What number does Trinity Ecumenical Day fall on? parent's Saturday in 2019? What is the history and background of this event? Read about it in the article!

Trinity Ecumenical Parents' Saturday in 2019 - June 15

According to the Charter of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, on the eve of the feast of Holy Pentecost (Trinity), a funeral service is held, as on the day of the first Ecumenical Parental Saturday, which occurs during the Meat Week before the Week (Resurrection) of the Last Judgment. This parental Saturday was called Trinity and just like Meat, it precedes the entry into fasting, which begins every week and is called Apostolic.

This commemoration of the dead dates back to the times of the apostles. Just as it is said about the establishment of meat-free parental Saturday that “the Divine Fathers received it from the holy apostles,” so one can say about the origin of Trinity Saturday. In the words of St. ap. Peter, spoken by him on the day of Pentecost, is an important indication of the beginning of the custom of remembering the dead on the day of Pentecost. The Apostle on this day, addressing the Jews, speaks of the Risen Savior: God raised Him up, breaking the bonds of death(Acts 2:24). And the Apostolic decrees tell us how the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, preached to the Jews and pagans our Savior Jesus Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead. Therefore, from ancient times the Holy Church calls on us to perform before the day Holy Trinity remembrance of all pious forefathers, fathers, brothers and sisters who have departed from time immemorial, since on the day of Pentecost the redemption of the world was sealed by the sanctifying power of the Life-giving Most Holy Spirit, which graciously and savingly extends to both us living and the dead. Both on Meat Saturday, which represents, as it were, the last day of the world, and on Trinity Saturday, which represents the last day of the Old Testament Church before the revelation of the kingdom of Christ in all its power on the Day of Pentecost, Orthodox Church prays for all departed fathers and brothers. On the very holiday day he lifts up for them, in one of his prayers, sighing to the Lord: “Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your servants, the fathers and our brothers who have fallen before the dead, and other relatives in the flesh, and all those who are yours in the faith, about them and We are creating a memory now.”

On the Day of Pentecost, the redemption of the world was sealed by the sanctifying and perfecting power of the life-giving Holy Spirit, graciously and savingly extended to the living and the dead. Therefore, the Holy Church, both on Meat Saturday, which represents, as it were, the last day of the world, and on Trinity, which represents the last day of the Old Testament Church before the revelation of the Church of Christ in all its strength on the Day of Pentecost, prays for all the departed fathers and brothers, and on the very The Day of Pentecost offers prayers to the Lord for them. One of these prayers says: “Give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Your servants, our fathers and brothers who have fallen before us, and other relatives in the flesh, and all our own in the faith, and we create memory of them now.”

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 the Most 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 2019 fall on the following dates:

• – March 4, 2019.
• Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent – ​​March 23, 2019.
• Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent – ​​March 30, 2019.
• Saturday of the 4th week of Lent – ​​April 6, 2019.
• Commemoration of deceased warriors– May 9, 2019.
• Radonitsa– May 7, 2019.
• Trinity Parents' Saturday in 2019– June 15, 2019.
• – November 2, 2019.

• Parents' Saturdays in 2020 fall on the following dates:

  • Ecumenical Parental Saturday (meat-free)– February 22, 2020.
  • Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent – ​​March 14, 2020.
  • Saturday of the 3rd week of Great Lent – ​​March 21, 2020.
  • Saturday of the 4th week of Lent – ​​March 28, 2020.
  • Commemoration of deceased warriors– May 9, 2020.
  • Radonitsa– April 28, 2020.
  • Trinity Parents' Saturday in 2020– June 6, 2020.
  • Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday– October 31, 2020.

• Parents' Saturdays in 2021 fall on the following dates:

  • Ecumenical Parental Saturday (meat-free)– March 8, 2021.
  • Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent – ​​March 27, 2021.
  • Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent – ​​April 3, 2021.
  • Saturday of the 4th week of Lent – ​​April 10, 2021.
  • Commemoration of deceased warriors– May 9, 2021.
  • Radonitsa– May 11, 2021.
  • Trinity Parents' Saturday in 2021– June 19, 2021.
  • Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday– November 6, 2021.

Table of memorial days 2019

The 2019 calendar contains several such memorial days. In the table you can see the dates when parental Saturdays fall:

2nd of March	Ecumenical Meat Saturday, which is celebrated 8 days before the start of Easter Lent. The second name of this day is Little Maslenitsa. On this day they pray for all the departed.
March 23	The dates fall on the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Lent. The presence of special designated dates during Lent is due to the fact that the third, ninth and fortieth calendar days after death cannot be celebrated, so relatives of the deceased can remember them exclusively on these days.
30th of March
April 6
May 7	This day is called Radonitsa. In essence, it is a holiday, although it is associated with such a sad event as the commemoration of a person who has left us. On Radonitsa, it is customary to prepare a good dinner, but a person is commemorated not in a cemetery, but at home, so as not to intrude into the world of the dead.
June 15	Ecumenical Trinity Saturday is associated with the need to visit church and the grave of a deceased person. It is decorated with greenery. This is the main day when the souls of all deceased people are remembered.
November 2	Dmitrievskaya Parental Saturday, during this day memorial services are served in churches. During the day you need to go to the cemetery, and in the evening you need to gather relatives for dinner and remember the dead.

The meaning of parental Saturdays in Orthodoxy

Parental Saturdays in Orthodoxy are so closely mixed with Ecumenical Saturdays that in practice there are many more days of remembrance for the dead. In addition to the above parental Saturdays, the deceased are commemorated on the third day, ninth day, fortieth day and anniversary. As a rule, on next year commemorated only on the anniversary of death.

