“A Spiritual Ladder to Heaven”. On Andrey Muraviev’s Attitude Towards Fasting in the Understanding of the Bible and Orthodoxy

The purpose of the paper is foremost to present Andrey Muraviev’s approach to fasting, both in his personal life and in literary work. The main basis of the analysis are the memories of the writer and his Letters about the service of the Eastern Catholic [Orthodox] Church (Письма о Богослужении Восточной Кафолической Церкви). Attention is paid to the Slavic word post ‘fast’, to its etymology, sense, its equivalents in biblical languages, i.e. in Hebrew and Greek as well. The writer’s considerations for fasting are confronted with appropriate biblical comments on this topic. The paper emphasizes that Muraviev, despite being brought up in a religious spirit, in his childhood and youth was not used to following the restraints of fasting. Only on his way to the Holy Land, did he fast throughout the entirety of Lent. Then he gradually got used to other multi‑day fasts and to weekly fasts, on Wednesdays and Fridays. In his reflections, referring to the books of the Old and New Testament, the works of Church Fathers and church songs, Muraviev argued that fasting is an important means in man’s spiritual life. He pointed out the need not only to renounce a particular type of food, but also above all to subdue the body to the soul and to tame passions. For the writer, fasting was a sign of faith and a practice supporting prayer