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What memorial days are there in the year? Parents' Saturday

In 2017, Parents' Day or Radonitsa is celebrated on April 25. This is Orthodox church holiday when the dead are remembered. So many people want to know what date is parent's day in 2017.

Radonitsa is one of the most important memorial days, when most people try to visit cemeteries where the graves of their relatives and friends are located. No matter how strange it may sound, this day is not only a day of blessed memory, but also joy and joy for the departed who have entered the new, eternal life.

In order not to miss this event, it is important to remember that Radonitsa always occurs on the 9th day after Easter, which this year was April 16 (we wrote earlier,). That is, it is not difficult to calculate what date Parents' Day will be in 2017 - April 25, Tuesday.

In general, there are eight parental days in a year, and seven of them fall on Saturday, which is called parental Saturday. But Radonitsa is considered the most important day of them and it falls on different dates (depending on the day of celebration of Easter, exactly nine days after the Resurrection of Christ), and therefore on different days calendar That's why many people ask us, what date is Radonitsa in 2018 will be celebrated among Orthodox people.

By the way, it’s interesting that there are various signs on Parents’ Day. For example, if it is windy outside on this day, this means that the ancestors are angry that no one visited them. If it rains, then this good sign. Also, you cannot work on this day - this applies to farming and household chores.

Memorial days in 2018

Follow the believers Orthodox holidays helps church calendar, so many people know what day Parents' Day is in 2017 - April 25th. But other days special commemoration, alas, not known to many. Therefore, we present to you full list memorial days for this year.

February 18 – Saturday – Ecumenical Parents Saturday (meat-free)
March 11 – Saturday – Second parents’ memorial Saturday
March 18 – Saturday – Third Memorial Parents Day
March 25 – Saturday – Fourth Memorial Saturday
April 25 – Tuesday – Radonitsa
May 9 – Saturday – Day of Remembrance of Fallen War Soldiers
June 3 – Saturday – Trinity Saturday
November 4 – Saturday – Dmitrievskaya Saturday

For many citizens of our country, memorial days are very important, especially for Orthodox Christians. Therefore, despite the fact that most people treat this event with reverence, not everyone knows what date Parents’ Day is in 2017 in Russia. Let us remind you once again that Radonitsa this year falls on April 25, according to the calendar it will be Tuesday.

The celebration of Radunitsa or parent's day is a spiritual celebration of the funeral of the dead, which has its origins in primitive pagan times. Orthodox religion supported this tradition and included it in the list of Orthodox Christian holidays. In accordance with church statute, this festival is celebrated on the ninth day after the Resurrection of Christ on the second day of St. Thomas Week. This is the first working day after Clear Easter Week. If one or another celebration occurs on this day, the celebration of Radunitsa is postponed to the next day. Thus, in a similar way it is possible to establish the date of the celebration of Radunitsa in 2017. The Resurrection of Christ in Russia in 2017 is celebrated on April 16. We count down nine days and we get that the celebration of parent's day will take place April 25, 2017.

HISTORY AND CUSTOMS OF CELEBRATING PARENTS' DAY.

These celebrations were celebrated among the Slavs in ancient times. At first, the very name Radonitsa (radonitsa, funeral feast) referred to deities who embodied the veneration of the dead, guardians of the souls of deceased ancestors. Sacrifices were made to the Radonians, and lavish celebrations and libations were held in their honor on the funeral hills, so that the deceased could appreciate the respect with which the survivors treated him. Over time, the term “trizna” began to mean a memorial, and “radonitsa” - the spring commemoration of the dead. This custom was adopted by the Russian Orthodox Church. The word “radonitsa” comes from a combination of the words “joy” and “kind”. This celebration occupies a prominent place immediately after the celebration of Bright Easter Week and obliges Orthodox believers not to indulge in sadness for those who have passed into another world, but to rejoice in their eternal life together with the Lord God. The whole Christian world celebrates Christ's Resurrection, his triumph over earthly death, and then, nine days later, believers celebrate the revival of their ancestors, relatives and friends to a new life, remembering them on a special day - Radunitsa. Death in Christianity is associated with eternity, souls have no term, they live forever in heaven and rejoice for living people. The rebirth of Christ, as a symbol of the victory of life over death, displaces the sadness of parting with loved ones.

