Great Lent is the most important Orthodox fasting season and it is a time to prepare the greatest Feast of the Christian year – Easter Sunday. In 2012 Lent begins on February 27th and lasts 40 days, ending on April 14th.

By now, most people acknowledge the obvious positive effects of fasting for the soul and the body. Modern doctors now recommend observing Lent (just like a diet) after noticing that temporary abstinence from animal proteins and fats has a beneficial effect on the organism. However, the meaning of Lent is not losing weight or treating the body. Priest Theoran Satvornik calls Lent “a course of redemptive therapy for the soul, a sauna which washes away any run-down or unattractive elements”.