Perspectives on Fasting from the Patristic Tradition

March 3, 2025 marks the beginning of the forty-day period in the Orthodox Church (ἡ ἁγία καὶ μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή) leading up to the feast of Christ's resurrection. There is no shortage of patristic sermons on fasting, which tend to center on the dangers of hypocrisy and pride and the importance of complementing abstinence from food with almsgiving and charity. Among the most famous patristic sermons on fasting are those by St Basil the Great, widely available in translations on the internet. Below are a few more texts which may help you to enter more deeply into this season of self-restraint and compunction. We hope to share more over the course of the next seven weeks.

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St John Chrysostom, On Fasting and Almsgiving

St Hesychios of Jerusalem, On Fasting

St Photios the Great, On the Beginning of Lent

St Mark the Ascetic, On Fasting

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