“They plow in the radonitsa in the morning, cry during the day, and jump in the evening,” that is, they engage in various types of work, visit burial sites and have fun in the evening. This celebration has long become a secular day of remembrance, in contrast to church parental Saturdays.

Cemeteries are consecrated by the church the area where the dead are awaiting the upcoming resurrection. According to the customs and laws of pagan states and peoples, burial places were considered sacred and inviolable, violation of which was punishable by various types punishments. From ancient pagan times, a tradition has been preserved to mark the burial site by raising a hill over it. In furtherance of this custom, Christian Church decorates the grave mound with the victorious sign of our salvation - a cross depicted on the gravestone or installed above the tombstone.

We call our deceased deceased, not dead, because in certain time they will rise from the grave. The grave is the place of future resurrection, and therefore it is necessary to keep it clean and orderly.

Cross on the grave Orthodox Christian- a silent preacher of blessed immortality and resurrection. Planted in the ground and rising towards the sky, it signifies the faith of Christians that the body of the deceased is here in the earth, and the soul is in heaven, that under the cross is hidden a seed that grows for eternal life in the Kingdom of God. The cross on the grave is placed at the feet of the deceased so that the Crucifix is facing the face of the deceased. We must especially ensure that the cross on the grave is not askew, that it is always painted, clean and well-groomed.

There are only eight parenting days in a year and seven of them fall on Saturdays and are called parental Saturdays. Radunitsa 2017 is the most important of them for every Orthodox Christian. It reminds us to care for the souls of our ancestors. It is believed that this is a day of joy because the dead go to a new eternal life. The custom of commemorating the dead is not particularly followed in the Charter. It is based on the fact that on St. Thomas Week the descent of Christ into hell is remembered, and from Monday on St. Thomas Week, the Charter allows for the beginning of the celebration of forty-ones for the dead - the living rejoice in the good news of the Resurrection with the dead. It is imperative to know the date of parent's day in order to take the opportunity to remember your deceased relatives, friends and acquaintances, remember them, visit the cemeteries where they are buried and clean up the graves.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ON PARENTS' DAY 2017?

Quite a significant number of people visit relatives and friends at the cemetery on Easter. Many, unfortunately, adhere to the tradition of accompanying visits to the dead with excessive consumption. alcoholic drinks. And those who don’t do this very often don’t even know when to Easter days it is possible (and necessary) to remember the dead. The first commemoration of the deceased after Easter takes place on the second Easter week(week), after Fomin Sunday, on Tuesday. And the widespread tradition of going to the cemetery on the Easter holiday itself is in conflict with the liturgical charter of the Church on the grounds that one should not allow a mixture of mournful funereal and solemn celebratory things: before the ninth day from Easter, commemoration of the dead cannot be performed. If a person passes into another world on Easter, then he is buried according to a special Easter rite.

At the same time, on Radonitsa there is a custom of celebrating Easter at the graves of the dead, where they bring Easter cakes, painted eggs and other Easter dishes. Traditionally, the number of dishes should be odd. There a funeral meal is served and part of what is prepared is given to the poor in the form of alms for the funeral of the soul. At the cemetery there is real, living, everyday communication with the dead. They share with them the joys and sorrows that have happened since the last visit to the cemetery. In addition, when you come to the cemetery on Parents' Day, you need to light a candle and pray intensely. To perform litia during the commemoration of the dead, a priest should be invited. You can also read the Akathist about the repose of the dead. Then you need to clean up the grave, be silent for a while, remembering the deceased. The Church condemns some folk customs happening on this day. There is no need to drink or eat in a cemetery, it is unacceptable to pour alcohol on a grave mound - these actions insult the memory of the dead. The tradition of leaving a glass of vodka with bread on a grave is a relic of pagan culture and should not be observed in Christian Orthodox families. It is better to give food to the poor or hungry. Let them pray for our departed, and then the Lord may send some consolation to our relatives. But despite this, many people, like their ancestors, come to the cemetery to sip and pour for the deceased themselves.

Prayer for the departed is the greatest and most important thing we can do for those who have passed on to another world. By and large, the deceased does not need either a coffin or a monument - all this is a tribute to traditions, albeit pious ones. But forever living soul the deceased experiences a great need for our constant prayer, because she herself cannot do good deeds with which she would be able to appease God. That is why prayer at home for loved ones, prayer in the cemetery at the grave of the deceased is the duty of every Orthodox Christian.

