What is clean and unclean? How should this be observed properly? What foods are forbidden for Christians to eat? #

The word pagan (from the Latin paganus) in the Christianized Roman Empire referred to a non-Christian, literally a “villager” or backward person, as Christianity initially spread more rapidly among urban populations. In Old Russian, the term “pagan” also came to mean the unbaptized, and later it referred to a kind of impurity, including physical, bodily impurity.

The concepts of clean and unclean, that is, forbidden or “excluded,” are found in the Old Testament with its numerous prohibitions. For example, it speaks of unclean animals (those forbidden for sacrifice and consumption), human impurity due to certain diseases (such as leprosy or a woman’s bleeding), impurity related to menstruation and childbirth for women and newborns, seminal emissions for men, and impurity associated with dead bodies. A person defiled by contact with such impurity was required to offer a sacrifice to God, undergo purification rituals performed by priests, or, in some common cases, simply wait for the period of impurity to end, often by sunset. More about this can be read in the biblical book of Deuteronomy.

The Apostolic Council decreed that in the Christian Church, it was no longer necessary to observe the many Old Testament prohibitions and purifications, though certain fundamental requirements remain:

“Abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication, and from things you would not want done to yourself.”
(Acts 15:29)

The division of animals into “clean” and “unclean” lost its significance in Christianity, as blood sacrifices were abolished by Christ, and food was blessed by God Himself for Noah after the Flood with these words:

“The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the air, and upon all that moveth upon the earth, and upon all the fishes of the sea; into your hand are they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.”
(Genesis 9:2–4)

Thus, the apostolic decree reaffirms a return from the later “Mosaic” covenant to the original “Noahic” covenant regarding animals. This was further confirmed by God in a vision to the Apostle Peter (Acts 10:10–16; 11:5–10), where the Lord, in response to Peter’s reluctance to eat animals previously considered “unclean,” commanded:

“What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.”
(Acts 10:15; 11:9)

Nevertheless, we should eat only those animals commonly consumed in our culture, avoiding anything exotic or unusual. St. Basil the Great, in his 86th canon, writes:

“As regards the suitability of food, meat is like green herbs for us (Genesis 9:3), but as with herbs, we distinguish between what is beneficial and what is harmful. Just as hemlock is a plant, so is the meat of a griffon meat, but no one in their right mind eats henbane or touches dog meat without great necessity (and even in such cases, the eater has not broken the law).”

Similarly, the holy martyr Archpriest Avvakum, during the famine of the Daurian expedition, ate the meat of various animals and horseflesh out of great necessity, as he recounts in his Life.

In pre-schism Rus, all animals not permitted in homes or for food were called “unclean,” and people washed their hands after touching them. These customs have been preserved in the Old Rite. For example, eating pork is accepted, but eating horseflesh is not. Another distinction is that dogs are not allowed inside homes, while cats are not only permitted in homes but even in churches to deal with mice. However, if a dog runs into a church, it is considered defiled and must undergo minor sanctification according to the rite in the Trebnik.

Many customs concerning so-called “ritual impurity” in the Old Rite developed over centuries as rules of personal and communal hygiene. For instance, if a mouse falls into food, dies, and begins to decay, the entire product must be destroyed (it can be fed to livestock), and the vessel containing it must be sanctified with holy water and the priest’s prayer. If the mouse has not yet started to decay, the portion of the food that came into contact with the mouse is discarded, and the remaining food is sanctified by the priest’s prayer and sprinkling with holy water.

All vessels are classified into three categories: clean, holy, and unclean. A clean vessel is one used for preparing food, storing water and provisions, drawing water, and for eating and drinking. An unclean vessel is one used for feeding and watering animals, washing clothes, bathing, or as a toilet. A holy vessel is one consecrated to God, such as an oil lamp, sacred vessels, or other church implements.

A clean vessel can be consecrated for God’s use, for example, as an oil lamp, thereby becoming holy. Once consecrated, it may never again be used for common purposes (such as drinking tea), let alone be turned into an unclean vessel. If a clean or holy vessel is defiled—such as if an animal drinks or eats from it, or if it is inadvertently used for an unclean purpose (e.g., washing clothes in a clean trough)—it must be sanctified according to the Trebnik by a priest with prayer and holy water. However, if a clean vessel is deliberately and knowingly used for unclean purposes, it cannot be restored to clean use, as it is no longer subject to sanctification. It is believed that diseases can be transmitted through unclean vessels and other forms of physical impurity.

Sharing food or drink with heretics or using vessels they have used is also considered unclean. However, if someone converts to Orthodoxy from a heretical family and their relatives, including a spouse, have not joined the Church, it is not forbidden to eat and drink with them, as Scripture says:

“For the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband.”
(1 Corinthians 7:14)

A woman is considered “impure” during her menstrual period until the eighth day (if it does not last longer) and for 40 days after giving birth or after a miscarriage. During this time, she should not enter the church beyond the vestibule (or the area designated by the rector for women undergoing purification), receive blessings from clergy, partake of the Eucharist, or participate in other church sacraments (except in cases of mortal necessity), touch holy objects, or consume holy bread (dora).

A man or woman is considered impure for the entire day following a “nocturnal emission” until sunset. They must immediately wash, change clothes, and recite as penance the “Rule for One Tempted in Sleep,” accompanied by 50 prostrations (on Saturdays, Sundays, and great feasts, this is replaced by 100 prayers of “Without number have I sinned, O Lord, save me for Thy holy name’s sake”).

After marital relations, spouses must wash, change their bedding, and refrain from touching holy objects until sunset. According to the Kirik Questions, this rule is less strict: after washing, one may touch icons. On the night before and after receiving Holy Communion, abstinence from marital relations is required.

A washing machine or any vessel used for laundering is considered unclean (pagan), and all items washed in it are considered impure. Therefore, clothes must be rinsed afterward with the Jesus Prayer in a natural body of water or under running water.

A bathhouse and vessels used for bathing (except for natural water bodies) are considered unclean. After bathing in a tub, pool, or bathhouse, a person must rinse either in a natural body of water or under running water from a shower, hose, or clean vessel. Running water from a clean container or reservoir is considered “clean.”

The Trebnik contains instructions on how to sanctify defiled churches, homes, vessels, wells, food, wine, oil, and similar items.

For more on this topic, you can view my video lecture in the “Online Sunday School” at the following link:
https://t.me/voskresnaya_shkola_onlajn_rpsc/457

— Archpriest Vadim Korovin