IN Orthodox faith There are special days when it is necessary to remember deceased relatives. These days, the church always hosts a service, where people can come to pray for their loved ones. In the evening, funeral meals are held, observing Orthodox traditions.
What is parental Saturday in Orthodoxy?
There are two main Ecumenical Saturdays, when it is customary to remember all Christians who have been baptized: Meat and Trinity. They are necessarily accompanied by important services - ecumenical or general memorial services. There are also six other parental Saturdays: Radonitsa, Dimitrievskaya, Commemoration of the Deceased Soldiers and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent. To understand what Meat-Eating Parental Saturday means, it should be said that on this day meat is prohibited, and it is called parental Saturday because of the need to remember close relatives, in the list of which parents are in first place.
According to Orthodox rules, these days it is allowed to pray for people who died a natural death, were killed, and even went missing and were not buried. Ecumenical Meatless Saturday is an ancient holiday when we remember all the dead Orthodox Christians who suffered for their faith in the Lord. It is believed that the living have a chance to help the dead with their prayers.
It is important to understand what Ecumenical Parental Saturday is and what to do and what not to do, since this day is very important for every Orthodox believer. In addition, many signs and ancient traditions are associated with it. Many are interested in why the dead are remembered on Saturday and not on another day, so, according to the Gospel, on this day of the week Jesus Christ was laid in a tomb and mourned.
Parents' Saturday - what needs to be done?
The most important thing on such days is to attend church services and the obligatory reading of prayers for deceased relatives. When figuring out what to do on Parents' Saturday, we should also mention the tradition of believers to visit the cemetery on this day to lay flowers on the graves. The priests believe that it is more important to defend the service than to go to the grave, but if you cannot do either one or the other, then you can simply pray at home. Big Parents' Saturday is an occasion to gather in a quiet environment with loved ones and remember the dead.
What to do on Parents' Saturday in church?
The day before, a great memorial service is held in churches, but in the morning the Divine Liturgy for the repose and a general memorial service are held. People coming to church have the opportunity to submit notes with the names of the deceased and read them. Many people are interested in what to bring to church on Parents’ Saturday, so according to old church traditions, you can take food from home, but only lean foods, and wine for the liturgy. After the consecration, the products are distributed to everyone. When leaving the church, it is necessary to give alms to the poor so that they pray for the departed.
How to commemorate on Parents' Saturday?
Increasingly, funerals for modern people turn into a feast where people enjoy food and talk about various topics, but in fact, in Orthodox traditions, it is necessary to pray at the funeral table. Before sitting down to the table, it is customary to perform litia, or, in as a last resort, you should read the prayer “Living Help” and “Our Father”. Great Parents' Saturday is a time to attend a church service and pray, remembering loved ones. You cannot remember the dead with wine, since this drink is a symbol of earthly joy.
What to cook for Ecumenical Parents' Saturday?
On this day, relatives gather around the table to remember their relatives. They put it on the table, and the obligatory treat is kutia - a dish intended to commemorate the dead. They consider it a symbol of the burial of all people who were not interred, so their spirit rushes about and does not know how to leave the earth. If there is a meat-and-eating Saturday ahead, then be sure to prepare wheat grains, which should first be soaked for several hours. Dried fruits, nuts, seeds, poppy seeds, honey, syrup or marmalade are used as a dressing.
What can't you do on Parents' Saturday?
Many prohibitions regarding this day are fictitious. Although there is a widespread belief that you can clean and work on this day, the main thing is to first visit church and read prayers, and the rest of the time can be spent as you see fit. There are other prohibitions regarding this day:
- Universal Parental Saturday implies compulsory attendance at church, and there many begin to remember people by having snacks and drinking alcohol. The Church considers these traditions pagan and prohibits them.
- You cannot leave alcohol at the grave of deceased relatives, especially if they often drank during their lifetime, since this can only aggravate the situation of his soul.
- Understanding what Ecumenical Parental Saturday is, what needs to be done on this day, and what is prohibited, it is worth pointing out that you cannot be sad, quarrel, curse or speak badly about the deceased.
- You cannot organize lavish banquets and prepare a lot of dishes. Only lean dishes should be on the table.
- The memorial Saturday of Meat and Fat prohibits the consumption of meat and meat products.
Prayers for Parents' Saturday
On this day, prayer requests are mandatory, and you can ask for both close and distant relatives. They help souls find peace and find their way in another world. The living cannot help their deceased relatives in any other way. Prayer on Parental Saturday for the departed helps sinners to cleanse themselves. You can ask for people who were killed, died in an accident, and so on, since all people are one before God.
Folk signs for Parents' Saturday
There are many superstitions associated with this day that have been formed over many years. To believe in them or not is the decision of each person.
- Many signs and superstitions on parental Saturday are associated with the feast, so on this day you cannot clear anything from the table or wash the dishes after the evening meal, since it is believed that deceased relatives will come to eat at night.
- On this day it is customary to bake pancakes, and the first one must be placed separately for the deceased. If the first pancake fell to the floor while frying, then before picking it up, you need to read a prayer of protection. Otherwise, death may occur.
- Marriage on this day prophesies trouble.
- When figuring out what Ecumenical Parents' Saturday is and what needs to be done, it should be mentioned that the weather conditions on this day were used to judge what spring would be like. If the weather is clear, then spring will be fine. When there was thunder, we listened to the first peals, so if they were with north side This means that spring will be cold, and if it is from the east, it will be warm and dry.
Ritual for money on Parents' Saturday
It is considered an ideal time to contact deceased relatives and ask them for help. Eat simple conspiracies on Ecumenical Parent Saturday to attract financial well-being. A simple ritual will help you enlist the help of the spirits of the family, who will help throughout the year.
