Self-development 

Is it possible to eat fish during Lent? Quick meatballs. When can you eat fish during Lent?

During Great Lent, believers always fast, decide to eat only the most modest food and products, and strictly adhere to this decision.

In the Christian faith, it is believed that in this way everyone who fasts gets the opportunity to cleanse their spirit and body, because this voluntary refusal from pleasures, a kind of humility.

And so that your efforts really do not go in vain, it is important, before starting Lent and observing it, to have a good understanding of what food is allowed to be consumed and what is not allowed during this period.

So many people are often interested in whether it is possible to eat fish, seafood and fish caviar during Lent?

In general, of course, it is impossible, and yet, there are certain days of Lent (some church holidays) when relaxations are provided.

Let's try to understand the issue in more detail and thoroughly.

Is it possible to eat fish during Lent?

Despite the high content of beneficial microelements, vitamins and minerals in fish that are beneficial for your body, it is prohibited to eat it during Lent.

There are only a few days when the church allows you to violate this rule. Why? Fish products must be present in the human diet, because the vitamins and minerals they contain help maintain cardiac and nervous system in order. In addition, the proteins contained in fish are absorbed by the body much more easily than those found in meat.

When can you eat fish during Lent?

Just two times, on two holidays: on Palm Sunday and on the Annunciation.

But every year you need to carefully monitor the dates of the listed holidays, because sometimes they fall on the dates of events on which neither fish nor seafood is allowed.

Such events include. On this day, almost complete fasting is prescribed, or rather dry eating first (you do not cook, fry or brew food), and on Friday and Saturday you completely refuse any food.

During Lent it is not allowed to eat meat and poultry, eggs, and various dairy products. On those days of Lent, when you can eat fish, a little wine is also acceptable. However, wine is also allowed on name days if they also fall during Lent. Remember that even in the case of wine, it is important to observe moderation.

Try to use Palm Sunday and the Annunciation with maximum benefit for your body. There are many simple, but tasty and healthy, at the same time lean fish dishes. Look for recipes from friends, on the Internet, and then arrange a real fish day for yourself and your loved ones.

This product contains B vitamins, which will have a positive effect on your mood, give you more energy, make your hair and nails healthy, and help restore a healthy complexion. Vitamins A and E will help slow down the aging process. As you can see, fish is a storehouse of useful vitamins.

In addition, if we compare lovers of such delicacies with those who prefer meat products, then fish lovers have better health.

What to cook from fish?

Simple and at the same time delicious dishes: steamed cutlets, fish salads and soups. You can even bake it in the oven, just without adding oil. Herring will also work, salted fish and many other dishes.

Who can eat fish during Lent?

During Lent, most fasting people are allowed to eat only cereals, fruits and vegetables, and only fish on certain days.

So, during Lent, women who are expecting a child and nursing mothers, young children, elderly people engaged in heavy physical or physical activity can and should eat fish products. mental labor, and also for those who travel, are on the road.

People with various diseases(for example, with problems gastrointestinal tract) you should also not refuse this product.

Since abstaining from protein foods can have a negative impact on the body and health, sick people simply need to consume fish products at least once every 7 days.

What kind of fish can you eat during Lent?

Are you part of the group of people who can eat fish during Lent or do you only eat it on Palm Sunday?

  • Well, it is advisable to abandon expensive varieties in favor of white lean fish. Pollock, squid, cod, capelin are suitable. And even canned fish can be confidently called good choice in Post.

Canned food makes a delicious soup, or you can add it to a salad with vegetables. A classic dish of home cooking is salad with tomatoes and tuna, so you can safely prepare it during Lent.

  • Please note that it is not recommended to fry seafood and fish - it is better to stew it without oil or boil it.
  • Leave aside various sauces, seasonings, dressings - all of them are not appropriate during this period, because you are preparing a lean dish.

It is important to leave the selected fish product as natural in taste as possible; in addition, by adding the listed seasonings, you will only irritate your taste buds, thereby only leading oneself astray from the path of abstinence.

  • During the Assumption Fast, it is allowed to eat fish on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, and if we are talking about the Nativity Fast or the Peter's Fast, then the product is eaten on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).

It is strictly forbidden to drink alcohol during Lent. The exception, as noted above, is wine, which, however, must be diluted with plain water and drunk only on weekends, in small quantities.



