In Syriac Christianity, the Fast of Nineveh ( syc, ܒܥܘܬܐ ܕܢܝܢܘܝ̈ܐ ', literally "Petition of the Ninevites") is a three-day fast starting the third Monday before

Clean Monday Clean Monday ( el, Καθαρά Δευτέρα), also known as Pure Monday, Ash Monday, Monday of Lent or Green Monday, is the first day of Great Lent throughout Eastern Christianity and is a moveable feast, falling on the 6th Monday befor ...

from Sunday Midnight to Wednesday noon during 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. The three day fast of Nineveh commemorates the three days that Prophet Jonah spent inside the belly of the Great Fish and the subsequent fast and repentance of the

Ninevites Nineveh (; akk, ; Biblical Hebrew: '; ar, نَيْنَوَىٰ '; syr, ܢܝܼܢܘܹܐ, Nīnwē) was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern ba ...

at the warning message of the prophet

Jonah Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' Ben (Hebrew), son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern Kingdom of Israel (Samaria ...

according to the bible. (

Book of Jonah The Book of Jonah is collected as one of the twelve minor prophets of the Nevi'im ("Prophets") in the Hebrew Bible, and as a book in its own right in the Christian Old Testament. The book tells of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah, son of Amittai, wh ...

in the Bible).

Biblical basis

The prophet Jonah appears in 2 Kings aka 4 Kings and is therefore thought to have been active around 786–746 BC. A possible scenario which facilitated the acceptance of Jonah's preaching to the

is that the reign of

Ashur-dan III Ashur-dan III ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , meaning " Ashur is strong") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 773 BC to his death in 755 BC. Ashur-dan was a son of Adad-nirari III (811–783 BC) and succeeded his brother Shalmaneser IV as kin ...

saw a plague break out in 765 BC, revolt from 763-759 BC and another plague at the end of the revolt. These documented events suggest that Jonah's words were given credibility and adhered to, with everyone allegedly cutting off from food and drinks, including animals and children. However Jonah is not a historically attested figure, and does not appear in contemporary written records of the time he is alleged to have lived.

History

Church of the East

As the

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

(552–556/567 AD) ( syc, ܝܘܣܦ) had been deposed, Ezekiel ( syc, 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. A mighty plague devastated

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

with the

Sassanian The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

authorities unable to curb its spread and the dead littered the streets, in particular the imperial capital Seleucia-Ctesiphon ( syc, ܣܠܝܩ ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ) The metropolitans of the East Syriac

ecclesiastical provinces An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of severa ...

Adiabene Adiabene was an ancient kingdom in northern Mesopotamia, corresponding to the northwestern part of ancient Assyria. The size of the kingdom varied over time; initially encompassing an area between the Zab Rivers, it eventually gained control of N ...

( syc, ܚܕܝܐܒ "Ḥdāyaḇ", encompassing Arbil, Nineveh, Hakkari and Adhorbayjan) and Beth Garmaï ( syc, ܒܝܬ ܓܪ̈ܡܝ "Bēṯ Garmai", encompassing 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 members of the Church of the East.

Patriarchs of the Church of the East The Patriarch of the Church of the East (also known as Patriarch of the East, Patriarch of Babylon, the Catholicose of the East or the Grand Metropolitan of the East) is the patriarch, or leader and head bishop (sometimes referred to as Catholic ...

and Chaldean Catholic Church also called for extra fasts 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.

Other Churches

Although the fast of the Ninevites was originally observed in the Church of the East.

Marutha of Tikrit Marutha of Tikrit ( syr, ܡܪܘܬܐ ܕܬܓܪܝܬ, ar, ماروثا التكريتي, la, Marutha Tagrithesis) was the Grand Metropolitan of the East and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the East from 628 or 629 until his death in 649. H ...

is known to have imposed the Fast of Nineveh in the West Syriac Church, and served as

Maphrian The Maphrian ( syr, ܡܦܪܝܢܐ, maphryānā or ''maphryono''), originally known as the Grand Metropolitan of the East and also known as the Catholicos, was the second-highest rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, ...

of the Syriac Orthodox Maphrianate of the East until his death on 2 May 649. Barsoum, Ignatius Aphrem I (2003). Matti Moosa, ed
The Scattered Pearls: The History of Syriac Literature and Sciences
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References

{{Reflist Christian fasting Holidays based on the date of Easter Oriental Orthodoxy January observances February observances