Orthodox calendar parent's day. Parents' Saturday

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday in 2017 falls not in November, as is usually the case, but at the very end of October. Why?

In 2017, Parents' Saturday was moved to October 28 due to the coincidence with the holiday of the Kazan Icon Mother of God(November 4).

The Day of Remembrance of the Dead on Saturday, the day before the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki (November 8, BC) was established after the Battle of Kulikovo, which took place on Christmas Day Holy Mother of God in 1380.

Initially, according to the establishment of the holy Prince Demetrius Donskoy, on this day they commemorated all Russian soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo Field. Actually, this is another meaning of the name “Dimitrievskaya” Saturday.

Over time, Dimitrievskaya Saturday became the day when all Christians “dead from time immemorial (from the beginning of time)” are remembered.

Dimitrievskaya Saturday is the last parents' Saturday in 2017. The next Parents' Saturday will be celebrated on February 10, 2018.

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday - what you need to know about the memorial day

Dmitrievskaya Parental Saturday falls on the nearest Saturday before the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica (day of the angel Dmitry Donskoy). He was a warrior of the heavenly and earthly king. He defended the earthly king from attacks, defended his country, people, history. But he loved, knew, worshiped and served the Heavenly King. He protected the earthly king, and glorified the heavenly one and led other people to worship of God, to faith, so that after their dormition they could be united in the kingdom of heaven.

And Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday was established after the battle on the Kulikovo field - by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. After the victory over Mamai in 1380, Dmitry Donskoy visits the Trinity-Sergius Monastery to commemorate the fallen soldiers. And a little earlier the abbot of the monastery, Venerable Sergius Radonezh, blessed two of his monks - Alexander Peresvet and Andrei Oslyabya - for the war against the Mongol-Tatar yoke. Both monks died in battle. And the monk himself during the war, when he offered his prayers to God, imbued with the Holy Spirit, saw how soldiers were falling and called each soldier killed by name.

Upon the arrival of Dmitry Donskoy at the monastery, a funeral service was held, a commemoration of the Orthodox soldiers who died on the battlefield, and a common meal.

Subsequently, a tradition developed - to perform such a commemoration every year, since there were 250 thousand killed in that battle and many families felt the bitterness of loss. A little later, they began to commemorate not only the soldiers, but also all the deceased Orthodox Christians.

Parents' Saturday - how to spend the day

On Dmitrievskaya Parents' Saturday, people visit the graves of their relatives and loved ones. Memorial services, funeral litias (services) are held in churches and cemeteries, and memorial dinners are held.

On Dimitrovskaya Parental Saturday, Orthodox Christians go to churches, light candles for the Crucifixion, not icons, and write the names of their deceased loved ones in memorial notes. Notes can only mention the names of deceased relatives who were baptized during their lifetime.

You can pray for the unbaptized over their grave or at home. Another custom characteristic of Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday is to bring treats to the temple for the poor. During the service, this treat is blessed and later distributed to those who wish. Also on this day, it is customary to give alms to the poor with a request to pray for the deceased.

To remember your deceased relatives in church, you need to come to church for a service on Friday evening before parental Saturday. At this time, a great funeral service, or parastas, takes place. On the morning of Memorial Saturday, a funeral liturgy is celebrated, after which a general requiem service is served.

The commemoration of the dead is an apostolic institution, it is observed throughout the Church and the liturgy for the dead, the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice for their salvation is the most powerful and effective remedy to ask the departed for the mercy of God.

Church commemoration is performed only for those who were baptized in Orthodox faith.

Memorial services for suicides, as well as for those not baptized in the Orthodox faith, are not performed. Moreover, these persons cannot be commemorated at the liturgy. The Holy Church offers unceasing prayers for our departed fathers and brothers at every divine service and especially at the liturgy.

It is imperative to remember the deceased on the day of his death, birth and name day.

Days of remembrance must be spent decorously, reverently, in prayer, doing good to the poor and loved ones, in thinking about our death and future life.

You cannot have a feast or get drunk in a cemetery. There is an opinion that the wake of the deceased is an opportunity to drink a glass of other alcohol, but this is not so. The plight of the departed cannot be alleviated by this action. Only conscious prayer can convey our love to loved ones. Also not allowed on Parents' Saturday:

• swear;
• get drunk;
• to swear;
• speak ill of the deceased;
• grieve and cry.

It is important to know that remembering does not mean being sad. To remember means to pray. The soul cannot die, it passes into another world - which one depends on the person during life. If he sinned, then his soul will suffer and languish. Only prayer, which is read by loved ones with special trepidation, will help save her from this. Therefore, every parent’s Saturday it is necessary to remember your loved ones with prayer from the bottom of your heart. The one who reads it conveys love and gratitude that he could not give to his loved one during his lifetime.