- During the day, purchase the sweets that you need to put in the alms basket in the church.
- When leaving, buy six candles and light them for the repose of six of your relatives.
- As you light each candle, ask the Lord for the repose of the soul of the deceased, calling his name.
- After this, read the funeral prayer, followed by a conspiracy.
Very often, the days of remembrance of Christians are called “ecumenical Saturdays,” which is fundamentally incorrect. Despite the fact that these events take place one after another, there is a significant difference between them. Let's try to figure it out.
Parental Saturdays in the Orthodox Christian tradition are known as days of remembrance of deceased Christians, and above all parents and other relatives.
The Russian Orthodox Church distinguishes five parental Saturdays: Meat and Trinity, which are usually called Ecumenical, since on these days all deceased Christians are commemorated. And also three Parental Saturdays of Great Lent, when Orthodox Christians pray only for the repose of their ancestors.
An extraordinary thing is hidden in the sacrament of ecumenical and parental services. sacred meaning. By offering prayer to all the departed, we do not divide Christians into friends and foes, but show boundless mercy and special Christian unity.
© Sputnik / Kirill Kallinikov
Private Parent Saturdays
There are also so-called private memorial Saturdays in Russian Orthodoxy, which are associated with memorable dates national history and are celebrated only in our country. There are four in total:
- Commemoration of deceased soldiers or the day of remembrance of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War - May 9
- Radonitsa or the day of general church remembrance of the dead - April 17
- The Day of Remembrance of Orthodox Soldiers, established by Catherine II - September 11
- Demetrius Saturday or the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki - November 3
Parental Saturdays of Great Lent
In March 2018, the Orthodox celebrate three special memorial days during each week of Lent. The nearest Parent's Saturday is celebrated on March 17, in the fourth week of Lent.
On memorial Saturdays, Christian services are held according to a special charter, and after the full Liturgy, ecumenical funeral services are performed.
What can you eat on Parents' Saturday?
According to tradition, our ancestors in Parents' Saturday They set the table with kutya, a Lenten dish made from honey and wheat. It is clear that no one eats wheat anymore, so it can be replaced with rice. To prepare kutia, simply boil rice and add honey and sugar syrup to it. Ready dish It is allowed to decorate with dried fruits.
What can you do on Parents' Saturday?
On the coming Parent's Saturday, which falls on March 17, you need to visit the graves of your relatives and put them in order. In the evening, all Orthodox Christians go to church for a service, where they pray for their departed loved ones and ask God to grant them peace in the next world.
After the service, you should, if possible, distribute alms to those in need. It is believed that in this way a person can remember deceased loved ones, who are not usually remembered in Christianity. These include suicides, victims of abortion, or the unbaptized.
What not to do on Parents' Saturday
Tears on this day are not welcome, so it is better for believers to refrain from unnecessary grief and simply pray for their relatives.
It is important to remember that Parents' Saturday is not a reason for a feast. Alcoholic drinks and lavish “funerals” are strictly prohibited.
Refusing help if you can provide it is strictly condemned.
You cannot quarrel, become depressed or raise your voice at anyone. In general, it is useful to adhere to this rule on other days.
You can do household chores, but at an easy pace, without straining.
“Today is parenting!” - a phrase we hear several times a year. With God, everyone is alive, and memory and prayer for our deceased relatives and friends is an important part Christian faith. We will talk about what kind of parental Saturdays there are, about church and folk traditions of days of special remembrance of the dead, about how to pray for the dead and whether it is necessary to go to the cemetery on parental Saturdays.
What is Parents' Saturday
Parents' Saturdays (and there are several of them in the church calendar) are days of special remembrance of the dead. These days in Orthodox churches A special commemoration of deceased Orthodox Christians is performed. In addition, according to tradition, believers visit graves in cemeteries.
The name “parental” most likely comes from the tradition of calling the deceased “parents,” that is, those who went to their fathers. Another version is that Saturdays began to be called “parental” Saturdays, because Christians prayerfully commemorated, first of all, their deceased parents.
Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are distinguished, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. There are two such Saturdays: Meat (the week before Lent) and Trinity (on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost). The remaining parental Saturdays are not ecumenical and are reserved specifically for private commemoration of people dear to our hearts.
How many parent's Saturdays a year?
In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church there are seven days of special commemoration of the departed. All but one (May 9 - Commemoration of Dead Soldiers) have a moving date.
Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday)
Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent
Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent
Saturday of the 4th week of Lent
Radonitsa
Saturday Trinity
Saturday Dimitrievskaya
Parents' Saturdays in 2019
The 4th week of Lent is canceled in 2019, as it falls on April 6, the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation.
What are universal parental Saturdays?
Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are distinguished, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. There are two such Saturdays: Meat (the week before Lent) and Trinity (on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost). On these two days, special services are held - ecumenical memorial services.
What is invillage funeral services
On parental Saturdays, the Orthodox Church holds ecumenical or parental memorial services. Christians use the word “requiem service” to refer to a funeral service at which believers pray for the repose of the dead and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins.
What is a memorial service
Panikhida translated from Greek means " All-night vigil." This funeral service, at which believers pray for the repose of the dead, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins.
Ecumenical (meat-free) parental Saturday
Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday) is the Saturday a week before the start of Lent. It is called Meat Eating Week because it falls on Meat Eating Week (the week before Maslenitsa). It is also called Little Maslenitsa.
On this day, Orthodox Christians commemorate all the baptized departed; an ecumenical requiem service is served in churches - “The memory of all Orthodox Christians who have departed from time immemorial, our fathers and brothers.”
Trinity Parents' Saturday
Trinity is the second ecumenical parental Saturday (after Meat), on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. It falls on the Saturday preceding the holiday of Trinity, or Pentecost. On this day, believers come to churches for a special ecumenical memorial service - “In memory of all Orthodox Christians who have departed from time immemorial, our fathers and brothers.”
Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent
During the weekdays of Lent, therefore, the most important liturgical commemoration of the dead is also performed less frequently. In order not to deprive the dead of prayer representation for them, the Church established three special days for prayer for them during Great Lent. These are the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent. What is important here is the fact of the opportunity to be personally at the Liturgy and pray for the departed. That is, it is not easy to submit a note of repose or order a magpie so that the memorial will be commemorated in the church for forty days or forty Liturgies. Or not asking someone to pray for your loved ones. But there is an opportunity to personally take part in prayer.
Radonitsa
Radonitsa, or Radunitsa, is one of the days of special remembrance of the dead, which falls on the Tuesday after St. Thomas week (the second week after Easter). On Thomas Sunday, Christians remember how the resurrected Jesus Christ descended into hell and defeated death, and Radonitsa, directly associated with this day, also tells us about victory over death.
On Radonitsa, according to tradition, Orthodox Christians go to the cemetery, and there, at the graves of their relatives and friends, they glorify the Risen Christ. Radonitsa, in fact, is called so precisely from the word “joy”, the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ
Commemoration of deceased soldiers - May 9
Commemoration of the departed warriors is the only day of special remembrance of the dead in the year, which has a fixed date. This is May 9, Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. On this day, after the liturgy, churches serve a memorial service for the soldiers who gave their lives for their homeland.
Dmitrievskaya Parents' Saturday
Demetrius Parental Saturday is the Saturday before the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, which is celebrated on November 8 according to the new style. If the saint’s memorial day also falls on a Saturday, the previous one is still considered the parent’s day. In 2017, Dmitrievskaya Parental Saturday was moved to October 28 (due to the coincidence with the holiday of the Kazan Icon Mother of God November 4).
Dimitrievskaya Parental Saturday became a day of special remembrance of the dead after the victory of Russian soldiers in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. At first, on this day they commemorated precisely those who died on the Kulikovo field, then, over the centuries, the tradition changed. In the Novgorod chronicle of the 15th century, we read about Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday as a day of remembrance of all the dead.
Funeral commemoration on Parents' Saturday
On the eve of parental Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, in Orthodox harmas a great requiem service is served, which is also called by the Greek word “parastas”. On Saturday itself, in the morning, they serve the funeral Divine Liturgy, followed by a general memorial service.
At the parastas or at the funeral Divine Liturgy, you can submit notes of repose with the names of those who have died close to your heart. And on this day, according to the old church tradition, parishioners bring food to the temple - “for the canon” (or “for the eve”). These are Lenten products, wine (Cahors) for celebrating the liturgy.
Why do they bring food “for the eve”?
Answers p
Bringing food to the temple - “on the eve” - is an ancient practice of performing general funeral feasts, that is, commemorating the dead. According to tradition, the parishioners of the temple gathered a larger common table in order to all together remember the deceased people close to their hearts. Now the food that believers bring and place on a special table then goes to the needs of the parish and to help the poor people whom the parish cares for.
It seems to me that this is a good custom - to help those in need or ease the burden of people who serve in the temple (of course, these are not only clergy, but also candle makers and all those who, for free, by the will of their hearts, help in the House of God). By bringing food to the temple, we serve our neighbors and remember our departed ones.
Prayer for the departed
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is more convenient to read names from a commemoration book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are written down. There is a pious custom of conducting family memorials, reading which both in home prayer and during church services, Orthodox people They remember by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.
Prayer for a deceased Christian
Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life of Your departed servant, our brother (name), and as Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him eternal torment and fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Your glorified God in the Trinity, Faith, and Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to him, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen
Widower's Prayer
Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart, I pray to You: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You blessed the marital union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good for man to be alone, let us create for him a helper for him. You have sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and confess that You have blessed me to unite me in this holy union with one of Your handmaids. By your good and wise will you deigned to take away from me this servant of yours, whom you have given to me as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before Your will, and I pray to You with all my heart, accept my prayer for Your servant (name), and forgive her if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; Love earthly things more than heavenly things; Even if you care more about the clothing and decoration of your body than about the enlightenment of the clothing of your soul; or even careless about your children; if you upset anyone by word or deed; If there is a grudge in your heart against your neighbor or condemn someone or anything else you have done from such evil people.