The significance of parental Saturday is very great. First of all, Orthodoxy speaks of the memory of deceased relatives, parents, brothers and sisters, which is why the days of remembrance are called parental Saturdays. In Ecumenical memorial days– Meat and Trinity Saturday are customary to remember not only relatives, but also all the dead in general.

This reminds a person that life on earth is short and it is necessary to carry the memory of relatives, thereby setting an example for children. Only then will the soul find peace after death. Thanks to this, parental Saturdays connect entire generations, and children honor the memory of relatives down to several generations.

Orthodox calendar of parental Saturdays

Memorial Saturday dates

Memorial Saturdays in 2019 fall on the following dates:

• March 2, 23, 30;
• April 6;
• May 7, 9;
• June 15;
• November 2.

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday

Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday in the calendar is in close proximity to the feast of St. Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica. According to historical data, it began to be celebrated after the battle on the Kulikovo Field, where more than 250 thousand people died, and was initially dedicated to the memory of those who died in this battle, but gradually became a significant day for all Orthodox Christians.

Since then, every Saturday before the day of memory of D. Solunsky, the Slavs celebrated a memorial day, not only for those killed in battles, but also for other deceased relatives. This date became firmly established in church practice and became parents' Saturday.

Correct behavior on funeral days

On parental Saturday, it is necessary to visit the graves of the dead, go to church, serve memorial services in the cemetery, order funeral litias and commemorate with a meal. On St. Demetrius Saturday they pray mainly for the souls of deceased relatives.

If it is impossible to visit church, they must pray at home, reading the Prayer for the Dead. When reading a prayer, you can use a memorial book - a special small book (you can use a notebook) in which the names of all deceased relatives who need to be remembered in prayer are written down.

Church commemoration begins with coming to church on the eve of parent's day, i.e. Friday night. At this time, parastas is read - a great memorial service dedicated to the remembrance of the dead. The funeral liturgy is celebrated the next day in the morning, followed by a general memorial service. Notes with the names of deceased relatives (in the genitive case) are submitted to the church for liturgy and parastas. Donations are placed on the canon - everything except meat and alcohol.

What can you do on Parents' Saturday?

Parental Saturdays have a clear purpose - to commemorate the dead, so some “worldly” activities may be prohibited. Believers most often want to know the restrictions regarding work, baptism, cleaning and communion.

Is it possible to work on parent's Saturday?

Working on parental Saturday is not prohibited, but priests insist that time be set aside for going to church. It is extremely important to come to the temple in the morning, submit notes for the deceased, and only then you can go to work. If there is no opportunity to go to church, then you can read a prayer at work, but be sure to pay spiritual attention to the deceased. There is no need to work in the garden - according to legend, the planted plants will not grow and will not bear fruit.

Is it possible to heat a bathhouse on Parents' Saturday?

31.128.140.69

On Parents' Saturday, lighting the bathhouse is encouraged. For the Slavs, Thursday and Saturday were considered clean days - on these days they most often went to the bathhouse. Moreover, after bathing it is necessary to leave a broom in the bathhouse for the deceased - this is the tradition. Historical sources testify to this.

Is it possible to clean the house

The Church has a negative attitude towards cleaning the house on Parents' Saturday. It is believed that the holiday must be celebrated in a clean house, but on Parents' Saturday there is no need to get involved with dirt - this is disrespect for the memory of the dead. Therefore, washing floors, cleaning carpets, and doing laundry should be rescheduled for another time. It is clear that minor cleaning in the house, for example, washing dishes and clearing the table after a meal, is acceptable.

Is it possible to baptize on parental Saturday?

There are no restrictions on the baptism of a child on parental Saturday. However, there are no restrictions on other days, fasts and even great holidays. Baptism is considered a very important rite and should be carried out as a matter of priority, regardless of the date. The only thing you need to think about in advance is to agree on the time of the ceremony, so as not to get to the liturgy and not wait for a long time.

Is it possible to receive communion on parental Saturday?

It is recommended that the church receive communion once or twice a month, but it is best to set aside Sunday for this rite, not Saturday. On this day, the priests are more free, and there are fewer people in the temple, so they feel more comfortable.

The invaluable help that living relatives can provide to the deceased is frequent prayers for repose. The souls of the dead, according to the church, should rest in peace precisely thanks to the constant prayers of living people. Parental Saturdays become a manifestation of the fact that the dead are remembered, and it is recommended to read prayers not only on parental days, but also every day.

Some “external” rituals, cleared of magical background, were consecrated with a new Christian meaning. For the sake of preserving the continuity of folk culture, they are included as a frame even in the outline Orthodox services. This is, for example, the tradition of decorating churches on the day of the Holy Trinity with birch branches. Let's figure out what accompanies the holidays of the beginning of summer since the baptism of Rus', and what was brought into them from ancient eras Slavic culture.

What event do Christians celebrate on Trinity Day?

Trinity Day, according to the church calendar also called Pentecost, since it is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter, is essentially the birthday of the Christian Church. According to the book of the Acts of the Apostles, on this day the appearance of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, took place, promised by the Savior who ascended to heaven on the fortieth day after His resurrection. Confused and frightened after the execution of the Crucified One, the disciples definitely needed consolation and strengthening of spiritual strength.

Having received special grace, each became a zealous and fearless preacher of the Christian faith. The very first sermon of the Apostle Peter, which he preached upon leaving the Zion upper room immediately after the miraculous event of Pentecost, immediately added up to three thousand people to the small community of not even three hundred disciples of Christ.

The Old Testament prophets served as heralds of the will of God the Father, who was removed from humanity not by distance, but by His uncreated nature. The apostles and companions of Christ saw with their own eyes the incarnate God the Son, who accepted all the fullness human nature except for the sin that damaged her.

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, the third hypostasis of the Holy Trinity, descended in the form of tongues of fire on a small community in Jerusalem. Thus the fullness of the Divine manifestation to the world was accomplished. That is why the originally celebrated descent of the Holy Spirit was later called the Day of the Holy Trinity.

