Rule for Life 5 - Fasting

“Rule for Life – Fasting” teaches that fasting and prayer are inseparable disciplines in Christian life, rooted in Christ’s teaching that certain spiritual struggles are overcome only through “prayer and fasting,” and it frames fasting not as punishment but as a therapeutic “medicine” for soul and body that exposes our weaknesses, strengthens reason, and heals the passions—especially gluttony, described by the Fathers as a “gateway” that opens the door to other sins.

 

It critiques a minimalist approach to church fasting rules, urging believers to grow gradually out of love for God beyond bare minimums, and explains that fasting includes restraint not only from certain foods but also from excess in drink, entertainment, social media, and speech. Practically, it outlines the four annual fasting seasons (Great Fast, Apostles’ Fast, Dormition Fast, Nativity Fast), several strict fast days, the traditional “ideal” fast, and three progressive levels of practice that add meal restriction, services, prayer, and charity.

 

The conclusion emphasizes that true fasting must be joined to repentance, purity, obedience, and rejection of evil, and it counsels seeking guidance from a spiritual father because “the fast is for the person, not the person for the fast.”