Forgive her all this, for she is good and philanthropic; for there is no man who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Thy servant, as Thy creation, do not condemn her to eternal torment for her sin, but have mercy and mercy according to Thy great mercy. I pray and ask You, Lord, to grant me strength throughout the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for Your departed servant, and even until the end of my life to ask her from You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive her sins. Yes, as if You, God, placed a crown of stone on her head, crowning her here on earth; So crown me with Your eternal glory in Your Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints who rejoice there, so that together with them the all-holy may eternally sing your name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Widow's Prayer
Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the consolation of the weeping, the intercession of the orphans and widows. You said: call on Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you. In the days of my sorrow, I run to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me and hear my prayer brought to You with tears. You, Lord, Master of all, have deigned to unite me with one of Your servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant as a companion and protector. It was Your good and wise will that you would take this servant of Yours away from me and leave me alone. I bow before Your will and I resort to You in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about separation from Your servant, my friend. Even if you took him away from me, do not take your mercy away from me. Just as you once accepted two mites from widows, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or in deed, or in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not consign him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, weaken and forgive all his sins and commit them with Thy saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask You, Lord, grant that all the days of my life I will not cease to pray for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive all his sins and place him in the Heavenly abodes, which You have prepared for those who love Cha. For even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to your last breath of confession; impute to him the same faith, even in You, instead of works: for there is no man who will live and not sin, You are the only one besides sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever. I believe, Lord, and confess that You will hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing a widow weeping green, you were merciful, and you brought her son to the grave, carrying her to the grave; How did You open to Your servant Theophilus, who went to You, the doors of Your mercy and forgave him for his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, heeding the prayers and alms of his wife: here and I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. For You are our hope. You are God, the hedgehog to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Parents' prayer for deceased children
Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of the afflicted! With a contrite and tender heart I run to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in Your Kingdom my deceased servant (your servant), my child (name), and create for him (her) eternal memory. You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. It was your good and wise will to take it away from me. Blessed be Thy name, O Lord. I pray to You, Judge of heaven and earth, with Your endless love for us sinners, forgive my deceased child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word, in deed, in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, O Merciful One, our parental sins as well, so that they may not remain on our children: we know that we have sinned many times before You, many of whom we have not observed, and have not done, as You commanded us. If our deceased child, ours or his own, for the sake of guilt, lived in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and his God: if you loved the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you surrendered with the pleasures of life, and not more than with contrition for one’s sins, and in intemperance, vigil, fasting and prayer have been consigned to oblivion - I earnestly pray to Thee, forgive, most good Father, all such sins of my child, forgive and weaken, even if you have done other evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You raised up the daughter of Jairus through the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of the Canaanite wife through faith and the request of her mother: hear my prayer, and do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, remove eternal torment and dwell with all Your saints, who have pleased You from the ages, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: like there is no man like He will live and will not sin, but You are the only One besides all sin: so that when you judge the world, my child will hear Your most beloved voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For You are the Father of mercies and generosity. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.
Children's prayer for deceased parents
Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the keeper of the orphans, the refuge of the grieving and the comforter of the weeping. I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from my parent (my mother), (name) (or: with my parents who gave birth and raised me, their names) - , and his soul (or: her, or: them), as having gone (or: gone) to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, accept into Your Kingdom of Heaven. I bow before Your holy will, which was taken away (or: taken away, or: taken away) from me, and I ask You not to take away from him (or: from her, or: from them) Your mercy and mercy. We know, Lord, that You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart, I pray to Thee, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment the unforgettable deceased (unforgettable deceased) for me Thy servant (Thy servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but forgive him (her) all his sins ( her) voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, created by him (her) in his (her) life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and love for mankind, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him (her) and eternal save me from torment. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, not to cease to remember my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in my prayers, and to beg Thee, the righteous Judge, to order him in a place of light, in a place of coolness and in a place of peace, with all the saints, from nowhere all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled. Merciful Lord! Accept this day for Thy servant (Your) (name) my warm prayer and give him (her) Your reward for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as He taught (taught) me first of all to lead You, my Lord, in reverently pray to You, trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and keep Your commandments; for his (her) concern for my spiritual progress, for the warmth of his (her) prayer for me before You and for all the gifts he (she) asked me from You, reward him (her) with Your mercy. Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom. For You are the God of mercies and generosity and love for mankind, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen
Is it necessary to go to the cemetery on Parents' Saturday?
Answers p Rotopriest Igor FOMIN, rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO:
The main thing is not to go to the cemetery instead of services in the temple. For our deceased relatives and friends, our prayer is much more important than visiting the grave. So try to get into the worship service, listen to the chants in the temple, turn your heart to the Lord.
Folk traditions of parental Saturdays
In Rus' folk traditions commemorations of dead people were somewhat different from church ones. Ordinary people went to the graves of relatives before major holidays - on the eve of Maslenitsa, Trinity (Pentecost), Intercession Holy Mother of God and the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki.
Most of all, people revered Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. In 1903, Emperor Nicholas II even issued a decree on holding a special memorial service for the soldiers who fell for the Fatherland - “For the faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland, who laid down their lives on the battlefield.”
In Ukraine and Belarus, days of special commemoration of the dead were called “Grandfathers”. There were up to six such “Grandfathers” a year. People superstitiously believed that on these days all deceased relatives invisibly joined the family funeral meal.
Radonitsa was called “Joyful Grandfathers”; people loved this day very much, because they went to the graves of loved ones with the happy news of the Resurrection of Christ. There were also Pokrovskys, Nikolsky Grandfathers and others.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. Sermon on the Remembrance of Orthodox soldiers who died on the battlefield
We are accustomed in our lives to the fact that for every need, for every occasion, we turn to God for His help. And for our every call, for every cry of anguish, suffering, fear, we expect that the Lord will intercede for us, protect us, comfort us; and we know that He does this constantly and that He showed His utmost care for us by becoming Man and dying for us and for our sake.
But sometimes it happens in the life of our world that God turns to man for help; and this happens all the time, but often barely noticeable, or goes completely unnoticed by us. God constantly turns to each of us, asking, praying, persuading us to be in this world, which He loved so much that He laid down His life for it, to be His living presence, to be His living care, sighted, good-acting, attentive. He tells us: whatever good we did for any person, we did for Him, calling us by this to be, as it were, in His place.
And sometimes He calls some people to more personal service to Him. In the Old Testament we read about prophets: the prophet Amos says that a prophet is a person with whom God shares His thoughts; but not only with your thoughts, but also with your deeds. Remember the prophet Isaiah, who in a vision beheld the Lord looking around and saying: Whom shall I send? - and the prophet stood up and said: Me, Lord!
But here, among the prophets, among the people who served God with an undivided heart, with all the great strength of their soul, there is one, whose memory we commemorate today and whom Christ called the greatest among those born on earth.
And indeed, when you think about his fate, it seems that there is no fate more majestic and more tragic. His whole fate was, as it were, not to be, so that in the consciousness and vision of people the Only One Who There is: Lord.
