Quiz about basic knowledge of Christianity

Glory to the grace of fasting! I owe the fact to it, that I pray with heartfelt devotion and felicity and sweetness; I owe the richness of holy and exalted thoughts to it ; I owe the comfortable union of the heart with the Lord through living faith to it .

Righteous Saint John of Kronstadt

True fasting must be undertaken for God, that is, in order to purify the soul from sins by possible mental and bodily feats, to dispose it to goodness.

Archpriest Valentin Amfiteatrov

Do you want to keep a true fast? Leave all the hatred, annoyance and bickering together with the food, become quiet, meek, humble, compassionate and loving in everything and to everyone. This is what the season of fasting itself requires. Do you want to fast a true fast? Remove all other passions and whims of the flesh, which are more harmful to the soul than the satiety of the body.

And finally, if you want to have a true fast that is pleasing to the Lord, do not forget to adorn your soul with deeds of charity. Help the poor according to your strength, comfort the unfortunate, visit the sick.

Archimandrite Kirill (Pavlov)

The Venerable Seraphim of Sarov said bluntly: "he who does not observe fasts is not a Christian, no matter who he calls himself...".

Fasting is certainly necessary for a person - from the external side it is a feat of unconditional, filial obedience to the Church, whose statutes should be sacred for him, and not something neglected and violated.

And from the inner side, fasting is a feat of abstinence and self-restraint. And this is its great value and meaning, because the strict observance of fasts hardens the will in a person and develops a character that is firm in its religious beliefs and actions.

Let us not forget that Christ Himself fasted and predicted that His apostles would also fast. And He also said about the struggle against evil, diabolical power: "This generation does not come out, only by prayer and fasting".

Mitropolite Philaret (Voznesensky)