Dmitrov Saturday. Church commemoration on parental Saturday

Christians have several special days a year when they remember the dead - these are memorial parental Saturdays. The largest three are Universal, Troitskaya and Dmitrievskaya. Dmitriev Saturday falls on the eve of a big holiday - Dmitriev Day, which was established in honor of Dmitry Solunsky. This day has long been considered special for all Christians.

Dmitrievskaya Saturday: the history of the day

The history of this day is ambiguous: some Christians say that this day has only Orthodox roots, but stories show that St. Demetrius Saturday is associated with paganism.

According to official data, it has been established that Dmitrievskaya Saturday was established in honor of the soldiers who died the death of the brave on the Kulikovo field. After the victory, Prince Dmitry Donskoy invited the church to remember those who died in this battle every year. The priests agreed, citing the fact that Christians died in this battle, which the ancestors should remember. Years later, Dmitrievskaya Saturday became parental and on this day all the dead are commemorated.

Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday: when does it fall in 2019 and how to understand?

Every year, Dmitrievskaya Saturday falls on a new day, the countdown starts from Easter, and in 2019 this day falls on October 28th. On this day, all Christians should go to church, defend the service, order a prayer for the dead, put a candle for the repose, and then go to the grave to their parents and relatives and bring them a present and a candle to the grave.

After the cemetery, everyone goes home, gathers in the parental home and commemorates their ancestors. The table is laid, candles brought from the church are lit. There is a belief that on this day the souls of the dead descend to earth and watch the living, how they keep their customs and manage their inheritance.

On the table on this day there are dishes that parents loved to eat, which are no longer there. At the table, they remembered with a kind word everyone who had gone to another world. There is a belief that at least 12 dishes should be present on the memorial table, and the main of them was considered in the old days - a pig's head.

On this day, do not forget about prayers. After all, the deceased should see from heaven that on earth the ancestors go to church, honor the customs of their ancestors and the Lord.

Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday: prayers

Many prayers are read on this day, here is one of them:

“Holy Great Martyr of Christ Demetrius! Standing with boldness to the Heavenly King, ask Him for forgiveness of our sins and get rid of us, cursed (names), from the all-destructive ulcer, fire and eternal punishment. Pray for His goodness, hedgehog to the parish (or house) of this and our temple. Ask us for a grace-filled strengthening for good deeds, and let us do what is pleasing to our Lord Christ God here, let us be honored by Your prayers to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven and glorify Him there, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen"

Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday: traditions

All believers on this day should attend church, honor the memory of deceased ancestors. They come to church the day before on Friday for evening. At this time, a great memorial service is performed - paratastas. All chants, troparia and prayers are dedicated to the dead. On the morning of Dmitriev Saturday, a funeral liturgy is performed in the church.

All Christians come to church with small pieces of paper, where the names of all deceased relatives are written and they are handed over to the priest, who will mention them during the service. Also, donations in the form of vegetables, bread, sweets and fruits are brought to the church, but meat and wine cannot be donated.

Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday: signs

Old people in ancient times noticed many features on all Christian holidays, and after that they passed on all these signs to their ancestors. Many signs have survived to this day, and Dmitrievskaya Saturday is no exception:

• Dmitriev's day - winter climbs on the wattle fence;
• Until Dmitrievskaya Saturday, winter does not begin;
• Rivers freeze on Dmitry;
• If that day is cold and snow has fallen, the spring will be late, and if it is thaw, the spring will be warm;
• Dmitrov's Saturday - work for the cheerleaders;
• If Dmitriev's day is in the snow, Easter is also in the snow, and Dmitriev's by the goal, and the Holy One by that.

On Dmitriev's Day, cunning girls want to get married faster, and all because after this day, weddings are rare.

It is also believed that the more generous the alms of the living in the church, the better the soul of the deceased feels in the next world.

Dimitry Donskoy before the Battle of Kulikovo

What is this day? Who should be remembered on this day? Why do Orthodox Christians pray for the dead? Responsible priest Vladislav Shestakov, cleric of the Exaltation of the Cross Church in Gorlovka.