IN Lent, the dates of which in 2017 are: from February 27 to April 15, you cannot eat fish. You are allowed to eat fish only twice during the fasting period - on the Feast of the Annunciation and on Palm Sunday. But what does the church charter say about seafood?

Lent before Easter was established in honor of the forty-day fast of Jesus Christ, which he adhered to when he went alone into the desert on the eve of his baptism. Fasting is established in order to cleanse the body and soul of sins and prepare for the Great Easter holiday. Many people are interested in the question of when can they eat fish during Lent 2017.

Since Lent is one of the strictest fasts in the series Orthodox posts, fish is practically prohibited. Fish during Lent is allowed only on the Annunciation, which in 2017 is celebrated on April 7, and on Palm Sunday, which is celebrated on April 9 in 2017. Also on April 8, Lazarus Saturday, you can eat fish caviar.




Prohibited foods during Lent:

* Meat and fish (except for two days);

* Milk and any dairy products;

* Eggs and mayonnaise;

* Alcohol, tobacco for smoking;

If everything is clear about whether you can eat fish during Lent, then a question arises: controversial issue about seafood. The church charter does not prohibit eating them, therefore, you can simply switch from the meat menu to seafood in unlimited quantities. In fact, the clergy say that even if the charter does not strictly punish anything regarding seafood, this does not mean that you can indulge yourself in it. They argue that fasting is a time of abstinence. If you allow yourself to eat seafood, then there can be no talk of any abstinence. Therefore, church ministers equate seafood with fish. This means that the ban also applies to them.




Why you can eat fish on Annunciation and Palm Sunday

According to church regulations, these days are considered major holidays. They always fall during Lent, but are not considered fast days. On these holidays you can have fun and eat fish.

Annunciation

Lent in 2017, when you can eat fish, falls on April 7 and is considered a holiday. On this day you can eat fish, despite the fact that Lent has not yet ended. The Annunciation is the very first event in a series of information from God that soon his son, Jesus Christ, will come to earth. On this day, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph. The angel announced to the virgin that she would give birth to the Son of God from immaculate conception. The angel told Mary that her son should be named Jesus. The date of celebration of this holiday is associated with the date of the Nativity of Christ. There are exactly nine months between the Annunciation and Christmas.




Palm Sunday

The second day when you can eat fish in Lent. This holiday is always celebrated in the sixth week of Lent. The holiday was established in honor of the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem. Jesus was greeted in Jerusalem with palm branches, but the Orthodox call this holiday Palm Sunday. Why? Everything is simple here, because the southern palm tree simply does not grow in our territories. It is for this reason that palm branches were replaced by the branches of our territories available during this period of the year - willow. The main tradition This holiday involves the consecration of willow branches in the church; it is believed that these branches should be placed at home, and throughout the year they will protect the house from misfortunes.

TO folk signs The holiday refers to the number of buds on the willow. If a lot of them appear, then the year will be fruitful and fertile. You can eat fish on Palm Sunday because it's... great holiday. You can't work on this day either. When preparing food for the holiday table, one should not forget that this is still a period of fasting, therefore, the table should be modest.

Now you know two major church holidays when you can eat fish during Lent 2017. These are the Annunciation - April 7 and Palm Sunday - April 9. Also, don’t forget about the opportunity to eat fish caviar on Lazarus Saturday (April 8). For example, you can do it at home.

We should also not forget that the true purpose of Lent is not abstinence from food. This is a time of soul development and strengthening of faith. You can talk to the priest and discuss some rules for weakening Lent. After all, only clergy should do everything exactly as it is written in the church charter. For the laity, various mitigations are allowed. It is also important to know that the church does not require abstinence from food during this period from pregnant and lactating women, sick and elderly people, as well as children under the age of 14 years.

The observance of Lent from February 27 to April 15, 2017 does not require believers to fast. It is not in the traditions of the Orthodox Church to demand that parishioners follow rules if they can harm human health. It is necessary to adhere to a rational approach to food during this period of restrictions and prohibitions.

Statutory relaxations during Lent

Spiritual life, like worldly life, is never uniform. After a long day of work, we rest, thanking God for sleep. After a difficult task comes a break. It’s the same with fasting: not all days are equally strict. The strictest fast falls on the first (of which the first two days are highlighted) and Holy Week of Great Lent (on Holy Week, Great Friday is especially highlighted, which should be carried out with the greatest severity throughout the year, remembering the suffering of the Savior). Many also try to strictly observe the week of the Holy Week - the Worship of the Cross.

