by V. Rev. Timothy Wilkinson, Rector, Saint Luke Orthodox Christian Church, Spokane WA
(Saint John Cassian was a 4/5th century monastic saint and theological writer who visited the Desert Fathers in Egypt and founded monasteries in France.)
The Institutes of Saint John Cassian describes eight deadly vices and the appropriate remedy for each one. While emphasizing that our salvation is absolutely dependent upon the grace and mercy of God (p. 259 IX), the author explains how each of the vices (or passions) are related to one another as well as the relationship between the body and the spirit. Cassian addresses monks, but his analysis can also be applied (ever so carefully) to people living in the world.
The first vice described, gluttony, results in lasciviousness. Too much food makes the mind “stagger and sway” and robs it of purity and integrity (p. 120 VI). It leads to lust, anger, pride, avarice, and other sins (p. 123 XI.2) because “integrity of mind is closely connected with an empty stomach” (p. 122 IX). By fasting, a person can gain self-control and freedom from the subjection of the flesh (p. 124 XIII). Cassian sees fasting as the essential, first step in the spiritual life, because “it is impossible for a full stomach to undertake the struggles of the inner man…” (p. 124 XIII). Thus, fasting is not an end in itself, but a tool to be used to achieve self-control; a means of destroying the “impulses of the fleshly desires” (p. 126 XVI.1). Fasting consists of a reduction in both the quantity and quality of food. While no uniform rule of fasting can be easily kept (p. 119V.1), simple foods are preferred and satiety is to be avoided (p. 131 XXIII.1). Food is to be consumed quickly, at specified times, in the company of other people (never alone), and without particular enjoyment. The monk is to pursue the spiritual life if he were an athlete, using the “boxing gloves of fasting” to subdue his flesh (p. 128 XVIII)......read about Saint John Cassian's treatment of the other deadly vices: fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, acedia, vainglory and pride (link).
