Holiday parental Saturday. Basic rules of conduct on the Ecumenical Memorial Saturday. Special Days of Remembrance

However, at the same time, it is also interesting when parental Saturday comes, what kind of day it is, what are its features.

Actually in Orthodox calendar we can find not one, but as many as 8 memorial days. Each of them has its own name and features, which are described in detail below.

There are several answers to the question of when parental Saturday will come this year:

  1. The universal parental Meatfare Saturday is celebrated on March 2.
  2. During Great Lent, three parental Saturdays fall at once - on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks (i.e. March 23, 30 and April 6).
  3. And then there is a break associated with the celebration of Easter. The next day is Radonitsa (it is often called parental), which falls on May 7, 2019.
  4. Then they remember all the fallen who fought for the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, i.e. May 9.
  5. After that, the dead are commemorated on the day of Trinity Saturday - June 15.
  6. Then they salute all the fallen soldiers for the Tsar and the Fatherland on September 11th.
  7. The last parental Saturday is celebrated on November 2, 2019 (it is called Dmitrievskaya).

The dates of these days are closely connected with the most important church events (Lent, Easter and feast). Therefore, all dates are rolling - they change from year to year. The only exception is May 9, which, for obvious reasons, is celebrated only on this date.

What is Parental Saturday

It is also interesting to understand what parental Saturday is - after all, in fact, the memorial day can fall on other days of the week (although in most cases it is exactly the 6th day).

There are several versions of this. At least two of them deserve attention:

  1. First of all, the Bible describes the creation of the world in 6 days, after which God rested from all his days and called it the Sabbath ( long time it was she who was the 7th day of the week, not Sunday). The state of rest harmonizes well with the mood of a person who wants to remember the deceased. There is no place for fuss in such a delicate issue, and it is better to postpone routine matters for later.
  2. And there is also an opinion that the very word Saturday literally means “intercession” (translated from ancient Greek). And in this case, too, everything falls into place: commemorating the dead, people try to intercede for the deceased before God. That is why it is customary to pray intensely for an immortal soul that has left our world, and also to distribute alms in order to provide spiritual assistance to the deceased.

Special Days of Remembrance

When talking about the nearest or any other parental Saturday, it is important to consider which day in question. Commemoration dates are different meaning- for example, in the Orthodox Church, the deceased are intensely remembered on special 5 days:

  • Universal Meatfare parental Saturday.
  • 2, 3 and 4 parental Saturdays of Great Lent.

These days it is customary to serve a funeral service for all the departed Orthodox, and not just for parents. Of course, this does not mean that it is forbidden to remember them on other days.

It's just that these 5 dates in the year are the most significant and large-scale to remember. Moreover, Meat and Trinity Saturdays are ecumenical - ecumenical memorial services are served in churches in memory of all the baptized who have already gone to another world.

Private parenting days

And these days, according to the church charter, do not appear as memorial days, however, services are still held - and it is in three Orthodox churches:

  • Russian;
  • Bulgarian;
  • and Serbian.

These days include:

  1. The main date is Radonitsa (it always falls on the second Tuesday after Easter), which is celebrated this year (2019) - May 7th. Traditionally, it is customary to visit the church and then go to the cemetery to clean up the grave. But leaving food there, and especially vodka, and even taking alcohol yourself is highly discouraged.
  2. May 9 is not only Victory Day, but also a day of mourning. We remember all the victims of the monstrous and terrible war. Memorial services are also served in churches, so each person can perform a prayer for the dead and give alms.
  3. Another private day is September 11th. The history of this date goes back to the distant 18th century, when Empress Catherine the Great issued a decree to commemorate those who died in the Russian-Turkish war. It is customary to pay the last tribute to all Orthodox soldiers.
  4. Also, these dates include Dmitrievskaya (Dimitrievskaya) parental Saturday (this year November 2, 2019), which is dedicated to the day of memory of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. It is interesting that the tradition has developed since the time of Dmitry Donskoy, who commemorated his fallen comrade after the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

Saturdays of small fasts

Finally, there are three more memorable days - these are Saturdays that come on the eve of memorable fasts:

  • Christmas;
  • Petrova;
  • Uspensky.

On such days, you can also remember the deceased person - pray for him and give alms.

Thus, if we talk about whether or not today is a memorial parental Saturday, you should immediately turn to the church calendar. There are indeed many days for the memory of loved ones, and the most important thing is to remember a person and pay tribute to him.

It is best to go to the temple, and then clean up the grave. But the use of vodka, leaving products on the grave is highly undesirable.


Parents' Day or, as it is also called, Radonitsa (Radunitsa) is a spring church Orthodox holiday of special commemoration of the dead. Po, Radonitsa is one of the most important memorial days, when it is customary to visit cemeteries where the graves of relatives and friends are located.

This is a day of blessed memory and, oddly enough, joy, because this joy is for the birth of the deceased in new life- eternal life. To get ready for this Orthodox holiday, need to know, what date is parent's day in 2017.

When is Parent's Memorial Day celebrated?

Total parental days in a year, eight and seven of them fall on Saturday and therefore they are called parental Saturdays. But among the parental days there is the most important, the most important holiday commemoration of the dead (Radonitsa), which always falls on Tuesday.

The holiday of Radonitsa does not have “its own” date, it is always celebrated on different time, depending on which date falls. On the second week, or, to be more precise, nine days after the Bright Resurrection of Christ, on Tuesday, the day of commemoration of the dead comes - the first parental day after the holiday of Easter.

Memorial days are extremely important for everyone Orthodox Christian. They are also called "parent" so that we remember the need to take care of the souls of our ancestors.

It is imperative to know the dates of all memorial days so as not to miss the opportunity to remember and commemorate your deceased loved ones, relatives and friends in time, go to the cemetery and clean up the grave.

History and customs of the holiday of the main parental day

According to the testimonies of John Chrysostom, this holiday was celebrated by Christians in antiquity. The name itself - Radonitsa - took root in us from the common Slavic spring pagan holiday with the indispensable commemoration of the dead, which was called Radavanitsy, Graves, Trizna, Navi Day.

The word "radonitsa" comes from "joy" and "kind", in addition, this holiday takes a place of honor immediately after the celebration of the Bright Easter week and, one might say, obliges Orthodox Christians not to go too deep into sadness for the dead, but to rejoice in their eternal life together with the Lord God.

The entire Christian world celebrates the Resurrection of Christ, His victory over earthly death, and then, nine days later, believers celebrate the rebirth of their ancestors, relatives and friends to a new life, commemorating them on a special day - Radonitsa. The Resurrection of Christ, as a victory over death, displaces the sadness of separation from loved ones, and therefore on the ninth day from Easter we, as Metropolitan Anthony of Sourzh said:

"... with faith, reliable and Paschal confidence, we stand at the tomb of the departed."

What to do on parent's day

Enough a large number of 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 so, very often do not even know when in Easter days You can (and should) commemorate 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 spreading tradition of going to the cemetery on the Easter holiday itself, sharply contradicts the establishment of the Church: until the ninth day from Easter, the commemoration of the dead cannot be performed. If a person goes to another world on Easter, then he is buried according to a special Easter rite.

Like many Orthodox clergy, priest Valery Chislov, rector of the church in honor of the Assumption Holy Mother of God at the Assumption Cemetery in Chelyabinsk, warns against rash acts 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 conduct oneself with reverence. It is sad to see how some people drink vodka there and sing worldly songs. Someone crumbles on grave mound bread and eggs, pouring alcohol. Sometimes they arrange a real revelry. All this is more reminiscent of pagan feasts and is unacceptable for Christians. If we have already taken food from the cemetery, it is better to distribute it to the poor. Let them pray for our dead, and then the Lord, perhaps, will send some consolation to our relatives.”

