When is Parents Sunday? Private Parent Saturdays

“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 of the 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

(and there are them in church calendar several) 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 a year) there are Ecumenical, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. There are two such Saturdays: Meat Eating (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 seven days of special remembrance of the dead. All but one (May 9 - Commemoration of Dead Soldiers) have a moving date.

Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent
Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent
Saturday of the 4th week of Lent
Radonitsa
9th May - Commemoration of deceased warriors
Saturday Trinity
Saturday Dimitrievskaya

Parents' Saturdays in 2019

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 performed - ecumenical funeral services.

What are ecumenical memorial services?

On parental Saturdays, the Orthodox Church holds ecumenical or parental memorial services. In a word "requiem service" Christians call the funeral service, at which believers pray for the repose of the dead, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins.

What is a memorial service

Memorial service translated from Greek means “all-night vigil.” This is a 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)- This is 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 dead from Adam to the present day. An ecumenical requiem service is served in the churches - “The memory of all Orthodox Christians who have departed from time immemorial, our fathers and brothers.”

Trinity Parents' Saturday

Trinity- this is the second universal 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 Lent according to the Charter funeral commemorations are not performed(funeral litanies, litias, memorial services, commemorations of the 3rd, 9th and 40th days after death, magpies), therefore the Church has set aside special three days when one can prayerfully remember the departed. These are the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent.

Radonitsa

Radonitsa, or Radunitsa, is one of the days of special remembrance of the dead, which falls on Tuesday after St. Thomas week (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, the day of victory 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.

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday- Saturday before the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, 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.

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 Parents' Saturday, that is Friday evening, in Orthodox harmas a great funeral service is being served, which is also called Greek word "parastas". On Saturday itself, in the morning, they serve the funeral Divine Liturgy, after it - 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”). This lean products, wine (Cahors) for celebrating the liturgy.

Why do they bring food “for the eve”?

Answered by Archpriest Igor FOMIN, rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO:

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 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 He is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Thy eternal good things, prepared for those who love Thee: otherwise and sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorify You in the Trinity, faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until your 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 this 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 subject him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your bounties, weaken and forgive all his sins and do it 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 Your departed servant (your servant), my child (Name), and do for him (to 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 given over 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 the one who gave birth and raised (who gave birth and raised) me my parent (my matter), (Name) (or: with my parents who gave birth to and raised me, their names) - , but his soul (or: her, or: them), as if departed (or: departed) to You, with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, accept me into Your Heavenly Kingdom. I bow before Your holy will, by which I was taken away (or: taken away, or: taken away) be with me, and I ask you not to take him 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 You, merciful Judge, do not punish the unforgettable deceased with eternal punishment (unforgettable deceased) for me Your servant (your servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but let him go (to her) all his sins (her) voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance created by him (by her) in his life (her) 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 (Yu) and deliver eternal torment. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, to never cease to remember my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in your prayers, and beg Thee, the righteous Judge, to bring him to justice (Yu) in a bright place, in a cool place and in a calm place, with all the saints, but from nowhere all illness, sadness and sighing have escaped. Merciful Lord! Receive today for Your servant (Yours) (name) this warm prayer of mine and give it to him (to her) Your reward for the labors and care of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as I taught (who taught) First of all, I lead You, my Lord, to pray to You in reverence, to trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and to keep Your commandments; for his care (her) about my spiritual success, for the warmth it brings (by her) prayers for me before You and for all the gifts to them (by her) what I have asked from You, give it to him (to her) By your grace. 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?

Archpriest Igor FOMIN, rector of the Church of the Holy Blessed Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO, answers:

The main thing is that you should not go to the cemetery instead of serving in a church. 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 of commemorating dead people were somewhat different from church traditions. Ordinary people walked to the graves of relatives in front of big 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 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 destiny was, as it were, not to be, so that in the consciousness and vision of people the only One who exists would grow: the 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 never be superfluous, to never be there when he 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 great secret a person who is capable of not becoming, as it were, in order for something greater than himself to exist.