The church charter on food prescribes relaxation on Saturday and Sunday, and on these days we prepare Lenten, but more tasty and holiday dishes, comforting his family. Each housewife knows better which dish is more festive in her family. For some it will be pies (but this is not suitable for those who bake pies two or three times a week), for others it will be dishes from good mushrooms or from rarer and more expensive vegetables, or dishes that bring the whole family together in the kitchen for work: dumplings or manti.

Of particular note holidays, when the relaxation significantly concerns the composition of products: this means permission for fish on Annunciation (if this holiday does not fall on Holy Week) and Palm Sunday, as well as for fish caviar on Lazarus Saturday.

Fish caviar for Lazarus Saturday

The simplest thing is to buy a jar of salted caviar, any that is affordable. You should pay attention to the composition; now you can find “surrogate” caviar made from minced fish, eggs and other components, and to the inexperienced eye such caviar is almost indistinguishable from natural one.

The most common way to prepare sandwiches with caviar is to spread bread, croutons, slices or even sweet buns with lean margarine and put a certain amount of caviar on top. Such sandwiches can be decorated with herbs, olives or capers, and served with lemon.

A more affordable price would be to buy caviar along with fish. The fish can be cut up for cooking on Palm Sunday, and the caviar, salted or prepared differently, can be served on Lazarus Saturday.

Caviar pate

Caviar from salted fish or simple jarred caviar is used (not elite, red or black, but, for example, pollock or cod caviar). Boil some thick semolina porridge and add a little salt. Grind the caviar with a spoon, chop the onion very finely. Mix everything: porridge, caviar, onion, and mix thoroughly, add a little oil while mixing. Another technological solution is also possible: the components are crushed and mixed using a combine, instead of a liquid vegetable oil take solids or margarine, and you can take more of it, reducing the percentage of porridge - by this we are getting closer to “caviar butter”. It is preferable to stir in the caviar at the end, with a spoon, because... When mixed in a food processor, the eggs are crushed, the color of the pate and its taste change significantly: the eggs no longer burst with a crunch on the teeth.

Caviar marinated

Rinse the caviar of pike perch, pike, carp, burbot or other fish well, fry in the oven until cooked and cool. After this, put the caviar in a porcelain or ceramic dish, pour in the marinade and keep in the cold for 3-5 hours. When serving, place the caviar in a salad bowl, sprinkle with chopped parsley, dill or green onions. To prepare the marinade, peel the roots and onions, cut into strips, place in a frying pan or saucepan and simmer lightly. Then add the spices, add water and boil for 10-15 minutes. After this, pour in vinegar, season with sugar and salt. For a glass of water, one root (carrots, onions and others that are at hand), half a glass of table vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, salt, bay leaf, peppercorns.

Fish roe baked with sauce

Fish roe, freed from films, is fried in vegetable oil, but not overdried. Then the caviar is cut into small pieces, combined with sautéed onions and spices, put in pots, pour soy mayonnaise and bake in the oven until cooked. Approximate proportions for one small pot: for 200 g of caviar, head onions, vegetable oil, a couple of tablespoons of lean mayonnaise, salt and various spices to taste.

Fish dishes for the Annunciation and Palm Day

Ear simple

The good thing about fish soup is that it can be cooked from a wide variety of fish, from leftovers (head, fins, ridge), and small fish. The fish must be prepared: cleaned of scales (except for small items that you are not going to use further and throw away after the broth is cooked), entrails, gills. To get a tasty fish broth, you need to put the fish in cold water, when boiling, add salt, spices, onions, whole carrots, and cook over low heat at the boiling point for about forty minutes. Next, we act according to the situation: if there is enough fish, then carefully remove it from the calmed broth (it has cooled a little and become transparent), disassemble it, divide it into portions and serve with the broth. Otherwise, add potatoes to the broth and, if desired, a little grain, and finish cooking. The fish can be divided into smaller pieces and added to the almost finished soup.

Salted red fish

There are a great many ways to salt fish: whole and in pieces, in marinade, brine, with spices. Let’s bring one that will quickly and effortlessly lead us to the goal, so as not to spend an amount of energy on this matter that is inappropriate for Lenten time.