Arriving at the cemetery on the feast of Radonitsa, you need to light a candle and make a lithium (pray hard). 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.

It is not necessary to drink and eat in the cemetery, it is unacceptable to pour alcohol on the grave hill - these actions offend the memory of the dead. The tradition of leaving a glass of vodka with bread on the 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 the hungry.

How to remember the dead

Prayer for the departed relatives and loved ones is the most important and the greatest thing that we can do for those who have departed to another world. The deceased, by and large, does not need either a coffin or a monument - this is just a pious tribute to traditions.

A simple wooden or metal cross is more befitting of a true Orthodox grave. But the soul of the deceased feels a great need for our unceasing prayer. Saint John Chrysostom wrote:

“Let us try, as much as possible, to help the dead, instead of tears, instead of sobs, instead of magnificent tombs - our prayers, alms and offerings for them, so that in this way both they and we will receive the promised blessings.”

And the commemoration of them in the Church renders special help to the departed.

"Today parenting!" is a phrase we hear several times a year. With God, everyone is alive, and the memory and prayer for our deceased relatives and friends is an important part of Christian faith. We will talk about what parental Saturdays are, about church and folk traditions of the days of special commemoration 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 Parental Saturday

Parental Saturdays (and theirs in church calendar several) are the days of special commemoration of the dead. These days in Orthodox churches a special commemoration of the dead Orthodox Christians is performed. In addition, according to tradition, believers visit graves in cemeteries.

The name "parental" most likely came from the tradition of calling the deceased "parents", that is, those who had gone to their fathers. Another version - "parental" Saturdays began to be called, because Christians prayerfully commemorated their deceased parents in the first place.

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical ones are distinguished, on which Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. There are two such Saturdays: Meat Day (one week before Lent) and Trinity Saturday (on the eve of Pentecost). The rest of the parental Saturdays are not ecumenical and are set aside specifically for the private commemoration of people dear to our hearts.

How many parental Saturdays in a year

In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church there are seven days of special commemoration of the departed. All but one (May 9 - Commemoration of the Dead Warriors) have a rolling date.

Meat-Peace Saturday (Universal Parental Saturday)

Saturday 2nd week of Great Lent

Saturday 3rd Week of Lent

Saturday 4th week of Great Lent

Radonitsa

Saturday Trinity

Saturday Dimitrievskaya

Parental Saturdays in 2014

Parental Saturdays in 2015

What are universal parental Saturdays

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are singled out, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. There are two such Saturdays: Meat Day (one week before Lent) and Trinity Saturday (on the eve of Pentecost). On these two days, special services are performed - ecumenical requiems.

What is inSelena requiems

On parental Saturdays, the Orthodox Church performs ecumenical or parental requiems. The word "requiem" Christians call the funeral service, in which believers pray for the repose of the dead, ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins for them.

What is a memorial service

Panikhida translated from Greek means " all-night." This is a funeral service at which believers pray for the repose of the dead, ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins for them.

Ecumenical (meat-fat) parental Saturday

Saturday meat-fare (Ecumenical parental Saturday) is the Saturday a week before the start of Lent. It is called Meat-Saust because it falls on Meat-Saust Week (the week before Maslenitsa). It is also called the Small Maslenitsa.

On this day, Orthodox Christians commemorate all the baptized deceased from Adam to the present day. In the temples, an ecumenical memorial service is served - "The memory of all the departed Orthodox Christians from the age, our father and brethren."

Trinity parent Saturday

Trinity is the second ecumenical parental Saturday (after Myasopustnaya), on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. It falls on the Saturday preceding the feast of the Trinity, or Pentecost. On this day, believers come to churches for a special ecumenical memorial service - "The memory of all the departed Orthodox Christians from the age, our father and brethren."

Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent

During Great Lent, according to the Charter, memorials for the dead are not performed (litanies for the dead, litias, memorial services, commemorations of the 3rd, 9th and 40th days after death, magpies), therefore the Church has allocated three special days when you can prayerfully remember the dead. These are the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent.

Radonitsa

Radonitsa, or Radunitsa, is one of the days of special commemoration of the dead, which falls on the Tuesday after St. Thomas' week (the second week after Easter). On Fomino Sunday, Christians remember how after the resurrection Jesus Christ descended into hell and conquered death, and Radonitsa, directly connected with this day, also tells us about the victory over death.

On Radonitsa, according to tradition, the Orthodox 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 by the word "joy", the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ

Commemoration of the departed warriors - May 9

The commemoration of the departed warriors is the only day of special commemoration of the departed 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, a memorial service is served in churches for the soldiers who gave their lives for their Motherland.

Dimitriev parental Saturday

Demetrius parental Saturday - Saturday before the day of memory of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, which is celebrated on November 8 according to the new style. If the day of memory of the saint also falls on Saturday, the previous one is still considered parental.

Dimitri's parental Saturday became a day of special commemoration of the dead after the victory of Russian soldiers in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. First, on this day, those who died on the Kulikovo field were commemorated, then, over the centuries, the tradition changed. In the Novgorod chronicle of the 15th century, we read about Dimitriev's parental Saturday already as a day of commemoration of all the dead.

Funeral commemoration on parental Saturday

On the eve of parental Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, a great requiem service is served in Orthodox harmas, which is also called Greek word"parastas". On Saturday itself, in the morning, the Divine Liturgy for the dead is served, followed by a common memorial service.

For the parastas or for the divine liturgy for the dead, you can submit a note of repose with the names of the dead close to your heart. And on this day, according to the old church tradition, parishioners bring food to the temple - "on the canon" (or "on the eve"). This is lean foods, wine (cahors) for the celebration of the liturgy.

Why bring food "on the eve"?

Meets p

Bringing food to the temple - "on the eve" - ​​is an ancient practice of performing common trizn, that is, commemoration of the dead. According to tradition, the parishioners of the temple gathered a large common table in order to remember together the dead people close to their hearts. Now the products that believers bring and put on a special table are then used for the needs of the parish and to help poor people whom the parish takes care of.

It seems to me that it is a good custom to help the needy or lighten the burden of people who serve in the temple (of course, these are not only clergymen, but also candlesticks and all those who, by the will of the heart, help in the House of God for free). Bringing food to the temple, we both serve our neighbor and commemorate our dead.

Prayer for the dead

Give rest, Lord, to the souls of your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, free and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read the names from the commemorative book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are recorded. There is a pious custom to keep family commemorations, reading which both in home prayer and during church services, Orthodox people commemorate by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.