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, the greatest strength of mature years is ruined, 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 times 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 perished not only in our time, but from millennium to millennium 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 the great John will pray for everyone, who went through the whole tragedy of the sacrifice of dying and death without a single words 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 of death was 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: to wait for it, to long for it, to rejoice in advance about this meeting.” , and meet her reverently and affectionately.” The second impression (of course, not immediately, but much later) was the death of my father. He died suddenly. I came to him, to a poor little room at the top of a French house, where there was a bed, a table, a stool and a few 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 me I was also very surprised. 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, five of which were in the war or in the 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 was visited only because he had to be visited, but that his death is impatiently 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 in relation to our own death, because in it we see life, 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, did not 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.”

We have all heard this expression - “parents' Saturday” more than once. Of course, the name itself seems to indicate that it should be somehow connected with parents or the older generation. But is it? And what should you do on this day?

To begin with, the main thing is that there is not just one parent’s Saturday a year, there are several of them. The first one is today February 10. However, first things first.

First, let’s talk about why Saturday was chosen for commemoration. This tradition dates back to biblical times, when this day was considered a day of rest. And peace is the best state for prayer and remembrance of those who are no longer with us.

The first and closest parental Saturday to us is called Meat-free universal Parent's Saturday– it falls two weeks before Lent. This year, we repeat, February 10.

Then, before Trinity, on the 49th day after Easter, it precedes the beginning of the Apostolic Lent Trinity Ecumenical Parents' Saturday (May 26). Please note that both of these Saturdays, Meat Saturday and Trinity Saturday, are ecumenical. On such days, ecumenical memorial services are served in churches, and during the day they commemorate all deceased Orthodox Christians without exception.

During Great Lent (2nd, 3rd, 4th Saturdays, that is, this year, March 3, March 10 And March 17) these days are specially set for commemoration, since at this time the traditional daily commemorations of the deceased are canceled.

There are also so-called Saturdays of Small Fasts- This last Saturdays before the Nativity (November 28 - January 6), Petrovsky, or Apostolic (June 4 - July 11) and Assumption (August 14 - August 27) fasts. On these days, commemoration of the dead is also carried out traditionally.

In addition, commemoration of the deceased is performed on Dimitrievskaya (November 3), Intercession and Mikhailovskaya Saturdays, although this period is not marked as a funeral period. These are the so-called Private parent days.

The departed are remembered on Radonitsa. In 2018 it falls on April 17. Please note - this is Tuesday. Radonitsa comes nine days after Easter. On Radonitsa it is also supposed to visit the graves of relatives and put them in order.

On the nearest Parents' Saturday, February 10, we traditionally visit churches and cemeteries. Moreover, the first is more important than the second. On this day, with the most sincere, brightest words, they pray for departed loved ones, asking for the peace of their souls in the next world. It is necessary to order special commemorations.

At the end of the service, which must be defended to the end, you need, if possible, to distribute alms to those who are in need, to whom you can help in some way. This is how they remember those who, according to church rules, are not remembered - including those who were not baptized and those who died voluntarily. When visiting the grave of deceased relatives, it is necessary to put it in order and pray.

According to tradition, on Ecumenical Parental Saturday, kutya, a dish made from honey and wheat, was placed on the table. Now, for obvious reasons, rice is used instead of wheat, which is cooked with the addition of honey and raisins. It is not difficult to prepare kutya according to the rules:

1. Wash the rice before cooking, cook the cereal until tender without pre-soaking. The grains of rice should be soft but crumbly.

2. Boil syrup from honey and sugar, add to rice (to taste).

3. Steam the dried fruits, dry them, cut them into small pieces and mix with rice.

4. Place the prepared kutya in a small bowl into a bowl. The top of the kutya can be decorated with nuts or raisins. Sometimes raisins are mixed inside, this is not forbidden. If you decide so, pre-fry the raisins with honey or sugar for butter in a frying pan.

But extra tears are not welcome on this day. Bright memory, the best memories and good words to the departed - best memory about them.

As for the implementation of other rules, most of which are simply traditional, it is believed that on this day you can do household chores, but not overwork yourself, you should help as much as possible more of people. But it’s not worth organizing a “wake” in the sense of a feast, and even with alcohol. As a last resort, it is permissible to drink a little wine, but strong drinks are prohibited.

TO THE POINT

Another day of remembrance is the seventh Thursday after Easter, the so-called Semik. Remembering those who went to Semik is pure folk tradition. On this day, those who died voluntarily and unbaptized are also remembered. Semik falls on May 24 this year.

