Fast of Nineveh
Three-day fast in Assyrian Christianity
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In Syriac Christianity, the Fast of Nineveh (Classical Syriac: ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܝ̈ܐ Bā'ūṯā ḏ-Ninwāyē, literally "Petition of the Ninevites") is a three-day fast starting the third Monday before Clean Monday from Sunday evening after sun set to Wednesday noon, during which participants usually abstain from all dairy foods and meat products. However, some observe the fast more rigorously and abstain from food and drink altogether from Sunday midnight to Wednesday after Holy Qurbana, which is celebrated before noon.
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church
Church of the East
Syro-Malabar Church
Chaldean Catholic Church[1]
Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch[2]
Malabar Independent Syrian Church
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church
Mar Thoma Syrian Church
Syriac Orthodox Church
Coptic Orthodox Church[3]
Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Eritrean Orthodox Church
| Fast of the Ninevites ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܝ̈ܐ | |
|---|---|
Jonah preaches to the Ninevites | |
| Official name | ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܝܐ |
| Observed by | Assyrian Church Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Church of the East Syro-Malabar Church Chaldean Catholic Church[1] Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch[2] Malabar Independent Syrian Church Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Mar Thoma Syrian Church Syriac Orthodox Church Coptic Orthodox Church[3] Ethiopian Orthodox Church Eritrean Orthodox Church |
| Type | Christian |
| Begins | Monday of the third week before Lent |
| Ends | Thursday of the third week before Lent (i.e. feast day) |
| 2026 date | 26–28 January |
| Duration | 3 days |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Related to | Great Lent |
The three day fast of Nineveh commemorates the three days that Prophet Jonah spent inside the belly of the Great Fish and the subsequent repentance with fasting from food and water performed by the Ninevites at the warning message of the prophet Jonah (cf. Jonah 3).[4]
Biblical basis
The Prophet Jonah appears in 2 Kings aka 4 Kings, and is thus thought to have been active around 786–746 BC.[5] The text of Jonah 3 holds that after the prophet warned the people of Nineveh for the second time, they repented by fasting from food and water, along with wearing ashes and sackcloth.[6] For this reason, the passage relates how God spared the Ninevites.[6]
According to John Boardman, a possible scenario which facilitated the Ninevites’ acceptance of Jonah's preaching is the reign of Ashur-dan III of the Neo-Assyrian Empire having an outbreak of plague in 765 BC, a revolt from 763-759 BC, and another plague epidemic right after. These documented events suggest Jonah's words were given credibility and adhered to, with everyone including animals and children fasting from food and water.[7]
History
Assyrian Church of the East
As the patriarch Joseph (552–556/567 AD) (Classical Syriac: ܝܘܣܦ) had been deposed, Ezekiel (Classical Syriac: ܚܙܩܝܐܝܠ) was selected to replace him in the Church of the East, much to the joy of the emperor Khusrow Anushirwan who loved him and held him in high esteem.[8] A mighty plague devastated Assyria and Southern Mesopotamia with the Sassanian authorities unable to curb its spread and the dead littered the streets, in particular the imperial capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon (Classical Syriac: ܣܠܝܩ ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ) The metropolitans of the East Syriac ecclesiastical provinces of Adiabene (Classical Syriac: ܚܕܝܐܒ "Ḥdāyaḇ", encompassing the Assyrian cities of Arbela (Erbil), Nineveh, Assur, Hakkari and Adhorbayjan) and Beth Garmaï (Classical Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܓܪ̈ܡܝ "Bēṯ Garmai", encompassing Karka ( Kirkuk) and the surrounding region) called for services of prayer, fasting and penitence to be held in all the churches under their jurisdiction, as was believed to have been done by the Ninevites following the preaching of the prophet Jonah.
Following its success, the tradition has been strictly adhered to every year by the descendants of the Assyrian Church of the East, it's offshoots the Chaldean Catholic Church and Ancient Church of the East, and Syriac Orthodox Church. Patriarchs of the Church of the East and Chaldean Catholic Church also called for extra fasts[when?] in an effort to alleviate the suffering and affliction of those persecuted by ISIS in the region of Nineveh and the rest of the Middle East.[citation needed]
Other Churches
Although the fast of the Ninevites was originally observed in the Assyrian Church of the East, Marutha of Tikrit is known to have imposed the Fast of Nineveh in the West Syriac Church, and served as Maphrian of the Syriac Orthodox Maphrianate of the East until his death on 2 May 649.[9]
In the days of Pope Abraham of Alexandria (who was ethnically Syrian), the Coptic Orthodox Church adopted the fast, from which it spread to the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Churches, all of which still retain its observance.