Thomas O’Loughlin observes that “monastic fasting must be seen as a variant and development of fasting within Christianity as a whole.”8 The scriptural examples of fasting inspired imitation, and the earliest Christian documents already examined show that fasting was quickly becoming part of regular Christian experience. Christians held up ascetic ideals as examples and participated vicariously in the lives of others. Some of the ascetics became heroic figures in early Christianity, and “where the monk’s austerities could not be imitated, they could be admired.”9 It should not be surprising, then, to see monastic fasting taking examples of fasting and habits that were already forming generally into more structured forms.
Antony: Fasting in the Archetypical Ascetic. Among examples of monastic fasting, Antony (ca. 251-356) stands out as “the undisputed pioneer of the monastic tradition and the most famous teacher of later generations,” and “all later sources on
4 Callam, 5: 19.
5 For a detailed treatment of Franciscan fasting rules, which are not examined here, see Jordan Joseph Sullivan, Fast and Abstinence in the First Order of Saint Francis: A
Historical Synopsis and a Commentary, The Catholic University of America Canon Law Studies 374 (Washington: The Catholic University of America Press, 1957).
6 Jordan Aumann, “Origins of Monasticism,” Monasticism: a Historical Overview, Word and Spirit 6 (Still River, Mass.: St. Bede’s, 1984), 4-10.
7 In addition to sources cited here, see Vincent L. Wimbush, ed., Ascetic Behavior in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook, Studies in Antiquity and Christianity (Minneapolis:
Fortress, 1990); Owen Chadwick, ed. and trans., Western Asceticism, Library of Christian Classics 12 (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1943); Alban Goodier, An Introduction to the Study of Ascetical and Mystical Theology (London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1938).
8 Thomas O’Loughlin, “Fasting: Western Christian,” Encycopedia of Monasticism, 1:
470.
9 Robert C. Gregg, trans. and ed., Athanasius: The Life of Antony and the Letter to Marcellinus, Classics of Western Spirituality (New York: Paulist, 1980), 7.
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early monasticism refer to Antony as the father of monasticism.”10 Athanasius’
classic depiction of Antony shows him eating bread and salt, with water, once a day in the evenings, and frequently foregoing these.11 Antony saw his ascetic life as a daily martyrdom, and combined fasting with wearing a hair shirt and refusing to bathe.12 Fasting, combined with prayer, was seen as a means of thwarting demonic temptations.13
Ephrem and Eastern Monasticism: Championing Ascetic Orthodoxy. In the East, ascetic life took hold in monastic communities in Greek-speaking areas as well as Syria and points further distant. Fasting practices in the East drew inspiration from Basil’s rules, and received similar teaching about fasting and self-control from prominent figures like John Chrysostom and Ephrem the Syrian (4th century), Diadokos of Photiki and Mark the Hermit (5th century), and John Climacus (6th century).14 Ephrem (ca. 306-373), who championed orthodoxy against many heresies that were flowering in the East, wrote at least ten hymns on fasting that were featured in the liturgical year.15 Hymn 1 features Jesus defeating Satan in the desert as an answer to the fall of Adam. Hymn 4.11 Moses and Elijah as forerunners of Christ experiencing the same fasting duration and supernatural power. Hymns 7-9 refer to the exemplary biblical fasts of Esther, the Ninevites, Daniel and his three friends. In addition to the negative example of Adam and Eve, the hypocritical fast of Ahab and Jezebel against Naboth is recalled in Hymn 3. For Ephrem, the many good uses of fasting were ultimately transcended by the purification it fosters that allows a clearer vision of God: “Beau et utile est le jeûne pour celui qui se purifie afin de contemplar Dieu.”16
John Cassian and Latin Monasticism: Fasting to Counter the Principal Vice of Gluttony. Among the Latin fathers, John Cassian’s (ca. 360-ca. 435) writings from the late fourth and early fifth centuries “present the fullest treatment of fasting and were looked to as basic teaching until modern times.”17 Cassian governed communities of monastic life in Egypt for some time and wrote his Conferences (Latin, Conlationes) and Institutes in that context.18 In the midst of dealing with liturgical calendar questions about fasting around the time of Pentecost, Cassian teaches that fasting is not an “essential good,” or intrinsically right, because its opposite, eating, is not intrinsically wrong. Therefore, fasting, like other behaviors, should be practiced in accord with what is essentially good and promotes true
10 Samuel Rubenson, “Antony, St.,” in Encyclopedia of Monasticism, 1: 40.
11 Life 7, Gregg, 36.
12 Life 47, Gregg, 66-67.
13 Life 5, 23, 27, Gregg, 33-34, 48, 51-52.
14 Michael D. Peterson, “Fasting: Eastern Christian,” Encycopedia of Monasticism, ed.
William M. Johnston (Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2000), vol. 1: 469.