On the so-called Demetrius parental Saturday, the Orthodox Church performs a special commemoration of all the departed Orthodox Christians. Demetrius Saturday was established by Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy. Having won the famous victory on the Kulikovo field over Mamai on September 8, 1380, Dimitri Ioannovich, upon returning from the battlefield, visited the Trinity-Sergius monastery. St. Sergius of Radonezh, hegumen of the monastery, had earlier blessed him for the battle with the infidels and gave him two monks from among his brethren - Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya. Both monks fell in battle and were buried near the walls of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Old Simonov Monastery.

In the Trinity Monastery, the Orthodox soldiers who died in the Battle of Kulikovo were commemorated with a funeral service and a common meal. Over time, a tradition has developed to make such a commemoration annually. More than 250 thousand soldiers who fought for the Fatherland did not return from the Kulikovo field. Together with the joy of victory, the bitterness of loss came to their families, and this private parental day became, in fact, the universal day of remembrance in Russia.

Since then, on Saturday before October 26 / November 8 - the day of memory of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica (the name day of Demetrius of the Don) - funeral services were performed everywhere in Russia. Subsequently, on this day, they began to commemorate not only the soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield for their faith and Fatherland, but also all the departed Orthodox Christians.

In general, the tradition of commemorating deceased relatives dates back to ancient, Old Testament times. The prayer of the prophet Baruch, Judas Maccabee clearly testifies to the benefits of praying for the dead and remembering them (Bar. 3:4-5; 2 Mac. 12:43-45). For prayerful remembrance of the dead, meals were arranged, alms were given (Sir. 7:36; Tov. 4:17). So, the doctrine of prayer for the dead existed even in the Old Testament Church, among the Jews, as can be seen from Deut. 26:14, which says that from the tithe for orphans and widows, it is not possible to give for the dead, therefore, from the remaining nine parts of the products of the earth, you can also give for the dead.

The Word of God commands us “pray for each other”, “for all people”(James 5:16), both for the living and for the dead, for the Lord "Everyone is alive"(Luke 20:38). The fact that dead people can receive the forgiveness of some sins is evident from the Savior's words about forgiveness in this age and in the future (Matt. 12:32). The Apostle Peter tells about the preaching of the Lord "in the dungeon spirits", "once rebellious", and also about "the gospel that was for the dead" implying here the preaching to the dead either of St. John the Baptist (who announced the good news in hell to those who were God, manifested in the flesh), or the preaching of Christ at His descent into hell (1 Pet. 3:18-20; 1 Pet. 4:6).

It is also worth remembering how the Creator treats His creation. If we wish salvation to a loved one who is already beyond the bounds of this life, then the Lord, our loving Father, desires it all the more. “When all the people and the holy cathedral stand with outstretched hands to Heaven, and when the Terrible Sacrifice is set before us, how can we not propitiate God, praying for them (the dead)?”- says St. John Chrysostom. And elsewhere: “There is still, truly there is a possibility, if we want to lighten the punishment of the deceased sinner. If we make frequent prayers for him and distribute alms, then even if he is unworthy in himself, God will hear us. If He saved others for the sake of the Apostle Paul and spared others for the sake of some, then how can He not do the same for us?

Dying Orthodox Christians do not cease to be members of the Church, preserving with Her and with all Her other children the most real, real, living communion. Archbishop Athanasius Sakharov writes that “worship and prayer are predominantly the sphere where believers enter into the closest, most visible to the external senses, and at the same time the most sublime and mysterious unity with the Holy Church and with each other. Prayer is the main force of this unity.” It is prayer — this is the bridge that tangibly connects the two worlds - the material and the spiritual. In this regard, it is impossible not to mention the benefits that prayer for the dead renders to the one who prays.