The unity of the Church is a dogmatic concept directly related to the Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday

The church-wide celebration of Pentecost has been established since ancient apostolic times. It was with the descent of the Holy Spirit - the first heavenly "anointing to serve" - ​​that the apostles acquired the grace to perform church sacraments. This special grace was transmitted from the apostles through ordination - in Greek “ordination” - to the bishops of the Church, and from the bishops it was communicated to priests, priests, and “priests”.

The continuity of ordinations has not been interrupted over the centuries, testifying to the origin of the Church from Christ Himself and its indissoluble unity. Each catechumen (prepared by preliminary “catechumen” conversations about the truths of faith) receives the grace of the Holy Spirit by joining the Church in the Sacrament of Baptism. Sometimes, according to the available evidence of “simple-hearted” people, this happens in a visible way, like the descent of a tongue of fire on a newly baptized person.

The popular expression “smeared with one ointment” refers to the Sacrament of Confirmation, performed in Orthodoxy immediately after the Sacrament of Baptism. For Roman Catholics, this is the so-called “confirmation”; it, like the First Communion of baptized infants, is delayed until adulthood. Church myrrh for the sacrament is prepared in a special way and is consecrated by the Patriarch on Maundy Thursday.

It is noteworthy that a drop from a vessel consecrated the previous year is transferred to each alavaster (a tall vessel with a narrow neck) with prepared myrrh, and this has been going on since apostolic times. That is, every person anointed with the sanctified world after baptism is anointed with the same substance as in apostolic times. This is how the unity of the Church is visibly expressed “at the molecular level.”

Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday in the Orthodox Church

The Dormition of a person, the separation of the soul from the body, does not mean for Christians the cessation of life, including prayerful and liturgical life, once given in the grace of Baptism and Confirmation. This faith is expressed in a short formula: “Everyone is alive with God!”

Divine service on Trinity Saturday

The service of Ecumenical Parental Saturday on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost marks the unity of the living members of the Church who have departed to the Lord, its fullness, which will be revealed at the general resurrection expected at the end of time. The tradition of the Church to celebrate the memory of martyrs who endured suffering and death for their confession of faith gradually turned into the commemoration of “all the faithful who have died from time immemorial.”

Church prayer services are dedicated to saints glorified by the Church. Trinity Parental Saturday, like other Ecumenical days of remembrance of the dead, has a special rite of serving the Ecumenical Panikhida for all Orthodox Christians who have died from time to time.

On the eve of Friday, the priest reads the seventeenth kathisma of the Psalter with the commemoration of all the “funeral synodics”, as well as the numerous notes of repose submitted by parishioners.

The special significance of Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday is that at the memorial service all deceased Christians are remembered, regardless of what the cause of their death was. Even in relatively recent times in pre-revolutionary Russia, not only violent death, suicide or death from excessive drinking (few people had heard of drugs at that time) were considered unnatural.

Praying with the words: “Let insolent death not kidnap me, unprepared!” - Christians expressed hope for a peaceful and shameless departure to another world after the Sacrament of Confession (Repentance) and Communion. They sought deep help in this by praying to the Holy Great Martyr Barbara. Death close relative without repentance was a great rarity at that time and a great shock to the living. It is enough to mention the most famous case when, after the death of her husband Andrei Feodorovich, blessed Ksenia took upon herself a forty-five-year feat of foolishness, deliberately calling herself by the name of her deceased husband.

Commemoration of the Dead on Trinity Saturday

On Trinity Saturday, the Church initially commemorated those who did not die “from old age alone,” but died on the road, being an unknown wanderer to those around them, drowned (often the identity of the drowned could not be identified), froze in severe frost, as well as suicides. Among the latter, the Church in our time includes those who died from drug use and excessive amounts of alcohol. We do not know for sure how worthily, in accordance with the commandments, this or that person lived his earthly life.

Often in churches, overly zealous and strict ministers, accepting notes listing names, meticulously inquire whether the person mentioned in the list visited the temple, how often he confessed. On Trinity Parental Saturday, according to the church charter, only one question will be appropriate: whether the deceased has been baptized (for the unbaptized, only home prayer to the martyr Uar is allowed).

Coming to the temple and ordering a memorial for all deceased relatives on this day (on the eve of the evening service on Friday) is a great blessing, since it is on Trinity Saturday that prayer for all Orthodox Christians without exception is blessed according to the church charter.

Trinity Parents' Saturday is one of the special days of remembrance established by the Church. There are other special days dedicated to the memory of the deceased. These are, for example, the Ecumenical Parental Saturdays of Great Lent (from the 2nd to the 4th weeks) with intense prayer, accompanied by the reading of the 17th Kathisma. They were established for the reason that in previous weekdays no funeral commemoration is performed at the Liturgy.

The ecumenical memorial service “Easter of the Dead” - Radonitsa, falls not on the eve of Saturday, but on the eve of Tuesday after the end of Easter week. By the way, it is on Radonitsa, and not on Trinity Saturday, that it is customary to clean up the graves of close relatives after winter.

From Intercession to Easter, the cemetery is visited only to bury the dead, without disturbing the graves of those previously buried. In the autumn before the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, a Slav by birth, long revered heavenly patron Russian army, service is being performed

“Trinity Parents” was revered in many places in our Fatherland as the main day dedicated to the memory of the dead. The Old Believers of Transbaikalia served a special “all-night vigil” in their homes on this day. It was customary, following the example of Forgiveness Sunday preceding Lent, to ask for forgiveness, but not from everyone, but only from the oldest and youngest members of the family. At the same time, residents of Transbaikalia “made drawings” by sanding trees in the forest along the borders of future arable land. It was believed that the marked area would be under the special protection of deceased ancestors.

