His Grace Bishop Ignatie of Huși on Sunday encouraged the faithful to undertake a fast from digital media as part of their preparation for the Resurrection of the Lord.
Reflecting on the Gospel verse, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21), the hierarch stressed that the direction in which people invest their time and energy reveals the true centre of their lives.
“If our heart or our treasure is in technology, then our heart will be there as well. These cannot be a source of peace, inner balance or serenity of soul,” Bishop Ignatie said.
“At the beginning of every Lent, I always encourage a fast from digital media. As for fasting from food, intensifying prayer, going more frequently to confession and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ — it would be wonderful to say that these come naturally.”
Fasting and Technology
The Bishop highlighted the deeper meaning of the lenten season, insisting on the need for a conscious disengagement from digital media, which he considers a necessary form of ascetic struggle adapted to contemporary times.
“Fasting does not consist only in abstinence, but above all in our effort to understand that we are created in the image of God, and that contemplating this image involves the struggle for communion with Him,” he said.
“Fasting should also heal us from addictions — what the Philokalic tradition calls passions. (…) One of the passions increasingly discussed today is addiction to technology.”
Humanity and the Digital Environment
Bishop Ignatie clarified that technology “is not something to be demonised,” but warned that excessive use can be extremely harmful.
“It consumes a great deal of our time. We are no longer truly present in our relationships with those around us and, above all, it imprints on our minds a certain impatience whose counterpart is scrolling.”
The rapid and superficial consumption of information generated by digital media creates only the illusion of well-being.
“We live in an unreal world that we consider very real — this digital, virtual world.”
By contrast, he noted, when people read or pray, the sense of well-being grows slowly and progressively, remaining stable according to the joy derived from reflection on sacred texts or prayer.
For this reason, at the beginning of every fasting period he recommends a concrete form of digital abstinence.
“I also impose on myself that at least during the first and last week of the Fast we disconnect completely from technology.”
He described the gesture not as radical, but as a minimal spiritual exercise aimed at restoring inner freedom.
Healing from Addictions
The Bishop of Huși said no addiction, even if seemingly harmless, can bring spiritual balance, and that fasting should be understood as “healing from every form of dependency.”
“This modern addiction to technology can fundamentally change us; it is more than a drug. (…) Those of us who consume technology do not realise how imperceptibly it can alter our lives — our way of thinking, behaving and our perspective on life.”
Instead, he said, “moderation, measure, temperance and balance” are the authentic landmarks of spiritual life.
Bishop Ignatie concluded by reminding the faithful that fasting is not merely a biological or disciplinary exercise, but a path of encounter with Christ.
“We fast in order to meet Christ who nourishes us, who is fullness for each of us.”
Photo: Huși Diocese
