The 14 Bulgarians Martyred for Refusing to Eat Meat During Great Lent - St. Theodore the Studite

Blessed Lent brothers and sisters! St. Theodore the Studite ( 826) reminds us of the stance of the righteous in the face of “small“ matters such as eating or not eating meat during Great Lent. Yet, for “these men it was permissible to partake of any meat under necessity, as St Basil says. But since the order from the Scythians was aimed at the rejection of the faith, they refused...“ Are not the demons the Sythians of our day? Those thoughts that say fasting is not necessary, that what we eat doesn’t matter, than only loving others is the true they not inspired by the demons? Let us both fast from meat (and the other foods) during Lent and love others more deeply. St. Theodore says: In Bulgaria, as those who were accurately informed have reported, an evil decree went out from the ruler there that the Christians in captivity and our brothers were to eat meat during the period of the holy Forty Days; those who obeyed would live, those who disobeyed would be