In Polesie, the “Grandfathers” holiday was celebrated for two days, Friday was dedicated to Grandfather Semik with the preparation of a Lenten dinner, and Saturday was dedicated to Baba Semichikha, with a hearty, hearty meal. The girls, braided with branches into huge “wreaths,” walked around several birch trees in a round dance, touching the branches with their palms covered with scarves. At the same time, one, dressed as Grandfather, walked around the circle with a cross, and the other, dressed as Baba, with an earring.

Combined with the church-celebrated Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday, the good, albeit superstitious, traditions of the Slavic summer Semik are undeservedly inferior in meaning, but not in spirit, to the autumn celebrations of “All Saints’ Day” and Halloween. It is the first two days of November that are considered in the West the main holidays of remembrance of the dead. The pious tradition of remembering “all the faithful,” established by the Benedictine monks in 996 and widespread among Roman Catholics since the 13th century, was also adopted by the Western Slavs. However, being “creatively reworked”, mainly in the New World, on the occult holiday of Halloween, this tradition, in content and appearance, increasingly coincided with the spring witches' Sabbath on Bald Mountain, relating to the eve of May 1.

Whether to support the fashion for necrophilic Satanism, which has come to Russia from overseas, which is characteristic of Halloween, or to revive the church and folk traditions of Trinity Parental Saturday, adopted by the Christian holiday and the parallel existing ritual institutions of the Slavic Semik, is up to us to decide. There is an opinion that homemade food, whether it be products grown in the field and garden or grains of national culture preserved by people for centuries, is always healthier than imported food.

AND x debts are your concern,
Fortunately, you can give it away.
On Parents' Saturday
Remember your father and mother.

Pray at the funeral service
About loved ones and others.
However, what are the insults now?
In the eternal world there is no time for them.

God's mercy will not leave you,
He who understands will understand.
Someone will remember you too
On parental Saturdays.

Hieromonk Roman (Matyushin)

The purpose of parental Saturdays is the unification of the Church. Parental Saturdays give us the opportunity to experience the reality of the unification of all its members - both its saints, those living today, and those who have died. The Day of the Most Holy Trinity, on which the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of tongues of fire, is called the birthday of the Church. Therefore, the establishment of parental Saturday on the eve of this day is so understandable.

Our prayers are especially needed for the dead. After all, those who have completed their earthly journey themselves can no longer add more good deeds, repent of sins, or ask the Lord. But we can ask for mercy for them, ask to put them to rest, “for it is not the dead who will praise Thee, O Lord; those in hell will dare to bring confession to Thee: but we who are alive will bless Thee and pray and offer sacrifices to Thee for their souls.”

The Lord God, through the depth of His wisdom, humanely builds everything and gives useful things to everyone, i.e. if whose life continues, he is a benefactor; and if he shortens someone’s days, it is for this purpose, lest malice change his mind or flattery deceive his soul. And our duty in both cases is to say with childlike submission to the Heavenly Father: Our Father, Thy will be done! We will remember as best we can on earth, and departed souls will remember us in heaven. And not only the righteous, whose souls are in the hand of God, pray to the Lord for our salvation, but also the souls of sinners also care about us, so that we do not end up in the same place as they are, and, according to the Gospel parable, they ask Saint Abraham to send us to the house of some righteous Lazarus, so that he would admonish us about what we should do, so that we may avoid eternal torment.

The Holy Church offers unceasing prayers for our departed fathers and brothers at every divine service. But, in addition, the Church creates at certain times a special commemoration of all fathers and brothers in faith who have died from time immemorial, who have been worthy of Christian death, as well as those who, caught sudden death, were not guided into the afterlife by the prayers of the Church. The memorial services performed at this time are called ecumenical.

On parenting days you can always see many people going to cemeteries to honor the memory of their deceased relatives and clean up the graves. But it is also very important on this day to come to the Church of God at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, submit a note with the names of the deceased and pray for their repose, or at least light a candle. Notes can be given to several churches at once, because the more prayers offered, the better it is for our loved ones. It is our prayers for the departed that are the main and invaluable help to those who have passed into another world.

These days, many of us are busy with our gardens, and therefore, unfortunately, not everyone finds time to come to the temple to pray on Parents' Saturday. But this can be done the day before, on Friday evening - submit a note so that the priest can pray for our loved ones. This evening service is followed by a parastas, or Great Requiem Service (Greek: “intercession”) - the funeral All-Night Vigil - the succession of the great requiem service for all deceased Orthodox Christians, performed on All-night vigil parent's Saturdays. It differs from the usually performed requiem service (which is an abbreviated parastas) in that the immaculates (17th kathisma) and the full canon “Water passed through” (placed in Octoechos, tone 8, on Saturday) are sung.

There is a pious tradition of performing parastas at home in a secular manner on memorial days (3rd, 9th, 40th, etc.). It is also good if we pray for the departed every day at home prayer.

The saint speaks very well about this righteous John Kronstadt: “Pray to the Lord for the repose of your forefathers, father and brothers, every morning and evening, may mortal memory live in you, and may the hope for a future life after death not fade away in you, and may your spirit expand daily, thinking about your fleeting life.” .

In addition, it is very useful to give alms to the poor with a request to pray for the deceased. And also donate to the church, and when during the service they pray for all the beautifiers, beautifiers and donors of this temple, then you and your loved ones will certainly be remembered.

According to the Charter of the Ecumenical Orthodox Church, on the eve of the feast of Holy Pentecost (Trinity), a funeral service is held, as on the day of the first Ecumenical Parental Saturday, which occurs during the Meat Week before the Week of the Last Judgment. This Parental Saturday is called Trinity Saturday and, like Meat Saturday, precedes the entry into fasting, which begins every week and is called apostolic.

