www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Radio 4 -'Beyond Belief' Programme'- Fasting

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/programmes/beyond_belief/index.shtml

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Had an Orthodox priest from Manchester on who was rightly shocked by the 'Catholic' view of fasting put forward by Peter Stanford.

I was absolutely fizzing by the end of this and can see why some Orthodox, if this is the Catholicism they have been exposed to, want nothing to do with us.

AAARRGGHH!

Peter Stanford launched into a litany of stuff like we only fast Ash Wednesday / Good Friday (not pointing out it's the minimum), grudgingly acknowledging he would fast these days 'as it's not that difficult and I'm doing something extra for lent, trying to follow the modern Church' then stating fasting is about chastising the body - which is bad. (Orthodox priest nearly combusts and rounds on him at this point.

This is the 'catholicism' of Peter Stanford [en.wikipedia.org], hardly orthodox nor authentic... it's a lot closer to Anglicanism as practiced by the English, i.e. "all may, some should, none do"

Thanks for the link, I shared your sentiments about the Catholic speaker. It said it all that the Orthodox priest felt closer to the spiritual tradition of his Jain sister than to that of his Catholic brother. Peter Stanford seemed to be more influenced by contemporary concerns about anorexia and a trendy feminist critique of Catherine of Sienna, than by the totality of the Christian tradition of fasting. It made for very sad listening.

Brigid