Saturdays of remembrance of those who introduced themselves are special. They are called parental, due to the fact that all the deceased went to their parents and ancestors. Read here on how to spend this day and what not to do.

What not to do on Dimitrievskaya Parent Saturday

On this day it is forbidden to scold the deceased. You should remember only good things about them, otherwise you may anger their soul.

It is believed that it is strictly forbidden to remember the deceased with alcoholic beverages. However, if there is such a tradition in your family, then try to do it in moderation. The souls of the deceased may become angry due to drunkenness during the funeral meal.

Also, during remembrance, you should not laugh or sing songs. Despite the fact that the holiday is not of a mourning nature, do not forget that on this day you remember loved ones who are no longer among the living. Therefore, fun will be inappropriate.

If your deceased relative committed suicide or was not a believer during his lifetime, then you will not be able to remember him in church and light a candle for the repose of his soul. In this case, you can pray for him at home.

What not to do on Parents' Saturday

There are many superstitions associated with prohibitions on memorial day. It is not forbidden to do housework and gardening these days, but only after going to church and reading the funeral prayer.

Most believers, when visiting a cemetery, pour alcohol into a glass at the grave or pour vodka on it, believing that if the deceased liked to drink, then they are helping him. This is unacceptable, since the soul of the deceased may suffer for the sin of drinking wine even after death.

You cannot have a feast or get drunk in a cemetery.

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

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

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

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

Parents' Saturdays in 2017 fall on the following dates:

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

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

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

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

The first parental memorial Saturday of 2017 is set on February 18th. On this day, the church charter provides for the performance of divine services universal meat-free Saturday. The name of this memorial day indicates the time of commemoration - the last Saturday before the holy Great Lent, on which the consumption of food of animal origin is allowed. After the Meat Week, Cheese Week begins, and then believers enter the Holy Pentecost.

During Lent in 2017, the deceased are remembered three times. The Charter reserves the Saturdays of the middle of Pentecost for this (in particular the 2nd, 3rd and 4th). The strictest Orthodox fast involves prayer not only for the personal salvation of the soul, but also the remembrance of dead people. Parental Saturdays falling on Pentecost, 2017 fall on March 11th, 18th and 25th, respectively.

One of the most famous memorial days in the world is considered Trinity Parents' Saturday. On this day in Orthodox churches All Orthodox Christians who have died since centuries are commemorated, and the cemeteries are full of people as never before. In 2017, Trinity Parents' Saturday falls on June 3 (the very next day, Sunday, the Church celebrates in honor of the feast of the Holy Life-Giving Trinity).

In the fall of 2017, a service is held Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday. This memorial day falls on the last Saturday before the honoring of the great Christian martyr Demetrius, called Thessalonica. In 2017, Dimitrievskaya Saturday is determined by the calendar on November 4th.

It is especially worth mentioning other significant parenting days 2017, which do not fall on Saturdays. First of all, this is the commemoration of the dead in the post-Easter period. On April 25, the ninth day after Easter in 2017, it is celebrated Radonitsa- the time when after Easter joy Orthodox people They prayerfully remember the dead (always falls on Tuesday).

Another memorial date is May 9th. The date itself indicates the prayerful commemoration of soldiers and the special honor given to the heroes - participants in the Great Patriotic War. The Gospel clearly says that the highest feat of love is the sacrificial sacrifice of one’s life for the sake of one’s neighbor.

The Russian state has designated another significant day for commemorating soldiers, which has become part of church liturgical practice. February 15th warriors are remembered. This day in 1989 was marked by the withdrawal Russian troops from Afghanistan. The Orthodox Church in Russia holds special memorial services on February 15th in memory of the deceased. Despite the fact that this day of the calendar is marked by the great twelfth feast of the Presentation of the Lord, in many Orthodox parishes At the end of the liturgy, a memorial service is performed, where special petitions for the fallen internationalist soldiers are inserted at the funeral liturgy.

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

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

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

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

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

What to do on Parents' Day

Enough 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 don’t do this very often don’t even know when to Easter days it is possible (and necessary) to remember the dead.

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

Like many Orthodox clergy, priest Valery Chislov, rector of the church in honor of the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Dormition Cemetery in Chelyabinsk, warns against rash actions and other actions committed out of ignorance on the feast of Radonitsa:

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

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

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

Nika Kravchuk

Parents' Saturdays 2017: don't forget to remember the departed

Did you know that our deceased relatives and friends need prayers even more than the living? You can pray for them both in home prayer and in church prayer. The Church even established special days of remembrance. In this article we will tell you what days parental Saturdays fall on in 2017 and how to properly remember the dead. Hurry up to find out, because the first Parents' Saturday is already February 18th.