The liturgy associated with the death of a Christian does not begin when the person has come to the inevitable end. No, this divine service begins every Sunday in the ascension of the Church to heaven, when "every worldly care" is laid aside; it begins on every feast, but it is rooted most deeply in the joy of Christ's Pascha. It can be said that the whole church life is the sacrament of our death and resurrection, because all of it is the proclamation of the Lord's death and the confession of His Resurrection.

The Orthodox Church guides her children to the afterlife with the sacraments of Repentance, Communion, and the Blessing of the Sick, and, in addition, in moments of separation of the soul from the body, she performs prayer singing over him for the exodus of the soul. In the person of a priest, the Church comes to the bed of a dying person, first of all making efforts so that he does not have any forgotten or unconfessed sin or malice towards any of his relatives on his conscience.

And if you carefully listen to the words of the panikhida chants or the burial rite, you will notice that most of them are addressed specifically to living people who pray for the departed. The purpose of this is to remind us that this life is a temporary life, and that we are only “strangers and strangers” on this earth.

“We will create the earth from the earth, and we will go to the earth there, as thou commanded, Who created me, and the river of me: as thou art the earth and go into the earth, or else all men will go ...”(We, mortals, were created from the earth, and we will go to the same earth, as You commanded, creating me and telling me: “You are the earth, and you will go to the earth,” where all of us, mortals, will go ...) - is sung in funeral icos.

We also pray for the forgiveness of our own sins: “I am the image of Thy inexpressible glory, even if I bear the plague of sins; have mercy on Your creation, Lord, and cleanse with Your compassion…”(I am the image of Your inexpressible glory, although I also bear the ulcers of sins: have pity on Your creation, Lord, and cleanse according to Your mercy ...).

In addition, by praying for our deceased relatives and friends and doing alms for them, we express our care and love for them. Thus, we fulfill the main commandment of the Savior.

DImitrievskaya parental Saturday was established after the battle on the Kulikovo field. Initially, the commemoration was performed for all the soldiers who fell in this battle. Gradually, Demetrius Saturday became the day of requiem commemoration of all the departed Orthodox Christians. Takes place on the Saturday before St. Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (October 26 / November 8).

Establishment history

Demetrius Saturday was established by Grand Duke Dimitry Donskoy. Having won the famous victory on the Kulikovo field over Mamai on September 8, 1380, Dimitri Ioannovich, upon returning from the battlefield, visited the Trinity-Sergius monastery. St. Sergius of Radonezh, hegumen of the monastery, had earlier blessed him for the battle with the infidels and gave him two monks from among his brethren - Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya. Both monks fell in battle and were buried near the walls of the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in the Old Simonov Monastery.

In the Trinity Monastery, the Orthodox soldiers who died in the Battle of Kulikovo were commemorated with a funeral service and a common meal. Over time, a tradition has developed to make such a commemoration annually. More than 250 thousand soldiers who fought for the Fatherland did not return from the Kulikovo field. Together with the joy of victory, the bitterness of loss came to their families, and this private parental day became in fact a universal day of remembrance in Russia.

Since then, on Saturday before October 26 / November 8 - the day of memory of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica (the name day of Demetrius Donskoy himself) - funeral services were performed everywhere in Russia. Subsequently, on this day, they began to commemorate not only the soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield for their faith and Fatherland, but also all the departed Orthodox Christians.

Traditions

On Dimitri's parental Saturday, the graves of deceased relatives are traditionally visited, panikhidas and funeral litias are served in churches and cemeteries, and memorial meals are held.

On this day, as on other parental days (on Meat and Trinity Saturdays, on Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent), Orthodox Christians pray for the repose of the souls of deceased Christians, mainly parents. But Demetrius Saturday also has a special meaning: established after the Battle of Kulikovo, it reminds us of all those who died and suffered for the Orthodox faith.

Photo: Anatoly Goryainov Photo: Anatoly Goryainov
If it is not possible to visit a temple or a cemetery these days, you can pray for the repose of the deceased in home prayer. In general, the Church commands us not only on special days of remembrance, but every day to pray for the departed parents, relatives, known and benefactors. For this, the following short prayer is included in the number of daily morning prayers:

Prayer for the dead

At rest, Lord, the souls of the departed Thy 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.

