Fasting in the Orthodox Church. Hieromonk Aidan Keller. 

Listening to this as I order burgers at a drivethru on Wednesday... Lord have mercy

Fr. Aidan is such a gentle gem.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Fr. Aiden just a few weeks ago. God be with you!

So nice to hear your voice Fr. Aidan. I pray you are well and God is taking care of you.

Thanks for recording and posting this.

Thank you for your guidance and wisdom! Heading toward Orthodoxy and getting back into fasting and it has been so so helpful. It's such a valuable way to focus on God and hunger for his will and word instead of certain foods. And having a rule and a calendar helps so much with submitting and obedience too. Also, the last part is really good for me as a Protestant to hear.

Praise God! Thank you for this

We’re an orthodox parish with pews because we share our space with an Anglican congregation but we stand throughout except during the short sermon

☦️ “GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST FATHER SON HY SPIRIT, IN ALL HUMILITY I MOST HUMBLY ASK FOR EVERYONES PRAYERS FOR OUR HEALTH AND NEEDS, WE ARE ORTHODOX MONKS ON THE OLD JULIAN CALENDAR AND TAKE OUR CANONICAL APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION FROM THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH ON THE OLD CALENDAR FROM ALEXANDRIA. PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR US WE HAVE BEEN SUFFERING EXTREME PERSECUTION TOO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT HERE, WE PRAISE OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND THANK GOD FOR ALL THINGS. GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST. ☦️

I found this very helpful. Godbless you

Also with a Spiritual father: if you have a health condition, also applies to situation. Do not judge 2:38

Thank you Father for your presentation. 31:55 In a human being, there are THREE WILLS: 32:24 So first of all there is the LOWER WILL scripture calls that, the will of the flesh = this will of the flesh desire physical pleasure and avoid physical pain. When the flesh is weak that's the lower will. 33:00 Then we have the HIGHER WILL. Things that are Holy, bright, pure, glorious and of God. This higher will desires union with God and it wants to do whatever is In God's law and whatever is in the holy scriptures and whatever is good. 36:50 The third one Is the FREE WILLThe free will is higher, wanted to please His heavenly Father. His lower will was saying:“O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." (Matt. 26:39), ( His human nature had the lower will and His human nature was talking to His Father if this cup may pass from Me). His weakness, the weakness of His human nature because He accepted all the weaknesses of our nature it was talking and saying do I have to go on the cross, do I have to suffer this crucifixion it's so horrible. Of course, this is horrible but wanted to please the Father and when He said but Thy will be done ( Higher will)His FREE WILL choose between these two. 37:27 This all relates to what happens when we fast Because our lower will is saying I want my scrambled eggs I want my breakfast sausage and I want to have a chicken sandwich for lunch etc. and our higher will says I want to do whatever was instituted in the holy scriptures and by our Lord Jesus Christ. And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites... ( Matthew 6:5-8). 40:42 and then the free will decides between these two. 42:08 Fasting is a discipline that is not meant to torture us but is meant to give joy to our soul by learning how to follow God not as a fair-weather friend but through thick and thin when it's easy and when it's hard. 42:25 That is something that's kind of lacking in a lot of western Christian denominations because they're thinking why do you have to do anything difficult and unpleasant you know so to speak if you're a Christian? and when the Lord says you have to deny yourself you have to take up your cross which by the way cross is not an easy task or fun to follow me and be my disciple. In Orthodoxy, we literally apply ourselves to the taking up of the cross in the self-denial and in self-denial nothing will give you more happiness than self-denial it's when we're doing everything that we want to do that we're often the most unhappy but it's when we yield our will to do what helps another person or whatever gives God glory, that's when our soul gets joy. 43:38 By the way the body kind of gets on board with this too so it's not it doesn't wind up actually being that hard so that not only is it you know it's time to keep it fast we find we can do it but when it's time to stay awake in prayerlike St.Peter, St.James and St. John (Mark 14:32-42) we find we can do it and when it's time to really want that thing but someone else needs it more we find yeah we can give that thing to them even though part of us is saying I wanted that thing. So eventually we become stronger in our spirit and we begin to keep God's law and to be close to God at all times and our experience of the faith is deepened.

On the standard Wednesday and Friday fast, is it fast from everything? What foods and drinks are allowed if any?

You have to suffer?