lying vices and lead to sins.

What is needed and what can not be done in the post?

It is worth refraining from reading secular literature. To use the Internet is better only for business purposes, and the TV should not be included. If this situation is difficult for the fasting person, you can afford to relax.

It will be expressed in the viewing of news feeds and programs. In addition, you can not shield yourself from reading spiritual literature, watching programs and films of spiritual content.

Observing posts in August, you need to pray more. Praying not only in the mornings and evenings, but also in reading the penitential canons. It is in this period that it is worth paying more time to repentance and excommunication from passions.

You can repent at home, before the icon, and in the temple under the epitrachelion. The priest will not only listen, but will also advise on the right path. Talking with him will help to realize the gravity of the perfect deed and will ease the soul.

During the fasting, and throughout the rest of your life, you should do as many good and charitable deeds as you can: help the needy, give alms, make pilgrimage trips, etc.

The most correct outcome of the post will be spiritual growth and the rejection of addictions and passions. If you manage to defeat your flesh, then the soul can prevail over it.

Historical reference

Speaking about the need for fasting, many are asking themselves: what is the post in August? The answer to it will be more than unambiguous. This month, believers, in addition to one-day, expect a long Dormition fast. By its importance and severity, it is equated with the Great Post.

Speaking of its history, it should be noted that the first mention of it dates back to the distant 450 year. They were able to finalize the post much later. This happened in 1166, at the Council of Constantinople.

Saint Simeon of Thessalonica said in 1429 that this post was installed in honor of the Mother of God. After learning about her destiny, she was worried and fasted for all the people, although being a saint, she could not do this. She did no less diligently praying and fasting before moving to another life. That is why people must fast and thereby encourage the Virgin to pray for the whole human race.

The strictness of this post was also noted during the tsarist period. In 1917 it was forbidden in the days of the August post to hold carnivals or entertain themselves with the ideas of buffoons.

The beginning of the post. Honey saved

In the Orthodox faith the supreme positions are occupied by the Lord God and the Mother of God. The Assumption Post in August includes several church holidays. But to begin with, many believers are interested in when the fast begins in August. Since the beginning of the fast is on August 14, it coincides with the feast of the Genesis of the Holy Cross of the Holy Cross.

The holiday takes its roots back to the 9th century, to the city of Constantinople. It was there, in the St. Sophia Cathedral, that there was a cross on which Jesus was crucified. At the end of the summer, Byzantium was affected by various epidemics. In order to somehow smooth the situation, a decision was made on August 1 on the old style (on the 14th - in a new way) to make a cross out of the temple. Everyone could bow before him and thereby gain protection from the misfortune. After this, people went to the rivers and springs for the consecration of the water. Important is the fact that Prince Vladimir on this day baptized Rus.

Nowadays, some call this holiday a honeymoon. On this day, Orthodox people consecrate in the temple jars of honey. This gives additional healing power to an already very useful product. From this day, honey can be consumed as food, and housewives can bake delicious pies with it.

Transfiguration of the Lord and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Orthodox fast in August is short. Its duration is not more than two weeks. The day of graduation will be August 27. In its middle, the Orthodox people will celebrate another holiday. They will become the Transfiguration of the Lord. On this day, August 19, the Lord, praying on the mountain with his three disciples, showed them his divine power.

On this day, parishioners bring apples and grapes to the temple. After consecration they can be eaten. Previously, this can not be done. The Holy Fathers said that the early use of these dishes for food was punishable by a ban on their use throughout August. Mistresses on this day can do pies with apples and grapes. You can brew compotes and jam with fruits of a new crop.

The end of the fast will be the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 28). It is marked by the death of the mother of God. According to the Scriptures, it was on this day that preachers from all over the world gathered in Jerusalem to bid farewell to the Mother of God.

What and how to eat in the post

Talking about how to properly keep posts in August, you need to remember their rigor. Only foods of plant origin are recommended to eat. Under the ban, food of animal origin. More specifically, calendars have meals per day.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the Orthodox church recommends adherence to dry-eating. Boiled products are recommended to be excluded. On Tuesday, you can eat boiled food, while not adding oil to it. On Saturday and Sunday, prepare a meal with a small addition of sunflower oil. Variety of the menu at the weekend will allow a small amount of wine.

On the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, you can allow the fish to be added to the food. On other days, it is forbidden. August 28, the day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, you can eat any food, as the day is not considered lean. It is they who end the multi-day posts in August. And on August 29, parishioners are expected to save the nut tree.