This commemoration of the dead dates back to the times of the apostles. Just as it is said about the establishment of meat-free parental Saturday that “the divine fathers received it from the holy apostles,” so one can say about the origin of Trinity Saturday. In the words of St. ap. Peter, spoken by him on the day of Pentecost, is an important indication of the beginning of the custom of remembering the dead on the day of Pentecost. On this day, the Apostle, addressing the Jews, speaks of the Risen Savior: “God raised Him up, breaking the bonds of death” (Acts 2:24). And the apostolic decrees tell us how the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, preached to the Jews and pagans our Savior Jesus Christ as the Judge of the living and the dead. Therefore, from ancient times the Holy Church calls on us to commemorate all the pious forefathers, fathers, brothers and sisters of ours who have departed from the ages before the day of the Most Holy Trinity, because On the day of Pentecost, the redemption of the world was sealed by the sanctifying power of the Life-giving Holy Spirit, which graciously and savingly extends to both us living and the dead. Both on Meat Saturday, which represents, as it were, the last day of the world, and on Trinity Saturday, which represents the last day of the Old Testament Church before the revelation of the Kingdom of Christ in all its power on the day of Pentecost, the Orthodox Church prays for all the departed fathers and brothers. On the very holiday day, he lifts up sighs to the Lord for them in one of his prayers: “Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your servants, the father and our brothers who have fallen before the dead, and other relatives in the flesh, and all our own in the faith, and we create memory of them.” now".

While a person is alive, he is able to repent of sins and do good. After death, this opportunity disappears, but hope remains in the prayers of the living. The Lord Jesus Christ repeatedly healed the sick through the faith of their loved ones. The lives of saints contain many examples of how, through the prayer of the righteous, the posthumous fate of sinners was eased until their complete justification. If the prayer is made for a person who has already been pardoned by God and is in the heavenly abodes, it will still not remain in vain, but will turn to the benefit of the one praying. As St. John Chrysostom said, “let us try, as much as possible, to help the departed instead of tears, instead of sobs, instead of magnificent tombs, with our prayers, alms and offerings for them, so that in this way they and we will receive the promised benefits.” Prayer for the departed is our main and invaluable help to those who have passed on to another world. The deceased does not need by and large, neither in the coffin, nor in the grave monument, much less in the funeral table - all this is just a tribute to traditions, albeit very pious ones. But prayer for the departed is the duty of every Orthodox Christian.

The Church remembers her children by name, because God is our Father and for Him, every person, like his own child, is irreplaceable, unique in his personality, and a person’s personality is imprinted with his name. In funeral notes, names are written in full and in the genitive case (for example: about the repose of Lyudmila, Mikhail, etc.). For clergy, the rank must be indicated; children under seven years of age are called infants; from 7 to 16 years of age are called youths or young women; if 40 days have not passed since the date of death, the word “newly deceased” must be added. Names are written Orthodox, i.e. data at Holy Baptism.

For the deceased, whose names are written in the notes, the priest takes a particle from the prosphora and, with a prayer for the forgiveness of sins, washes it in the Blood of Christ. It is very good to give feasible alms to the poor with a request to pray for the deceased. You can donate some food for the funeral of the soul - for this there are special memorial tables in churches. The simplest and most common way to sacrifice for the deceased is to light a candle. Every temple has a kanun - a special candlestick in the form rectangular table with a small Crucifix. It is here that candles are placed with a prayer for repose; memorial services and funeral services in absentia are held here.

After the service, Orthodox Christians go to the cemetery. Out of love for the deceased, one must keep his grave clean and tidy - the place of future resurrection. We must especially ensure that the cross on the grave is not askew and is always painted and clean. Arriving at the cemetery, it is good to light a candle and at least briefly pray for the deceased. If possible, ask the priest to perform a litiya (short funeral service) at the grave. Then clean up the grave or just be silent, remembering dear person. It is not appropriate for a Christian to eat or drink (especially vodka) in a cemetery. There is no need to leave food on the grave so that the grave is not trampled, for example, by dogs. Food should be given to the poor.

By interceding for the dead, the living become fulfillers of the commandment of love and, therefore, become “participants in heavenly rewards.” Prayers for the dead are needed not only for them, but also for us, because they attune the soul to heavenly things, distract it from vain things, and warm the heart with love for God. In addition, they dispose souls to fulfill the commandment of Christ - to prepare for the outcome at every hour. And this gives us strength to evade evil and abstain from sins.

Even if your loved ones died unbaptized and the Church cannot remember them, you can pray for them yourself at home in the same way as for the baptized. But it’s better to do this by coming to the church and to the grave on Trinity Saturday.

Hegumen Feofan (Kryukov)

Today, on Trinity Mother's Saturday, the Holy Church, preparing us for the holiday, remembers all its children and commanded us to pray a special prayer on these days, because God is love and God is not the God of the dead, but [the God of] the living. With God everyone is alive.

Death separates the soul from the body, and after the resurrection they are united, and together they are eternally blissful or eternally suffer, judging by who lived their life on earth. But after death, we all face a preliminary judgment, the so-called ordeal. And we're not just waiting Last Judgment in ignorance, and after the ordeal we clearly receive what we previously deserved with our lives. But the preliminary judgment is not final, and through the prayers of loved ones, the prayers of the saints, the entire Church, the fate of the sinner, his painful life, which is determined at this preliminary trial, can be changed and made easier. Through the prayers of the Church, a sinner can even get rid of eternal torment altogether. Events from the lives of the saints testify to this.

