What can you eat in Orthodoxy? Meat food in Christianity

Murad, St. Petersburg

Can a Christian eat pork?

Hello. I read in the Old Testament: “Those who sanctify and purify themselves in the groves, one by one, eat swine’s flesh and abominations and mice, they will all perish, says the Lord” (Isa. 66:17). Why, having this truth from God, do all Christians breed and eat this forbidden meat?

Good afternoon You asked a question with reference to Holy Bible. It's good that you read the word of God. But one must know that the true Scripture is contained in the Church, and the Church in its Tradition reveals its true meaning. You cannot take any quotes out of context or without interconnection with other holy books and draw any conclusions based on this. Agree, it would be absurd to read the words of Christ that He came not to bring peace, but a sword(Matthew 10:34), take up arms and start fighting. Or, for example, literally understanding the words “ take up your cross"(Matthew 10:38), make a cross from a beam and carry it on your shoulders. It sounds funny, but there have been such people in history.

Let us now delve into the meaning of the passage you cited. In it, the prophet Isaiah speaks of the destruction of those “ who sanctify and purify themselves in the groves, one by one, eating swine's flesh and abominations and mice"(Isa. 66:17). It is known that eating pork was forbidden in the Old Testament; there is a direct indication of this in the Law of Moses (Lev.11:7; Deut.14:8). However, in the passage we are considering, the consumption of this meat for food is condemned not only in itself (i.e., as a violation of the law), but in conjunction with pagan sacrifices and superstitious rituals. Idolatry is called an abomination in Scripture. Those who did not do this even under pain of death are considered saints by the Church, for example, the Maccabean martyrs and their teacher Eleazar (1 Mac. 1:41-64; 2 Mac. 6:18).

Does this mean that eating pork is prohibited once and for all? We cannot, in fact, assume that Christians have not read this text or are simply neglecting it.

To begin with, the ban on pork is one of many other prohibitions in the Law of Moses. And the question of the need for Christians to observe it (in its entirety and severity) arose back in the time of the apostles. And then it was decided at the Council as follows: “ It pleases the Holy Spirit and us not to place any more burden on you, except for this necessary: ​​to abstain from sacrifices to idols and blood, and strangulation, and fornication, and not to do to others what you do not want to do to yourself. By observing this, you will do well"(Acts 15:28-29).

The theological justification for this position was given by the holy Apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatian Christians. Read it in full, and I will limit myself here to only one quote, which expresses the whole essence: “ I do not reject the grace of God; and if there is justification by law, then Christ died in vain"(Gal. 2:21).

You can find other instructions from the Apostle Paul on this topic. At the same time, we should not forget that the apostle of the Gentiles himself was a Pharisee of the Pharisees and from childhood succeeded in observing Jewish rules (Gal. 1:14).

« Eat everything that is sold at the market without any research, for peace of conscience; For the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness of it. If one of the infidels calls you and you want to go, then eat everything that is offered to you without any investigation, for peace of conscience. But if anyone says to you, “This is sacrificed to idols,”—then do not eat for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's, and what fills it"(1 Cor. 10:25-28).

« I know and am confident in the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself; only to one who considers something unclean, it is unclean"(Rom. 14:14).

« To the pure all things are pure; but for the defiled and unbelieving there is nothing pure, but their mind and conscience are defiled"(Titus 1:15).

This is how the Orthodox attitude towards the food prohibitions of the Mosaic Law has developed since apostolic times. Although at different times there still appear those who teach to abstain from certain types of food. I have met those who do not eat potatoes, do not drink cow's milk (they say this is food for calves), boiled food (the so-called raw foodists), etc. It is much easier for a person to impose external restrictions on himself and think that by doing so he is getting closer to God than to fight his passions and sins. But " food does not bring us closer to God: for whether we eat, we gain nothing; if we don't eat, we don't lose anything"(1 Cor. 8:8). Read from the same prophet Isaiah, how and how we can be justified in Last Judgment: « Wash yourself, make yourself clean; remove your evil deeds from before my eyes; stop doing evil; learn to do good, seek truth, save the oppressed, defend the orphan, stand up for the widow. Then come—and let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins be like scarlet,—I will be as white as snow; if they are red as purple,—I'll be as white as a wave"(Isa. 1:16-18).