Ecumenical Parental Saturday before Great Lent, in 2019 coming on March 2 is one of the special days when a service is held in all churches to commemorate departed Christians. Prayerful sighs the living about the departed are a precious gift for both.

Service for the remembrance of departed Christians

According to one of the poets, there are no non-believers in heaven, souls acquire faith. The task of all living people is to unite in the universal petition sounding in churches at this time for the repose of the departed servants of God. Being in Heaven, deceased souls see our faith from above, even those who were once ardent fighters against religion.

The second name of this day is Meat Saturday, when “farewell” to meat dishes occurs until Easter.

What is the essence of parental universal Saturday

7 days before Lent, a week begins dedicated to thinking about the Last Judgment. In prayer, Orthodox people, in unity of faith, in a common petition, pray to God for mercy for all the departed and forgiveness of the sins of the living.

Why do we always remember the dead on Saturday?

The answer is found in the Bible (Matthew 27:57-66). Jesus was buried in the rock on Friday, but on Saturday the Pharisees and scribes demanded that the entrance to the tomb be sealed so that the disciples would not steal the body to proclaim the resurrection by deception. For Jews, Saturday has always been and remains a day of rest. So the body of Jesus remained in peace until the true Resurrection.

Why is Saturday called parental Saturday?

On this day, the elders of the clan, mother, father and parents are remembered. Also, it is generally accepted that all the deceased go to their ancestors to meet them in heaven.

Respect for parents runs like a thread throughout the Bible. The 10 Commandments say honor your father and mother. This is the fifth commandment. It is not stated here that only the good and the living.

Throughout their lives, children should remember, honor and remember those through whom God gave them life.

Fifth Commandment of God's Law

People's days on earth are not limited to their own lives. Human life is extended through children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Returning to the fifth commandment of God, we can see that every person is responsible to his children and grandchildren for their longevity.

Children must be raised to respect their parents, not for the sake of their father and mother, but for their sake. future life. Failure to fulfill the commandments is a sin; honoring parents is higher than the commandment “thou shalt not kill.”

Are there many Orthodox Christians in the world who live according to God’s commandments? How many people among us truly honor our parents? Sin leads to not only physical death; the Last Judgment awaits every person. Honor your father and mother before and after death, and you, your children and grandchildren will be granted a life of abundance according to the promise of God.

Sometimes children are annoyed by parents who insist on obedience and punish those who disobey. Stupid children do not understand that parents are driven by the reluctance of power, but by the usual fear of raising a child who does not respect the father and mother.

Ecumenical Parents' Saturday is the day of remembrance of all those who have died, because they went to their ancestors. Out of great love for mankind, the apostles left the instruction to carry out universal common prayers about everyone, regardless of who, when and where died.

Why do Orthodox Christians pray for the dead?

According to the Holy Fathers of the Church human soul meets Eternity, but this is not the end, next is the Last Judgment. The soul of the deceased undergoes only a small trial, awaiting the Second Coming of Christ. Living on earth, a person, through fasting and prayer, taming his body, can correct his sins; the dead have only a soul, which is very difficult to correct.

But the Apostle James gave instructions to all Orthodox Christians to pray for each other in order to receive healing. (James 5:16)

Prayer for the dead

Memorial Saturday is a universal prayer for the healing of the souls of the departed, deceased, or in other words, fallen asleep people, liberating them from original sin. The triune principle of man consists of spirit, soul and body, but the deceased have a soul and spirit, which means they still have time to repent. By praying for those who have passed into another world, Orthodox Christians help them receive God's mercy - forgiveness of sins for the salvation of their souls.

The philosopher Plato compares the body to a violin case; a broken string does not mean the death of a musician.

A person dying does not know where his soul is going. The surviving people cannot imagine this either. The child, being inside the mother, cannot imagine life outside the mother’s womb, but the time comes, the baby appears with a cry. Of course, he is uncomfortable and scared; he finds himself in a different, initially seemingly hostile environment. Time passes, the child understands that he is welcome here, they were waiting for him, he gains a feeling of comfort.

