At what age should a child begin observing the fast? #

Observing fasts teaches Christians one of the virtues, namely temperance. The righteous and the prophets of Old Testament times observed fasting. Even our Lord Himself fasted, giving us an example of restraint.

The requirement for Christians to observe the Great Fast and one-day fasts is found in the Apostolic Canons. The 69th canon of the Holy Apostles commands the deposition of bishops, priests, and other clergy if they do not fast during the Great Fast or on Wednesdays and Fridays, and it excommunicates laypeople for the same offense.

Fasting is also an integral part of repentance, commanded for the forgiveness of sins and preparation for receiving the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of Christ.

Young children, as we know, are not yet accountable for their sins and therefore partake of the Holy Mysteries without confession. Consequently, fasting may seem unnecessary for them at first glance, but this is only a superficial view. Children must be prepared for a future adult Christian life, which is inseparable from the observance of commonly accepted fasts.

The Kormchaya Book does not provide specific instructions on the age at which a child must begin observing Church fasts. However, a thousand-year-old Church document, the Commandments of Metropolitan George of Kiev, states that an infant may nurse “through two fasts,” that is, two Great Lents, but by the third Lent, they should eat along with everyone else, consuming Lenten food.

In our time, when mothers often face early milk insufficiency, children are fed either cow’s (or goat’s) milk or special infant formula. I believe the same guidelines for breastfeeding can be applied to bottle-feeding.

An infant does not bear significant sins, so fasting is less about combating passions and more about acclimating them to the Christian way of life. This way, they will not face great difficulty in the future when adhering to Church fasts.

In our large family, we have adopted the following rule: a child is breastfed as long as they nurse, and they are weaned with the same food that other family members eat—Lenten food during fasts and regular food on non-fasting days. If breastmilk was insufficient for any of our infants (or caused allergies), we bottle-fed them cow’s or goat’s milk (or yogurt, in cases of dysbiosis), but the rest of their food was Lenten during fasts. In this way, our children received all the necessary nutrients from breastmilk or its substitutes while also becoming accustomed to Lenten food on fasting days. As they grew older and naturally weaned themselves off the breast (or bottle), they seamlessly transitioned to the family diet, as they were already used to it.

Of course, during the first days of the Great Fast, when strict rules prescribe complete abstinence from food and drink, we make allowances for children (up to about ten years old), permitting them to eat simple Lenten food (without oil) and drink water. The Rule for Christian Living allows small children, the infirm, and the elderly to eat bread and water on the first day of the Great Fast. Even St. Theodore the Studite permitted this for all the monks of his monastery, though in small quantities and with restraint, according to the Lenten Triodion.

—Archpriest Vadim Korovin.