The Living Tradition An Orthodox Archive of the Church Fathers and Early Church

Orthodox Christianity: start here — lesson 13

Prayer, fasting, almsgiving and repentance

The three disciplines Christ names together, understood as therapy rather than achievement.

  • Pastoral applicationHow a teaching is ordinarily applied in practice, under the guidance of a priest and bishop. Never a substitute for that guidance.
  • Received Orthodox teachingTaught consistently and received throughout the Orthodox Church, though not necessarily formulated in a conciliar definition. This is not a claim that no Father ever wrote differently.
  • Jurisdiction-specific practicePractice varies legitimately between canonical Orthodox jurisdictions. Variation in practice is not variation in faith.

Primary evidence verified Content last reviewed 2026-08-29

What still needs checking (1)
  • Confirm the description of the Orthodox fasting seasons against an official Orthodox source; practice differs between jurisdictions and the lesson should say how.

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What this lesson covers

  • State Cassian's distinction between the immediate goal and the final end.
  • Describe how the Church's fasting rules function and how they are applied.
  • Explain why this site will not give you a rule.

About 8 minutes to read.

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Christ speaks of almsgiving, prayer and fasting together, and warns in each case against doing them to be seen. The ancient Church took the three as a unit, and the Didache — archived here — already assumes fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays and the Lord's Prayer three times a day.

Goal and end

Cassian's first Conference, archived here, sets out the framework that keeps the disciplines from becoming an achievement. Purity of heart is the immediate goal; the kingdom of God is the final end; every practice is a means, valuable exactly so far as it serves them.

The practical consequence is uncomfortable. A fast kept perfectly that leaves a person harder, more contemptuous or more self-satisfied has failed on its own terms. The desert fathers say this constantly, and they are not being modest.

How the rules work

The Orthodox Church has real fasting rules: two long fasting seasons and two shorter ones, most Wednesdays and Fridays, and a discipline that is abstinence from certain foods rather than abstinence from food. They are kept by ordinary Christians, not only monks.

Almsgiving is the third and the one most often quietly dropped. Chrysostom's treatment is the sharpest in the tradition: what is superfluous to you belongs to the poor, and giving it is restitution rather than generosity.

Key Scripture

  • Matthew 6:1-18 — Almsgiving, prayer and fasting, each with the same warning.
  • Isaiah 58:6-7 — The fast God chooses.
  • Luke 18:9-14 — The Pharisee who fasted twice a week.

On Scripture references. References are given so you can read the passage in the translation your parish uses. This site does not reproduce a modern copyrighted Bible text.

Council and canon connections

  • The Nicene canons on penance — XI, XII and XIV — show the ancient discipline in its original form and are a useful corrective to reading modern fasting as severe.

Why this matters in lived Orthodoxy

A typical Orthodox week includes fasting on Wednesday and Friday. Great Lent, the Nativity Fast, the Apostles' Fast and the Dormition Fast structure the year. Fasting is relaxed entirely in certain weeks, which is part of the discipline rather than a lapse in it.

Prayer at home usually means a morning and evening rule, before an icon corner, from a prayer book. The length is set with a priest.

Review

What is Cassian's distinction between goal and end?
Purity of heart is the immediate goal; the kingdom of God is the final end; practices are means valuable so far as they serve them.
Why does this lesson refuse to give you a fasting or prayer rule?
Because both are applied pastorally to a particular person's health and circumstances, and a rule taken on privately from a book is a known way to do harm.
How does Chrysostom describe almsgiving?
As restitution rather than generosity: what is superfluous to you belongs to the poor.

Your notes

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Going deeper

Sources for this page

  1. Tier C Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (eds.) John Cassian, Conference 1 translated edition of primary texts Source record
  2. Tier C The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (eds.); A. Cleveland Coxe (American ed.) The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter VIII translated edition of primary texts Source record

Tiers are explained in the methodology. No page on this site has been reviewed or approved by any bishop, priest, synod or seminary.