Let's remember why we pray for our loved ones, deceased relatives and brothers? Prayer for deceased people close to us is our intercession before God, and this prayer directly affects the souls of the departed, inspiring, warming and strengthening them. This prayer helps us preserve their memory, and there is hope that we will be remembered too. And the full work of remembering the dead is our heartfelt memory of them, and on the part of the Church it is a bloodless sacrifice at the Liturgy. “Wash away, Lord, the sins of those who were remembered here by Thy Honest Blood, by the prayers of Thy saints,” the priest reads at each Liturgy.

We remember our loved ones because, as has been said, those who have departed are alive before God. And as for the living, we pray for them, without distinguishing whether someone walked the righteous path or who disposed of their life unworthily. We do not inquire whether they are classified as righteous or sinners.

It is our duty of brotherly love to pray for them. Until the believers are separated by the final Judgment, their fate is not determined, all of them, living and dead, constitute one Church Christ, one Body. And we all - members of one Body - must treat each other with mutual love.

Since the fate of all people is considered undecided until the general Judgment, until then we cannot consider anyone completely condemned and on this basis we pray for their pardon, strengthened by the hope of God’s immeasurable mercy.

We pray for our loved ones, deceased relatives and brothers, also because the time for their repentance has passed. When the body is separated from the soul, it can no longer, having accepted suffering, help the soul cleanse itself of the sins that have been committed. The departed ask for our prayers, and we will also need the same prayers when we die.

And finally, we pray for our loved ones, following the commandment of God: love your neighbor as yourself. God did not say, love your neighbors while they are alive, but he wants our love to extend into the afterlife. The peculiarity of this service of Trinity Parental Saturday is that the canon, which is read at Matins, speaks of a variety of cases of death when people do not receive legalized psalmody and funeral prayers.

The Holy Church prays for the departed in almost every song of this canon (there are nine of them - there is a second song, in contrast to the usual canons, where there are eight), emphasizing the special importance of this canon and this commemoration of deceased loved ones. The Church prays for those whom the Lord allowed to die by sudden death, from unexpected sadness or joy; about those who died at sea, on rivers, springs, lakes; when hunting animals and birds; about those who are burned by lightning; frozen in the cold, in the snow; buried under landslides or under walls, or, as they say, “nailed with plinth”; killed through poisoning, strangulation, hanging, from neighbors or died from other numerous deaths. And all of them are faithful Orthodox Christians who have not received legalized hymns church prayers. That is, those who passed away without a priestly farewell, without a prayer of permission and a funeral service.

Today, on the eve of the great holiday, praying together with the entire Church, we believe that Divine Liturgy, prayers offered by the living for the dead, merciful alms that we must provide for deceased loved ones, free their souls from hell and assist them in achieving blissful repose. Amen.

Sermon by Monk Danilov of the Stavropegic Monastery of Moscow
Abbot Feofan (Kryukov) on Trinity Parental Saturday

June 18, 2016

All about religion and faith - “prayer for parents’ memorial Saturday” with detailed description and photographs.

Parents' Saturdays are days of special remembrance of the dead, when with our prayers we can provide great help to our family and friends who have passed on from earthly life. Five of them are reserved for commemorating deceased relatives, two more and the memorial services performed at the same time are called ecumenical.

What is the power of funeral prayer?

A child is born from two parents not only physically, but also in soul. Just as the physical body of a child at the genetic level is the bearer of the inclinations of two parents, so is his soul. This is why the connection within each clan is so strong, this is why it is so important to preserve the memory of your ancestors and perform prayers to help them. In the church, the word “deceased” is understood as “falling asleep,” and visiting a grave loved one- remembering the place of his last earthly refuge.

The soul itself is located where there is no space and time. That is why it is so important to remember loved ones correctly on parental Saturdays: not only visit the cemetery, but also attend a church service to pray for the souls of relatives.

First of all, because it is in your power to help someone dear and loved by you. If a person has crossed the line of life, it is no longer in his power to change his fate, and he is in dire need of the prayerful support of his family members, his kind, who are still on Earth.

Is it necessary and how to ask for forgiveness from deceased relatives? It is necessary to ask for forgiveness during a person’s life, and after his death in Orthodoxy it is customary to only pray for him.

Commemoration of the deceased at home prayer

Prayer for the departed is our main and invaluable help to those who have passed into another world. The deceased, by and large, does not need a coffin, a grave monument, much less a memorial table - all this is just a tribute to traditions, albeit very pious ones. But the eternally living soul of the deceased experiences a great need for constant prayer, for it cannot itself do good deeds with which it would be able to appease the Lord. Home prayer for loved ones, including the dead, is the duty of every Orthodox Christian. St. Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow, speaks about prayer for the dead: “If the all-discerning Wisdom of God does not forbid praying for the dead, does this not mean that it is still allowed to throw a rope, although not always reliable enough, but sometimes, and perhaps often, saving for souls who have fallen away from the shores of temporary life, but have not reached eternal refuge? Saving for those souls who waver over the abyss between bodily death and the final judgment of Christ, now rising by faith, now plunging into deeds unworthy of it, now elevated by grace, now brought down by the remains of a damaged nature, now ascended by Divine desire, now entangled in the rough, not yet completely stripped of the clothes of earthly thoughts..."

Home prayerful commemoration of a deceased Christian is very diverse. You should pray especially diligently for the deceased in the first forty days after his death. As already indicated in the section “Reading the Psalter for the Dead,” during this period it is very useful to read the Psalter about the deceased, at least one kathisma per day. You can also recommend reading an akathist about the repose of the departed. In general, the Church commands us to pray every day for deceased parents, relatives, known people and benefactors. For this purpose, among the daily morning prayers The following short prayer is included:

Prayer for the departed

Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read names from a commemoration book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are written down. There is a pious custom of conducting family memorials, reading which Orthodox people They remember by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.

Intercession Parents' Saturday, October 7: funeral prayers

Parents' Saturday of the Intercession is a significant event in the life of believers. On this day, every Orthodox person will be able to console his sadness, grief and remember loved ones with the help of prayers.