Remember the first thing that is said about him in the Gospel of Mark: He is a voice crying in the wilderness... He is only a voice, he is so indistinguishable from his ministry that he has become only God’s voice, only an evangelist; as if he, as a person of flesh and blood, a person who can yearn, and suffer, and pray, and search, and ultimately stand before impending death - as if this person does not exist. He and his calling are one and the same; he is the voice of the Lord, sounding and thundering in the midst of the human desert; that desert where souls are empty - because there were people around John, and the desert remained unchanged from this.
And further. The Lord Himself says about him in the Gospel that he is the Friend of the Groom. A friend who loves the bride and groom so much, so deeply that he is able, forgetting himself, to serve their love, and to serve so that he will never be superfluous, never be there and then when it is not needed. He is a friend who is able to protect the love of the bride and groom and remain outside, the keeper of the secret of this love. Here, too, is the great secret of a man who is capable of, as it were, don't become in order for something greater than him to was.
And then he speaks about himself in relation to the Lord: I need to decrease, come to naught, in order for Him to increase... It is necessary that they forget about me, and remember only about Him, so that my disciples turn away from me and leave, like Andrei and John on the banks of the Jordan, and followed Him with an undivided heart: I live only so that I am gone!
And the last is the terrible image of John, when he was already in prison, when the ring of death was narrowing around him, when he no longer had a way out, when this colossally great soul wavered... Death was coming at him, a life in which he had no nothing of his own: in the past there was only a feat of self-denial, and ahead there was darkness.
And at that moment, when his spirit wavered, he sent his disciples to ask Christ: Are you the one for whom we have been waiting? If That - then it was worth in my youth die alive; if He, then it was worth diminishing from year to year so that he would be forgotten and only the image of the Coming One would increase in the eyes of people; if He - then it was worth it even now to die the last dying, because everything for which he lived was fulfilled and perfect.
But what if He is not the One? Then everything is lost, youth is ruined, mature years are ruined greatest power, everything is ruined, everything is meaningless. And it’s even more terrible that this happened, because God seemed to deceive: God, who called him into the desert; God, who took him away from people; God, who inspired him to the feat of self-death. Has God really deceived, and life has passed, and there is no return?
And so, sending the disciples to Christ with the question: Are you the one? - he does not receive a direct, comforting answer; Christ does not answer him: Yes, I am He, go in peace! He only gives the prophet the answer of another prophet that the blind receive their sight, that the lame walk, that the dead are raised, that the poor preach the good news. He gives an answer from Isaiah, but does not add His words - nothing except one formidable warning: Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me; go tell John...
And this answer reached John in his dying anticipation: believe to the end; believe, without requiring any signs, or evidence, or proof; believe, because you heard inside, in the depths of your soul, the voice of the Lord, commanding you to do the work of the prophet... Others can somehow rely on the Lord in their sometimes greatest feat; God supports John only by commanding him to be the Forerunner and for this to show utmost faith and confidence in invisible things.
And that’s why it takes our breath away when we think about him, and that’s why, when we think about a feat that has no limit, we remember John. That is why, of those who were born among people by natural birth and ascended miraculously by grace, he is the greatest of all.
Today we celebrate the day of the beheading of his head. Let's celebrate... We are used to understanding the word “celebrate” as “joy,” but it means “to remain idle.” And you can remain idle because joy overwhelms your soul and there is no time for ordinary affairs, or it may happen that you give up from grief and horror. And this is today’s holiday: what will you take up in the face of what we heard about today in the Gospel?
And on this day, when we give up before the horror and greatness of this fate, the Church calls us to pray for those who were also in horror, and trembling, and bewilderment, and sometimes died in despair: they died on the battlefield, they died in dungeons, they died the lonely death of a man. After you venerate the cross, we will pray for all those who laid down their lives on the battlefield so that others could live; bowed to the ground so that another could rise. Let us remember those who, not only in our time, but from millennium to millennium, died a terrible death, because they knew how to love, or because others did not know how to love - let us remember everyone, because the Lord’s love embraces everyone, and it will be for everyone, praying, the great John, who went through the whole tragedy of the sacrifice of dying and death without a single word of consolation, but only according to the sovereign command of God: “Believe to the end, and be faithful to the end!” Amen.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh. About death
I have a peculiar attitude towards death, and I would like to explain why I treat death not only calmly, but with desire, with hope, with longing for it.
My first vivid impression about death - a conversation with my father, who once told me: “You must live in such a way that you learn to expect your death the way a groom expects his bride: wait for it, long for it, rejoice in advance about this meeting, and meet it reverently, affectionately." The second impression (of course, not immediately, but much later) was the death of my father. He died suddenly. I came to him, in a poor little room at the top French house, where there was a bed, a table, a stool and several books. I entered his room, closed the door and stood there. And I was overcome by such silence, such a depth of silence that I remember exclaiming out loud: “And people say that death exists!” What a lie this is!” Because this room was full of life, and such a fullness of life that I had never seen outside it, on the street, in the yard. This is why I have such an attitude towards death and why I experience the words of the Apostle Paul with such force: For me, life is Christ, death is gain, because while I live in the flesh, I am separated from Christ... But the apostle adds further words that also greatly amazed me. The quote is not exact, but this is what he says: he completely wants to die and unite with Christ, but he adds: “However, it is necessary for you that I remain alive, and I will continue to live.” This is the last sacrifice he can make: everything he strives for, everything he hopes for, everything he does, he is ready to put aside because others need him.
I have seen a lot of death. I worked as a doctor for fifteen years, of which five years were in the war or French Resistance. After that, I lived for forty-six years as a priest and gradually buried an entire generation of our early emigration; so I saw a lot of death. And I was amazed that the Russians were dying calmly; Western people are more often with fear. Russians believe in life, go into life. And this is one of the things that every priest and every person must repeat to himself and others: we must not prepare for death, we must prepare for eternal life.