Prayer for the Lost Christian

Remember, Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the life of your eternally reposed servant, our brother (name), and as Good and Humane, forgive sins, and consume iniquity, weaken, leave and forgive all his voluntary sins and involuntary, deliver him eternal torment and fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good, prepared for those who love You: if you sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Your God in the Trinity glorified, faith, and Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to him the same, and faith, even in Thee instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as if Generous rest: there is no man who lives and does not sin. But Thou art One, apart from all sin, and Thy righteousness, righteousness forever, and Thou art the One God of mercies and generosity, and love of mankind, and to Thee we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen

Widower's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart, I pray to You: God rest the soul of Your deceased servant (name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You have blessed the matrimonial union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good to be a single man, we will make him an assistant for him. You sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and I confess that you have blessed you to combine and me with this holy union with one of Your servants. Thy good and wise will deigned to take away from me this Thy servant, and gave it to me, as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before this Thy will, and I pray to Thee with all my heart, accept this prayer for Thy servant (name), and forgive her, if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; love the earthly more than the heavenly; more about the clothes and adornment of his body, he cares more than about the enlightenment of the clothes of his soul; or even more carelessly about your children; if you grieve someone by word or deed; if you scold your neighbor in your heart, or condemn someone or something else from such evil deeds.
Forgive her all this, as good and philanthropic: as if there is a person who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, as Your creation, do not condemn me by her sin to eternal torment, but have mercy and mercy according to Your great mercy. I pray and ask Thee, Lord, grant me strength for all the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for the departed Thy servant, and even before the death of my belly, ask her from Thee, the Judge of the whole world, for the remission of her sins. Yes, as you, O God, put on her head a crown from an honest stone, crowning her here on earth; so crown me with Your eternal glory in Your Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints rejoicing there, and together with them forever sing the all-holy your name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Widow's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are crying consolation, orphans and widows intercession. Thou didst say: Call upon Me in the day of thy affliction, and I will destroy thee. In the days of my sorrow, I resort 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, Lord of all, deigned to combine me with one of Your servants, in which we should have one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant, as a partner and protector. Thy good and wise will deigned to take this Thy servant away from me and leave me alone. I bow before this Thy will and resort to Thee in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about being separated from Thy servant, my friend. If you took him away from me, not taken from me by Your mercy. As if you once took two mites to the widow, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of your deceased servant (name), forgive him all his sins, free and involuntary, if in word, if in deed, if in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not betray him to eternal torment, but by Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, weaken and forgive all his sins and commit him with Thy saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask Thee, Lord, grant me all the days of my life not to stop praying for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, to leave all his sins and move him into Heavenly abodes, even if you have prepared for those who love Tya. Like if you sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to the last breath of confession; the same, his faith, even in Thee, instead of deeds, he is imputed: as if a person is not, who will be alive and will not sin, You are one except for sin, and Your truth is truth forever. I believe, Lord, and I confess that You hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing the widow, weeping greenery, having mercy, her son, to the burial of the bear, resurrected you: so having mercy, calm my sorrow. As if you opened the doors of Your mercy to Your servant Theophilus, who departed to You, and forgave him his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, listening to the prayers and alms of his wife: I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. Like you are our hope. You are God, to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer of parents for the dead children

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Master of life and death, Comforter of those who mourn! With a contrite and touched heart, I resort to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in your Kingdom, your deceased servant (your servant), my child (name), and create eternal memory for him (her). You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. Thy good and wise will was pleased to take it away from me. Blessed be thy name, Lord. I pray to Thee, Judge of heaven and earth, with Thy infinite love for us sinners, forgive my departed child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, Merciful, and our parental sins, may they not abide on our children: we know, as if we have sinned against Thee by a multitude, we have not kept a multitude, we have not done it, as thou hast commanded us. But if our deceased child, ours or his own for the sake of guilt, was in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and your God: if you love the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you betrayed sweetness of life, and not more than repentance of our sins, and in intemperance, vigil, fasting and prayer have betrayed oblivion - I pray you earnestly, forgive me, O good Father, my child, all such sins of his, forgive and weaken, if you do something else evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You resurrected the daughter of Jairus by the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of a Canaanite wife by faith and the petition of her mother: hear my prayer and prayer, do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive me, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, take away eternal torment and instill with all Your saints who have pleased You from time immemorial, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: as if there is a person who He will live and will not sin, but Thou art the only one except for all sin: yes, whenever you have to judge the world, my child will hear Your most exalted voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Like you are the Father of mercies and bounty. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Children's prayer for deceased parents

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the guardian of the orphans, the grieving refuge and the weeping comforter. I am running to you, orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to You: hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from the sighing of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, quench my grief about separation from my parent who gave birth and raised (who gave birth and raised) me (my mother), (name) (or: with my parents who gave birth and raised me, their names) - but his soul (or: her, or: theirs), as if departed (or: departed) to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your philanthropy and mercy, receive into Your Kingdom of Heaven. I bow before Your holy will, it has already been taken away (or: taken away, or: taken away) be from me, and I ask You not to take away from him (or: from her, or: from them) Your mercy and mercy. We know, Lord, as You are the Judge of this world, punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even up to the third and fourth generation: but also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of the heart, I pray to Thee, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment the deceased unforgettable (departed unforgettable) for me Your servant (Your servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but forgive him (her) all his sins ( her) free and involuntary, in word and deed, by knowledge and ignorance created by him (her) in his (her) life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and philanthropy, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him (s) and eternal spare the pain. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, do not stop remembering my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in my prayers, and beg Thee, the righteous Judge, and put him (s) in a bright place, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints, all sickness, sorrow and sighing will flee from here. Gracious Lord! Receive this day about Your servant (Your) (name) this warm prayer of mine and give him (her) Your recompense for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as if he taught (taught) me first of all lead Thee, your Lord, in reverently pray to You, trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and keep Your commandments; for his (her) well-being about my spiritual success, for the warmth that he (she) brings prayers for me before You and for all the gifts that he (she) asked me from You, reward him (her) with Your mercy. With your heavenly blessings and joys in your eternal Kingdom. You are the God of mercies and generosity and philanthropy, 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 forever and ever. Amen

Do I need to go to the cemetery on parental Saturday?

Meets p Rotopriest Igor FOMIN, Rector of the Church of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO:

The main thing is not to go to the cemetery instead of services in the temple. Our prayer is much more important to our deceased relatives and close people than visiting the grave. So try to feel the service, listen to the hymns in the temple, turn your heart to the Lord.

Folk traditions of parent Saturdays

In Russia folk traditions commemorations of dead people were somewhat different from church ones. Ordinary people went to the graves of their relatives before the big holidays - on the eve of Maslenitsa, the Trinity (Pentecost), the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and the day of memory of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.

Most of all, the people revered Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. In 1903, Emperor Nicholas II even issued a decree on a special memorial service for the soldiers who fell for the Fatherland - "For the faith, the tsar and the Fatherland, who laid their lives on the battlefield."

In Ukraine and Belarus, the days of special commemoration of the dead were called "Grandfathers". There were up to six such "Grandfathers" a year. The people superstitiously believed that on these days all deceased relatives invisibly join the family memorial meal.

Radonitsa was called “Joyful Grandfathers”, this day was very loved by the people, because they went to the graves of loved ones with the happy news of the Resurrection of Christ. There were also Pokrovsky, Nikolsky Grandfathers and others.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. Sermon for the Commemoration of Orthodox Soldiers Who Died on the Battlefield

We are accustomed in our life 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 the Lord to intercede for us, protect, comfort; and we know that He does this all the time and that He showed His ultimate concern for us by becoming a Man and dying for us and for us.

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 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 our lives for it, to be His living presence, to be His living care, sighted, good-acting, attentive. He tells us: no matter what we do good for any person, we do it for Him, calling us to be, as it were, in His place.

And sometimes He calls some people to a more personal service to Him. AT 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 in thoughts, but also in His deeds. Remember the prophet Isaiah, who in a vision contemplated the Lord looking around and saying: Whom shall I send? - and the prophet stood up and said: Me, Lord!.

But now, among the prophets, among the people who served God with an undivided heart, with all the great strength of the 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 to not to be, so that the only one who there is: Lord.