Commemoration in the Church provides special assistance to the deceased. Before visiting the cemetery, one of the relatives should come to the church at the beginning of the service, submit a note with the name of the deceased for commemoration at the altar (it is best if this is commemorated at a proskomedia, when a piece is taken out of a special prosphora for the deceased, and then in a sign of the washing away of his sins will be lowered into the Chalice with the Holy Gifts). After the liturgy, a memorial service must be celebrated.

In some regions Russian Federation Radonitsa was a day of home and church commemoration, when it was not customary to visit the dead in cemeteries. So in the north-east of Russia, as well as in some places in Belarus, they prepared a bathhouse for the dead, leaving water with a broom and clean linen for them, but they themselves did not wash or even enter the bathhouse. And in the morning they looked for traces of the dead in the ashes scattered on the floor.

Also on this day, the tradition of “calling out the rain” developed. Children used simple spells to summon the first spring rain. Folk omens claim that there was not a single Radonitsa Tuesday on which a few drops of rain did not fall. If after the spells it started to rain, then everyone began to wash themselves with “heavenly water”, which was supposed to bring happiness. If the first spring thunder strikes on this day, then young women and girls should wash themselves with rainwater through golden and silver rings. According to popular beliefs, this preserved beauty and youth for a long time.

TRADITIONS FOR RADONITSA.

Initially, this wonderful holiday was celebrated on some hill, hence the name Red Hill. For the festivities, the entire village gathered before dawn to honor the main deity - Yarilo. In the same place they organized cheerful celebrations with a rich table and many different entertainments and games. And as soon as the sun appeared, the whole village shouted: “Glory to Yarila! Hello, red sun!

It was also customary to invite spring earlier. In different villages one could hear every now and then: “Spring come to us! With joy, with mercy! With grainy rye, with curly oats, with mustachioed barley...” Many believed that if this was not done, the harvest would be meager and poor.

They also found time to go to the cemetery to visit deceased relatives. Just like today, the people carried a lot of dishes and boiled chicken eggs. However, our ancestors did not just place them under the grave. To begin with, they beat it on the grave, after which they cleaned it and buried the shell in the ground, and the egg itself was given to the poor.

It is worth noting that previously Radonitsa was celebrated for more than one day, so the whole village walked, inviting other villages to visit. Be sure to treat everyone with traditional dishes for this day - scrambled eggs, pancakes, loaves, various pies, in general, everything that was in the shape of a circle. The obligatory entertainment that day was rolling an egg down the mountain. The one whose egg rolls the longest without breaking will be the happiest in the entire village.

Krasnaya Gorka was still a holiday of love, and all because this is the holiday when many young people gathered, not only from one village, sometimes even from several villages. The young people looked closely at each other, got to know each other, and some, in a playful and humorous manner, confessed their love or sympathy. Therefore, Radonitsa has always been a celebration of the birth of love and a strong family. The girls prepared especially for this holiday - they dressed up in new beautiful clothes, braided braids and wove flowers or even wreaths with ribbons into them. But staying at home on Radonitsa was considered bad omen In addition, in this case, young people did not miss the opportunity to mock such a person and come up with various funny nicknames. Many believed that whoever stayed at home on this day would definitely be unhappy in the coming year.

Married and adult women tried to cook as much as possible on this day. more food to set aside part for temples and give the other part to the poor. Many believed that this could bring good luck in the coming year.

Krasnaya Gorka has always been considered the most successful day for a wedding, and not at all because of signs or superstitions, but because weddings depended on the sowing season. Therefore, they were celebrated either in early spring or late autumn before the harvest. Perhaps because of this you can often hear that Radonitsa is Maiden's Day.

And for those who wooed on this holiday, there was a separate custom. To do this, all the youth in the village gathered and went in a crowd to the house, where they celebrated the matchmaking. Under the house they sang songs, and sometimes even showed performances, for which they were treated delicious dishes from the table. And the girl and the guy who were matched together were called “the bindweed” and “the bindweed.”

