# Wednesday and Friday Fasts

Source: https://coptic-lore-forge.lovable.app/wiki/wednesday-and-friday-fasts — Coptic Orthodox Wiki (updated 2026-10-02)

The Coptic Church observes Wednesday and Friday as weekly fast days, with specified festal exceptions; the supplied sources describe their commemorative meaning, discipline, and canonical basis.[^1][^2]

## Meaning and observance

The Coptic Church ordains Wednesday and Friday as weekly fast days. Wednesday is associated with Christ’s condemnation to crucifixion and Friday with his crucifixion.[^1][^2]

A different explanation associates Wednesday with Job’s suffering, while connecting Friday with the Passion of Jesus. Abstinence is also distinguished from fasting governed by ecclesiastical rules; there are therefore different commemorative explanations for Wednesday.[^3]

## Fasting discipline

According to the fasting article, the fast is kept until three o’clock in the afternoon, the ninth canonical hour. For the remainder of the day, foods containing animal fats are excluded.[^2] The same article’s general description of Coptic fasting specifies avoidance of meat and animal-derived foods, including eggs, milk, butter, and cheese.[^4]

## Exceptions

The fasting article states that the Wednesday and Friday fasts apply throughout the year, except:

- During the fifty days following Easter.[^2]
- When the Nativity, celebrated on 29 Kiyahk, falls on either day.[^2]
- When the Epiphany, celebrated on 11 Tubah, falls on either day.[^2]

A different historical formulation permits breaking the fast when the Nativity falls on Wednesday or Friday, but otherwise describes these weekly fasts as obligatory throughout the year. A separate provision permits breaking the fast on the feast of the Apostles if it falls on Wednesday, but not Friday. This formulation differs from the other list of fasting exceptions.[^5][^2]

## Canonical and patristic references

The fasting article identifies references to the Wednesday and Friday fasts in the *Didascalia*, the *Didache*, Apostolic Canon 69, Ibn al-‘Assal’s *Al-Majmu‘ al-Safawi*, and Ibn al-Muqaffa‘’s *History of the Patriarchs*. It also names Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Peter of Alexandria the Martyr as writers who stressed their importance.[^6]

Fasting is required on the fourth day of the week and the day of Preparation, alongside Lent. Deprivation of office is prescribed for clergy and excommunication for laypeople who fail to observe the requirement, while an exception is expressly allowed for bodily weakness.[^7]

## Sources
[^1]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 222)
[^2]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 223)
[^3]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 51)
[^4]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 216)
[^5]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 2, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 554)
[^6]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 223)
[^7]: The Coptic Encyclopedia, Volume 4, Aziz S. Atiya (Editor in Chief) (p. 220)