Church commemoration on parental Saturday

To commemorate your deceased relatives in church, you need to come to the temple for worship on the evening of Friday on the eve of parental Saturday. At this time, a great memorial service, or parastas, is performed. All troparia, stichera, chants and parastas readings are dedicated to prayer for the dead. On the morning of the memorial Saturday itself, a Divine Liturgy for the dead is performed, after which a common memorial service is served.

For church commemoration for the parastas, separately for the liturgy, parishioners prepare notes with the commemoration of the departed. In the note, the names of those commemorated in the genitive case are written in large legible handwriting (answer the question “who?”), with the clergy and monastics being the first to be mentioned, indicating the rank and degree of monasticism (for example, Metropolitan John, Sheikhumen Savva, Archpriest Alexander, nun Rachel, Andrei, Nina). All names must be given in church spelling (for example, Tatiana, Alexy) and in full (Michael, Lyubov, not Misha, Lyuba).

In addition, it is customary to bring food to the temple as a donation. As a rule, bread, sweets, fruits, vegetables, etc. are placed on the canon. You can bring flour for prosphora, Cahors for liturgy, candles and oil for lamps. It is not allowed to bring meat products or spirits.

Need to remember

Prayer for the departed is our main and invaluable help to those who have departed to the other world. The deceased does not need, by and large, either a coffin, or a grave monument, and even more so a memorial table - all this is just a tribute to traditions, albeit very pious ones. But the eternally living soul of the deceased feels a great need for constant prayer, for she cannot do good deeds herself, with which she would be able to propitiate the Lord.

08:19 | 28.10.2017

Business.Media

On the last Saturday before November 8, the Day of Remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, it is customary for the Orthodox to commemorate deceased relatives.

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

Dmitrievskaya Saturday is the last memorial day of the year, when the deceased ancestors were commemorated.

history of the holiday

The tradition of commemorating the dead on Saturday before the day of memory of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica was established by Prince Dmitry Donskoy after the battle on the Kulikovo field. The Battle of Kulikovo ended on the day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos on September 8, 1380, after which Prince Dimitri Ioannovich visited the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. In the Trinity Monastery, the Orthodox soldiers who died in the Battle of Kulikovo were commemorated with a funeral service and a common meal.

Archbishop Demetrius believed that Demetrius' parental Saturday replaced the pagan feasts that had previously existed among the Slavs. Trizna is part of the pagan funeral rite among the Eastern Slavs, which consisted of songs, dances, feasts and military competitions in honor of the deceased. Trizna was performed near the burial place after the burning of the deceased. Later, this term was used as a synonym for the rite of "commemoration".

Traditions, or what to do on this day

Since the beginning of the 20th century, Dmitrov Saturday was celebrated very solemnly: they went to the graves of their deceased relatives and served requiem services here, arranged rich offerings to the clergy. Women wailed at the graves of their parents and closest relatives.

On Saturday before Dmitriev's Day in Russia, they celebrated a "farewell wake" for the dead. In central Polissya, commemorations on Friday were fast and were called "grandfathers", and on Saturday they were fast and were called "women". Dmitrov's week is called parental, grandfather's. In Lithuania and Belarus, this day was called the "Goat's Feast", where the goat, the gusler, the priest and the singer excelled.

On Dmitriev Saturday, it was customary to bake ritual pies, take them to the graves and leave them for the souls of the dead.

On Saturday night, the Serbs, Montenegrins and Macedonians put bread, consecrated water and wine on the table, as they believed that the souls of the dead would come at midnight. It was customary for Catholic neighbors (Croats and Slovenes) to go to the graves of their ancestors and light candles on them, bring food and drink for the dead. In Serbia and Montenegro, they baked small loaves for the dead, and they were different in shape for men and women.