Since rain on Radonitsa was a good omen, they tried to cause it. To do this, children on the street called out to him: “Water, rain, on woman’s rye, on grandfather’s wheat, on girl’s flax, water with a bucket.” Or: “Rain, rain, let it fall harder, quickly, warm us guys up!”

If it did start to rain, then all the people went out into the street and washed themselves with this water for good luck, and the girl always took silver rings with her and washed herself with them too.

SIGNS FOR RADONITSA 2017.

It was considered a bad omen if you did not come to your family’s grave on that day. They believed that no one would remember or remember this person after death.

Under no circumstances should any work in the garden be started earlier. It was believed that this could lead to drought, crop failure and the death of one of the loved ones.

It was also a bad omen that it rained before lunch, after which the wind blew in the evening. In this case, it was believed that the ancestors were not happy that they were forgotten and did not come to the graves. But if it just rains in Radonitsa and there is no wind, then this means happiness in the house and a rich harvest.

The housewife who is the first to prepare the festive meal will be the first to reap the harvest, and her harvest will be richer than that of the others.

Our ancestors also believed that the family that came first to the cemetery would be the happiest of the year, and even possibly receive special wisdom that would help in solving many problems.

DIVINATION FOR RADONITSA 2017.

Fortune telling for Radonitsa 2017. On Radonitsa, unmarried girls got together and told fortunes. It should be noted that there were no clearly established rituals on Radonitsa; as a rule, girls used those fortune-telling that were used on all Christmastides. For example, girls tried to find out their fate with the help of a book.

In the spring, women wove wreaths from birch branches, and then went to the river to float it. They believed that wherever the wreath floated, the groom would come from there. If he lingered near the shore, then there would be no marriage this year, but if the wreath sank, then they assumed that there would be trouble. Many girls believed that in this case she would soon die.

One of the most common fortune telling was fortune telling on a birch branch. Single girls They went to the grove and picked one branch. Then before going to bed they put it under the pillow. Whoever comes in a dream that night will be her groom.

Video: Parents' Day 2017.

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What does the soul of the deceased do during 9 and 40 days, how should one pray for health and for the repose of the souls of loved ones, what did the holy fathers say about such prayer and how to help those who do not think about their salvation?

In response to the accumulated questions from readers, we provide detailed information about the upcoming days of special remembrance of the dead - parental Saturdays, a selection of relevant quotes from the holy fathers from the nun Livia, and information about how to pray for those who can only conditionally be called Orthodox people.

Sincere prayer can melt even the coldest ice...

Remembrance of the Dead- a special tradition characteristic of Orthodoxy and distinguishing it from many others religious movements, including Christian ones. For example, while declaring formal adherence to their version of the Bible, they completely reject the commemoration of the dead and all rituals associated with it.

On Saturday March 2 - a week before the start of Lent - before Meat Week (Maslenitsa week), a day of special veneration of the memory of the departed is established for the Orthodox.

For services on Friday under Ecumenical Parental Saturday and on Saturday itself, women wear only dark scarves to church.

Of the seven days a year intended for enhanced remembrance of ancestors, two stand out Ecumenical Memorial Saturdays : Meat and .

The main meaning of the Ecumenical (common to all Orthodox Church) funeral services - in prayer for the salvation of the souls of all deceased Orthodox Christians, regardless of their personal closeness to us. Remember your parents and ancestors: don’t miss the service and commemoration!

Rogozhsky is always lively during parental Saturdays and prayer services

"And we were just like you, and you will be just like us"

This is what the quiet fraternal tombs in the isolated monastic state on Mount Athos tell their visitors. For monks, due to the corresponding way of life, this inextricable connection of the visible and invisible world is especially sensitive, when all internal spiritual aspiration is directed towards the ascension into that future invisible and unknown world, which will inevitably meet each of us and determine its place for endless centuries.

“...On this day we commemorate all people who have died from time immemorial in faith and piety, for the sake of the fact that many suffered a useless death: in the sea, and impassable mountains, rapids and abysses, from hunger and heat, from battle and cold, and suffered death in another way. Therefore, for the sake of humanity, the holy fathers legitimized the creation of this memory from the Catholic Church, the apostolic tradition is acceptable.

On Saturday we create remembrance for souls, because Saturday is a day of repose; the departed come to rest from worldly temptations. The holy fathers commanded to perform remembrance for the departed, saying that alms and services great topic They serve weakness and benefit.

