Eucharistic Fast in the Catholic East and West—With Special Emphasis on the Current Legislation of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church

Abstract

For every catholic adult, careful preparation is necessary before receiving the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharistic fast plays an important role in the preparation for the reception of the Holy Eucharist. After introducing the nature of this fast, the current discipline of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the Eucharistic fast will be demonstrated, with a historic review of the relevant changes during the 20th century. At the second part, we summarize the current regulations regarding Eucharistic fast in the Eastern Catholic sui iuris Churches; then, we get an insight into the issues of the ongoing codification process of the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church concerning the Eucharistic fast. Besides, we summarize the conditions for a possible later extension of the duration of the Eucharistic fast.