Why should we pray for the dead?

Christianity is called the religion of life. And this is no coincidence. Both Orthodox and Catholics, and many Protestants believe that after physical death they continue to exist, because man is eternal.

Therefore, the Church prays both for health and for repose. It is believed that after bodily death the fate of a person is determined - where he will await the second coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. Some will go to heaven, others to hell.

But this is not a final decision yet. Every sinner has a chance that before the Last Judgment his posthumous fate will change. All this is thanks to the prayers of the living: family, loved ones, friends.

That is why believers do not forget their relatives, even if they are in another world. They pray for the dead both at home and in church.

Parents' Saturdays are days of special church remembrance

The morning rule contains a prayer to the Lord asking him to give peace to our parents, relatives, benefactors and all Orthodox Christians.
In churches, separate services are held - memorial services, during which they pray only for repose. There are even certain days— parental Saturdays, on which the Church calls on all believers to pray for those who are temporarily not with us.

True, in an Orthodox church you can submit notes only for those baptized in Orthodoxy who died a natural death. The Church does not remember the unbaptized, people of other faiths, or suicides, since even in earthly life they were not members of the Church of Christ and did not strive to be with God.

Every Saturday, memorial services are held in Orthodox churches (and more often in monasteries), but only eight days a year have a special status - these are memorial Saturdays.

On what days in 2017 does the Russian Orthodox Church commemorate the dead?

Parents' Saturdays 2017 fall on the following days:

1. Ecumenical Parents' Saturday (Meat and Meat Saturday) - February 18, 2017.
2. Saturday of the second week of Great Lent - March 11.
3. Saturday of the third week - March 18.
4. Saturday of the fourth week - March 25.
5. Commemoration of deceased soldiers - May 9.
6. Radonitsa - April 25.
7. Trinity Ecumenical Parents' Saturday - June 3.
8. Dmitrievskaya Parents' Saturday - November 4th.

Why are memorial Saturdays called parental Saturdays?

In the calendar above, the two parental Saturdays of 2017 are called “universal.” This means that these days Orthodox Churches The dead are remembered all over the world.

Why are memorial Saturdays called parental Saturdays? Is it really only for parents that they pray for these days? No, the Church commemorates all deceased Orthodox Christians, but first of all, our relatives. Praying for the parents who gave us life is the duty of every Christian. And if our fathers and mothers have passed into eternity, then we are all the more obliged to remember them, thereby expressing our love and care.

In addition, parents should be understood not only as fathers and mothers, but also as other relatives—grandfathers, grandmothers, great-grandfathers, and so on.

In this sense, parental Saturdays are an opportunity, first of all, to pray for our family, for the people with whom we are related by blood. And only then - for friends, benefactors and all Orthodox Christians in general.

How to prepare for a memorial?

The first parents' Saturday of 2017 falls on February 18, nine days before the start of Lent. It is also called meat eating - on this day and the next Sunday you can still eat meat. Maslenitsa begins on Monday February 20, 2017.

Commemoration of the dead begins on Friday. In Orthodox churches they serve not just the All-Night Vigil, but the funeral all-night vigil - parastas . On Saturday morning they commit Divine Liturgy, and then a memorial service.

At a memorial service, notes with the names of the deceased, as well as food and food items are usually served.

Why is this so? It is believed that the best help for the deceased is prayer and alms. Our personal petitions and notes for the memorial service are prayer, and the brought food, which after consecration is distributed to the needy and to those serving in the church, is alms.

There is no specific list of what to bring to a funeral service or a specific “norm.” Whoever can do as much as possible is the main rule. Bread, sugar, flour, canned food, sweets, vegetables, fruits - the list goes on. The only prohibition is meat, which cannot be brought into the temple.

Also in churches on memorial Saturdays they prepare kolivo - a ritual dish in the form of wheat or rice with honey. Interestingly, the grain symbolizes the earthly and eternal life of a person. In order for a grain to germinate and produce a harvest, it must first be planted in the ground. So that a person is born for eternal life, he must first die and be interred. Honey symbolizes the sweetness of the Kingdom of Heaven.

These external paraphernalia - both food for the funeral service and food - are important, but they should not distract a person from the main thing - prayer. The latter should not be assigned only to priests. Our prayer from a sincere loving heart is no less important.

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