Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center Holy and Glorious Pascha Preparation - Great Lent and Great and Holy Week

Term	Definition	Guidelines	Eat	Drink
Fasting	NOT eating from midnight to noon Eat one meal each day Monday to Friday and Great and Holy Saturday Fasting is NOT done on Saturday and Sunday except for Great and Holy Saturday	When can eat How much can eat	NOT during specific times.	Always.
Abstinence	Abstain from NOT eating certain foods from midnight to midnight NOT drinking certain beverages from midnight to midnight	What can eat	NOT specific foods.	NOT specific beverages.

Fasting
Definition	We CAN	We should NOT
When can eat	Eat from noon to midnight Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.	Eat from midnight to noon Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.
How much can eat	Eat one meal each day Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.	Eat more than one meal Eat in between meals Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.

Abstinence
Eat/Drink	Food/Beverages	We CAN	We should NOT
Eat	"Vegaterian". Plants (fruits, grains, legumes (beans), vegetables, nuts, and fruits, etc.) Invertebrates creatures without a spine /backbone (sponges, hydroids, anemones, jellyfish, gorgonains, sea pen, sea fan, worms, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, sea lily, etc.)	All the time.
	"Vegan". NO Products from a vertebrate creatures with a spine / backbone (mammals, birds, fish, etc.) Milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. ("dairy products" in the United States)	All the time.
	Fish	Saturday and Sunday (NOT on Great and Holy Saturday) Great Feast of the Annunciation Palm Sunday - Shaneeneh	Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.
	Olive oil	Saturday and Sunday (NOT on Great and Holy Saturday), Great Feast of the Annunciation Palm Sunday - Shaneeneh.	Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.
	"Flesh" (skin and meat) Vertebrate which is an animal with a spine / backbone (mammals, birds, fish {tuna, shark, bass, sardines, etc.}, etc.) Shellfish		All the time.
	Products from a vertebrate creatures with a spine / backbone (mammals, birds, fish, etc.) Milk, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc. ("dairy products" in the United States)		All the time.
Drink	Water	All the time.
	Unfermented fruit juice	All the time.
	Wine	Saturday and Sunday (NOT on Great and Holy Saturday) Great Feast of the Annunciation Palm Sunday - Shaneeneh.	Monday to Friday Great and Holy Saturday.
	Alcoholic beverages.		All the time.

Variations in Fasting Guidelines

There are many ways to keep the Great Lent and Great and Holy Week fast. Remember that keeping the spirit of the fast is as important as following the rules of the fast.

Name	Great Lent First week	Great Lent Wednesdays and Fridays	Great and Holy Week
Relaxed	First week	Wednesdays and Fridays	Great and Holy Week
Minimum	First day (Clean Monday)	Fridays	Great and Holy Thursday Great and Holy Friday Great and Holy Saturday

Fasting Guidelines from the Eparchy of Newton (Our Lady of the Annunciation (Al Bisharah) in Roslindale, Massachusetts, United States)

The Eparchy of Newton (Our Lady of the Annunciation (Al Bisharah) in Roslindale, Massachusetts, United States) publishes Fasting Guidelines.

Great Lenten and Great and Holy Week Fasting Period

Great Lent is Forty Days
The 40-day count begins at the beginning of the Vespers of Clean Monday Service of Forgivenesson the evening of the Fourth Sunday of Triodion --Cheese fare / Forgivenessand ends just before the Vespers of Lazarus Saturday on the evening of the Friday after the Fifth Sunday of Lent
Cean Monday is day 1 and the Friday after the 5th Sunday of Great Lent is day 40.
Sundays do count.

Great and Holy Week is six days.
Great and Holy Week begins just before the Vespers of Great and Holy Monday on Palm Sunday- Shaneeneh evening and ends just before the Divine Liturgy of Holy and Glorious Pascha is celebrated on Great and Holy Saturday evening.

Traditions

Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week Melkite Greek Catholic Church Eparchy of Newton

More Information

CyberTypicon by Reverend Father / Abouna Peter Boutros
CyberTypicon lists Fast and Abstinence days.

"CyberTypicon" Definitions by Reverend Father / Abouna Peter Boutros
CyberTypicon has the Fasting and Abstinence rules. Please click on Fast and Abstinence.

Traditions of Great Lent and Holy Week Please click on Fast and Abstinence, Reasons why. Melkite Greek Catholic Church Eparchy of Newton Material prepared by Fr. Philaret Littlefield for inclusion in the St. George Melkite (Byzantine) Greek Catholic Church, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States Sunday Bulletin

Abouna, Why do We Fast? by Fr. Philaret D. Littlefield, Reprinted from Sophia, Volume 31, Number 1, Jan. - Feb. 2001, Melkite Greek Catholic Church Eparchy of Newton

Saint Ignatios of Antioch Melkite Greek Catholic Church Then click on Resources. The first category is Lenten Information.

Everything You Wanted to Know About Lent But Were Afraid to Ask St. George Melkite-Greek Catholic Church, Sacramento, CA

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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center
Martha Liles
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Melkite Greek Catholic Church Information Center is dedicated to my cousins: Bucky (Richard C. Liles) and Shirley (Shirley Jean Liles Buck). Bucky fell asleep in the Lord on Dec. 12, 2000 and Shirley fell asleep in the Lord on Nov. 8, 2001.
O God of all spirits and of all flesh, who have destroyed death, overcome the devil, and given life to the world: grant, O Lord, to the souls of your servants Bucky and Shirley, who has departed from this life, that it may rest in a place of light, in a place of happiness, in a place of peace, where there is no pain, no grief, no sighing. And since You are a gracious God and the Lover of Mankind, forgive him/her every sin he/she has committed by thought, or word, or deed, for there is not a man who lives and does not sin : You alone are without sin, your righteousness is everlasting, and your word is true. You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the repose of your departed servants Bucky and Shirley. O Christ our God, and we send up glory to You, together with your eternal Father and your all-holy, good and life-givng Spirit, now and always and for ages upon ages. Amen.

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