15 Éphrem le Syrien, Hymnes sur le jeûne, trans. Dominique Cerbelaud, Spiritualité Orientale 69 (Maine-&-Loire: Abbaye de Bellefontaine, 1997).
16 Ibid., 21, 30.
17 O’Loughlin, 471.
18 John Cassian: The Conferences, and John Cassian: The Institutes, trans. Boniface Ramsey, ACW 57 and 58 (New York: Paulist, 1997).
good.19 But, since gluttony is the principal vice that led to Adam’s fall, fasting should be encouraged to help the body to learn to abstain from gluttony as well as the other vices of lust that are related to it. Jesus, who by virtue of his sinless divinity was not affected by the vices of sinful flesh, still fasted when tempted by the devil, to show the means of conquering sin in the flesh.20 Gregory the Great followed and modified Cassian’s approach to the deadly sins, and retained fasting as the sine qua non of ascetic commitment, from which everything else flowed.21 Cassian’s approach to fasting and vigils were that moderation was required, because one could err on the side of too much as well as too little abstinence.22 So while Cassian obviously presided over monks practicing rigorous disciplines that often included austere fasting, in the final analysis it was intended as a tool for more important matters of the spiritual life.23 Maximus the Confessor (7th century) similarly urged fasting, among other disciplines, as a tool against sin.24
The Rule of St. Benedict: Fasting Austerities Moderated. The Rule of St.
Benedict was composed sometime before 528 when Benedict of Nursia (ca. 480-ca.
547) moved from governing monasteries in Subiaco, Italy, to Monte Cassino, where he lived until his death.25 Its organization of monastic life has stood as the rule for all these centuries for Benedictines as well as adherents of some other orders. While it does present a disciplined life, it is not particularly strenuous with regard to fasting. Its food ration allows for two cooked dishes and available fruits and vegetables at two meals per day, at the sixth and ninth hours, plus bread. More can be allowed by the abbot’s discretion, though care should be taken, since “nothing is more contrary to being a Christian than gluttony.”26 Wine is allowed, though “those who have received the gift of abstinence will know they shall be especially rewarded by God.”27 Monks are to fast until the ninth hour on Wednesdays and Fridays from Pentecost through the summer, provided there is not too much hard
19 Conf. 21.13-14, ACW 57: 729-31.
20 Conf. 5.4-5, ACW 57: 183-85.
21 Conrad Leyser, Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great, Oxford Historical Monographs (Oxford: Clarendon, 2000), 167. Gregory went on to comment that the link between gluttony and lust is clear, because of the proximity of the stomach to the genitals (citing Mor. 31.45.89, CCSL 143B, 1611). This theme can be traced back to Philo, De Agr. (On Husbandry) 8.36-38, as mentioned here in the first chapter, above.
22 Conf. 2.17, ACW 57: 100.
23 For a discussion of the specifics of the disciplines, see Columba Stewart, Cassian the Monk, Oxford Studies in Historical Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998), 62-76.
24 St. Maximus the Confessor: The Ascetic Life, and The Four Centuries on Charity, trans. Polycarp Sherwood, ACW 21 (London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1955), 24, 35, 47, 57, 70; Char. 1.42, 79; 2.19; 3.13.
25 Benedict, The Holy Rule of Our Most Holy Father Saint Benedict, ed. Benedictine Monks of St. Meinrad Archabbey (St. Meinrad, Ind.: Grail, 1956), vii-viii.
26 Rule 39, Benedict, The Rule of St. Benedict, trans. Anthony C. Meisel and M. L. del Mastro (New York: Image/Doubleday, 1975), 80.
27 Rule 40, Ibid., 81.
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labor or heat.28 During Lent, monks should voluntarily plan to abstain in some way that is communicated to the abbot, though “a monk’s life should always be like a Lenten observance.”29 One can see from these rules an encouragement of a voluntarily disciplined life, without extreme rigor in fasting practices.