Intercession Parents' Saturday has many traditions. One of them is reading prayers for the departed. A week before the great Orthodox holiday of the Intercession Holy Mother of God Liturgies are held in churches, and many Christians come to churches to pray for departed relatives and friends, thereby helping them accept the Kingdom of Heaven.

Prayers for the dead on Intercession Saturday

Funeral prayers are not only helping the soul who has left the earthly world to achieve unity with the Lord, it is also a kind of tribute of respect and one of the ways to secure patronage Higher powers and good luck in life. Any prayer is an appeal to God, which saves the soul, allowing you to get rid of the burden of pain, sadness and melancholy. Therefore, the spoken prayers will not only ease the path of the deceased, but they will help you come to terms with the bitterness of loss.

On the day of the Ecumenical Memorial Service, when all Christian believers begin to pray for the repose of every person, it is important to adhere to this rule. Remember that the souls of the dead protect the peace of the living who remember them. That is why one of the main church traditions Intercession Saturday - funeral prayers said in church, at home near icons or at the grave of a loved one.

Each prayer should be read sincerely, with hope, faith and love. You turn to the Lord, you ask him for your soul and the soul of the deceased, showing how important His support is to you in these moments of despair. Do not hold back your emotions: at the beginning of any prayer, share with the Almighty everything that burdens your earthly path. The loss of a loved one is a torment that can only be experienced by letting God into your heart.

Prayer for the deceased

“Lord our God, let us remember the departed earthly servant (name), who transferred his soul to Heaven. Please forgive him for all the sinful acts that he committed, for we repent and for his soul in prayers we ask You, God, for Your mercy. Give him relief from suffering and torment, give him a better life. Don’t let him go from you, let his soul be next to You forever. May his soul be illuminated with heavenly light. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Forever and ever. Amen".

Prayer for deceased children

“Our Father, Lord, we pray to You! In Heaven, my child (name) is next to You. Please give him care and comfort. Don’t leave him alone, take away all his earthly sorrows and torments. By Your will You gave me a child and also took him into Your Kingdom! So illuminate him with your love and care! Cleanse his soul from despondency, for now he is with You forever. You are our King, our Creator, only by Your will do we walk on the sinful earth, and we will all give our souls to Heaven. But until my time has come, take care of my child as you would all your children, for only You are able to give us comfort. In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

Prayer for parents who left us

“Lord, hear our prayers for our parents who left this earth and went to Your Kingdom, where there is eternal life. Only You are able to console our grieving souls. Please forgive all the sins of the deceased and give him life in joy and happiness in Heaven. I cry and pray for the soul of God’s servant (name) with faith and hope for consolation. Don’t leave me alone in the sorrow of mourning, help me survive the loss. Forgive him all his sins, let his soul rest in peace and find eternal life. I will pray for him and glorify Your name, our Lord! For you are our Father, and only you know when it will strike last hour ours on earth to take our souls to the Kingdom of Heaven. May we find eternity next to you. Forever and ever. Amen".

Don't forget about parenting days, when you become support and support for loved ones who have passed away. On this day, your sincere prayers are especially important. You can find out when parental Saturdays will be in 2017 from the Orthodox calendar. We wish you peace in your soul. Take care of yourself and your loved ones and don't forget to press the buttons and

Magazine about stars and astrology

every day fresh articles about astrology and esotericism

Funeral prayers for the deceased

The death of loved ones is always a great grief. However, prayers for the departed will help every Orthodox person to find comfort in sadness and longing.

Orthodox calendar of parental Saturdays in 2017

IN church calendar Many holidays revered by Orthodox Christians are celebrated. These include parents' Saturdays. Most of them depend.

What you can and cannot do on the Feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Any Orthodox holidays should be celebrated in accordance with certain rules, so as not to bring down the wrath of the saints. Keep traditions.

Feast of the Intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary: prayers for love, marriage and children

The Protection of the Mother of God is one of the most significant Orthodox holidays. On this day, every believer.

Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary: folk traditions and signs

Orthodox holidays are closely intertwined with folk traditions. In ancient times, the Intercession was considered the meeting of winter and autumn, a time when nature.

Orthodox icons and prayers

Information site about icons, prayers, Orthodox traditions.

Prayer for Trinity Parents' Saturday

"Save me, God!". Thank you for visiting our website, before you start studying the information, we ask you to subscribe to our VKontakte group Prayers for every day. Also visit our page on Odnoklassniki and subscribe to her Prayers for every day Odnoklassniki. "God bless you!".

On Parents' Saturday, the day before the Great Feast of the Holy Trinity, it is customary in the Orthodox world to remember their deceased relatives. Prayer for Trinity Parent Saturday is very important when remembering relatives and friends. Trinity Saturday is considered the second ecumenical Saturday of remembrance, after Meat Saturday (the Saturday one week before Lent).

On Ecumenical Saturdays, it is customary to remember all deceased relatives, but always baptized Christians. There are seven memorial Saturdays in a calendar year, but only on Ecumenical Saturdays are everyone commemorated, and the rest follow specific criteria: Saturday for commemorating the unbaptized, Saturday for commemorating the hanged and drowned, etc.

What prayers are read on Parents' Day?

The day before Trinity, on Parental Saturday, all souls are cleansed by the grace of the Savior. It is important to pray for everyone, even those destined for hell.

Prayer on parental Saturday at home is read only after visiting the temple of God. In a church, monastery or temple, on the eve of Saturday, you need to order a funeral service or liturgy.

Prayer before Trinity is very important when commemorating immediate relatives: father, mother, brothers, sisters, children. The greatest help for the deceased is to say a funeral prayer. Prayer on Parents' Saturday for the departed has incredible power; they say that it even saves those in hell: you can pray to the Lord God Almighty for the soul of a sinful slave and God will release this soul from terrible hell.

