My beloved spiritual children in Only True God and Our Only True Savior,
CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE APOSTLES' FAST (June 15 - June 29th)

Today begins the Apostles Fast for Orthodox Christians throughout the world. The fast of the Holy Apostles is very ancient, dating back to the first centuries of Christianity. The oldest testimony regarding the Apostles Fast is given to us by Athanasius the Great (+373 A.D.).

This summer fast, which we now call the Apostles Fast, was earlier called the Fast of Pentecost or of the Holy Spirit. Our Holy Orthodox Church calls us to keep this fast, according to the example of the Holy Apostles, who, having received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, prepared themselves to preach the Gospels to the whole world.

After the extended feast of Pentecost, the fast is particularly needed in order to cleanse our mind by ascetic labors and to make us worthy of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. This fast has been given to us in order to preserve us from slackness, for it is very early to become slack due to the long period in which we were allowed to eat various foods. If we do not cultivate the field of our flesh continually, thorns and thistles will easily grow there and produce fruits suitable only for burning, and not for the harvest storehouse. Therefore, we are obligated now, as Orthodox Christian believers, to scrupulously preserve those seeds that we received in our hearts from the Heavenly Sower, Christ, and take precautions so that the envious enemy (Satan) might not spoil what God has given us, and so that the thorns of vice should not grow in the Paradise of virtues. We can only avoid such evil through almsgiving, prayer, and fasting.

The asceticism of the Holy Apostles Fast is less austere than the forty days of Holy and Great Lent.

During the Apostle's Fast, the Church rubrics prescribe for three days of each week -- Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays -- abstinence from fish, wine, and olive oil. The duration of the Apostle's Fast this year is for 14 days or two weeks.

Depending on the day of Pascha, the Apostles Fast can begin as early as May 18th or as late as June 21st. Thus, it may be as short as a few days or as long as a month or more in duration.

In His Holy Diakonia,

+Father George