ACCORDING to the Orthodox Christian Church calendar, we are in the midst of the Nativity season. Nativity, also known as Advent or Winter Lent, signifies a period of fasting for many Orthodox Christians around the world, including Bulgarian Orthodox Christians.

The Orthodox Church has the most extensive fasting calendar of any religious group. If fasting principles are strictly followed, an Orthodox Christian spends half of his or her year fasting on some level.

Fasting was adopted by Christians according to the teachings of the Bible. By depriving the body of certain foods, it serves as a way to de-emphasise the material world while focusing more on spiritual aspects of life. Participating in a fast is never to be viewed as self-deprivation, but rather as a way to grow closer to God.

Fasting is also often used as a means of preparation for a given event in the Orthodox calendar. Before taking communion, for example, Orthodox Christians abstain from all food and drink for a limited amount of time. The Nativity fast is used to prepare Orthodox Christians for the birth of Jesus, which is celebrated on December 25.

For the 40 days before Christmas, participants in the fast abide by what is essentially a vegan diet: no meat and no dairy products. During certain periods of the fast, the diet becomes more restrictive. Cooking oils, including vegetable oil, are not allowed, for example. During other periods of the fast, restrictions are loosened and fish is permitted.

Plamen Sivov, Director of the Pokrov Foundation, a non-profit institution acting as a bridge between the Church and Bulgarian society, emphasised the Orthodox Church's sensitivity to human limitation. The concept of `ekonomia', applying the canons to the extent that they are helpful, is an important aspect of fasting. Pregnant women and diabetics, for example, are naturally exempt from the fast.

"The Church is more concerned with the spiritual aspect of the fast than the physical act, although this is often forgotten," Sivov said.
The Advent fast, and the Advent season more generally, play a secondary role to the Easter season in the Orthodox Church calendar. According to Sivov, the Nativity season is focused largely on Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is known as Theotokos, literally meaning Mother of God. Mary is venerated during this season for having given birth to the Christ child. However, Sivov emphasised that the Orthodox Church does not consider Mary to be sinless, unlike some Roman Catholic views of Mary.

Official statistics indicate that about 87 per cent of Bulgarians consider themselves Orthodox. "Taking communion is what technically makes you an Orthodox Christian," Sivov said. "But using communion as a measure means that the percentage of Bulgarian Orthodox Christians falls below 10 per cent."

There is a growing tendency for people to participate in the fast who do not consider themselves particularly religious and instead participate in the fast for health reasons.

Sofia resident Gergana Georgieva is one of many who participated in the fast last Advent season, maintaining a vegan diet for the 40 days leading up to Christmas. "I didn't do it because I'm religious," Georgieva said. "I fasted because it's good for your health. It cleanses the body. I felt great while I fasted."

The Orthodox Church encourages people like Georgieva to continue the practice of fasting, despite her physical rather than spiritual motivation. "The Orthodox Church is not entirely critical of this, because it might be a step toward something spiritual in the future," Sivov said.

"The Church in Bulgaria has lost much of the trust of the people, both from its actions under communism and since the change," Sivov said. "We [the Pokrov Foundation] have been sometimes critical of the Church leadership's reluctance to give guidance to the people during a very important time."

The Pokrov Foundation uses mediums such as its magazine Mirna and website (www.pokrov-foundation.org) to encourage greater discussion of the spiritual and intellectual understanding of Orthodox faith.

Sivov and his colleagues at the Pokrov Foundation are hopeful that with a new generation of priests and laity, the Orthodox Church will be more effective in opening up dialogue about the Orthodox life and faith, of which fasting is a central part.