The Elder did not Allow those who Fasted without Permission to Receive Communion

Saint elder Sevastian of Karaganda (1884 – 19.4.1966)

Maxim Yanyshevsky. "Characteristics of Religious Life in Soviet Kazakhstan in the 1930s–1950s. Monastic Communities. Part VII."

St. Nektarios had his own measure for each person. He often said: "You cannot demand from a fly to do the work of a bee. Each must be given according to his measure; not everyone can have the same." [1]

Similarly, St. Sevastian blessed the sick to drink a cup of tea and a bun the night before Communion, so that they would not weaken in the morning. After Communion, during Lent, he allowed milk, or tea with milk, as a tonic. He severely reprimanded those who undertook strict fasts for two or three days without a blessing before Communion, eating nothing. He did not even allow such people to receive Communion. He said: “Moderation, abstinence, discernment, timeliness, gradualness are useful to everyone and in everything. It is not the beginning or middle that is precious, but the end. One who goes gradually from the very beginning, without making leaps from the first step after two or three, but gradually moving from one to the next to the end without haste, he is saved <…> We must adhere to the royal path, that is, adhere to the golden mean in everything, and most importantly – rely on the will of God and His Divine Providence.” [2]

[1] Venerable Optina Elders. P. 420.

[2] Karaganda Elder Venerable Sevastian. P. 308

Source