Rituals, Festivals & Liturgical Calendar
E.S
E.S
Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity is also distinct in their emphasis on fasting (Luehrmann, 2018). Fasting occupies a majority of the year, over 200 days for some (Antohin, 2014). To those in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, fasting is how the whole community partakes in ritual order (Boylston, 2018).
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Those who don’t attend church have to at least not consume any animal products, as well as avoid sexual activity. Those who do attend church additionally have the restriction of not eating or drinking until liturgy is finished. Monks and priests are required to observe every single fast, so they spend at least 250 days avoiding the consumption of meat.
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There are a total seven fasts throughout the year (Fritsch, 2001).
Only four of the seven are required for all Christians in the church: the great fast, the fast of Nineveh, the fast of salvation, and the fast of the Assumption. The other three are required also for monks and priests, explaining the extremely lengthy amount of time they spend fasting during the year. |