Questions
Copy these questions into an email, provide brief answers, and send to Fr Charles who will comment on them. After you have received you comments, then you can go onto the next lesson.
Questions for Lesson 11: Fasting in Orthodox Tradition
Fasting in Orthodoxy is not about food rules or self-punishment, but a spiritual discipline that strengthens the will, heals the passions, and restores inner freedom. Rooted in Scripture and Holy Tradition, fasting works together with prayer and repentance to open the heart to God’s grace. This chapter explores fasting as ascetic medicine—helping believers grow in watchfulness, humility, and synergy with God on the path toward theosis.
I. Purpose of Fasting
1. What is fasting in Orthodox Christianity, and why is it understood as a spiritual discipline rather than a virtue or a form of punishment?
2. How does fasting help strengthen the will and reorient both body and soul toward God?
II. Fasting and Spiritual Warfare
3. Why do the Church Fathers teach that controlling hunger helps us gain mastery over other passions?
4. How does fasting participate in spiritual warfare by weakening ego-centered desires and strengthening watchfulness of the heart?
III. Healing the Passions
5. How do habits, emotions, and automatic responses influence our actions, and how does fasting help retrain both soul and mind?
6. Why must fasting always be joined with prayer and repentance in order to bear spiritual fruit?
IV. Biblical and Church Witness
7. How do Scripture, the Apostles, and the Church Fathers show fasting as a normal and essential part of Christian life?
8. Why does the Orthodox Church provide common fasting rhythms (Wednesdays, Fridays, Lent, etc.), and how does obedience to this pattern help us grow spiritually?
V. Practicing Fasting with the Right Spirit
9. Why does Christ warn against fasting for outward appearance, and what inner attitude should accompany fasting?
10. Why is fasting not primarily about health or food choices, and what must always remain our spiritual focus?
VI. Fasting and Theosis
11. How does fasting support repentance, humility, and synergy with God’s grace on our journey toward union with Him?
12. What small, practical steps can you take to begin or deepen fasting as part of your Orthodox way of life?
Integrative Reflection Question
13. How does understanding fasting as spiritual healing—strengthening the will, purifying the passions, and opening the heart to grace—reshape your view of discipline, freedom, and growth in Christ?