Akathistos

Saints Peter and Paul Fast
A message from Father Justin
St. Athanasius OCA, Nicholasville, KY

The Sunday of All Saints and the fast that it inaugurates are both extensions of the Feast of Pentecost (just as surely as this past fast-free week is an extension of Pentecost). The question that the Saints Peter and Paul Fast answers is “What does Pentecost look like?”

The Church tells us that the reality of Pentecost looks like the life of the early church described in the book of Acts, a life which our fast helps us enter into spiritually. In Acts, Peter and Paul and the other apostles go about baptizing people into Christ. Baptism, for us Orthodox Christians, is never merely an event that happens in the past, but rather the effects of baptism unfold daily in our lives. We enter into Christ once and for all in baptism, dying to ourselves, and then, each day, we “put to death [our] members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 2:12). Just like Christ’s death, our death in baptism has a distinct purpose: that we might live unto Christ in the joy of the Holy Spirit. By baptism, we have been set free to be “slaves of God”: bearing fruit “unto holiness” and partaking of “everlasting life” (Romans 6:22).

The story of Saints Peter and Paul is our story too: they endure affliction and hardship for the sake of Christ, and yet, at the same time, they win the crowns of victory not only in their personal lives but also for the life of the Church as the Gospel expands around the world. On the day of their martyrdom, which we remember on the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, what appears to be defeat becomes, in the economy of Christ, complete victory. Their struggle, in Christ, is translated into victory!

And so as we begin this fast, our goal remains to emulate the apostles, who saw the proclamation of the Gospel- and the trails that went with that proclamation- as the normal, and even indispensable, calling for the Christians. And so, following the apostles in their commitment to proclaim Christ, we keep the Saints Peter and Paul Fast.

The question that has been put to me is this: what does this fast look like in our daily parish life? It has been said that the Saints Peter and Paul Fast is more relaxed than other fasts. This is true, on a certain level. Fish is permitted on the weekends, and Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekends are wine and oil days. Moreover, we are allowed more than one meal a day! But, practically speaking, this fast should be kept in a manner similar to Great Lent. Orthodox Christians ought to abstain from meat and dairy on all days of the fast, including the weekends. If you have questions about what this fast should look like in your life, I would encourage you to speak to [your priest] privately.

Particularly since parish liturgical life is not nearly as active in this fast as during Great Lent, I would encourage each Orthodox Christian in this parish to embrace a prayer rule that is more intense than usual. Praying the Small Compline either by oneself or with family members is a great way to enter into the richness of the fast. After all, our fasting is only as good as our prayer life.

It might be tempting for us to say that, well, our prayer is poor, so why bother with fasting? But if we are serious about God and don’t want to play games, the path that leads to the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul has got to be one that includes both prayer and fasting.