Жұма күнгі ораза: Христиан дәстүрі

Christian practice of abstaining from meat, lacticinia and alcohol on Fridays
The Friday fast is a Christian practice of variously (depending on the denomination) abstaining from meat, dairy products and alcohol, on Fridays, or holding a fast on Fridays, The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, written in the first century A. D., directed Christians to fast on both Wednesdays (the fourth day of the week) and Fridays (the sixth day of the week). The Wednesday fast is done in remembrance of the story of the betrayal of Christ by Judas on Spy Wednesday, while the Friday fast is done in commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Good Friday. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, in addition to fasting from food until sundown, the faithful are enjoined to abstain from sexual relations on Fridays as well. Abstinence on all Fridays outside of Lent is still the preferred practice among many Catholics, who choose to maintain this tradition rather than substituting an alternative penance. Most episcopal conferences have not allowed the substitution of an alternative penance for Fridays of Lent. No episcopal conference has lifted the obligation for either fasting or abstinence for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fast and abstinence is regulated by Canons 1250–1253 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. They specify that all Fridays throughout the year and the time of Lent are penitential times throughout the entire Church. All adults (those who have attained the 'age of majority', which is 18 years in canon law) are bound by ecclesiastical law to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday until the beginning of their sixtieth year. All persons who have completed their fourteenth year are bound by the law of abstinence on all Fridays unless the Friday is a solemnity, and again on Ash Wednesday; but in practice, this requirement has been greatly reduced by the Episcopal Conferences because under Canon 1253, it is these Conferences that have the authority to set down the local norms for fasting and abstinence in their territories. The precept to both fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday is usually not dispensed from. Catholics may eat only one full meal on a fast day. Additionally, they are permitted to eat up to two small meals or snacks, known as collations. Church requirements on fasting only relate to solid food, not to drink, so Church law does not restrict the amount of water or other beverages – even alcoholic drinks – which may be consumed. Church law on fasting has changed over the centuries since fasting is a discipline which may be altered by legitimate Church authorities.

Anglican formularies, particularly the Book of Common Prayer, have generally required abstinence from meat on Fridays; the wording in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America describes "All the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas Day and the Epiphany, or any Friday which may intervene between these Feasts" as days "on which the church requires such a measure of abstinence as is more especially suited to extraordinary acts and exercises of devotion".

"The General Rules of the Methodist Church," written by the founder of Methodism, John Wesley, wrote that "It is expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, by attending upon all the ordinances of God, such are: the public worship of God; the ministry of the Word, either read or expounded; the Supper of the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures; and fasting or abstinence." a practice that was reemphasized by Phoebe Palmer and became standard in the Methodist churches of the holiness movement. The Methodist Churches traditionally encourage their adherents to fast on Fridays throughout the year.