The holy fathers always understood all this well. For example, in the time of St. Basil the Great (IV century) there were the so-called “Encratites” - Gnostics who disdained eating any meat. In this they were similar to modern vegetarians. Hearing the Orthodox indicate that they were doing wrong, they objected, saying, “You too abhor certain foods and abstain from them.” To this, Saint Basil outlined the 86th canonical rule, in which he says that all meat is for us the same as herbal potions, according to the words of Scripture: “ Like green herbs I give you everything"(Gen. 9:3). But, distinguishing and separating what is harmful, we use what is not harmful. Thus, we abhor our own eruptions, although they come from the being of our flesh (urine, feces, sweat, liquids coming out through the mouth and nose, etc.). Consequently, just as we turn away from this, we also do not accept some of the foods. Potions include hemlock and henbane, but since they are harmful, we avoid them; Likewise, meat includes both vulture meat and dog meat, but no one will eat dog meat unless they are very hungry. But whoever eats according to need will not break the law.

In a similar way, Saint Basil writes in the 28th canon from the second canonical letter to Saint Amphilochius of Iconium: “It seemed to me worthy of laughter that someone had taken a vow to abstain from pork meat. Therefore, please teach them to refrain from ignorant swearing and vows; Meanwhile, allow the use to be considered indifferent, for no creation of God is cast aside, with thanksgiving it is acceptable (cf. 1 Tim. 4:4). Thus, the vow is worthy of laughter, and abstinence is not necessary.”

Eat for your health, and if you want to abstain, then we have been given holy fasts for this.

We all crave the truth... But do we actually choose it?

Not long ago, burdened by the drabness of everyday life, I came to study and sat down next to a guy. Knowing that I was a believer, he began to ask me questions: “What can’t you do?” “Can’t drink?” “You can’t sleep with girls?” “You can’t smoke, right?”

I understand that all these questions are aimed at teasing me or making fun of me somewhere, but still I told him: “I will write an article and it will be devoted to your questions.” The questions are truly pressing.

Some go to extremes and say that Christians are not allowed to do anything, while others show us that there are no limits of decency for them, and also call themselves Christians... What is written in the Bible about this, what is Christ’s opinion on these issues?

Dear friend, this article is dedicated to you and perhaps through it you will see the fullness of Christ’s love.

In fact, in the Bible, God gave the law to the people. No one could fulfill the law, since it was holy. To solve this problem, Christ came to earth to die for our sins, and thereby fulfill the law. By faith in Christ a person is justified before God.

But Christ also left his commands and prohibitions, so where is the answer?

“For while we were living in the flesh, then the passions of sin, revealed by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit in death; but now, having died to the law by which we were bound, we have been freed from it, so that we might serve God in the renewal of the spirit, and not according to the old letter.” Romans 7:5-6

In this passage there is a clear division between life according to the flesh and according to the spirit. Life according to the flesh, although it seems like an attractive bait, hides underneath it a steel hook that will undoubtedly harm your soul. Modern man blinded by carnal life, goals and values. Today the world says: “Do what you want!” “You have to try this!” “You must be cool!” Thus, achieving his morality and divine qualities.

And every person, having tasted this wonderful bait, sinks to the bottom of an immoral life, and it becomes increasingly difficult for him to break through the darkness to the light.

Life in spirit is wonderful. Conquer evil with good. Mortify the deeds of the flesh with the spirit. If you do this, you will live! Undoubtedly, the world will hate you, you will be strikingly different from other people, they will laugh at you, mock you, just like you are now, but you will not drown out or kill the truth, it is always alive, in the end you will understand it, but is it too late? will? When you live according to the spirit, you do not look for categories and divisions of what you can do and what you cannot do. Look at what fruit you are bearing now: the fruit of death or the fruit of life?

You can ask another question: if the world is so good and everything is possible, why don’t believers go back? Why don’t they look for loopholes to return, but instead bypass this “wonderful” bait 5 kilometers away?

Christianity and pork))

Christians do not have a direct ban on eating pork. And Orthodoxy is part of Christianity. There is also no ban on eating pork among Buddhists. And in many other, lesser-known creeds.
But on the other hand, there are some fragments of the Bible that can be interpreted as a prohibition.