Memorial cross in the village of Slobodishchi, erected by the Rogozh Cossacks

The story of Saint Macarius the Great.

Saint Macarius asked, having found on his way the dry skull of the wicked Elin: do they ever have some weakness in hell?

He answered him the same, We also have a lot of weakness when Christians say prayers for their dead. And Gregory, the verbose, delivered King Trajan from hell through prayer. And the godless Theophilus Theodora, the queen of saints, for the sake of the confessor of her husbands, snatched away from torment.

The verb Great Athanasius Even if a person dies of a holy life, do not deny alms and candles on the coffin, calling on Christ God, to light, it is pleasing to God and brings much reward. If a person is sinful, his sins are allowed; if he is righteous, he accepts a large bribe.

Memorial prayer, placed by the Rogozh Cossacks on one of their worship crosses

The holy fathers say that in a bright place they will know each other’s souls, they know everyone, even those whom they have never seen before, as St. teaches about this. John Chrysostom, presenting the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. But they see not physically, but in some other way, and they all have the same age.

The Great Athanasius says about this:

And until the general Resurrection, the saints are granted to know each other and have fun. Sinners are deprived of this. It is known that the souls of the righteous and sinners reside in distinct places. The righteous rejoice in hope, but sinners are tormented and sad by the hope of the wicked. But this is only partially, and not completely, until the general Resurrection.

The cross installed at the Rogozhskoye cemetery according to the design of the ataman of the Rogozhskaya Cossack village in memory of all the Old Believers buried in the cemetery

It is also appropriate to know that baptized infants, if they present themselves in this way, will enjoy eternal food, but unbaptized and pagans will not go either to the Kingdom or to Gehenna, but there is a special place for them. As the soul departs from the body, it no longer remembers a single earthly care, but only cares about those there.

Tretiny We do things for the dead, so that on the third day a person’s appearance changes.

Devyatiny because on the ninth day the whole body dissolves, only the heart is preserved.

Fortieth day- when the heart is already dying.

You shouldn’t be afraid of death, you need to prepare your life for the Last Judgment

At conception, this is what happens to a baby: on the third day, the heart is painted. In the ninth the flesh is formed. IN fortieth– the perfect view is imagined. Glory to our God, now and ever, and forever and ever, Amen.” (Lenten Triodion, synoxarion for Meat-Free Saturday).

Instructing us to spiritual knowledge, the holy fathers remind us that the one final hour of death, when it comes, will determine the entire value of life lived. human life. So that we are ready to meet that hour with a bright mind, faith and hope. A great war then arises, on the border of eternity.

The wicked spirits know that the first judgment about the human soul is now being decided and terrible force they attack that soul in order to keep it for themselves. There is no longer time for repentance for the grave unrepentant sinner, but they will clearly reveal, for fear and edification of others, all their internal lewdness, from evil thoughts and deeds, which they kept in this life in the recesses of hypocritical hearts.

Memorial cross erected by the Rogozh Cossacks, made according to the author’s design of Dimitry Vlasov

Many earthly despots and blasphemers died in terrible agony and a frenzy of mind, such as Ulyanov-Lenin, who, according to eyewitnesses, in his last hours no longer recognized anyone and asked forgiveness in his room near the cabinets and chairs for the crimes he had committed.

There is a story about one famous American actress that, when she was dying, she ordered to be given her most favorite dress, and so she died, even clinging to it with her teeth with an irresistible iron grip.

Rogozhskoe cemetery. Photo by Deacon Alexander Govorov

Another, a Jewish banker, in front of the stunned heirs, managed, with incredible last minutes life with dexterity and speed, extract from the hiding place under your own mattress and swallow the precious clutch of diamonds...

When they realized what was the matter and tried to take countermeasures, the last diamond was already buried in his womb. And so he died.

The Holy Fathers say that this whole life is like long road, a person carries what he collects along it. If sins and passions are in their place, virtues and the desire for perfection are in their place. No matter how many people go and where they go, everyone comes to their own grave mound.