We know nothing about death. We don’t know what happens to us at the moment of dying, but we at least know rudimentarily what eternal life is. Each of us knows from experience that there are some moments when he no longer lives in time, but with such a fullness of life, such a jubilation that does not just belong to the earth. Therefore, the first thing we must teach ourselves and others is to prepare not for death, but for life. And if we talk about death, then talk about it only as a door that will open wide and allow us to enter eternal life.
But dying is still not easy. Whatever we think about death, about eternal life, we know nothing about death itself, about dying. I want to give you one example of my experience during the war.
I was a junior surgeon in a front-line hospital. A young soldier of about twenty-five, my age, was dying. I came to him in the evening, sat down next to him and said: “Well, how are you feeling?” He looked at me and replied, “I’m going to die tonight.” - “Are you afraid to die?” - “It’s not scary to die, but it hurts me to part with everything that I love: with my young wife, with the village, with my parents; and one thing is really scary: dying alone.” I say, "You won't die alone." - "So how?" - “I’ll stay with you.” - “You can’t sit with me all night...” I replied: “Of course I can!” He thought and said: “Even if you sit with me, at some point I will no longer be aware of this, and then I will go into the darkness and die alone.” I say: “No, not like that at all. I'll sit next to you and we'll talk. You will tell me everything you want: about the village, about the family, about childhood, about your wife, about everything that is in your memory, in your soul, that you love. I will hold your hand. Gradually you will become tired of talking, then I will begin to talk more than you. And then I will see that you are starting to doze, and then I will speak more quietly. You close your eyes, I will stop talking, but I will hold your hand, and you will periodically shake my hand, know that I am here. Gradually, your hand, although it will feel my hand, will no longer be able to shake it, I myself will begin to shake your hand. And at some point you will no longer be among us, but you will not leave alone. We will make the whole journey together." And so hour after hour we spent that night. At some point, he actually stopped squeezing my hand, I started shaking his hand so that he knew I was there. Then his hand began to grow cold, then it opened, and he was no longer with us. And it's very important point; It is very important that a person is not alone when he goes into eternity.
But it also happens differently. Sometimes a person is sick for a long time, and if he is then surrounded by love and care, it is easy to die, although it hurts (I will also say this). But it is very scary when a person is surrounded by people who are just waiting for him to die: they say, while he is sick, we are prisoners of his illness, we cannot move away from his bed, we cannot return to our lives, we cannot rejoice in our joys; he hangs over us like a dark cloud; as if he would die quickly... And the dying person feels it. This can last for months. Relatives come and coldly ask: “How do you like it? Nothing? Do you need something? do not need anything? OK; you know, I have my own things to do, I’ll come back to you.” And even if the voice does not sound cruel, the person knows that he has been visited only because it was necessary to visit, but that his death is eagerly awaited.
But sometimes it happens differently. A person dies, dies for a long time, but he is loved, he is dear; and he himself is also ready to sacrifice the happiness of being with a loved one, because this can give joy or help to someone else. Let me now say something personal about myself.
My mother had been dying of cancer for three years; I followed her. We were very close and dear to each other. But I had my own job - I was the only priest of the London parish, and besides, once a month I had to travel to Paris for meetings of the Diocesan Council. I didn’t have the money to make a phone call, so I came back, thinking: will I find my mother alive or not? She was alive - what a joy! what a meeting! .. Gradually it began to fade away. There were times when she would ring the bell, I would come, and she would tell me: “I’m sad without you, let’s be together.” And there were times when I myself felt unbearable. I went up to her, leaving my work, and said: “It hurts me without you.” And she consoled me about her dying and her death. And so we gradually went into eternity together, because when she died, she took with her all my love for her, everything that was between us. And there was so much between us! We lived almost our entire lives together, only the first years of emigration we lived apart, because there was nowhere to live together. But then we lived together, and she knew me deeply. And once she told me: “How strange: the more I know you, the less I could say about you, because every word I would say about you would have to be corrected with some additional features.” Yes, we reached the point when we knew each other so deeply that we could not say anything about each other, but we could join in life, in dying and in death.
And so we must remember that everyone dying in a situation where any kind of callousness, indifference or desire “for it to finally end” is unbearable. A person feels this, knows it, and we must learn to overcome all the dark, gloomy, bad feelings in ourselves and, forgetting about ourselves, think deeply, peer, and get used to the other person. And then death becomes victory: O death, where is your sting?! O death, where is your victory? Christ has risen, and not one of the dead is in the tomb...
I want to say something else about death because what I have already said is very personal. Death surrounds us all the time, death is the fate of all humanity. Now there are wars, people are dying in terrible suffering, and we must learn to be calm towards own death, because we see life in it, eternal life emerging. Victory over death, over the fear of death, lies in living deeper and deeper into eternity and introducing others to this fullness of life.
