His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is the Archbishop of Constantinople, and Ecumenical Patriarch, and thus "first among equals" in the Eastern Orthodox Church, since November 2, 1991. His most recent book,
Encountering the Mystery: Understanding Orthodox Christianity Today, was published in 2008 by Doubleday. The way of fasting is one of the many subjects he covers in this book, and I would like to summarize his thoughts on the subject. My own commentary is in
italics.
The first mention of fasting is in the forward of the book, by Most Rev. Dr. Kallistos Ware of Diokleia, under the subject of freedom. Freedom, referencing Patriarch Bartholomew, is a gift as well as a task acquired through spiritual effort, and as such freedom presupposes a dynamic ascetic discipline. Thus, fasting is to assist us in recovering freedom. That is, to be free is not simply to do whatever we please. Rather, true freedom for human beings is found in obedience. Freedom must be understood within the context of human anthropology. God is free, and because we are created in His image, humans are free, but unlike God’s freedom, human freedom is restricted by sin. Thus, fasting is a spiritual exercise in freedom.
Further in the forward Ware comments on prayer. Prayer is a “relationship word” and is dialogical in character. He mentions that the goal of prayer is not only to speak, but equally to listen. In fasting, the physical is rendered personal. That is, fasting gets the body to listen and not just to give in to its passions. Our bodily needs are transformed into a mystery of sharing, where communion and community are restored with God and with others. Thus fasting is grounded in the theology of relationship, encounter, and communion.
In the chapter titled Spirituality and Sacraments: Prayer and the Spiritual Life, as well as other places, Patriarch Bartholomew fleshes out the Orthodox way of fasting. He explains that fasting is to refine the whole person, body and soul, material and immaterial together, where the spiritual senses are refined to understand where our heart should be. It signifies not allowing worldly values or self-centeredness to distract us from what is most essential in our relationship with God, with others, and with the world.
Fasting is limiting one’s self in order to overcome self-sufficiency, and so when one practices the sacrifice involved in fasting, they recognize the want of others. It also forces one to make the distinction between needs and wants. So, when we fast we are not punishing ourselves, but are able to reserve proper value for our bodily needs. It is liberation from the stress and anguish that result from the desire to have more, so fasting frees us from greed and compulsion as it corrects our selfish want and careless waste.
Through fasting we also better appreciate the reality of suffering and sharing. It forces us to focus on what really matters by prioritizing what we should value, and acquiring an attitude of responsiveness and responsibility. When we learn what to let go of, we recognize what we should hold on to. Thus, it is not a renouncing of the world, but an embracing of it from a sacramental perspective. That is, it is an expression of love and compassion. It removes oneself from the center in order to serve others. It is learning to give, not simply to give up. When there is a self-emptying, the result is self-fulfillment. Ideally, fasting should characterize our words, actions, and relationships.
Lastly, fasting is not an individual whim or at will decision. It should be made within the contours of spiritual laws, ecclesiastical canons, and within the church community of traditional practices. According to the Ecumenical Patriarch, the way of fasting in the Orthodox Church, as with every ascetic discipline, is not done alone. To fast is to fast with and for others. It is done together and at set times. It is a reminder that everything the Church does relates to either the well-being or the wounding of others. Thus, the goal of fasting is encounter or mystery; a means to the way of the Cross.
1) Referring to the idea of freedom as obedience, some will say that there is a contradiction here. Obedience implies rules or laws which are seen by many as confining, thus restricting our freedom. Again, the body’s freedom is not to give in to all of its desires. That would be hedonism which, contrary to some belief, is not the fullest expression of freedom. Freedom is being able to exercise control, to be under obedience, but not obedience to an arbitrary law. Nor is it obedience for the sake of obedience. Bartholomew is not talking about a deontological view of morality where we obey a law out of mere duty. As Bartholomew says, genuine freedom is obeying the will of God as free beings made in His image, and so fasting within the realm of obedience takes on a purposeful connotation, keeps us from becoming slaves (not free) to our physical passions. Fasting only makes sense within this context.2) Fasting is not a mere spiritual discipline to be practiced by an individual for their own personal and individual growth, between that person and God, apart from the community, which is how I previously believed and understood it to be.
3) I was reminded of the verse, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” – Matthew 6:21