Remember the first thing that is said about him in the Gospel of Mark: He is a voice crying in the wilderness... He is only a voice, he is already so indistinguishable from his ministry that he has become only God's voice, only an evangelist; like him, as a person of flesh and blood, a person who can yearn, and suffer, and pray, and seek, and ultimately stand before the coming death - as if this person does not exist. He and his calling are one and the same; he is the voice of the Lord, resounding, thundering in the wilderness of men; 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 Bridegroom. A friend who loves the bride and groom so deeply, so deeply that he is able, forgetting himself, to serve their love, and to serve in order to never be superfluous, never to be there and then when it's not needed. He is a friend who is able to protect the love of the bride and groom and stay out, the keeper of the secrets of this love. Here too great mystery a person who is capable of not become for something more than him, It was.

And then he speaks about himself in relation to the Lord: I need to decrease, come to naught, in order for Him to grow ... It is necessary that they forget about me, and remember only about Him, so that my students turn away from me and leave, Andrew and John on the banks of the Jordan, and followed Him with an undivided heart only: I live only so that I would not be!

And the last is the terrible image of John, when he was already in prison, when the ring of death narrowed around him, when he no longer had an exit, when this colossally great soul wavered ... Death was coming upon him, the life in which he had there was nothing of his own: in the past there was only the feat of renunciation of oneself, and ahead was darkness.

And at that moment, when the spirit wavered in him, he sent his disciples to ask Christ: Are you the one whom we expected? If that's worth it young years die alive; if He - then it was worth decreasing 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 and now to die the last death, because everything for which he lived is fulfilled and accomplished.

But suddenly 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 even more terrible that this happened, because God seemed to have deceived: God, who called him into the wilderness; God who took him away from the people; God, who inspired him to the feat of self-dying. Has God 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 the One, go in peace!. He only gives the prophet the answer of another prophet that the blind see, that the lame walk, that the dead are raised, that the poor preach the gospel. He gives the answer from Isaiah, but does not add His own words - nothing but one formidable warning: Blessed is he who will not be offended by Me; go tell John...

And this answer reached John in his dying expectation: believe to the end; believe without asking for signs, or testimonies, or proofs; 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 lean on the Lord in their sometimes greatest feat; God supports John only in that he commanded him to be the Forerunner and in order to show the utmost faith, 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 to which there is no limit, we remember John. That is why of those who were born among men 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. We celebrate... We used to understand the word "celebrate" as "joy", but it means "to remain idle". And you can stay idle because joy will overwhelm your soul and it’s no longer up to ordinary things, but it may happen that your hands dropped from grief and horror. And this is today's holiday: what will you take up in the face of what we have heard today in the Gospel?

And on this day, when our hands fall before the horror and majesty of this fate, the Church calls us to pray for those who are also in horror, and trembling, and bewilderment, and sometimes in despair died: they died on the battlefield, died in dungeons, 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 may live; bowed to the ground so that another would rise. Let us remember those who, not only in our time, but from millennium to millennium, perished 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 for everyone, praying, the great John, who went through the whole tragedy of the sacrifice of dying and death without a single words of consolation, but only at the command of God: “Believe to the end, and be faithful to the end!” Amen.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. About death

I have a peculiar attitude to death, and I would like to explain why I treat death not only calmly, but with desire, with hope, with longing for it.

my first vivid impression about death - a conversation with my father, who once told me: “You must live in such a way that you learn to expect your death the way a groom expects his bride: wait for her, long for her, rejoice in advance about this meeting, and meet her reverently, affectionately. The second impression (of course, not immediately, but much later) is the death of my father. He died suddenly. I went to him, to a poor 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. And such silence enveloped me, such a depth of silence, that I remember exclaiming aloud: “And people say that there is death!. What a lie! Because this room was full of life, and such a fullness of life that I had never met outside it, on the street, in the yard. That is why I have such an attitude towards death and why I experience the words of the Apostle Paul with such strength: For me, life is Christ, death is gain, because as long as I live in the flesh, I am separated from Christ... But the apostle adds further words that also struck me very much. The quote is not exact, but this is what he says: he wholeheartedly wants to die and be united with Christ, but adds: "However, you need me to stay alive, and I will continue to live." This is the last sacrifice that he can make: everything he aspires to, what he hopes for, what 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 a whole generation of our early emigration; so I saw death a lot. And it struck me that the Russians are dying peacefully; Western people more often with fear. Russians believe in life, go into life. And this is one of the things that every priest and every person should repeat to himself and to others: we must not prepare for death, we must prepare for eternal life.

We know nothing about death. We do not know what happens to us at the moment of death, but we know at least a rudimentary what eternal life is. Each of us knows from experience that there are some moments when he no longer lives in time, but in such fullness of life, such exultation, which belongs not just 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 we can only talk about it as a door that will open wide and let us enter into eternal life.

But dying is still not easy. Whatever we think about death, about eternal life, we do not know anything 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. We had a young soldier about twenty-five years old, my age, dying. I came to him in the evening, sat next to him and said: “Well, how do you feel?” He looked at me and answered: “I will die tonight.” - “Are you afraid to die?” - "Dying is not scary, but it hurts me to part with everything that I love: with a young wife, with a village, with parents; and one thing is really scary: to die alone. "I say:" You will not 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 at all like that. I will sit next to you, and we will 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, what you love. I will hold your hand Gradually, it will become tiresome for you to speak, then I will begin to speak more than you. And then I will see that you begin to doze off, and then I will speak more quietly. you will 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 leave not alone. We will make the whole journey together. "And so hour after hour we spent that night. At some point, he really stopped squeezing my hand, I began to shake his hand so that he knew that I was here. 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, care, it is easy to die, although it hurts (I will also talk about 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 life, we cannot rejoice in our joys; he, like a dark cloud, hangs over us; how he would die as soon as possible... And the dying person feels it. This may take months. Relatives come and coldly ask: “Well, how are you? nothing? Do you need something? do not need anything? OK; you know, I have my own business, I'll come back to you. And even if the voice does not sound cruel, a person knows that he has been visited only because it was necessary to visit, but that his death is eagerly awaited.

And sometimes it's different. 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, dear to each other. But I had my own work - I was the only priest of the London parish, and besides, I had to go to Paris once a month for meetings of the Diocesan Council. I didn’t have 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, she began to fade away. There were moments when she would ring the bell, I would come, and she would say to me: “I feel sad without you, we will stay together.” And there were moments when I myself was unbearable. I went up to her, leaving my affairs, 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 were so many between us! We lived almost all our lives together, only the first years of emigration lived apart, because there was nowhere to live together. But then we lived together, and she knew me deeply. And somehow she told me: “How strange: the more I know you, the less I could say about you, because every word that I would say about you would have to be corrected with some additional features.” Yes, we reached the moment when we knew each other so deeply that we could not say anything about each other, but we could join life, dying and death.

And so we must remember that everyone who dies in a position where any kind of callousness, indifference or desire “finally it would end” is unbearable. A person feels it, knows it, and we must learn to overcome all dark, gloomy, bad feelings in ourselves and, forgetting about ourselves, think deeply, peer, get used to another person. And then death becomes a victory: O death, where is your sting?! O death, where is your victory? Christ is 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 mankind. Now wars are going on, 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 bringing others to this fullness of life.