An ancient coffin-domovina, which prudent Old Believers tried to make for themselves during their lifetime

We must never forget about this, but, in pious reflection, remember and think about the impermanence of the present age, in which even the wisest person cannot know for sure for himself - what this day or night has in store for him, and whether eternity awaits him now . Therefore, teachers also legitimized church memorial Saturday days for us, so that we would look at them with our souls, as at a mirror in which our eternal spiritual essence is reflected, and, remembering this, we would retreat from all sin.

Ural. Worship cross in the city of Rezh on the site of the Old Believer cemetery

How to pray correctly for health and peace?

Some time ago, a custom prayer service to St. Paisius the Great took place on Rogozhsky. The service was led by the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Korniliy.

On the eve of the next Parent's Saturday, we decided to give a few important thoughts about the rules and practice of praying in the Russian Orthodox Church for those who are in the Church and outside its fence.

Prayer to everything

The pious tradition of ordering prayer services for one reason or another has been inherent in Orthodox Christians from time immemorial, however, recently on Rogozhsky such additional services do not happen as often as before.

Despite the fact that the service adds about an hour and a half to the already long Sunday service, there are always many who want to join and write notes about their health (there are no prayers for the repose).

Bishop Cornelius himself leads the prayer services, and is often their organizer. For example, during fasting, especially Great Lent, he announces prayer services almost every Sunday.

Lenten, organized on the initiative of Metropolitan Cornelius

Besides worldly concerns The biggest drawback of the current practice in Moscow is the lack of information about such prayer services in advance. The most active parishioners hear about the plans through word of mouth in the morning, and some hear about the plans after the bishop’s sermon. Which saint and for what reason the service will take place - usually immediately becomes surrounded by mutually exclusive versions... As a result, not everyone present at the Liturgy knows that immediately after the service there will be a good opportunity to pray for their relatives, which means there is no need to rush to leave the church.

Sermon by Metropolitan Cornelius after the prayer service with the wish to pray more diligently for peace on Earth

Reverend Father Paisius the Great, pray to God for us!

IN in this case the reason for delay turned out to be very serious: a prayer service to the venerable Paisius the Great, who has the grace from God to ease the afterlife of Orthodox Christians who died without repentance. They especially pray to him for those who were baptized in Orthodox faith, but for one reason or another withdraws from attending services and confession.

A large image of St. Paisius the Great adorns the vault of the northern façade

Pray for the admonishment of truants

A quick survey of those present in the church showed that people are well aware of all sorts of prohibitions and restrictions regarding persons whom we have the right to indicate in notes about health and repose, but not everyone remembers their “rights.” We now remind readers of Old Believer Thought: In the Church there is a legal way of praying for those who do not go to church.

Council of the Metropolis of the Russian Orthodox Church, held on February 4-5, 2015, recalled in his resolution about the ancient patristic practice, according to which Old Believers are not forbidden to perform prayers for health, including those of heterodox and excommunicated people. Besides home prayer This is what custom prayers are for.

ABOUT church prayer for the heterodox and excommunicated

8.1. Do not forbid clergy to perform prayers for the health of the heterodox and excommunicated, guided by the instructions of the Apostle Paul: “I ask you to make prayers, petitions, supplications, and thanksgivings for all people, for kings and for all those in authority, so that we may lead a quiet and serene life in all godliness and purity, for this is good and pleasing to God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:1-4); as well as the interpretation of St. John Chrysostom: “Do not be afraid to pray for the pagans; and He (God) wants it. Just be afraid of cursing others. Because He doesn't want that. And if you need to pray for pagans, then obviously for heretics, because you need to pray for all people, and not persecute them” (Works of St. John Chrysostom. Interpretation of the 1st Epistle to Timothy of the Apostle Paul. Discourse 6, volume 11, p. 659).

Material on the topic

From this article you will find out what date Orthodox parental Saturdays will be in 2017. You will also learn about the meaning of this Ecumenical service.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

Often these special days commemoration of the dead is called “ecumenical parental Saturdays.” This is not true. There are two Ecumenical Memorial Saturdays: Meat Saturday (on the Saturday preceding the Sunday of Last Judgment) and Trinity (on the Saturday preceding the Feast of Pentecost, or also called the Feast Holy Trinity- the birthday of the Church of Christ).

