Why are we allowed to eat honey during Coptic Orthodox fasts?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
We are allowed to eat honey during fasting periods because, in the Coptic Orthodox tradition, the definition of fasting revolves around abstaining from animal products—specifically the flesh of animals and their reproductive byproducts (such as milk, cheese, butter, and eggs).
Here is the theological and practical reasoning for why honey is permitted:
1. It Is Not an Animal Byproduct
In our Church, fasting is an act of returning to the dietary state of Paradise, which was plant-based. We abstain from foods that involve the shedding of blood or the consumption of animal milk and eggs. Honey, while produced by bees, is essentially concentrated flower nectar. It is not "flesh," nor is it a reproductive secretion like milk or eggs. Therefore, it does not fall under the category of non-fasting foods.
2. The Biblical Example of St. John the Baptist
The most prominent scriptural justification is the life of St. John the Baptist. As a precursor to the monastic and ascetic life, he lived in the wilderness in a state of perpetual fasting and prayer. The Holy Gospel records that "his food was locusts and wild honey" (Matthew 3:4). Since St. John the Baptist is a model of asceticism, the Church accepts honey as a staple of a fasting diet.
3. Patristic and Ascetic Tradition
The Desert Fathers, such as St. Anthony the Great and St. Macarius, taught that fasting should be a means to subdue the body, not to starve it of all nutrition. Honey was often used by monastics for its natural energy and medicinal properties. Didymus the Blind, in his commentaries, often speaks of the "food of life" and distinguishes between a commendable fast and a culpable one. A commendable fast is one where we abstain from heavy, "harmful" foods that incite passions, but we continue to nourish the body with simple, natural elements like bread and honey.
4. Symbolic Meaning
In the Coptic tradition, honey represents the sweetness of the Word of God. We see this in the Old Testament, where the Promised Land is described as a land "flowing with milk and honey." While we abstain from the "milk" (representing the physical world/flesh) during fasts, we retain the "honey" to symbolize the spiritual sweetness of the life in Christ that sustains us during our struggle.
Summary: We eat honey because it is a plant-based product (nectar) collected by insects, not an animal byproduct, and it is sanctified by the biblical example of the greatest of the prophets, St. John the Baptist.