Cover Fish on Friday
series "Intersezioni"
pp. 200, Brossura, 978-88-15-29176-9
publication year 2021

CLAUDIO FERLAN

Fish on Friday

Fasting and Christianity

“Desire for food gave birth to disobedience and a sweet taste expelled from paradise… An empty stomach prepares one for keeping vigil in prayer, whereas a full one leads to deep slumber.” – Evagrio Pontico

Eating, not eating, what to eat, and what not to eat are issues that have emerged over the entire history of Christianity (and beyond). Fasting and abstinence are practices that free the spirit from bodily appetites and bring us closer to God. Popes, cardinals, bishops, theologians and experts in canon law have written, preached and ruled on eating, but often in a contradictory way, because the very concept of food changes over time and space. Forgoing meat? Good… but is iguana meat or fish? How about the viper? Is watermelon a food, and therefore forbidden during a fast, or is it a drink? What about chocolate? Are we allowed to enjoy the aroma of meat being cooked? Amidst this confusion, believers have behaved according to necessity, moral sense and appetite. The story of fasting deserves to be appreciated, especially in contemporary society, in which the commandment of fasting and abstinence is more crucial than ever before, albeit no longer for religious reasons.

Claudio Ferlan conducts research at the Bruno Kessler Foundation’s Italian-German Historical Institute in Trento.

Antipasto. Dove si scrive del significato del digiuno e dell’astinenza in religione cristiana ma non solo e si espongono le ragioni che hanno spinto a scrivere questo libro.
Minestra. Dove si scrive partendo dal Terzo Millennio per risalire al primo secolo e procedere poi avanti nel tempo, tra miracolose rinunce, diete vegetariane, scelte carnivore, patologie sospette, arrabbiature e reazioni.
Porzione. Dove si scrive di norme giuridiche e regole teologiche, di tempi e autorità. Dove a proposito di astinenti e digiunatori si raccontano ragioni, dibattiti, ingredienti e ricette, dove si mangia, si beve e si fuma, si varca l’Oceano Atlantico e si ragiona di razionalità. Dove si conclude con le domande del cattolico del nostro tempo.
Pospasto. Dove si scrive della scansione del pasto, ma soprattutto di libri e documenti, senza i quali non racconteremmo alcuna storia.
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