So the human soul ends up in another world, it is doomed to immortality. A deceased person cannot repent or change anything in his sinful earthly life. Time doesn't go by reverse side. Remaining relatives, friends and simply acquaintances in prayers for the deceased can ease their fate in Heaven.

One of God’s gifts for making petitions for the dead was given the Ecumenical Parental Saturday before Great Lent.

There is no death, there is a transition from earthly life to heavenly existence, there is a kind of door that always opens in one direction.

On Meatless Saturday, all the dead, starting from Adam, are remembered, which is why this day is called universal.

Basic rules of conduct on Ecumenical Memorial Saturday

The morning of Ecumenical Saturday begins with Proskomedia, a funeral liturgy, after which a general memorial service is served. Before the start of Proskomedia, Christians submit notes with the names of the dead who were baptized according to Orthodox traditions. They are prayed for by name during all services.

Relatives can pray for unbaptized people themselves.

Notes cannot be submitted for the deceased:

suicides;
women who died during abortions;
unbaptized;
atheists;
heretics.

Without naming their names, beggars are asked to remember such deceased people by giving them alms.

Important! During prayer, candles are placed near the Crucifixion, and not near the icons of Saints.

During Meat Eating Day, the dead are remembered during meals. On this day, Psalm 118 is read (kathisma 17)

Psalm 118 Blessed are the blameless on their journey on Ecumenical Memorial Saturday

Special All Souls' Day in church

In addition to Meat, the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent are a time of remembrance and prayer for the deceased. The Fathers of the Church emphasize the great mission of Christians to give love to the world, for God is love! If God has no dead, all souls are alive, then our calling is to love them, forgive and bless them.

The commemoration of the dead begins on Friday evening, when a memorial service or parastas will be performed. The Great Friday requiem or parastas (intercession) is a great petition before God for all those who have died.

“The continuation of the parastas, that is, the great requiem, for our departed fathers and brothers and for all Orthodox Christian passed away"
The beginning of the parastas is the same as an ordinary memorial service (which is an abbreviated parastas).
After Alleluia and troparions, “In the depth of wisdom” the immaculate ones are sung.
The blameless are divided into 2 sections.
First article: “Blessed, immaculate, on your way.”
Chorus: “Remember, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant” (or “the soul of Thy servant”, or “the soul of Thy servant”).
After the first article there is a small funeral litany and an exclamation: “God of spirits...”.
Second article: “I am yours, save me.”
Chorus: “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant” (or “the soul of Thy servant,” or “the soul of Thy servant”).
Immediately after this, troparia for the immaculates are sung:
“Blessed are you, O Lord...
You will find the holy face the source of life...”
After the troparia and in the small funeral litany the rest of the sedal is sung: “Peace, our Savior”, the 50th psalm is read and the canon “The water has passed through” is sung - its capstone: “I sing to the dying faithful” (placed in the Octoechos, tone 8, on Saturday).
Choruses to the canon: “Wonderful is God in His saints, the God of Israel” and “Rest, O Lord, for the souls of Thy servants who have fallen asleep.”
According to the 3rd song, katavasiya is irmos: “The circle of heaven,” and sedalen: “Truly all is vanity.”
According to the 6th song of Katavasia Irmos: “Cleanse me, Savior.”
After the small funeral litany - kontakion and ikos: “Rest with the saints” and “Thou art alone, the Immortal One.”
According to the 8th song, the priest makes an exclamation: “Theotokos and Mother of Light...”.
Chorus: “The spirits and souls of the righteous...” and Irmos: “Be afraid of every hearing.”
After canon the Trisagion according to Our Father is read and the troparia of the lithium are sung: “With the spirits of the righteous who have passed away, the soul (or souls) of Thy servant (Thy servant), O Savior, give rest...” and so on.

During the Saturday Liturgy, words of consolation are heard, giving hope for a future meeting in Heaven.

All those present in the church during the Liturgy are covered by the real grace of God, showing that Christ lives in His worshipers, and we are one body with Him, this is the secret of His Divine Love.

Divine Liturgy. Ecumenical parental (meat-free) Saturday

At the end of the Liturgy, Orthodox people take communion, receiving the Grace of Holy Communion. According to Saint Seraphim of Sarov, those who did not receive holy communion on this day turned away from the One who gave us Love in the Cup of salvation, which God’s hand extended.