In the Koran the prohibition is as follows:
- “Believers! Eat from the good food that We provide you with, and thank God if you worship Him. He has forbidden you to eat carrion, blood, pork and what was slaughtered in the name of others and not Allah. But who If he is forced to eat such food without being self-willed or wicked, there will be no sin on him: God is forgiving and merciful."
(Holy Quran 2:172, 173)

IN TOR:
- ...And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: Tell the children of Israel: These are the animals that you may eat of all the livestock on the earth: Every cattle that has cloven hooves and a deep cut in the hoof, and that chews the cud, eat ...
Leviticus. 11:2-3

But the Bible also says something similar:
- ...And a pig, although it splits its hooves, does not chew the cud, it is unclean for you; Do not eat their meat and do not touch their corpses...
(Deuteronomy 14:8, Bible)

There is no exact answer to WHY the Koran and Torah forbade their followers to eat pig. There is a ban and they are trying to find a more or less normal explanation for it. Believers professing these religions are completely satisfied with such answers, but others continue to be perplexed. Moreover, according to my personal observations, almost any religion makes concessions for extreme situations. To the sick, or to soldiers on campaigns, in captivity... Here the believer has the right to eat “what they give.” So my SA colleagues ate everything quite normally, including pork. And nothing, “Allah is merciful.”

Many researchers, not satisfied with the usual explanation about the “uncleanness” of the animal, tried to understand the reason. Perhaps it lies in the fact that in the absence of refrigerators, the meat was dried in the sun. Less fatty beef tolerates this method of preparation quite well. But fattier pork is not. A pig eating everything in sight is not a good sight.

Ethnographers believe that the whole point is in the peculiarities of primitive beliefs, from which many taboos migrated to later formed religions. In animal-deifying totemism - one of the early religious systems - it is forbidden to pronounce the name or touch those of them that are considered the gods of the tribe. Probably, among the Semitic peoples the boar was once such a god. The cult of bestiality was supplanted by the cults of anthropomorphic gods, but ritual taboos “by inertia” continued to operate. For example, our ancestors could not call the bear by its real name - ber, and this is how this “honey-witch”, that is, “honey connoisseur,” took root. By the way, the Slavs once also had a ban on eating bear meat... (c)

The actual reason for refusing to eat pork can be a whole range of diseases that this animal can “reward” us with.
It can be assumed that one of the main motives for the ban on eating pork was trichinosis, a disease caused by the round helminth trichina (TRICHINELLA SPIRATIS).
Modern medicine does not have effective drugs against trichinosis. Therefore, the only reliable method to protect against infection is prevention and avoidance of eating pig meat. Although pig carcasses going on sale are subject to mandatory testing for trichinosis, this does not provide an absolute guarantee against the disease.

TAENIA SOLIUM (pork tapeworm)
ASCARIDS
SCHITOSOMA JAPONICUM - causes bleeding, anemia; when the larvae penetrate the brain or spinal cord, paralysis or death can occur.
PARAGOMINES WESTERMANI - infection leads to bleeding from the lungs.
PACIOLEPSIS BUSKI - causes indigestion, debilitating diarrhea, general swelling.
CLONORCHIS SINENSIS - causes obstructive jaundice.
METASTRONGYLUS APRI - causes bronchitis, lung abscess.
GIGANTHORINCHUS GIGAS - leads to anemia, dyspepsia.
BALATITIDUM COLI - causes acute dysentery, exhaustion of the body.
TOXOPLASMA GOUNDII is an extremely dangerous disease.

There are also purely physiological reasons:
...Pork is difficult to digest, which can be the cause of many chronic diseases of the digestive tract. Pustular skin lesions are also more common in those who consume pork. Interesting, in our opinion, are studies concerning the hydrolysis of pork fat, its deposition and the degree of utilization human body. It has been suggested that when meat from herbivores is consumed, their fat undergoes hydrolysis and is then resynthesized and deposited as human fat. While pork fat does not undergo hydrolysis and is therefore deposited in human adipose tissue as pork fat. The utilization of this fat is difficult, and the body, if necessary, begins to use glucose intended for brain activity as an energy material, which leads to a feeling of chronic hunger. A vicious circle is created: with a seemingly sufficient amount of fat reserves, a person, experiencing hunger, constantly chews something without feeling full... (c)

The ban on the consumption of pork, according to the Bible, was imposed on Jews back in the days of the Old Testament. But can Christians eat pork today? Modern priests believe that pork dishes are quite acceptable, but this does not apply during Lent.

Orthodox Christians calmly eat pork, because they know that God sees the need for its consumption. In the New Testament this Mosaic law became a repealed dogma. There is an opinion that ritual purification of food (prayer) makes pork suitable for preparing a varied menu. Although debates about the relevance and necessity of the ban have not subsided to this day.

Myths and legends about the creation of the universe that have reached us indicate that the first people ate plant foods. Then Adam and Eve lost paradise, and their stay on earth became significantly more difficult. It was then that he allowed them to consume all living things for food.

Another indication that pork was not a forbidden product at the very beginning is where the global flood is described. In his conversations with Noah, God directly indicates permission to eat all living things except humans.

