Blogs

What a Bowl of Lentils Is For

Someone asked me recently whether Orthodox fasting is basically veganism, and I said no, and then could not immediately explain why. The food overlaps almost entirely. On a strict Wednesday my plate would satisfy the ...

On Not Talking About Your Fast

"Do not be like the hypocrites, of a sad countenance; for they disfigure their faces so they may appear to men to be fasting. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward. But you, when you fast, anoint your head an...

The Fourth Week Is the Hard One

Everyone warns you about the first week of Great Lent. Clean Monday, the Great Canon, five days of xerophagy while your body loudly objects to the absence of coffee and cheese. It is genuinely difficult and it is also...