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A Black Fast, also known as a strict fast, is a form of early Christian fasting.^[1] Those undertaking a Black Fast consume no food or water during the day and then break the fast after sunset with prayer, as well as water and a vegetarian meal devoid of meat, eggs, dairy products (lacticinia), and alcohol.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] Christians normatively fasted in this way during Lent prior to the 6th century.^[6]

Description and practice

Traditionally, the Black Fast is undertaken during Lent; it is the early Christian form of fasting consisting of fasting until sunset, and then consuming one vegetarian meal afterwards (with food and water being allowed only at this time).^[5]^[4] This was the normative way of Christian fasting prior to the 6th century A.D. and among certain denominations (such as the Coptic Orthodox Church) and in some localities like India and Pakistan, many Christians continue to observe the Black Fast throughout the whole season of Lent.^[6]^[5]^[7]^[8]^[9] After attending a worship service (often on Wednesday or Friday evenings), it is common for Christians of various denominations to break that day's Lenten fast together through a communal Lenten supper, which is held in the church's parish hall in the public setting; in the home setting Lenten Suppers take place in the context of a family meal every day during Lent (except on the Lord's Day).^[10] Throughout the entire Christian year, many Christians keep the Black Fast on Wednesdays (in memory of Jesus' betrayal) and on Fridays (to mourn the crucifixion of Jesus).^[11] In Western Christianity, many monastics still retain this practice, though many laypeople voluntarily undertake the Black Fast, especially on Good Friday.^[12]

The details of the Black Fast are as follows:^[13]^[3]

No food or liquids are allowed from midnight until sunset.^[14]^[4]^[9]
One vegetarian meal a day is permitted, only after sunset.^[3]^[14]^[15]^[13]
A mealtime prayer is offered at the time the Black Fast is broken.^[5]
Flesh meat, eggs, and dairy products (lacticinia: milk, butter, and cheese) are forbidden.^[13]
Alcohol is forbidden.^[13]^[16]
During Holy Week (the final week of Lent), the Lenten supper meal consists exclusively of bread, salt, herbs, and water.^[3]^[A]

Oriental Orthodoxy

Coptic Orthodox Church

In the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Black Fast is the normative way of fasting during Great Lent; Coptic Orthodox Christians go without water and food from midnight to sunset; after that time, the consumption of water and one vegetarian meal is permitted.^[9] Married couples abstain from sexual relations during this period "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer (1 Cor. 7: 5)."^[9]

Roman Catholicism

The Black Fast was widely practiced by the faithful during the Lenten season by "kings and princes, clergy and laity, rich and poor".^[18] In addition, the Black Fast was kept on the days preceding one's ordination.^[18] When fasting today, Roman Catholics have the liberty to fast in this manner, or in the modern fashion in which a collation is permitted. Fasting rules were liberalised to avoid accidents due to weakness or lack of concentration in modern industrial jobs. For the same reason some soldiers in military orders like the Hospitallers were historically exempt from the strict rule.

Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholicism

The Black Fast is observed by the devout Eastern Orthodox laity or monks throughout Great Lent, as well as the three other fasting periods of the year (the Dormition Fast, Nativity Fast, and the Apostles' Fast) and occasionally on the weekly fast days of Wednesday and Friday.^[19]^[20]

Some Eastern Catholics and Eastern Lutherans perform the Black Fast on Fridays during Lent, especially on Good Friday.

Romanian Orthodox Church

The term "Black Fast" has a different connotation within the Romanian Orthodox Church, which defines it somewhat similar to the definition given by those within the realms of the Classical Pentecostal movement (see below).

Anglican Communion

In Anglican Communion, the faithful have observed the Black Fast on "the two great Prayer Book fast days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday".^[12] The Black Fast was especially popular during the 19th century as it sought to imitate "the fasting of the ancient church."^[12]

Pentecostalism

The term "Black Fast" has a different connotation with writers within Classical Pentecostalism. A Black Fast is complete abstinence from food or water and nothing is consumed in its duration.^[21]

Ward states that the terms "Black Fast," "Hebrew Fast," and "Absolute Fast" are synonymous. British evangelical Arthur Wallis coined the term "Absolute Fast" in his book God's Chosen Fast (1968).^[22]

A Normal Fast or "Complete Fast" consists of eating nothing but drinking pure water. A Partial Fast (or Daniel Fast) consists of abstinence, either eliminating all but one type of food or eliminating just one type of food. The Black Fast is observed on rare occasions in Pentecostal circles while the Normal Fast is most usually undertaken.