In pieces: cut the fish into thin slices, ready for consumption (without bones, just for a sandwich). Place in layers in a container with high edges, sprinkling each layer with a small amount of salt, spices, and also adding a little vegetable oil, and close with a lid. After a few hours, the fish is ready to eat.

In brine: to 500 ml cool boiled water add 2 tablespoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar and a few peas of allspice. Peel the unfrozen medium fish and cut into pieces 1-1.5 cm thick. Place the pieces in a bowl, sprinkling each layer with onions and herbs (if any), and pour in the prepared brine, you can press lightly. Place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. You can also cook simple herring this way.

Stuffed carp.

We take 5 fairly large carp. Carefully remove scales. Cut off the head. Very carefully, through the resulting hole, we clean out the insides, carefully remove the skin from the fish from head to tail, while it is desirable that there are no holes and that the fins and tail are in their place. Then we take the fish without “clothing” and clean the meat from the bones and make minced meat (do not throw away large bones). We pass the fish meat, soaked bun, and onion through a meat grinder, then add salt, pepper, a little vegetable oil and mix everything well. Stuff the fish skins with this minced meat (enough for about 2-3 skins). Place heads, bones (for broth), and beets (cut into slices) at the bottom of a large saucepan. All this must be placed so that it covers the entire bottom. Place stuffed fish on top and cover with water. Add salt. Cook for approximately 4 hours. Serve chilled.

Stuffed pike perch

We cut the fish along the belly. Take out the insides and carefully separate the backbone, so that the outer shell: head, skin of the fish, most the fillet, body with fins and tail were intact. Rub the fish with salt. Now put minced meat (walnuts, raisins, herbs and a little butter) into the abdominal cavity and sew it up with thread. Place the fish on a baking sheet. Melt the butter and pour over the fish. Place in the oven. While baking, periodically baste the fish with liquid on the baking sheet.

Abba Arseny the Great explained to the hunter (using the example of a drawn bow) the need for relaxation in feat at times

The hunter came to the mountain of Abba Anthony to catch wild animals. Seeing that Abba was laughing with the brethren, he was tempted by this. The elder, wanting to calm him down and show him that sometimes the brethren need to be given some relief, told him: “Place an arrow in the bow and draw it.” The hunter did it. The elder said: “Tighten it some more.” The hunter pulled his bow tighter. The elder again tells him: “Tighten it even more.” The hunter answered: “If you stretch the bow too much, it will break.” To this Abba Anthony said: “This is how it happens in the work of God. If you strain the strength of the brethren beyond measure, they will soon fall away from the work of God; it is necessary to give them some relief from time to time.” The catcher, having heard this, expressed his consent and left the elder with great benefit, and the brethren, having confirmed the correctness of their view of their feat, dispersed to their cells. (Bishop Ignatius. Fatherland. P. 38. No. 196.)

Instructions

General system fasts were established by the Russian Orthodox Church back in 1166. Their total duration is 200 days a year. Posts are divided into multi-day and one-day posts. Throughout the year, believers hold four multi-day fasts: Great, Petrovsky, Nativity and Assumption. One-day fasts are observed on Wednesday and Friday of each week, on Epiphany Christmas Eve, on the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.

Wednesday and Friday are called fast days. Moreover, in the period between the summer Petrov and Assumption fasts, as well as in the fall before the Nativity Fast, these days are strict posts, i.e. prohibiting the consumption of fish, meat and dairy products. During the winter meat-eating period between Christmas and Great Lent, as well as in the spring before Peter's Lent, boiled food, vegetable oil and fish are allowed. Fish products are also prohibited on the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist and the Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.

Petrov, or Apostolic, fast begins a week after the Holy Trinity. According to the regulations, fish is allowed only on Tuesday and Thursday and on weekends, when light fasting begins. The method of preparing fish products includes boiling, stewing, baking and frying in vegetable oil. During the Dormition Fast, the mother of Jesus Christ, Mary, is commemorated. This post is more strict than Petrov. Fish dishes are allowed to be consumed only once, on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.

The Nativity fast always begins on the same day, November 28, and lasts for forty days until January 6, when Christmas Eve is celebrated. This post is inferior in severity to Uspensky and the Great. Fish and fish products that can be consumed with vegetable oil and wine are allowed on Saturday and Sunday.