The Jews received a ban on pork so that they could separate themselves as much as possible from the pagans. Their behavior, diet and rules had to be radically different from peoples who worshiped other gods. This is how God wanted to test his chosen people, but later such a need became irrelevant. And the restriction was lifted.

Subsequently, giving up pork became a tribute to tradition, not a necessity. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether Christians can eat pork lies in modern interpretations of the Laws of God.

Why was the ban on pig meat lifted?

“Everything that is sanctified by God is purified” - this is the biblical wisdom. And an ordinary pig in this regard is no different from other animals.

Why do modern Christians eat pig meat? They do this for the following reasons:

• There is no direct reference to prohibition in the New Testament.
• Religion changes as the world naturally changes.
• The mentality of Catholics and Orthodox Christians is different from the mentality of Jews.

All of the above helps the holy fathers explain to their flock that there is nothing special about dishes made from pig meat. You can also eat pork.

To eat or not to eat pork is up to you. Some people live in harsh climates and simply cannot survive on a plant-based diet. Others are so accustomed to this style of eating that eliminating pork from their personal list will bring Negative consequences for the psyche.

Is it possible to eat pork? Let everyone decide for themselves. In any case, pork is not food for daily consumption. Its properties and the level of fat in the composition can become a serious problem for an unprepared person. But sometimes including it in the diet is very useful.

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christianity has two sacred books Bible (Old Testament) and New Testament. If these two holy books differ in the interpretation of some events and things, then undoubted preference is given to the New Testament. Believers themselves consider Christianity a healthy way of life.

There are very strong discrepancies in these books in relation to nutrition. Christians believe that with the coming of Christ many laws and prohibitions ceased to apply. The laws existed to achieve spirituality, Christ showed that any person is spiritual, with his death he atoned for all the sins of humanity.

In relation to nutrition, the following words are noteworthy: “Everything is lawful for me, but not everything is profitable; everything is lawful for me, but nothing should possess me. Food is for the belly, and the belly is for food.”(1 Cor. 6:12-13)

That is, a person can eat absolutely everything, but not everything is healthy. And since we must take care of our body as a vessel for the soul, it is our duty to think about health and how to be healthy. A healthy diet is the key to health, so eating everything in a row is not recommended, although it is permissible.

It is these principles that are laid down in Christianity, where there are no complete prohibitions on any products, but there are rules of restrictions.
Let's take a closer look at the nutrition of Christians.

The first people were vegetarians, ate grass and tree fruits. This is what everyone “who has a living soul” fed on. This food was favorable for human development; the first people, according to the Bible, lived for a very long time. But conditions changed, people multiplied. Noah was allowed to eat “every moving thing that lives.” There was a strict ban on flesh and blood (soul); any other food could be consumed.

This way of eating existed until the moment when the Jews received special instructions on eating food through Moses (Leviticus and Deuteronomy). The Jews were a strong, healthy and intelligent nation. This can be judged by the fact that there were no sick people during the crossing of the desert. The intelligence of Jewish children can be judged by the story of Daniel, who lived in the palace of the king of Egypt. Daniel tried to adhere to the laws of kashrut as much as possible (which was difficult among the Gentiles). The diet of the prophet Daniel consisted of vegetables, fruits and grains. Daniel showed himself to the king to be smarter than the Egyptian wise men.

Jesus Christ, as a Jew, adhered to the dietary laws of his people. But after his death and resurrection, only one prohibition remained: not to eat something sacrificed to idols, although even in this case, if a person could not know exactly what kind of meat it was, it was better not to think about its origin. However, the diet includes foods useful to the body. Let's find out why.

A Christian must be a living testimony to the correctness of the teachings of Christ, healthy body largely depends on nutrition. The New Testament contains a lot of information about the Christian's attitude towards food. The main thing is not to impose any burden other than what is necessary: ​​abstain from offerings to idols, blood, and the flesh of a dead animal. That's all. In Christianity there are no prohibitions on the type of food. But its consumption is strictly regulated.

Firstly, the commandment is relevant: do not kill, which applies not only to humans, but also to any animal “with a soul.” Therefore, killing an animal is allowed only when necessary, when there is no other food. IN modern world There is enough other food, so giving up animal meat can only be welcomed. In addition, “a virtuous person honors the life of the animal.”

Secondly, although there is no explicit prohibition on eating pork, Jesus still sent demons into the herd of pigs, which means that a Christian should avoid including pig meat in the diet. Fatty meat can cause heart and mental diseases (a herd of pigs rushed off a cliff in a rage and died from a broken heart).

