THE APOSTLES’ FAST: A WESTERN ORTHODOX REFLECTION ON REORIENTATION, WITNESS, AND GRACE

A Contemporary Icon of the Holy Vine of Jesus Christ and His Apostles 

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

INTRODUCTION

The Apostles’ Fast, sometimes called the Fast of Sts. Peter and Paul, is one of the lesser-known but deeply significant periods of ascetical devotion in the Western Orthodox liturgical calendar. Occurring in June and concluding with the great feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, this fast emerges as a bridge between Pentecost and the Apostolic labor that spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. While it is shorter and less rigorous than the Great Lent, it carries a quiet, purposeful gravity - offering the faithful a time of reorientation, self-examination, and renewed missionary zeal.

A FAST ROOTED IN THE CHURCH’S MISSION

Historically, the Apostles’ Fast developed in both East and West as a time of thanksgiving and preparation following Pentecost. Just as the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles, igniting them with tongues of fire and divine boldness, so too are we invited to enter into a season of spiritual recollection. It is a fast not primarily of mourning but of movement - a fast suited not for ashes but for sandals.

In the words of St. Leo the Great (d. AD 461), “After the days of rejoicing which followed the Resurrection and Ascension of the Lord, and after receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, it is most fitting that we should temper our bodies and subdue our passions, that we might remain vessels fit for the indwelling of grace.”

The Apostles’ Fast is thus an ascetical answer to a theological reality: that divine gifts are not ends in themselves, but beginnings of a life consecrated to holiness and witness. Just as the Apostles, having received the Comforter, did not linger in the Upper Room but went out into the world, so must we not become complacent in our spiritual joys, but rearm ourselves with fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.

THE WESTERN ORTHODOX PRACTICE OF THE FAST

In our Western Orthodox tradition, the Apostles’ Fast begins after the Sunday within the Octave of Pentecost (Trinity Sunday) and continues until the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29. The length of the fast varies from year to year depending on the date of Easter, which affects the timing of Pentecost.

Traditionally, Wednesdays and Fridays are days of abstinence throughout the fast, though stricter observance may include daily abstinence from meat or dairy, as directed by one’s confessor or rule of life. The tone of the fast is sober but hopeful - not the somber toll of Good Friday, but the pilgrim’s fast, lean and focused.

In a world given to constant distraction and spiritual drift, this fast recalls us to the foundations of the Church: the apostolic preaching, the faithful martyrdom, and the call to radical obedience to Christ. It is a brief season to ask:

• Have I become lukewarm in my love of Christ?

• Have I honored the teaching of the Apostles, or replaced it with the opinions of men?

• Am I willing to follow the Lord even to prison or to death, as did Peter and Paul?

FASTING AS REORIENTATION

While Lent may be seen as a desert journey of repentance and Pascha a time of glory, the Apostles’ Fast reminds us that the Christian life is not an escape from the world, but a transformation of it through witness. It is a time to reorient our gaze toward Jerusalem and Rome, toward martyrdom and mission.

The Apostles fasted - this much is certain from the Scriptures. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them” (Acts 13:2). The early Church understood fasting not merely as an act of individual piety, but as a means of corporate discernment and empowerment. Through fasting, the Church listened. Through fasting, the Church was strengthened. Through fasting, the Gospel went forth.

To fast during this season is to place ourselves within that same upper room of prayerful preparation. But it is also to place ourselves upon the road - to the synagogues of Antioch, the councils of Jerusalem, the Areopagus of Athens, and finally the dungeons of Rome. The Apostles’ Fast is a summons: not merely to self-denial, but to the Apostolic vocation.

THE CULMINATION: THE FEAST OF STS. PETER AND PAUL

This fast finds its glorious consummation on June 29th, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Princes of the Apostles, martyrs of the Church, and pillars of both Jewish and Gentile evangelization. Here we behold not only the greatness of their witness, but the unity of their testimony. Peter, the rock upon which the Lord declared He would build His Church; and Paul, the vessel chosen to bear the Gospel before Gentiles and kings - both sealed their testimony in blood, both confessors of the same Christ.

The collect of the feast reminds us that God has “taught the hearts of Thy faithful people, by the preaching of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul,” and thus we pray that we may “follow their holy doctrine” and “receive the crown of everlasting glory.”

It is a fitting end to the fast, for it is the beginning of our mission. From the bones of Peter in Rome and the sword of Paul on the Ostian Way, the blood of the martyrs waters the seeds of the Church’s future. We fast to prepare. We feast to go forth.

A FINAL WORD: FASTING IN AN AGE OF COMFORT

In this modern world, fasting has become an alien thing - misunderstood, reduced to dietary trends, or simply ignored. But the ancient Church saw fasting as a weapon of spiritual warfare, a medicine for the soul, and a sign of love for God.

As C.S. Lewis once observed, “We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.” Fasting, even for a few short weeks in June, opens the eyes of the heart to recognize His presence again. It teaches us hunger - not for food, but for righteousness. And that is a hunger God has promised to fill.

Let us, then, not neglect this small, hidden fast. Let us embrace it - not with Pharisaic rigor or modern guilt, but with Apostolic joy. It is a chance to join the saints in their holy labor, to renew our love for Christ, and to say with Paul:

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me” (Galatians 2:20).

COLLECT

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst call thine Apostles Peter and Paul from their several labours to the unity of one faith and the crown of one martyrdom: Grant unto us, we beseech thee, such constancy in fasting, prayer, and holy doctrine, that we, being renewed by thy Spirit, may be made meet partakers of their reward; and, following in their steps, may boldly confess thy Name before the world, and be found faithful unto death; who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.