**Christianity Friday Fasting Practices**:
– Fasting on Fridays is common in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.
– The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles from the 1st century AD directed Christians to fast on Wednesdays and Fridays.
– Fridays are kept as days of strict fasting and abstinence from alcohol, meat, and dairy in many Christian denominations.
– Abstinence from meat on Fridays is seen as a sacrifice to mirror Jesus’ sacrifice on Good Friday.
– In the Eastern Orthodox Church, abstaining from sexual relations on Fridays is also practiced.
**Orthodox Fasting Practices**:
– Orthodox Christians fast on Fridays and Wednesdays until the afternoon or evening.
– The meal eaten after fasting is typically vegan.
– Abstinence from sexual relations on Fridays and Wednesdays is observed throughout the year.
– Lent, Nativity Fast, and 15 days before the Feast of the Dormition of Mary also include abstinence days.
– The Orthodox tradition emphasizes fasting as a spiritual discipline.
**Catholic Fasting and Abstinence Rules**:
– Catholics aged 14 and older are required to abstain from meat on Fridays of Lent and throughout the year.
– Regulations on fasting and abstinence are set by individual episcopates.
– Canons 1250–1253 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law specify fasting and abstinence rules.
– Catholics may eat one full meal on a fast day, with two small collations allowed.
– Fasting rules have evolved over the centuries and are subject to changes by Church authorities.
**Lutheran Fasting Practices**:
– Lutherans fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with one simple meal without meat.
– Meat is avoided on all Fridays in Lent, with fish often substituted.
– Consider eliminating a food group for the entire Lenten season.
– Abstain from or limit favorite activities during Lent for spiritual growth.
– Many Lutherans abstain from alcohol and meat on Lenten Fridays.
**Anglican Fasting and Abstinence Traditions**:
– Anglican formularies, like the Book of Common Prayer, require abstinence from meat on Fridays.
– Extraordinary acts of devotion are encouraged on Fridays throughout the year.
– Abstinence from meat is a traditional practice in Anglicanism.
– Anglicans follow fasting guidelines to deepen their spiritual connection.
– The Book of Common Prayer emphasizes the importance of abstinence in Anglican tradition.
The Friday fast is a Christian practice of variously (depending on the denomination) abstaining from meat, dairy products and alcohol, on Fridays, or holding a fast on Fridays, that is found most frequently in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written in the first century A.D., directed Christians to fast on both Wednesdays (the fourth day of the week) and Fridays (the sixth day of the week). The Wednesday fast is done in remembrance of the story of the betrayal of Christ by Judas on Spy Wednesday, while the Friday fast is done in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. As such, all Fridays of the year have been historically kept in many parts of Christendom as a day of strict fasting and abstinence from alcohol, meat and lacticinia (milk and milk products). Abstinence from meat on Fridays is done as a sacrifice by many Christians because they believe that on Good Friday, Jesus sacrificed his flesh for humanity. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in addition to fasting from food until sundown, the faithful are enjoined to abstain from sexual relations on Fridays as well.