Third, what did Jesus and his companions eat? As a rule, these were the fruits of trees in the shade of which they rested, bread that they could take with them on the road, and honey.

When various people came to listen to Christ’s sermons and needed something to eat, Christ fed everyone with bread and fish. He did not feed people more nutritious meat, because it takes more time to digest meat food; meat does not help spiritual development, in addition, a person needs to rest, which is unacceptable during the short time allotted for preaching and teaching.

Vegetable oil was used not only for food, but also in some rituals; we can say that it is “blessed”; the harlot who brought a vessel of oil to Jesus Christ was allowed to eat. Remember that all of Christ’s companions are Jews, who are forbidden to sit at table with a non-Jew, and eating foods that a non-Jew has touched is a sin.

How did Jesus Christ feel about wine? Wine in the diet is acceptable, but it must be of high quality (the episode of turning water into wine at a wedding, when water became high-quality wine, much better than what was served at the beginning of the wedding ceremony). Under no circumstances should you get drunk, it is a sin.

Jesus Christ observed long fasts during which he ate practically nothing. To think, he went to the desert so that no one would distract him and there would be no temptations of all kinds. He himself did not say that all people should follow such spiritual practice, it is impossible, but many Christian saints, monks and church fathers adhere to the rule of fasting and refuse food of animal origin, eating plant foods. Moderation in food is necessary so that it is not the flesh that guides our actions, but the mind. You cannot bring meat for consecration. You can consecrate fruits, bread, vegetable oil, Cahors, cereal dishes. On special days, the blessing of baked goods (pancakes, Easter cakes) and eggs is allowed. Ritual food is distributed to the hungry and poor or eaten by church ministers. Consecrated food should absolutely not be thrown away or given to animals. Jesus Christ taught, and later his apostles repeated, that for the sake of food one should not destroy God's creation, if there is an opportunity to eat something else.

Let us briefly summarize nutrition in Christianity. There are no prohibitions on eating food, except food with blood and carrion. But eating meat is not encouraged; there are many restrictive fasts and fasting days (there are more than 200 of them a year). There are almost the same number of prohibitive days for dairy products and eggs (there are fewer of them for a week; on Maslenitsa the consumption of dairy products is allowed, but meat is no longer allowed). Fast days - twice a week (outside fasting). On some fast days, fish is acceptable. There are no restrictions on cooking methods. Here we can already talk about traditional Russian cuisine, there are a lot of soups, main courses are stewed, baked (the food was cooked in a Russian oven, it was very difficult to fry in it). Plant foods are used in season, fresh or cooked. It can be blessed, which means that fruits and vegetables are blessed. Honey is not considered a food of animal origin, it is allowed during fasting, it is preferable to sugar, especially on those days when eating food prepared by human hands is not recommended. Fasting involves eating food for some days that does not require cooking, such as nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables.

In general, this diet can be called healthy. For Orthodox Christians who are thinking about how to keep all family members healthy, eating in accordance with the canons of religion will be useful. Reasonable alternation of consumption of animal and plant foods, rational ratio of consumption of saturated and unsaturated fats. Flour cakes and sweets (sweets, chocolate) on holidays are also reasonable. Disadvantages: although rare, but allowed fatty food animal origin (fatty meat, lard), restrictions only during fasting on the consumption of fatty dairy products (cream, sour cream, butter). If you strictly adhere to fasting, then there is little fish in your diet. Most Christians believe that fish is not an animal food and always eat it. But attitudes towards fish are ambiguous, for example, in strict Lent eating fish is allowed only twice (Annunciation and Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem) and caviar once (Lazarus Saturday). Permission for pork and lard can be explained climatic conditions. It has always been cold in Russia, so meat food is necessary. And lard stores better than meat. Therefore, in order to prolong the possibility of meat consumption, lard was preserved and consumed.

Every person who adheres to one or another religious belief can emphasize the merits of his diet and explain the shortcomings (from the point of view of a non-religious adherent). For example, a Muslim will say that food during fasting is evening time This can be explained by hot climatic conditions; during the day, all kinds of bacteria are more likely to multiply in food; cooking in the evening is more reasonable from this point of view. Meat cooked by a Jew is soft, less caloric, and the broth is clear and tasty. A Christian, with the abundance of many fasts and fasting days, will justify the daily consumption of pancakes on Maslenitsa and Easter cakes on Easter. Doctors can also defend the correct nutrition of their people, and with reason. I would like to note that the main thing with any diet is moderation. If you are thinking about how to be healthy, products healthy eating can be found in the national cuisines of any nation.