But before death there are other moments. We do not die immediately, we do not simply die out bodily. There are very strange occurrences. I remember one of our old women, such 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 bright, but only dark, bad, tormenting images. I turned to the doctor, asked him to give me some kind of sleeping pill, but sleeping pills do not remove this haze. When I take sleeping pills, I can no longer separate these images from myself, they become delusional, and I feel even worse. What should I do?" I then said to her: “Maria Andreevna, you know, I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I believe that it is given to us by God to experience our life more than once, not in the sense that you will die and return to life again, but in the sense that what is happening to you right now. When you were young, you, within the narrow limits of your understanding, sometimes did wrong; and by word, and by thought, and by action, they denigrated themselves and others. Then you forgot about it different ages continued, to the best of their understanding, to act similarly, again, to humiliate, desecrate, defame themselves. Now, when you no longer have the strength to resist the memories, they come up, and each time they come up, they seem to say to you: Maria Andreevna, now that you are 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 into what was then, into your state, into events, into people and say: no, now, with my experience of life, I could never say this murderous word, I could not do that how I did! - if you can say this with all your 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 put the question before you: is this your past sin or is it still your present sin? Because if you once hated some person and did not forgive him, did not reconcile with him, then the sin of that time is your present sinfulness; it has not departed from you and will not depart until you repent.”

I can give another example of the same kind. I was once summoned by the family of one of our dilapidated old women, a bright, bright woman. She was obviously supposed to die that same 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 will never forgive him!" I said to this: “In this case, I will not give you a permissive prayer and will not partake of the Holy Mysteries; you will go to the court of God and will answer before God for your words. "She says:" After all, I will die today! - "Yes, you will die without a permissive prayer and without communion, if you do not repent and reconcile. I will return in an hour" - and left. When I returned an hour later, she met me with a radiant look and said: "How right you were! I I called my son-in-law, we explained, reconciled - he is now coming to me, and I hope we will kiss each other to death, and I will enter eternity reconciled with everyone.

Sunday 24 March 2019 football teams will meet in the qualification of the group stage of Euro 2020 Russia and Kazakhstan.

In the current qualifying tournament, this will be the second match of the Russian team. Recall that in the first meeting, Russia met with Belgium, which lost with a score of 1:3.

The Russia-Kazakhstan meeting will take place on March 24, 2019 at the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan - the city of Astana(which was renamed on March 20 in just a couple of hours to Nur-Sultan by decision of members of Parliament). And how can one not recall one of the jokes dedicated to the renaming of the city, and not to say, in relation to the Russian national football team, that it "flew to Astana, and flew to Nur-Sultan." Officially, the city changed its name on March 23, 2019, after the signing of the relevant Decree by the new head of state, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The match will be played at the stadium "Astana Arena"("Nur-Sultan Arena"). Beginning - at 17:00 Moscow time (at 20:00 local time).

I.e:
* Venue of the match - Kazakhstan, Astana (Nur-Sultan), "Astana Arena".
* Broadcast start time - 17:00 Moscow time.

Where to watch live match Russia - Kazakhstan:

In Russia the live broadcast of the football match will be shown by the federal TV channel "Match!". The program dedicated to the game will begin at 16:35 Moscow time, the live broadcast itself will start at 17:00 Moscow time.

In Kazakhstan live broadcast of the game of football teams can be seen on the channel QAZAQSTAN at 20:00 local time.

March 18 in Crimea is a day off or a working day:

According to the above laws, in the territory of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol the date "March 18" is a non-working holiday, an additional day off.

I.e:
* March 18 in the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol is a day off.

If March 18 falls on a holiday (as happens in 2023, for example), the holiday is moved to the next business day.

If the holiday date coincides with the annual paid vacation, March 18 is not included in the number of calendar days of vacation, but extends it.

Is March 17 a shortened working day:

If the calendar date March 17 falls on a working day, then the duration of work on this day is reduced by 1 hour.

This rule is established in the 95th article. Labor Code RF and applies to working days preceding, among other things, regional holidays.

International Women's Day on March 8 is a memorable date for the UN, and the organization includes 193 states. Memorable dates declared by the General Assembly are designed to encourage UN members to show heightened interest to the specified events. However, on this moment not all member states of the United Nations approved the celebration women's day in their territories on the specified date.

Below is a list of countries that celebrate International Women's Day. Countries are grouped into groups: in a number of states, the holiday is an official non-working day (day off) for all citizens, somewhere on March 8, only women have a rest, and there are states where they work on March 8.

In which countries is March 8 a public holiday (for everyone):

* In Russia- March 8 is one of the most beloved holidays, when men congratulate all women without exception.

* In Ukraine- International Women's Day continues to be an additional holiday, despite regular proposals to exclude the event from the number of non-working days and replace it, for example, with Shevchenko's Day, which will be celebrated on March 9.
* In Abkhazia.
* in Azerbaijan.
* In Algeria.
* In Angola.
* In Armenia.
* In Afghanistan.
* In Belarus.
* To Burkina Faso.
* in Vietnam.
* In Guinea-Bissau.
* In Georgia.
* In Zambia.
* In Kazakhstan.
* In Cambodia.
* In Kenya.
* In Kyrgyzstan.
* In North Korea.
* In Cuba.
* In Laos.
* In Latvia.
* In Madagascar.
* In Moldova.
* In Mongolia.
* In Nepal.
* In Tajikistan Since 2009, the holiday has been renamed Mother's Day.
* In Turkmenistan.
* In Uganda.
* In Uzbekistan.
* In Eritrea.
* In South Ossetia.

Countries where March 8 is a day off for women only:

There are countries in which only women are released from work on International Women's Day. This rule has been approved:

* In China.
* In Madagascar.

Which countries celebrate March 8, but it's a working day:

In some countries, International Women's Day is widely celebrated, but is a working day. This is:

* Austria.
* Bulgaria.
* Bosnia and Herzegovina.
* Germany- in Berlin since 2019, March 8 is a day off, in the whole country it is a working day.
* Denmark.
* Italy.
* Cameroon.
* Romania.
* Croatia.
* Chile.
* Switzerland.

Which countries do NOT celebrate March 8:

* In Brazil - most of the inhabitants of which have not even heard of the "international" holiday on March 8. The main event of late February - early March for Brazilians and Brazilians is not Women's Day at all, but the world's largest Brazilian festival, also called the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, according to the Guinness Book of Records. In honor of the festival, Brazilians rest for several days in a row, from Friday to noon on the Catholic Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent (which for Catholics has a movable date and begins 40 days before Catholic Easter).

* In the USA, the holiday is not an official holiday. In 1994, an attempt by activists to get the celebration approved in Congress was unsuccessful.

* In the Czech Republic (Czech Republic) - most of of the country's population considers the holiday as a relic of the communist past and main character the old regime.

"Today parenting!" is a phrase we hear several times a year. With God, everyone is alive, and the memory and prayer for our deceased relatives and friends is an important part of the Christian faith. We will talk about what parental Saturdays are, about church and folk traditions of the days of special commemoration 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 Parental Saturday

Parental Saturdays (and there are several of them in the church calendar) are days of special commemoration of the departed. These days, a special commemoration of the dead Orthodox Christians is performed in Orthodox churches. In addition, according to tradition, believers visit graves in cemeteries.

The name "parental" most likely came from the tradition of calling the deceased "parents", that is, those who had gone to their fathers. Another version - "parental" Saturdays began to be called, because Christians prayerfully commemorated their deceased parents in the first place.

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are singled out, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. There are two such Saturdays: Meat Day (one week before Lent) and Trinity Saturday (on the eve of Pentecost). The rest of the parental Saturdays are not ecumenical and are set aside specifically for the private commemoration of people dear to our hearts.