References

Notes

^ During Holy Week, the early Church's Apostolic Constitutions enjoin for the meal eaten after sundown: bread, salt, water, nuts, as well as vegetables cooked with water and salt.^[17]

Citations

^ Chambers's Journal. W & R Chambers. 1926. p. 745. In Lent the clergy kept strict fast; a 'black fast,' as they call it in Ireland.
^ Becchio, Bruno; Schadé, Johannes P. (2006). Encyclopedia of World Religions. Foreign Media Group. ISBN 978-1-60136-000-7. Black Fast: Only one meal in the evening is allowed on these days of penance. In addition, meat, eggs, dairy products, and alcohol are forbidden. Only bread, water, and vegetables forms the diet of such a fast.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Cain, Áine (4 March 2018). "I tried to follow an intense medieval fast for Lent — and realized it's much harder to do in the modern world". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 April 2021. The Black Fast is a medieval religious fast meant to be practiced during Lent that bars meat, alcohol, and dairy, and limits you to one meal a day, eaten after sundown.
^ ^a ^b ^c Butler, Alban (1774). The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church. C. Kiernan. p. 257. It is undoubted, that anciently to drink on fasting days was no less forbid than to eat, only in the refection after sunset.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Weiser, Francis Xavier (1963). Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs: The Year of the Lord in Liturgy and Folklore. Paulist Press. p. 105.
^ ^a ^b Butler, Alban (1839). The Moveable Feasts, Fasts, and Other Annual Observances of the Catholic Church. Dublin: James Duffy. p. 144-146. The primitive Christians in Lent broke their fast only after sunset, and then usually only with herbs, roots, and bread. At least all were obliged to abstain not only from flesh meat, but also from fish, and whatever had life; also whatever is derived from flesh, as eggs, milk, cheese, butter, according to the ancient canon. Likewise from wine, which in the primitive ages was no less forbidden on all fasting days than the use of flesh meat itself ... Some mitigations were introduced in part of abstinence in the sixth century ... Fish was in the same age allowed, but not of the dearer and more dainty kinds.
^ Addis, Richard (26 February 2020). "Goodbye to tasty treats as Lent begins". The Day. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
^ Zaidi, Hiyah (24 February 2022). "What is Ash Wednesday 2023? When is day, Lent meaning, what is mass - is it connected to Shrove Tuesday". National World. Retrieved 14 March 2024. Some Christians choose to fast where Western Christians traditionally break the Lenten fast at sunset also known as the Black Fast. In countries such as India and Pakistan, some Christians fast until sunset on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with some manner of fasting within the 40 days of Lent.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Samaan, Moses (9 April 2009). "The Meaning of the Great Lent". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii. Retrieved 10 March 2024. The Church teaches us to fast until sunset. Fish is not allowed during this period. Also married couples should refrain from physical relations to give themselves time for fasting and prayer (1 Cor. 7: 5). We would like to emphasize the importance of the period of strict abstention during fasting. It is refraining from eating and drinking for a period of time, followed by eating vegetarian food. ... True fasting must be accompanied by abstention from food and drink until sunset as designated by the Church.
^ "The Lighthouse" (PDF). Christ the Savior Orthodox Church. 2018. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-02-16. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
^ "How To Fast For Lent". The Table. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Armentrout, Don S. (1 January 2000). An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians. Church Publishing, Inc. p. 139. ISBN 9780898697018.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Stravinskas, Peter M. J.; Shaw, Russell B. (1 September 1998). Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. Our Sunday Visitor. ISBN 9780879736699. The so-called black fast refers to a day or days of penance on which only one meal is allowed, and that in the evening. The prescription of this type of fast not only forbids the partaking of meats but also of all dairy products, such as eggs, butter, cheese and milk. Wine and other alcoholic beverages are forbidden as well. In short, only bread, water and vegetables form part of the diet for one following such a fast.
^ ^a ^b Cléir, Síle de (5 October 2017). Popular Catholicism in 20th-Century Ireland: Locality, Identity and Culture. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 101. ISBN 9781350020603. Catherine Bell outlines the details of fasting and abstinence in a historical context, stating that the Advent fast was usually less severe than that carried out in Lent, which originally involved just one meal a day, not to be eaten until after sunset.
^ Guéranger, Prosper; Fromage, Lucien (1912). The Liturgical Year: Lent. Burns, Oates & Washbourne. p. 8. St. Benedict's rule prescribed a great many fasts, over and above the ecclesiastical fast of Lent; but it made this great distinction between the two: that whilst Lent obliged the monks, as well as the rest of the faithful, to abstain from food till sunset, these monastic fasts allowed the repast to be taken at the hour of None.
^ The Black Fast - Catholic Encyclopedia article
^ Kellner, Karl Adam Heinrich (1908). Heortology: A History of the Christian Festivals from Their Origin to the Present Day. K. Paul. p. 99.
^ ^a ^b Herbermann, Charles George (1913). The Catholic Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Press. p. 590.
^ "Great Lent".
^ "Calendar of Eating during Great Lent". Argumenty i Fakty. 7 February 2018.
^ Johnson, William, The Fasting Movement, Bethesda Books, 2003
^ Arthur Wallis. God's Chosen Fast. Christian Literature Crusade.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: O'Neill, James David (1907). "Black Fast". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.