It is best when fasting people are guided by the instructions of experienced spiritual leaders. It is worth remembering the following incident from the life of St. Pachomius the Great. In one of his monasteries, a monk was in the hospital, exhausted by illness. He asked the servants to give him meat. They refused his request, based on the rules of the monastery rule. The sick man asked to be attributed to Fr. Pachomius. The monk was struck by the extreme exhaustion of the monk, he wept, looking at the sick man, and began to reproach the hospital brethren for their hardness of heart. He gave orders to immediately fulfill the request of the sick man, in order to strengthen his weakened body and cheer up his despondent soul.

The wise ascetic of piety, Abbess Arsenia, wrote to the elderly and sick brother of Bishop Ignatius (Brianchaninov) during the days of Great Lent: "I am afraid that you are burdening yourselves with heavy lenten food, and I ask you to forget that it is now fasting, and to eat non-nutritious food, nutritious and light. The difference of days has been given to us by the Church as a bridle of healthy flesh, but you have been given the sickness and infirmity of old age." (Indeed, it is difficult for elderly people to change their habitual diet for fasting. Such a change often brings with it stomach diseases and a loss of ability to work to some extent.

However, those who break the fast due to illness or other infirmity should still remember that there may be a certain amount of lack of faith and intemperance.

Therefore, when the spiritual children of Elder Fr. Alexis Zosimovsky had to break the fast on the doctor's prescription, the Elder ordered them to repent themselves in such cases and pray thus: "Lord, forgive me that I broke the holy fast by the doctor's prescription, because of my infirmity," and not to think that this is as if it were necessary.

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Speaking of fasting as a scarcity and a change in the composition of food, it should be noted that this podvig is not counted by the Lord as anything, if a Christian does not at the same time observe the Lord's commandments about love, mercy, selfless service to one's neighbor – in a word, everything that will be asked of him on the day of the Last Judgment (Matt. 25:31-46).

This is already stated with exhaustive clarity in the book of the prophet Isaiah. The Jews cry out to God: "Why do we fast, and you do not see? We humble our souls, but Thou knowest not?" The Lord answered them through the mouth of the prophet: "Behold, on the day of your fasting ye do your will and demand hard labor from others. Behold, you fast for strife and strife, and to strike others with a bold hand; you do not fast at this time so that your voice is heard at a height.

Then thy light shall be revealed like the dawn, and thy healing shall soon increase, and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of the Lord shall follow thee. Then you will call, and the Lord will hear; thou shalt cry out, and He shall say, 'Here I am'" (Isaiah 58:3-9).

This remarkable passage from the book of the prophet Isaiah denounces many - both ordinary Christians and shepherds of the flock of Christ. He denounces those who think to be saved only by observing the letter of fasting and forgetting about the commandments of mercy, love for one's neighbor and service to them. These are the pastors who demand from their spiritual children strict observance of the "rule" of fasting, without taking into account their advanced age or their sickly condition. After all, the Lord said: "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice" (Matt. 9:13).

Appendix to Chapter 20

Queue pick-up

When you fast, do not be discouraged... Anoint thy head, and wash thy face.

Mf. 6, 16-17

How sharply this teaching of the Lord about fasting among Christians can be violated is shown by the following story of one elderess: "It was at the end of Holy Week. I was standing in line for something and started talking to one citizen. From the conversation it turned out that she was an unbeliever, and I told her that I was preparing to meet the great feast of Pascha.