Have You Heard of “Summer Lent”?

Generally called the Apostles’ Fast, it began on 1 June, the day after Pentecost, and runs through the Feast of Ss Peter & Paul on the 29th of this month.

From Aleteia

By Philip Kosloski

In the Eastern Church, the time following Pentecost is devoted to fasting as a way to prepare for our mission as disciples of Jesus Christ.

Most of us are very familiar with Lent and the various fasting requirements for the penitential period leading up to the celebration of Jesus' resurrection at Easter.

Outside of Lent, there exist a variety of fasting customs and traditions that are practiced by Catholics around the world. In recent years there has been much talk online about "St. Michael's Lent," which is a 40-day preparation for the feast of St. Michael the Archangel, inspired by a practice from the life of St. Francis of Assisi.

Similarly, there exists a period of fasting in the Eastern Church that many call "Summer Lent," which follows the celebration of Pentecost. It's a unique time of fasting, one that has deep roots in apostolic tradition.

The Apostles' Fast

The Eparchy of Phoenix explains that, "The Apostles’ Fast or 'Summer Lent' is a summer fast that begins after All Saints Sunday (following Pentecost) and concludes on June 29, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. It commemorates the Apostles’ preparation for their missionary work after Pentecost and invites the faithful to share in that spirit of prayer, fasting, and witness. "

The fast focuses on preparation for mission, imitating the apostles and the early Christians.

The Apostles' Fast has a rich history and dates back to the first few centuries of Christianity. The following is from the Apostolic Constitutions, a document that dates to the 4th century:

[A]fter you have kept the festival of Pentecost, keep one week more festival, and after that fast; for it is reasonable to rejoice for the gift of God, and to fast after that relaxation: for both Moses and Elijah fasted forty days, and Daniel for three weeks of days did not eat desirable bread, and flesh and wine did not enter into his mouth."

What's interesting is that even St. Leo the Great, a Roman Catholic saint and pope, wrote about this fast in the 5th century:

Today’s festival, dearly-beloved, hallowed by the descent of the Holy Spirit, is followed, as you know, by a solemn Fast. … ordained as a wholesome and needful practice, so that, if perhaps through neglect or disorder even amid the joys of the festival any undue license has broken out, it may be corrected by the remedy of strict abstinence, which must be the more scrupulously carried out in order that what was divinely bestowed on the Church on this day may abide in us. (Sermon 78)

The specific rules for the fast vary according to the tradition and it is not widely observed by all Eastern Catholics, as it is often seen as a "voluntary" fast.

While it may not be a requirement for most of us, it does remind us of the importance the Church has placed on fasting since the very beginning, based both on our Jewish heritage and Jesus' words in Scripture. Fasting is an important spiritual discipline and each of us are challenged to consider how we can prepare our souls through depriving our bodies.