The main meaning of these “ecumenical” (common to the entire Orthodox Church) funeral services is to pray for all deceased Orthodox Christians, regardless of their personal closeness to us. This is a matter of love that does not divide the world into friends and strangers. The main attention these days is to all those who are united with us by the highest kinship - kinship in Christ, and especially to those who have no one to remember.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017 fall on the following dates:

Ecumenical Parental Saturday (meat-free)– February 18, 2017.
Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent – March 11, 2017.
Saturday of the 3rd week of Great Lent – March 18, 2017.
Saturday of the 4th week of Great Lent – March 25, 2017.
Commemoration of deceased warriors– May 9, 2017.
Radonitsa– April 25, 2017.
Trinity Parents' Saturday in 2017– June 3, 2017.
Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday– November 4, 2017.

For the primary commemoration of people dear to us personally, there are other parental Saturdays. First of all, these are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturdays of Great Lent, and besides them, the Dimitrievsky parental Saturday established in the Russian Orthodox Church, which was originally intended to commemorate the soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo, but gradually became a general memorial day .

This memorial service falls on the Saturday preceding the memory of St. Vmch. Demetrius of Thessalonica - patron saint of the prince. Dmitry Donskoy, at whose suggestion, after the Battle of Kulikovo, an annual commemoration of soldiers was established. But over time, the memory of the liberating soldiers was supplanted in the popular consciousness, which is very unfortunate, turning Dimitrievskaya funeral Saturday on one of the “parents’ days”.

Why "parental"? After all, we remember not only our parents, but also other people, often not connected to us by any family ties? By various reasons. First of all, not even because parents, as a rule, leave this world ahead of their children (and therefore too, but this is not the main thing), but because in general our first priority prayer duty is for our parents: of all the people whose temporary earthly life is over, we first of all owe it to those through whom we received this gift of life - our parents and forefathers.

The Orthodox calendar is an obligatory and integral part of the life of believers.

By looking into it, you can find out the dates of Lent and holidays, as well as plan your schedule for the next year - working days, weekends, planting days, fasting days and memorial days.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017 have clearly established dates. If you don’t have time to go to church and light a candle, then you should definitely go to the graves of the departed. Deliver flowers, clean up and pay respects. There are not many parent's Saturdays throughout the year, but they allow us to stop in the daily bustle and remember, at least for a minute, about those people who were and remain very dear to us. It is important to have the whole meaning of Lent in your heart and limit yourself to weaknesses.

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

Parents' days are special days on which it is customary to remember deceased people.

What to do on Parents' Day

Enough large number People visit relatives and friends at the cemetery on Easter. Many, unfortunately, adhere to the blasphemous custom of accompanying visits to the dead with drunken wild revelry. And those who do not do this very often do not even know when on Easter days they can (and should) remember the dead.

The first commemoration of the deceased after Easter takes place on the second Easter week (week), after St. Thomas Sunday, on Tuesday. And the widespread tradition of going to the cemetery on the Easter holiday itself sharply contradicts the institutions of the Church: before the ninth day from Easter, commemoration of the dead cannot be performed. If a person passes into another world on Easter, then he is buried according to a special Easter rite.

Like many Orthodox clergy, priest Valery Chislov, rector of the temple in honor of the Assumption Holy Mother of God at the Assumption Cemetery in Chelyabinsk, warns against rash actions and other actions committed out of ignorance on the feast of Radonitsa:

“It should be remembered that a cemetery is a place where one should behave with reverence. It is sad to see how some people drink vodka there and sing worldly songs. Someone crumbles bread and eggs onto the grave mound and pours alcohol. Sometimes they get into a real riot. All this is more reminiscent of pagan funeral feasts and is unacceptable for Christians. If we already took food to the cemetery, it is better to distribute it to the poor. Let them pray for our departed, and then the Lord may send some consolation to our relatives.”

When you come to the cemetery on the feast of Radonitsa, you need to light a candle and perform litia (pray intensely). To perform litia during the commemoration of the dead, a priest should be invited. You can also read the Akathist about the repose of the dead. Then you need to clean up the grave, be silent for a while, remembering the deceased.

There is no need to drink or eat in a cemetery, it is unacceptable to pour alcohol on a grave mound - these actions insult the memory of the dead. The tradition of leaving a glass of vodka with bread on a grave is a relic of pagan culture and should not be observed in Christian Orthodox families. It is better to give food to the poor or hungry.