The Orthodox Church allocates certain periods of time for the spiritual understanding of her life. These periods in the church tradition are called holy fasts.
For an Orthodox person, fasting periods are not a time of discouragement and worry about the fact that you can’t eat foods of animal origin. Fasting in church tradition was never conceived as a kind of diet. Abstinence in food is not the main component of holy fasting, but only in addition to a more important task - awareness of one’s life, struggle with one’s passions and vices, preparation for repentance, striving for spiritual perfection.
Holy Great Lent is the longest and most rigorous of all four multi-day periods of abstinence. Only to the holy Fourteenth century does the church charter prescribe several preparatory weeks that set a person up for the upcoming feat.
The Orthodox calendar of the Russian Church in 2018 indicates the early time of the beginning of Lent. Already on the last Sunday of January 2018, the Lenten Triode liturgical book began to be used in all Orthodox churches, and choirs performed penitential chants. Thus, already on January 28, the Orthodox met Sunday, called the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee.
After the first preparatory week for Lent, Orthodox Sunday awaits, referred to as the Prodigal Son Week, the meat-slaughter week, the Last Judgment Week. Based on this, you can calculate the exact date for the beginning of Lent in 2018. In the church calendar, the first day of the holy Pentecost of 2018 is listed on February 19th.
All Orthodox believers in Russia enter Holy Lent on February 19th, but it is worth remembering that already a week before this date, the time begins when it is forbidden to eat meat (this week is called meat-eating).
Thus, on Monday, February 19th, in all Orthodox churches, Lenten services will begin, reading the Great Penitent Canon of Andrew of Crete. For those who wish to hold a fast with spiritual benefit, it is necessary to know that participation in divine services, the sacraments of confession and communion is the most important component of keeping and observing the Holy Pentecost. In addition, at this time it is necessary to limit yourself to entertainment, try to avoid quarrels with others, profanity, condemnation and other passions, sins and vices. It is worth remembering that fasting is a time when a person should try to become better, bring repentance worthy in his life.
