After the Sunday of All Saints, the fast of the Holy Apostles begins. This fast is one of the oldest that our Church has established and ends on the eve of the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29).
It is so named because it precedes the two apostolic feasts: the feast of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and the “Synaxis of the 12 Apostles” (June 30).
The duration of this fast is variable because its start depends on the mobile holiday of Easter. It starts on Monday after the Sunday of All Saints and ends on June 28th. According to the current calendar it never exceeds 30 days. There is even a case (when Easter is celebrated between 5 and 8 May) that we do not fast at all.
During this period of fasting we do not consume meat, dairy products and eggs, while it is allowed to consume fish. (Of course, always except Wednesdays and Fridays).
If the feast of St. Apostles Peter and Paul is on a Friday, we consume only fish.
We also consume fish on the feast of the Nativity of the Holy Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord, John (June 24), whatever day it is.
This fast is an ancient tradition of our Church.
Athanasius the Great first reported fasting a week after Pentecost. “During the week following Pentecost, the people who observed the fast went out to the cemetery to pray” (recorded around 357). He mentions this fast immediately after Pentecost, but the book of the Apostolic Constitutions, which was written about fifty years later and reflects apostolic traditions and customs, mentions it a week after Pentecost, that is, after the feast of All Saints. “After the feast of Pentecost, celebrate one week, then observe a fast, for justice demands rejoicing after the reception of the gifts of God and fasting after the body has been refreshed.”
As it can be seen from the text of the Apostolic Constitutions, the reason for fasting was related to the joyous period from Easter to Pentecost, after which some form of reaction had to take place in order to temper the joyful mood.
Since the Apostles had begun preaching after the Pentecost, the following days were dedicated to them.
Source: Metropolis of Zambia
