Lent, also known as the Great Fast, the most important fasting period in Orthodox Christianity starts today, March 7. It lasts for seven weeks until Easter. “The importance of Lent is huge. Through fasting we prepare for the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who sacrificed himself for our redemption and gave the world a new chance. We observe the Great Lent commemorating Jesus Christ’s fasting before he began spreading his teaching”, Valeriu Potoroaca, the senior priest of of St. Pantelimon Church in Chisinau, told Info-Prim Neo. “Fasting cleans our minds and bodies of sinfulness. It helps us think about our lives. The Great Lent, like any other fasts of the Orthodox Church, isn’t observed for the sake of it, but for souls’ purification”, the priest added. For ill persons, travelers, students, children and elderly people the fasting rigorors may be eased with the priest’s blessing.