The strictest and longest fast of all is the Great Fast. He anticipates the onset of the great church holiday- Easter. Lent begins seven weeks before the holiday and consists of Lent itself, i.e. four weeks, and Holy Week. Pentecost symbolizes the life of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth and his stay in the desert for 40 days, and Passion is dedicated to the memory of last days earthly life, suffering, death and burial of Jesus Christ. During all days of fasting, believers refuse dairy products, poultry, and meat. And only two holidays involve the consumption of fish, vegetable oil and wine - Annunciation Holy Mother of God(only if this day does not fall on Holy Week) and Palm Sunday. And on Lazarus Saturday you are allowed to eat fish caviar.

According to the church charter, during the period of fasting people exclude any entertainment, carnal pleasures, indulge in prayers and spiritually cleanse themselves. In addition, it is still necessary to abandon animal products and foods without oil in favor of simple and necessarily lean foods: vegetables, pasta, legumes, herbs. But is it possible to eat fish if you are fasting, and if so, on what days is it allowed?

What are posts and what types are they?

Russian Orthodox Church determined the days of fasting back in 1166, and in total there are 200 days a year. All posts are divided into one-day and long-term. There are only four last ones:

  • Petrovsky;
  • Uspensky;
  • Christmas;
  • Great.

As for one-day ones, true Christians observe them on Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as on some holidays, for example, Epiphany Eve.

Petrovsky post

Also called Apostolic, it follows the Holy Trinity, beginning exactly one week after it. These days you can eat fish only on Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends. You need to cook it properly fish dishes: boil, bake, stew and even fry in vegetable oil.

Uspensky

During the days of this fast, you can eat fish only once, namely on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord - August 19. The fast itself lasts from August 14 to 27, and Christians are prohibited from animal products on these days. The fast does not last long, so there are no particular difficulties in observing it.

Christmas

It always begins on November 28 and lasts forty days, that is, until January 6 - until the holiday called Christmas Eve. The fast is less strict than the previous two, and the consumption of fish, vegetable oil and wine is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays.

Lent

It is the most strict, but on some days it is still allowed to eat fish and even caviar. In 2018, this fast began on February 19 and will continue until April 7. It consists of four periods:

  • The first 40 days, called Lent.
  • Lazarev Saturday (in 2018 falls on March 31).
  • Palm Sunday is a week before Easter.
  • Holy Week the final 6 days of Lent before Easter.

So, on which of these days do they eat fish and seafood during Lent, is caviar allowed, and how should all these non-lenten foods be prepared?

The Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Palm Sunday are major holidays established by the church. These days, fish can be consumed by all Christians during Lent. There are always exactly 9 months between the Annunciation and Christmas, and Palm Sunday falls in the sixth week of Lent. You can eat fish caviar and fish on the Great Day and on another day - on Lazarus Saturday. On all other days, fish in any form is prohibited during the fast before Easter!

Remember on which days fish are eaten during Lent, and adhere to these rules. Remember that this is not just a period of abstinence from food, but a way to cleanse the soul and strengthen faith in the Lord. At the same time, fasting should not harm your health, so if you feel weak and feel unwell, you are allowed to make some allowances these days. Next year you will be better prepared and you will probably be able to withstand fasting according to all church canons.

What fish are allowed during fasting?

We found out that fish during fasting is still allowed on certain days, but it must be chosen and prepared correctly. From expensive types refuse, and buy white, low-fat varieties of fish and seafood: pollock, cod, capelin, hake. Even canned fish are allowed, which are suitable for making soups or vegetable salads. For example, you can make a salad with tuna and tomatoes.

It is recommended to avoid frying fish in favor of other cooking methods. Can be boiled or stewed without oil. Also, refrain from ready-made sauces, dressings and seasonings so that the fish during Lent retains its most natural taste.

Seafood during Lent - allowed or not?

How many times you can eat fish during Lent is now clear, but are seafood such as shrimp, mussels or squid allowed? All of them are allowed, as well as fish roe, unless the fasting person is forced to use them to replenish the balance and vitality. The Church welcomes the initiative of Christians who, for health reasons, replace meat, butter and seafood eggs. They contain iodine, fatty acids and other beneficial substances that are important for the body.