Yes, but that’s probably not the most helpful answer.
Lent isn’t about rules for the sake of rules. It’s about reorienting your life toward God. The Church asks us to fast from certain foods during Lent, but the fast has always been bigger than what’s on your plate. We’re trying to quiet the noise, curb our appetites, and make space for prayer. Television can get in the way of that.
Think about how you actually watch TV. Maybe you come home after a twelve-hour shift at the plant, exhausted, and you just want to zone out for a while. That’s understandable. But if you’re honest, does an hour of scrolling Netflix or watching the news leave you more peaceful or more agitated? Does it make you think about God or forget about him? Lent asks us to pay attention to these things.
The Orthodox Church has never issued a blanket ban on television during Lent. You won’t find a canon that says “Thou shalt not watch Yellowstone in Great Lent.” But the spirit of the fast applies to more than food. St. Basil the Great wrote about fasting not just with our stomachs but with our eyes, our ears, our tongues. What we take in matters. And Lent is a season when we’re supposed to be taking in less of the world and more of Christ.
What Are You Replacing?
Here’s the real question: if you’re watching three hours of TV every night, what are you not doing? You’re probably not praying as much as you could. You’re not reading Scripture or the lives of the saints. You’re not at Presanctified Liturgy on Wednesday night. You’re not having deeper conversations with your spouse or your kids. Television isn’t evil, but it’s a time-eater. And during Lent, time is what we’re trying to give back to God.
Some people find it helpful to set concrete limits. No TV on weeknights during Lent. Or only one show on Saturday evening. Or no streaming services at all for forty days. These aren’t Church rules, but they’re the kind of personal disciplines that can help. Talk to your priest about what makes sense for your situation. If you work offshore and you’re stuck on a rig for two weeks with nothing but a TV in the break room, that’s different from someone who has a house full of kids and plenty to do.
The goal isn’t to make Lent miserable. It’s to make it fruitful. Fasting should help you pray more, not just suffer more. If giving up television entirely leaves you anxious and obsessing about what you’re missing, you’ve probably missed the point. But if cutting back gives you an extra hour to read the Psalms or go to Compline or just sit in silence, that’s the kind of space Lent is supposed to create.
Replace, Don’t Just Remove
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve heard is this: don’t just take things away during Lent. Replace them with something better. If you’re used to watching TV after dinner, do something else after dinner. Pray the Jesus Prayer for fifteen minutes. Read from the Gospels. Listen to an Ancient Faith podcast. Go for a walk and actually notice the world God made.
Here in Southeast Texas, late February and March are some of the best months we get before the heat and humidity set in. You could spend that time inside watching a screen, or you could spend it outside thanking God for azaleas and live oaks and the occasional cool evening. I’m not saying you have to become a monk. I’m saying Lent is an opportunity to remember that there are better things than whatever’s on TV.
If you do watch something, be intentional about it. Watching the news because you want to stay informed is different from doomscrolling cable news for three hours because you’re addicted to outrage. Watching a nature documentary with your kids is different from binging a violent crime series alone at midnight. Content matters. And during Lent, when we’re supposed to be guarding our hearts, it matters even more.
The Church trusts you to figure this out with your priest. We don’t have a list of approved shows or a Lenten rating system. We have the tradition of fasting, the guidance of the saints, and the pastoral wisdom of the Church. Bring your actual life to your actual priest and ask him what makes sense. Maybe for you, the discipline is no television at all. Maybe it’s something more moderate. But don’t just drift through Lent doing everything you normally do and assume the food fast is enough. Lent is supposed to change you. Let it.