Prayer for the departed
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servant: 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.

When and by whom was the Ecumenical Memorial Saturday established?

The history of commemorating the deceased goes back to the distant past. Confirmation of this ritual can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible (Num. 20:19; Deut. 34:9; Mac. 7:38-46).

The apostles James and Mark performed prayers for the deceased during ancient liturgies. The Apostolic Constitutions clearly indicate on which days those who have passed on to another world are commemorated. The Fathers of the Church, among them Gregory the Great and John Chrysostom, revealed the true meaning of funeral prayers.

The tradition of praying for your deceased parents and relatives is inherent in every people on earth. The patricians, respected in Rome, differed from the rootless plebeians not only in their wealth, but primarily in that they knew and remembered their ancestors many generations ago.

The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church writes that there is no one on earth who could foretell what God has prepared in Heaven for those who love Him.

Christian doctrine says that human perfection occurs only on earth. The Divine Liturgy read by the Great Dismissal gives hope to all living, emphasizing that Christ, through the prayers of His Mother Mary, grants us salvation, for Christ is a lover of mankind.

The remaining people on earth will never know the secrets about afterlife Saints, they will not find answers why their bodies do not smolder and in what order from dead body incense emanates. Everyone's responsibility Orthodox Christian provide assistance to the deceased. The universal petition has enormous power untie the ties in Heaven. The meat-eating Sabbath was established in the fifth century by order Saint Sava Sanctified.

Icon of Sava the Sanctified

Why is Kolivo prepared for Ecumenical Memorial Saturday?

When holding a memorial service or litia, they bring kolivo or kutia to the temple. This is one dish made from wheat (sometimes I replace it with rice) with the addition of honey and raisins. The grain is a prototype of the deceased person. Just as a grain dies to form an ear, so the body of the deceased is buried in the earth so that his soul can be resurrected in paradise, where life will be sweet as honey.

Recipe for funeral kutia

To prepare coliva you will need peeled wheat, which should be soaked overnight in cold water. Add to swollen grains clean water in a ratio of 1:3 and cook until tender. Add raisins soaked in boiling water and salt to taste to the finished porridge. When the porridge with raisins becomes warm, add honey.

Unlike the rich Christmas kutia with many ingredients, poppy seeds, nuts and dried fruits are not added to the hungry kolivo.

Preparing a funeral meal

Very often, the days of remembrance of Christians are called “ecumenical Saturdays,” which is fundamentally incorrect. Despite the fact that these events take place alternately, there is significant difference. 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 sacred meaning is hidden in the sacrament of ecumenical and parental services. By offering prayer to all the departed, we do not divide Christians into friends and foes, but show boundless mercy and special Christian unity.

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
Day of Remembrance Orthodox warriors, 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 set the table with kutia on Mother’s Saturday - Lenten dish 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. The finished dish can be decorated 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.

Special commemoration of the deceased according to the canons of the Orthodox Church in 2018, parental Saturdays, and not only, by day. Features of each day of remembrance, what to do on Parents' Saturday.

Most days of special remembrance of the dead are shifted relative to Easter, there are memorial days, are not tied to the celebration of Easter - all the numbers for 2018, their features and traditions.

Parents' Saturday is the traditional name of the day when the Church especially prays for the dead. Since ancient times, Saturday has been considered a day of rest, so on this day we pray for the repose of our loved ones and all Orthodox Christians who have died from time to time. Almost all days of special commemoration of deceased relatives and loved ones were established in the church calendar back in early Christian times. All dates in the article are given in the new style.

First, let us pay attention to the days associated in the annual circle of services with the Bright Feast of the Resurrection of Christ.

UNIVERSAL PARENTAL SATURDAY (MEAT SATURDAY) in 2018 falls on February 10. Ecumenical commemoration on this day was established on the basis that on the following Sunday the Last Judgment and the Second Coming of Christ are remembered. In addition, meat-free Parental Saturday takes place during the period of preparation for Lent; on this day, Christians are called to remember that we and the departed are in the one Body of Christ, since God has everyone alive.

The funeral 2nd, 3rd, 4th SATURDAYS of GREAT LENT fall in 2018 on March 3, March 10 and March 17, respectively.