The Ancient Church of the East

Denomination·Founded 1968 CE·Not independently counted; the church is concentrated in Iraq, with dioceses in Australia, Europe and North America.

Judaism → Christianity → The Church of the East → The Ancient Church of the East

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Precept of The Ancient Church of the East

A fast is as long as it is.

The 1964 reforms shortened the fast of the Nativity, and that shortening was the second grievance after the calendar. The position here is that fasts are received, not adjusted; the Great Fast, the Fast of the Nativity and the three days of the Ninevites run their full length.

Add to My Beliefs →
What it asksDo not shorten a fast for convenience
Who it bindsClergy and laity; the length of Lent was one of the two things the split was about
Where it bitesIn the diaspora, where a full fast is harder than an abbreviated one
Understanding it — context, not catechism: how this passage is held

The fasts in the East Syriac tradition are substantial: the Great Fast of fifty days, the Fast of the Nativity of twenty-five days, the three-day Rogation of the Ninevites in advance of Lent, and the Fast of the Apostles. The 1964 reform trimmed the Nativity fast and relaxed some of the rules on when the fast could be broken. Clergy in this church argue that in the diaspora a shortened fast becomes a vanished one within a generation, and that the full observance is what survives migration. Neither church has moved on the point in sixty years.

The same ground, other faiths

claims that share this one's ideas
Fasting is the ordinary condition, not the exception. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Go deeper →
The ten, kept literally. The Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God Go deeper →
The dharma of one's station. Hinduism Go deeper →
Uposatha — the observance day. Buddhism · rite Go deeper →
Paryushana. Jainism · rite Go deeper →
The commandments are how the covenant is lived. Judaism · core tenet Go deeper →

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The Ancient Church of the East's How to Live roomback up one layer Propose a change to this passageone button — it routes to the review pool

Numbers count Panfaith activity only — never real-world adherence.

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