Great Lent Fasting Typicon according to the Orthodox Western Rite

Here are the the old (Orthodox) Western fast rules for Lent. These are slightly different from the Eastern Orthodox fast rules which prevail in the Eastern churches. Also, not all WR Orthodox use the old Western fast rules. Caveats completed:

Clergy and monastics start the Lenten abstinence on Shrove Monday

Everyone else starts the Lenten abstinence on Ash Wednesday ('the Head of the Fast').

The Lenten abstinence is: no meat, fowl, dairy, or eggs, nor anything made from those. Basically, nothing made from animal products.

We continue the Lenten abstinence without exceptions until the morning of Pascha.

When the Fast begins (Ash Wed.), every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday we fast strictly until evening if possible. Nowadays, some people only fast till 3 p.m., and some people even fast a little briefer than that. "Fast" here means taking no solid food at all.

On Saturdays and Sundays, there is no "fasting" but there is still the Lenten abstinence (no meat or dairy).

Originally in the West, Saturdays were included as fast days with Mon.-Fri., but this was forbidden by the Sixth Oecumenical Council, so we don't fast strictly on Saturdays these days.

Slightly modified, from a post made by Fr Aidan to the Occidentalis (Occidentalis@yahoogroups.com) list, March 3, 2003