Like any memorial day, Dmitrov Saturday is celebrated with memorial services, prayers for the dead, visits to cemeteries and special memorial meals. The folk tradition of Dmitrov Saturday also imprinted the former pre-Christian customs of the Slavs associated with the cult of ancestors. So, for example, in addition to church prayers for the dead, on the eve of Saturday it was customary to leave clean water and new brooms in the bath for the souls of the departed. In a similar way, a specially prepared dinner was left on the table at night so that the ancestors who came could get enough. Treats for the dead were taken to the cemetery. In general, the very scope and scale of the celebration on this day in Russia testifies to the fusion of two traditions - the pagan holiday of the ancestors and the Christian day of commemoration of the dead.

In the modern tradition, on this day, the Orthodox first attend a service in the church, and then go to the graves of the dead, where they commemorate the dead.

The day before, on Friday evening, the so-called Parastas is served in the temples - a memorial evening service. And on Saturday morning itself, a funeral liturgy with a memorial service takes place. As donations on this day, it is customary to bring food to the temple, with the exception of strong alcoholic drinks and meat.

Note that Dimitrievskaya Saturday is the last parental Saturday in 2017. The next parental Saturday is February 10, 2018.

Our Russian Orthodox Church has two special commemoration days: Tuesday after Paschal week, the so-called "Radonitsa" and today's Demetrius Saturday.

According to legend, it was installed by Grand Duke Dmitry Donskoy. Having won the famous victory on the Kulikovo field over Mamai on September 8, 1380, Dmitry Ioannovich, upon returning from the battlefield, visited the Trinity-Sergius monastery. St. Sergius of Radonezh, hegumen of the monastery, had earlier blessed him for this battle and gave him from among his brethren two monks, schemamonks - Alexander Peresvet and Andrey Oslyabya. Both monks fell in battle. Having made a commemoration of the dead soldiers in the Trinity Monastery, the Grand Duke proposed to make this commemoration annually on Saturday before October 26 - the day of memory of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica - the heavenly patron of Dmitry Donskoy himself.

And for more than six hundred years, our Church has been performing this service every year. Before the revolution in the Russian army, this custom was strictly observed. Panikhidas were served in all military units for Orthodox soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield for the faith, the king and the fatherland. Subsequently, on this day they began to commemorate not only Orthodox soldiers, but also all the dead in general, and this day became the universal day of remembrance in Russia.

On the days of commemoration of the dead, Orthodox Christians send to the temple notes with the names of their deceased relatives who were baptized during their lifetime, that is, were members of the Church. These days, candles are supposed to be placed not to the icons, but to the Crucifixion, on a special table called “tetrapod” or “eve”. There is also a good custom on the days of commemoration to bring refreshments to the temple for the poor. It is consecrated during the service and then distributed to all who wish. The person who received this treat prays “for all those who are now remembered here,” and his prayer of thanksgiving joins our prayer.

As a visible expression of the confidence of the living in the immortality of the deceased is being prepared "kutia" or "kolivo"- boiled wheat grains mixed with honey. As seeds containing life, in order to form an ear and bear fruit, must be planted in the ground and there decay. So the body of the deceased must be committed to the earth and experience corruption in order to rise later for the future life. After all, we believe not only in the immortality of the soul, but also the resurrection of the whole person, that is, the unity of soul and body, just as we sing in the Creed: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the future age.” That is why cemeteries exist in Russia: the body, like a seed, is thrown into the ground in order to rise with a new cosmic spring.

Commemorating the dead today, we ourselves need to seriously think about eternal life. Each of us, without exception, having once appeared in this world, must certainly leave it. And there are no exceptions to this law of God. Fragile and vain is our life on earth. Its clear and joyful course is often overshadowed by unexpected worldly sorrows and misfortunes. Our joys are mixed with grief: poverty is not far from wealth, health is not protected from diseases, life itself can be stopped by death at any moment. The time of life is irrepressible and transient, so that you don’t notice how the days fly by.

From the sermon of Hieromonk Gabriel. Optina Pustyn 2010