How many parental Saturdays in a year

In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church there are seven days of special commemoration of the departed. All but one (May 9 - Commemoration of the Dead Warriors) have a rolling date.

Meat-Peace Saturday (Universal Parental Saturday)

Saturday 2nd week of Great Lent

Saturday 3rd Week of Lent

Saturday 4th week of Great Lent

Radonitsa

Saturday Trinity

Saturday Dimitrievskaya

Parental Saturdays in 2019

The 4th week of Great Lent is canceled in 2019, as it falls on April 6, the eve of the Feast of the Annunciation.

What are universal parental Saturdays

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are singled out, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. There are two such Saturdays: Meat Day (one week before Lent) and Trinity Saturday (on the eve of Pentecost). On these two days, special services are performed - ecumenical requiems.

What is inSelena requiems

On parental Saturdays, the Orthodox Church performs ecumenical or parental requiems. The word "requiem" Christians call the funeral service, in which believers pray for the repose of the dead, ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins for them.

What is a memorial service

Panikhida translated from Greek means " all-night." This is a funeral service at which believers pray for the repose of the dead, ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins for them.

Universal (meat-empty) parental Saturday

Saturday meat-fare (Ecumenical parental Saturday) is the Saturday a week before the start of Lent. It is called Meat-Saust because it falls on Meat-Saust Week (the week before Maslenitsa). It is also called the Small Maslenitsa.

On this day, Orthodox Christians commemorate all the baptized deceased, in the temples a universal memorial service is served - "The memory of all the departed Orthodox Christians from the age, our father and brethren."

Trinity parent Saturday

Trinity is the second ecumenical parental Saturday (after Myasopustnaya), on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians in general. It falls on the Saturday preceding the feast of the Trinity, or Pentecost. On this day, believers come to churches for a special ecumenical memorial service - "The memory of all the departed Orthodox Christians from the age, our father and brethren."

Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent

During weekdays Great Lent Consequently, the main liturgical commemoration of the dead is also performed less frequently. In order not to deprive the dead of prayer representation for them, the Church established three special days for praying for them during Great Lent. These are the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent. What is important here is the fact of being able to personally attend the Liturgy and pray for the departed. That is, it is not easy to submit a note of repose or order a magpie so that they are commemorated in the temple for forty days or forty Liturgies. Or not to ask someone to pray for their loved ones. But there is an opportunity to personally take part in prayer.

Radonitsa

Radonitsa, or Radunitsa, is one of the days of special commemoration of the dead, which falls on the Tuesday after St. Thomas' week (the second week after Easter). On Fomino Sunday, Christians remember how after the risen Jesus Christ descended into hell and conquered death, and Radonitsa, directly connected with this day, also tells us about the victory over death.

On Radonitsa, according to tradition, the Orthodox 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 by the word "joy", the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ

Commemoration of the departed warriors - May 9

The commemoration of the departed warriors is the only day of special commemoration of the departed 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, a memorial service is served in churches for the soldiers who gave their lives for their Motherland.

Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday

Demetrius parental Saturday - Saturday before the day of memory of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, which is celebrated on November 8 according to the new style. If the day of memory of the saint also falls on Saturday, the previous one is still considered parental. In 2017, Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday was postponed to October 28 (due to the coincidence with the feast of the Kazan Icon Mother of God November 4).

Dimitri's parental Saturday became a day of special commemoration of the dead after the victory of Russian soldiers in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. First, on this day, those who died on the Kulikovo field were commemorated, then, over the centuries, the tradition changed. In the Novgorod chronicle of the 15th century, we read about Dimitriev's parental Saturday already as a day of commemoration of all the dead.

Funeral commemoration on parental Saturday

On the eve of parental Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, a great requiem service is served in Orthodox harmas, which is also called the Greek word "parastas". On Saturday itself, in the morning, the Divine Liturgy for the dead is served, followed by a common memorial service.

For the parastas or for the divine liturgy for the dead, you can submit a note of repose with the names of the dead close to your heart. And on this day, according to the old church tradition, parishioners bring food to the temple - “for the canon” (or “for the eve”). These are lenten products, wine (cahors) for the celebration of the liturgy.

Why bring food "on the eve"?

Meets p

Bringing food to the temple - "on the eve" - ​​is an ancient practice of performing common trizn, that is, commemoration of the dead. According to tradition, the parishioners of the temple gathered a large common table in order to remember together the dead people close to their hearts. Now the products that believers bring and put on a special table are then used for the needs of the parish and to help poor people whom the parish takes care of.

It seems to me that it is a good custom to help the needy or lighten the burden of people who serve in the temple (of course, these are not only clergymen, but also candlesticks and all those who, by the will of the heart, help in the House of God for free). Bringing food to the temple, we both serve our neighbor and commemorate our dead.

Prayer for the dead

Give rest, Lord, to the souls of your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, free and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read the names from the commemorative book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are recorded. There is a pious custom to keep family commemorations, reading which both in home prayer and during church services, Orthodox people commemorate many generations of their deceased ancestors by name.

Prayer for the Lost Christian

Remember, Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the life of your eternally reposed servant, our brother (name), and as Good and Humane, forgive sins, and consume iniquities, weaken, leave and forgive all his voluntary sins and involuntary, deliver him eternal torment and fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good, prepared for those who love You: if you sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Your God in the Trinity glorified, faith, and Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to him the same, and faith, even in Thee instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as if Generous rest: there is no man who lives and does not sin. But Thou art One except for all sin, and Thy truth, truth forever, and Thou art the One God of mercies and generosity, and love of mankind, and to Thee we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever, and forever and ever. Amen

Widower's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart, I pray to You: God rest the soul of Your deceased servant (name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You have blessed the matrimonial union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good to be a single man, we will make him an assistant for him. You sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and I confess that you have blessed you to combine and me with this holy union with one of Your servants. Thy good and wise will deigned to take away from me this Thy servant, and gave it to me, as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before this Thy will, and I pray to Thee with all my heart, accept this prayer for Thy servant (name), and forgive her, if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; love the earthly more than the heavenly; more about the clothes and adornment of his body, he cares more than about the enlightenment of the clothes of his soul; or even more carelessly about your children; if you grieve someone by word or deed; if you scold your neighbor in your heart, or condemn someone or something else from such evil deeds.
Forgive her all this, as good and philanthropic: as if there is a person who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, as Your creation, do not condemn me by her sin to eternal torment, but have mercy and mercy according to Your great mercy. I pray and ask Thee, Lord, grant me strength for all the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for the departed Thy servant, and even before the death of my belly, ask her from Thee, the Judge of the whole world, for the remission of her sins. Yes, as you, O God, put on her head a crown from an honest stone, crowning her here on earth; so crown me with Your eternal glory in Your Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints rejoicing there, and together with them forever sing Your all-holy name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Widow's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are crying consolation, orphans and widows intercession. Thou didst say: Call upon Me in the day of thy affliction, and I will destroy thee. In the days of my sorrow, I resort 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, Lord of all, deigned to combine me with one of Your servants, in which we should have one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant, as a partner and protector. Thy good and wise will deigned to take this Thy servant away from me and leave me alone. I bow before this Thy will and resort to Thee in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about being separated from Thy servant, my friend. If you took him away from me, not taken from me by Your mercy. As if you once took two mites to the widow, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of your deceased servant (name), forgive him all his sins, free and involuntary, if in word, if in deed, if in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not betray him to eternal torment, but by Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy mercies, weaken and forgive all his sins and commit him with Thy saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask Thee, Lord, grant me all the days of my life not to stop praying for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, for the abandonment of all his sins and his settlement in Heavenly abodes, even if you have prepared for those who love Tya. Like if you sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to the last breath of confession; the same, his faith, even in Thee, instead of deeds, he is imputed: like a person to bear, who will live and not sin, You are one except for sin, and Your truth is truth forever. I believe, Lord, and I confess that You hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing the widow, weeping greenery, having mercy, her son, to the burial of the bear, resurrected you: so having mercy, calm my sorrow. As if you opened the doors of Your mercy to Your servant Theophilus, who departed to You, and forgave him his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, listening to the prayers and alms of his wife: I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. Like you are our hope. You are God, to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer of parents for the dead children