But before death there are other moments. We don’t die right away, we don’t just physically die out. Very strange phenomena happen. I remember one of our old women, Maria Andreevna, a wonderful little creature, who once came to me and said: “Father Anthony, I don’t know what to do with myself: I can’t sleep anymore. Throughout the night, images of my past rise in my memory, but not light ones, but only dark, bad images that torment me. I turned to the doctor and asked him to give me some sleeping pills, but sleeping pills don’t relieve this haze. When I take sleeping pills, I am no longer able to separate these images from myself, they become delirium, and I feel even worse. What should I do?" I then told her: “Maria Andreevna, you know, I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I believe that we have been given by God to experience our lives more than once, not in the sense that you will die and come back to life again, but in the sense that what is happening to you now. When you were young, you, within the narrow limits of your understanding, sometimes did wrong; in word, thought, and action they defamed themselves and others. Then you forgot about it and at different ages They continued, to the best of their understanding, to act similarly, again, to humiliate, desecrate, and discredit themselves. Now, when you no longer have the strength to resist the memories, they pop up, and each time they pop up, they seem to say to you: Maria Andreevna, now what are you over eighty years old, almost ninety - if you were in the same position that you are now I remember when you were twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years old, would you have acted as you did then? If you can look deeply at what happened then, at your condition, at events, at people and say: no, now, with my life experience, I could never say this murderous word, I could not do that what I did! - if you can say this with your whole being: with your thought, and your heart, and your will, and your flesh - it will leave you. But other, more and more other images will come. And every time the image comes, God will pose the question to you: is this your past sin or is it still your present sin? Because if you once hated a person and did not forgive him or reconcile with him, then the sin of that time is your present sinfulness; she has not left you and will not leave until you repent.”
I can give another example of the same kind. I was once called by the family of one of our decrepit old women, a bright, bright woman. She clearly should have died that day. She confessed, and finally I asked her: “Tell me, Natasha, have you forgiven everyone and everything, or do you still have some kind of thorn in your soul?” She replied: “I have forgiven everyone except my son-in-law; I’ll never forgive him!” I said to this: “In this case, I will not give you a prayer of permission and will not commune the Holy Mysteries; you will go to God’s judgment and will answer before God for your words.” She says: “After all, I’m going to die today!” - “Yes, you will die without a prayer of permission and without communion, if you do not repent and reconcile. I’ll be back in an hour,” and left. When I returned an hour later, she greeted me with a shining gaze and said: “You were so right! I called my brother-in-law, we explained ourselves, reconciled - he is now coming to see me, and I hope we will kiss each other to death, and I will enter eternity reconciled with everyone.”
The Orthodox calendar contains many dates and memorable events that cannot be classified as holidays, but, nevertheless, believers, paying tribute to traditions, strictly observe them.
These dates include parental Saturdays - days when one is supposed to visit the graves of deceased relatives, pray at home or in church and light a candle for the repose of their souls. Moreover, the term “parental” does not always mean that only parents should be respected. These could be any relatives, clan members, and even, alas, children who died untimely.
Almost all parental Saturdays are not tied to any specific date, because all except Dmitrievskaya and Victory Day depend on Easter, and Easter is a moving holiday. Therefore, all memorial days must be checked with church calendar, because they are different every year. And only May 9 is the only day of remembrance with a fixed immutable date. Of course, it is not always Saturday, but memorial services are always held in churches on this day in honor of fallen soldiers, officers and civilians.
Dates of Parents' Saturdays and Memorial Days
2018
The dead are commemorated three times during Lent. So in 2018 it was
- February 10 – meat-free parent’s Saturday
Saturdays of Great Lent
- March, 3rd
- 10th of March
- March 17
Other days of remembrance
- May 9 (fixed date)
- April 17 (also not Saturday, but the day of remembrance on Radonitsa)
- May 26 – Trinity Saturday
- November 3 – Dimitreevskaya Saturday
2019
- March 4 (Ecumenical Meat Day)
Saturdays of Lent
- March 23
- 30th of March
- April 6
Other days of remembrance
- May 7 – Radonitsa
- May 9 is a permanent date
- June 15 – Trinity Saturday (Ecumenical Saturday)
- November 2 – Dimitrievskaya Saturday
2020
- February 24 – Ecumenical Meat Saturday
Days of remembrance for Lent
- March 14th
- 21 March
- March 28
Other parent Saturdays
- April 28 – Radonitsa (Ecumenical Saturday)
- May 9 is a traditional day of remembrance with a specific date
- June 6 – Trinity Saturday
- October 31 – Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday
Why is it commemorated on Saturdays?
By Old Testament Saturday was a day of festive rest, according to the New Testament - from a day of earthly rest, Saturday began to personify the day of joy in the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the day when sins are forgiven and remitted, and therefore Saturday has become the most suitable for commemorating the dead. Of course, these are not all Saturdays in a row, but only those that are associated with some historical events that took place in the chronicles.
Characteristics of all parental Saturdays
The tradition of “Saturday” commemorations has evolved over centuries. Each of them has a historical basis. Myasopustnaya and Trinity are called Ecumenical, and the rest are days of remembrance. Their difference lies in historical basis. On Ecumenical Saturdays, not only relatives are remembered, but also all deceased Christians who died in different eras.
Meat Saturday
It dates back to the 1st century of the Christian era, when still persecuted Christians commemorated their brothers who suffered for their faith - those who were tortured, executed and not buried as expected. Meat Saturday falls before Sunday, when Orthodox Christians are reminded of it and falls a week before the start of Lent. According to legend, at the Last Judgment, every Christian will be rewarded for his earthly deeds, both the living and the dead, and the Church on this day patronizes all the deceased and prays for the salvation of their souls.
Trinity Saturday
This is also a fairly ancient custom that arose in the era of very early Christianity - in the apostolic age. All the departed children of God were remembered. Trinity Saturday falls on the eve of the Descent of the Holy Spirit to earth. It is believed that the economy of man, in which the deceased participate, has ended. This is perhaps the most revered Saturday in all Orthodox history. There are many legends and superstitions associated with it, and they all agree on one thing - we pray for the repose of the souls of the departed, and they help us, guide and protect us.
Dimitrievskaya Saturday
This is the last day of remembrance of the year and was established in the mid-16th century. Popular rumor firmly connected this day with the victory in the Battle of Kulikovo, awarding the merit of the memorial day to the noble prince Dmitry Donskoy, as if he had asked Sergius of Radonezh to hold a memorial service for the fallen soldiers.