This kind of prayer must be approached consciously. For they bring salvation to sinners. If you do not follow all the principles of funeral prayer, you can turn your life into a meaningless existence, you can anger God, you can anger your deceased relatives.

If you decide and want to pray on Trinity Parents’ Saturday, then you need to take into account several important facts:

• Be sure, on the eve of Saturday, you can go to the nearest church on Friday and order a memorial service or liturgy for the deceased;
• On Trinity Saturday itself, come to church and light candles for the repose of your loved ones;
• Try to visit on the memorial day the graves of the deceased, for whom candles were lit;
• Read a special prayer at home on Parents' Saturday.

Prayer text

“Rest the souls before those who depart in the place of refreshment, for it is not the dead who will praise Thee, Lord, those who exist in hell dare to bring confessions to Thee, but we, the living, bless Thee and pray, and offer cleansing prayers and sacrifices to Thee for their souls.”

Based on beliefs and legends, the deceased pray for us and our souls when we pray for them. The closest relatives often become assistants to your Guardian Angels, or even the Angels themselves, in order to help you through life and protect you from all hardships and bad weather.

It is important to remember the deceased not only on specially designated days, but in general. Prayer for the departed helps to calm their souls, thereby freeing you from longing for them, removing the feeling of guilt in front of them, or simply removing unnecessary attachment.

After all, it happens that a loved one has passed into another world, and we are tormented here, suffering about his death, thereby we do not let his soul go to another world, such a soul is considered stuck between worlds and this makes it bad for both the soul of the deceased and to the person suffering on Earth.

Prayer on Parents' Saturday before Trinity will certainly help alleviate the suffering of the loss of a loved one, and make life easier for the deceased in the other world.

God bless you!

Watch also the video about the remembrance of the dead:

Parents' Memorial Saturday - a time to pray for deceased relatives

With God, everyone is alive - the expression is known to many. Death in Orthodoxy is perceived as a door to another life, where a person perceives and feels everything, but cannot pray for himself. Therefore, it is customary in the church to offer prayers for the departed. There are also special days - parental memorial Saturdays. One of them is Dmitrievskaya, which precedes the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (November 8).

1. Meat-eating (universal parent);
2. 2nd week of Great Lent;
3. 3rd week of Great Lent;
4. 4th week of Great Lent;
5. Radonitsa (on the 9th day after Easter);
6. May 9 - commemoration of deceased soldiers;
7. Trinity (before the Feast of Pentecost);
8. Dmitrievskaya funeral Saturday.

Two of them - Myasopustnaya and Troitskaya - have the status of “universal”. That is, these days the Church prays for all baptized Orthodox Christians. In general, all of them are called parental, since at this time they remember, first of all, the closest people - parents and relatives.

In 2015, Demetrius Memorial Saturday falls on November 7, the eve of the feast day of St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki. It has been known as a date of special commemoration since 1380. Then the Church prayed for those who died during the battle on the Kulikovo Field. But already in the sources of the 15th century it appears as a day when they pray for all the dead, and not just for soldiers.

Why remember the dead in the temple?

Deceased relatives, like no one else, need prayer help. After death, a person goes through ordeal - a private trial, after which it becomes known where the person will stay until the Second Coming. If everything is clear with the righteous - they deserve the heavenly abodes, then sinners still have a chance to make their path easier. How? Only through the prayers of relatives and the Church.

Therefore, every candle, every particle at the proskomedia, every alms, every loaf of bread brought to the temple during commemoration, every note and sincere prayer can help people dear to us get closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

How is prayer for the deceased different during parental memorial Saturdays?

The Church has special service for those who have passed on to another world, which is called a memorial service. A joint appeal to the Lord is required so that He will forgive the sins of the deceased and grant them eternal bliss. Its final part is called lithium - short prayer appeal to God, which can be read even by a layman at home or in a cemetery. Memorial Saturdays are sometimes also called parental memorial services.

On Friday evening, parastas is served - a special evening service. It is also called the Great Requiem Service, or the Funeral Vigil. His distinctive feature is that at this time the Immaculates (17th kathisma from the Psalter, it is usually read for the dead) and the full canon are sung.

Why do they bring food to the temple?

It is customary to bring food to funeral services, which is placed on the eve - a table with a crucifix. It is on such a table that candles for repose are usually placed. This is also part of our help to our deceased neighbor.

Surely many have witnessed how even people who are generally distant from the Church handed out cookies and sweets on the day of remembrance of their deceased relatives. This is not at all accidental - the Church believes that we can help our loved ones through prayer and alms given for them.

Therefore, at the memorial service in particular, and during memorial Saturdays, various food products are brought - from baked goods to home canned food. There are no rules, everyone is guided by their own desires and income. Very often they bring bread and sugar. The first symbolizes Christ (in the Gospel Jesus says about himself: I am the Bread of Life), and the second symbolizes the sweetness of being in the Kingdom of Heaven. The brought Cahors is used for communion.

The food brought to the temple is then distributed to church employees (singers, those who usually work for free behind the candle box, clean up) and to everyone in need (very often parishes help the poor, the homeless, and large families).

Your prayer during your parents' memorial Saturday will be a small thank you to your loved ones who have passed on to another world. Remember all those times when these people were nearby and helped you in the most difficult situations, supported in difficult times. Today you can support them with your sincere prayer, participation in church commemoration and distribution of alms.

Demetrius Memorial Saturday closes the cycle of days of special prayer for the dead. Of course, it is possible to perform a service for those who have passed on to another world on other days. But in these seven certain days there is a special power: all Orthodox Christians in different churches, cities and villages simultaneously turn to God with a common request - to grant endless life to their deceased relatives.