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Master of life and death, Comforter of those who mourn! With a contrite and touched heart, I resort to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in your Kingdom, your deceased servant (your servant), my child (name), and create for him (her) eternal memory. You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. Thy good and wise will was pleased to take it away from me. Blessed be thy name, Lord. I pray to Thee, Judge of heaven and earth, with Thy infinite love for us sinners, forgive my departed child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, even in word, even in deed, even in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, Merciful, and our parental sins, may they not abide on our children: we know, as if we have sinned against Thee by a multitude, we have not kept a multitude, we have not done it, as thou hast commanded us. But if our deceased child, ours or his own for the sake of guilt, was in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and your God: if you love the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you betrayed sweetness of life, and not more than repentance of our sins, and in intemperance I betrayed vigil, fasting and prayer to oblivion - I pray you earnestly, forgive me, O good Father, my child, all such sins of his, forgive and weaken, if you do something else evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You resurrected the daughter of Jairus by the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of a Canaanite wife by faith and the petition of her mother: hear my prayer and prayer, do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive me, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, take away eternal torment and instill with all Your saints who have pleased You from time immemorial, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: as if there is a person who He will live and will not sin, but Thou art the only one except for all sin: yes, whenever you have to judge the world, my child will hear Your most exalted voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Like you are the Father of mercies and bounty. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.

Children's prayer for deceased parents

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the guardian of the orphans, the grieving refuge and the weeping comforter. I am running to you, orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to You: hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from the sighing of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, quench my grief about separation from my parent who gave birth and raised (who gave birth and raised) me (my mother), (name) (or: with my parents who gave birth and raised me, their names) - but his soul (or: her, or: theirs), as if departed (or: departed) to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your philanthropy and mercy, receive into Your Kingdom of Heaven. I bow before Your holy will, it has already been taken away (or: taken away, or: taken away) be from me, and I ask You not to take away from him (or: from her, or: from them) Your mercy and mercy. We know, Lord, as You are the Judge of this world, punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even up to the third and fourth generation: but also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of the heart, I pray to Thee, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment the deceased unforgettable (departed unforgettable) for me Your servant (Your servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but forgive him (her) all his sins ( her) free and involuntary, in word and deed, by knowledge and ignorance created by him (her) in his (her) life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and philanthropy, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him (s) and eternal spare the pain. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, do not stop remembering my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in my prayers, and beg Thee, the righteous Judge, and put him (s) in a bright place, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints, all sickness, sorrow and sighing will flee from here. Gracious Lord! Receive this day about Your servant (Your) (name) this warm prayer of mine and give him (her) Your recompense for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as if he taught (taught) me first of all lead Thee, your Lord, in reverently pray to You, trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and keep Your commandments; for his (her) well-being about my spiritual success, for the warmth that he (she) brings prayers for me before You and for all the gifts that he (she) asked me from You, reward him (her) with Your mercy. With your heavenly blessings and joys in your eternal Kingdom. You are the God of mercies and generosity and philanthropy, 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 forever and ever. Amen

Do I need to go to the cemetery on parental Saturday?

Meets p Rotopriest Igor FOMIN, Rector of the Church of the Holy Prince Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO:

The main thing is not to go to the cemetery instead of services in the temple. Our prayer is much more important to our deceased relatives and close people than visiting the grave. So try to feel the service, listen to the hymns in the temple, turn your heart to the Lord.

Folk traditions of parent Saturdays

In Russia, the folk traditions of commemorating the dead people were somewhat different from the church ones. Ordinary people went to the graves of their relatives before the big holidays - on the eve of Maslenitsa, the Trinity (Pentecost), the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos and the day of memory of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica.

Most of all, the people revered Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday. In 1903, Emperor Nicholas II even issued a decree on a special memorial service for the soldiers who fell for the Fatherland - "For the faith, the tsar and the Fatherland, who laid their lives on the battlefield."

In Ukraine and Belarus, the days of special commemoration of the dead were called "Grandfathers". There were up to six such "Grandfathers" a year. The people superstitiously believed that on these days all deceased relatives invisibly join the family memorial meal.

Radonitsa was called “Joyful Grandfathers”, this day was very loved by the people, because they went to the graves of loved ones with the happy news of the Resurrection of Christ. There were also Pokrovsky, Nikolsky Grandfathers and others.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. Sermon for the Commemoration of Orthodox Soldiers Who Died on the Battlefield

We are accustomed in our life 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 the Lord to intercede for us, protect, comfort; and we know that He does this all the time and that He showed His ultimate concern for us by becoming a Man and dying for us and for us.

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 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 our lives for it, to be His living presence, to be His living care, sighted, good-acting, attentive. He tells us: no matter what we do good for any person, we do it for Him, calling us to be, as it were, in His place.

And sometimes He calls some people to a more personal service to Him. In the Old Testament we read about prophets: the prophet Amos says that a prophet is a person with whom God shares His thoughts; but not only in thoughts, but also in His deeds. Remember the prophet Isaiah, who in a vision contemplated the Lord looking around and saying: Whom shall I send? - and the prophet stood up and said: Me, Lord!.

But now, among the prophets, among the people who served God with an undivided heart, with all the great strength of the 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 to not to be, so that the only one who there is: Lord.

Remember the first thing that is said about him in the Gospel of Mark: He is a voice crying in the wilderness… He is only a voice, he is already so indistinguishable from his ministry that he has become only God's voice, only an evangelist; like him, as a person of flesh and blood, a person who can yearn, and suffer, and pray, and seek, and ultimately stand before the coming death - as if this person does not exist. He and his calling are one and the same; he is the voice of the Lord, resounding, thundering in the wilderness of men; 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 Bridegroom. A friend who loves the bride and groom so deeply, so deeply that he is able, forgetting himself, to serve their love, and to serve in order to never be superfluous, never to be there and then when it's not needed. He is a friend who is able to protect the love of the bride and groom and stay out, the keeper of the secrets of this love. Here, too, is the great mystery of a man who is capable, as it were, not become for something more than him, It was.

And then he talks about himself in relation to the Lord: I need to decrease, come to naught, in order for Him to grow ... John on the banks of the Jordan, and they followed Him with an undivided heart only: I live only so that I would not be!.

And the last - 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 hesitated ... Death was coming upon him, the life in which he had no nothing of his own: in the past there was only the feat of renunciation of oneself, and ahead is darkness.

And at that moment, when the spirit wavered in him, he sent his disciples to ask Christ: Are you the one whom we expected? If He - then it was worth dying alive in his youth; if He - then it was worth decreasing 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 and now to die the last death, because everything for which he lived is fulfilled and accomplished.