Whether it is true or not is a moot point, but on this day they commemorate all the soldiers who have ever died on the battlefields, all who died for other reasons. In addition, it was installed on the eve of the day of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, which became another reason to call the autumn parental Saturday of Demetrius.
Radonitsa
This is not Saturday, but Tuesday and is celebrated after Easter week. It turns out that on the 9th day. Easter is a holiday for the living, and one is not supposed to go to the cemetery, but it was also necessary for the dead to announce the resurrection of the Son of God. Therefore, on the 9th day, people went to the cemetery with good news - hence the name - Radonitsa. There is no funeral service for Radonitsa.
May 9 Victory Day
It's already recent history and the day of remembrance of fallen soldiers became quite recently, in 1994. The only day with a fixed immovable date, regardless of what day of the week it falls on. Funeral litias are always held in churches.
Parental Saturdays of Great Lent
These memorial days are not universal. The usual daily commemorations are not performed, but salvation is given to the dead on the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent.
This time is not only abstinence from fast food, but also a cleansing of the soul and thoughts, a time when one must pray even more diligently, a time of repentance and charity. Right now, during the period of spiritual achievement, it is very important to be filled with love not only for those living today, but also for those who have left this world.
Thus, certain days gradually developed on which the dead should be remembered with prayer.
The deep meaning of parenting Saturdays
Worthy of remembering those who have passed on to another world is an expression of love and respect for loved ones. After all, we do not stop loving them even after death, this is the whole essence of Christian teaching - love for one's neighbor - and, first of all, for parents.
Respect for father and mother is formed from an early age, and a mature and mature person comes to understand and realize the fifth commandment - “Honor your father and mother.”
In other words, respect, honor and love your parents, and your children will respect and love you as well. Therefore, first of all, we should remember the deceased parents, and then all relatives and friends who went to the Kingdom of Heaven.
On universal Saturdays, all the dead are remembered - acquaintances, strangers, those who died on the battlefields or as a result of the elements or accidents, killed and even missing.
What to do on Parents' Saturdays
It is believed that first of all you need to visit the cemetery - this is not entirely correct. First of all, you need to visit the church, stand for the service, read a prayer, light a candle.
And for the souls of the deceased, this is much more important than visiting their last earthly refuge. But, of course, you cannot completely exclude visiting the cemetery - tidy up the grave, sweep or weed, clean the fence and remember kind words you need a loved one.
The meal should be very modest, lean, and it is better to avoid alcohol. In churches, it is forbidden to have snacks and, especially, to drink any alcohol. The temple is a place of prayer and reunion with God.
If you can’t visit either a church or a cemetery, then you need to pray at home in front of an icon and a photograph of the deceased, but the main thing here is not the surroundings, but the sincerity of the prayer.
How to attend church on Parents' Saturdays
If you want to remember deceased relatives, then before the service you need to give the priest notes with the names of the deceased. The names are written as those given at baptism, always in full and in genitive case. If this is your first time coming to such a service, then simply ask how and what to do, and either the parishioners or the ministers will definitely help you.
According to church traditions, the day begins on the evening before, so before parental Saturday a memorial service is held in the evening, and in the morning there is a liturgy for the repose. It is considered correct to bring any Lenten products to the temple - bread, cereals, wine. Of course, they should not be spoiled or broken.
Products are a kind of bloodless sacrifice that should be presented. After the service, the blessed food is distributed to everyone who needs it. When leaving the service, you can give alms to the poor or donate money to the needs of the temple. It is possible and useful to give unnecessary clothes and shoes to the poor. And this is not only good for them, but also for you, your soul and your well-being.
In Christianity there are certain days of remembrance of the dead, they are called Parental Saturdays. For what reason these days were named so, no one knows for sure. There are several versions of the origin of the name, the first says that on the day when deceased people are remembered, a person first of all remembers those closest to him.
If parents are no longer alive, then naturally they are the first to be remembered. The second theory says that when a Christian goes to another world, that is, dies, he returns to his forefathers. In other words, after death on Earth, he meets with his deceased father and mother, grandfathers and grandmothers. Saturday was chosen for a reason; it has always been considered the busiest day among the other days of the week.
What date is Parents' Day in 2018, 5 Parents' Saturdays
There are 5 Parental Saturdays in the Orthodox Church. Meat-free universal Parental Saturday, on this day Orthodox believers ask God for mercy to all departed Christians. Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday - before the day of the Holy Trinity, on the 49th day after Easter.
Private parents' day, this Saturday, according to Christian tradition, deceased parents are remembered in Russian, Bulgarian and Serbian Orthodox churches. Similar days include Mikhailovskaya, Dmitrievskaya and Intercession Saturdays.
Parental 2nd, 3rd, 4th Saturdays during Great Lent exist in order not to deprive the deceased of prayers for their repose throughout Great Lent, since during this period, according to Christian regulations, the usual commemorations of the deceased are canceled.
What date is Parents' Day in 2018, exact dates
According to Christian customs, the graves of deceased relatives must be kept in order and cleanliness. This is a sign of respect. But leaving food and alcoholic drinks on graves is not permissible. In Orthodoxy, such actions are considered desecration of the souls of deceased Christians. It is recommended to give food to the poor or distribute it with a request to commemorate a certain person who is no longer alive.
Dates for Parents' Saturdays in 2018:
In Orthodoxy, it is customary to show concern for the souls of deceased loved ones. This phenomenon is an integral part of Christianity as a whole, since this religion is one of the spiritual teachings that preach life after death and, in general, spiritual immortality.
It is also known that in Christianity there is a ban on commemorating deceased suicides. This means that they are not buried as those who died against their will, and also church ministers do not have the right to perform memorial prayers for them. With the blessing of a clergyman, relatives of suicides can pray for them on their own.
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