Quote of the Day: St. Jonah the Prophet

So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord...and Jonah...cried out and said, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!"

So the people of Nineveh believe God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest to the least of them. Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, "Let neither man nor beast...taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?"

Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.

From the Prophecy of St. Jonah.

Fast of the Ninevites

We've arrived again at the Fast of Nineveh, the three-day fast commemorating the repentance of Nineveh and God's mercy on the Assyrian people. Many Orthodox - in Greece, Russia, and elsewhere - mark the approach of Lent with a fast-free week, but the Syrians, Armenians, Copts, Ethiopians, and Indians rigorously observe the Fast of Nineveh to prepare for the coming Great Fast.

Historically the Fast of the Ninevites originated in Mesopotamia, where it was kept strictly by the Assyrians and from whom it was passed to other parts of the Orthodox world. In the past the fast was six days long, but was later reduced to three. More on the fast can be found here.

"The Ninevites trembled at the voice of Jonah, the son of Mattai, and took refuge in penitence by watching, fasting and prayer; and by tears and groans the sentence of judgment pronounced by Jonah concerning the destruction of Nineveh was annulled. Blessed is the Compassionate One who turned them from evil to good!" (A prayer of the West Syrian Rite.)

Whether you're celebrating a week free from fasting or following the example of the Ninevites, God help you in your preparation for the approaching Pascha of His Son!

Fast of Nineveh

Today is the first day of the Fast of Nineveh. While the Roman Orthodox world (Arabs, Greeks, Russians, et cetera) celebrates this as a fast-free week the Copts, Ethiopians, Syrians, Eritreans, and Indians fast for three days in memory of God's mercy to the city of Nineveh and the preaching of St. Jonah there. The Fast originated amongst the Assyrians living around the site of ancient Nineveh and spread westwards from the Church of the East to the Syriac Orthodox Church and its sister churches in Africa. More here. God help you all whatever you are doing this week as we draw closer to the Great and Holy Fast!