But suddenly 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 even more terrible that this happened, because God seemed to have deceived: God, who called him into the wilderness; God who took him away from the people; God, who inspired him to the feat of self-dying. Has God 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 the One, go in peace!. He only gives the prophet the answer of another prophet that the blind see, that the lame walk, that the dead are raised, that the poor preach the gospel. He gives the answer from Isaiah, but does not add His own words - nothing but one formidable warning: Blessed is he who will not be offended by Me; go tell John...

And this answer reached John in his dying expectation: believe to the end; believe without asking for signs, or testimonies, or proofs; 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 lean on the Lord in their sometimes greatest feat; God supports John only in that he commanded him to be the Forerunner and in order to show the utmost faith, 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 to which there is no limit, we remember John. That is why of those who were born among men 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. We are celebrating… We used to understand the word “celebrate” as “joy”, but it means “to be idle”. And you can stay idle because joy will overwhelm your soul and it’s no longer up to ordinary things, but it may happen that your hands dropped from grief and horror. And this is today's holiday: what will you take up in the face of what we have heard today in the Gospel?

And on this day, when our hands fall before the horror and majesty of this fate, the Church calls us to pray for those who are also in horror, and trembling, and bewilderment, and sometimes in despair died: they died on the battlefield, died in dungeons, 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 may live; bowed to the ground so that another would rise. Let us remember those who, not only in our time, but from millennium to millennium, died a terrible death, because they knew how to love, or because others did not know how to love - let us remember all, because the Lord's love encompasses all, and it is necessary for all, praying, the great John, who went through the whole tragedy of the sacrifice of dying and death to the end without a single word of consolation, but only according to the powerful command of God: “Believe to the end, and be faithful to the end!” Amen.

Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh. About death

I have a peculiar attitude to 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 is a conversation with my father, who once said to me: “You must live in such a way that you learn to expect your death the way a groom expects his bride: wait for her, long for her, rejoice in advance about this meeting and meet her reverently, affectionately. The second impression (of course, not immediately, but much later) is the death of my father. He died suddenly. I went to him, to a poor 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. And such silence enveloped me, such a depth of silence, that I remember exclaiming aloud: “And people say that there is death!. What a lie! Because this room was full of life, and such a fullness of life that I had never met outside it, on the street, in the yard. That is why I have such an attitude towards death and why I experience the words of the Apostle Paul with such strength: For me, life is Christ, death is gain, because as long as I live in the flesh, I am separated from Christ... But the apostle adds further words that also struck me very much. The quote is not exact, but this is what he says: he wholeheartedly wants to die and be united with Christ, but adds: "However, you need me to stay alive, and I will continue to live." This is the last sacrifice that he can make: everything he aspires to, what he hopes for, what 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 a whole generation of our early emigration; so I saw death a lot. And it struck me that the Russians are dying peacefully; Western people more often with fear. Russians believe in life, go into life. And this is one of the things that every priest and every person should repeat to himself and to others: we must not prepare for death, we must prepare for eternal life.

We know nothing about death. We do not know what happens to us at the moment of death, but we know at least a rudimentary what eternal life is. Each of us knows from experience that there are some moments when he no longer lives in time, but in such fullness of life, such exultation, which belongs not just 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 we can only talk about it as a door that will open wide and let us enter into eternal life.

But dying is still not easy. Whatever we think about death, about eternal life, we do not know anything 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. We had a young soldier about twenty-five years old, my age, dying. I came to him in the evening, sat next to him and said: “Well, how do you feel?” He looked at me and said, "I'm going to die tonight." “Are you scared 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: to die 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 at all. I will sit next to you and we will 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, what you love. I will hold your hand. Gradually it will become tiresome for you to talk, then I will talk more than you. And then I will see that you start 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, knowing 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 really stopped squeezing my hand, I started shaking his hand so that he knew that I was here. Then his hand began to grow cold, then it opened, and he was no longer with us. And this is a 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, care, it is easy to die, although it hurts (I will also talk about 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 life, we cannot rejoice in our joys; he, like a dark cloud, hangs over us; how he would die as soon as possible... And the dying person feels it. This may take months. Relatives come and coldly ask: “Well, how are you? nothing? Do you need something? do not need anything? OK; you know, I have my own business, I'll come back to you. And even if the voice does not sound cruel, a person knows that he has been visited only because it was necessary to visit, but that his death is eagerly awaited.

And sometimes it's different. 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, dear to each other. But I had my own work - I was the only priest of the London parish, and besides, I had to go to Paris once a month for meetings of the Diocesan Council. I didn’t have 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, she began to fade away. There were moments when she would ring the bell, I would come, and she would say to me: “I feel sad without you, we will stay together.” And there were moments when I myself was unbearable. I went up to her, leaving my affairs, 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 were so many between us! We lived almost all our lives together, only the first years of emigration lived apart, because there was nowhere to live together. But then we lived together, and she knew me deeply. And somehow she told me: “How strange: the more I know you, the less I could say about you, because every word that I would say about you would have to be corrected with some additional features.” Yes, we reached the moment when we knew each other so deeply that we could not say anything about each other, but we could join life, dying and death.

And so we must remember that everyone who dies in a position where any kind of callousness, indifference or desire “finally it would end” is unbearable. A person feels it, knows it, and we must learn to overcome all dark, gloomy, bad feelings in ourselves and, forgetting about ourselves, think deeply, peer, get used to another person. And then death becomes a victory: O death, where is your sting?! O death, where is your victory? Christ is 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 mankind. Now wars are going on, 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 bringing others to this fullness of life.

But before death there are other moments. We do not die immediately, we do not simply die out bodily. There are very strange occurrences. I remember one of our old women, such Maria Andreevna, 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 bright, but only dark, bad, tormenting images. I turned to the doctor, asked him to give me some kind of sleeping pill, but sleeping pills do not remove this haze. When I take sleeping pills, I can no longer separate these images from myself, they become delusional, and I feel even worse. What should I do?" I then said to her: “Maria Andreevna, you know, I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I believe that it is given to us by God to experience our life more than once, not in the sense that you will die and return to life again, but in the sense that what is happening to you right now. When you were young, you, within the narrow limits of your understanding, sometimes did wrong; and by word, and by thought, and by action, they denigrated themselves and others. Then you forgot it and at different ages continued, to the best of your understanding, to act similarly, again, to humiliate, desecrate, defame yourself. Now, when you no longer have the strength to resist the memories, they come up, and each time they come up, they seem to say to you: Maria Andreevna, now that you are 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 into what was then, into your state, into events, into people and say: no, now, with my experience of life, I could never say this murderous word, I could not do that how I did! - if you can say this with all your 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 put the question before you: is this your past sin or is it still your present sin? Because if you once hated some person and did not forgive him, did not reconcile with him, then the sin of that time is your present sinfulness; it has not departed from you and will not depart until you repent.”

I can give another example of the same kind. I was once summoned by the family of one of our dilapidated old women, a bright, bright woman. She was obviously supposed to die that same 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 will never forgive him!" I said to this: “In this case, I will not give you a permissive prayer and will not partake of the Holy Mysteries; you will go to the judgment of God and will answer before God for your words.” She says: "After all, I will die today!" - “Yes, you will die without prayer of permission and without communion, unless you repent and reconcile. I'll be back in an hour," and left. When I returned an hour later, she greeted me with a radiant look and said: “How right you were! I called my son-in-law, we explained, reconciled - he is now on his way to me, and I hope we will kiss each other to death, and I will enter eternity reconciled with everyone.

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