Cheesefare

On the Byzantine calendar, the Monday after Meatfare begins the week of Cheesefare, and it ends on Sunday evening with the start of the Great Fast. Tradition states that this week the faithful are to abstain from all meat products, having had Meatfare (carnival) on Sunday, but they are still able to partake of dairy products until the end of Cheesefare, which takes place at Forgiveness Vespers on Cheesefare Sunday. When Lent begins, they are to follow strict fasting rules: no meat, egg or dairy products will be permitted. Byzantines have, to be sure, had some of the regulations lifted for them, so that the strict fast days are only the first day of Lent and Holy Friday (abstinence from meat for Cheesefare is now merely a suggestion, not an obligation). Even though some of the fasting regulations have been removed, other aspects of the Great Fast continue (such as the fact that Divine Liturgy will not be normally celebrated during the weekdays of Lent). Lent is more than a period of fasting, but a period of remembrance, of the poverty of humanity and our need for Christ. In our Pre-Sanctified Liturgies we will be symbolically put into the place of the Israelites at the time of Moses waiting to enter the promised land. We re-experience and re-member the time before Christ, so that we can encounter Christ and all that he offers us anew during Holy Week.

Despite the leniency we find in the modern age, the liturgical calendar continues to present the classical tradition and remind us what was expected of our forefathers. We are reminded that the hard-won lessons of the spiritual athletes of the past took much discipline on their part. We are not forbidden their practice, but, the Church in her pastoral wisdom, understands the difficulty she would face if she tried to regulate the Great Fast as she did in times past; indeed, the difference of our cultural situation with previous eras makes the requirements of the past even more of a burden than it would have at other times. The idea of the fast was to promote simplicity, but how do we define simplicity in a day and age when meat is cheap, and fresh produce a luxury? It’s the spirit, not the letter of the law, which should regulate our actions. Like any form of exercise, spiritual discipline is best done patiently, not expecting quick results, with guidance from experts, and with sufficient preparation – we should not expect ourselves to be instantly transformed into great spiritual masters in one day — after all, it takes years for athletes to master their sport, so why should we, spiritual athletes, be any different?. The two-week preparation for the Great Fast serves as a much needed warm-up period before Lent itself; it is needed so that we can deal with the exceptional challenges which lie ahead. And make no mistake, even without following a strict fast, those challenges will come. They always do.