Fasting in the Orthodox Church

Fasting is abstinence for the sake of prayer and repentance, not a diet. The Church keeps four multi-day fasts (Great Lent, the Apostles', Dormition and Nativity Fasts), Wednesdays and Fridays, and three strict one-day fasts (the eve of Theophany, the Beheading of the Forerunner, the Exaltation of the Cross).

The rubrics (Typikon ch. 32–33) were written for monasteries. Lay practice, as printed in the church calendar, is gentler. Your personal measure of fasting — especially in illness, pregnancy or travel — should be agreed with a priest. The app shows the reference rule, not a prescription.

Christmastide, the week after the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, Cheesefare week (no meat), Bright Week and Trinity Week are times without fasting on Wednesday and Friday.