The Typicon knows several funeral Sabbaths. There are two Saturdays that have the status of universal - this meatless saturday, which is served a week before the start of Lent and Trinity, serving before the day of Pentecost. Also, the charter separately stipulates funeral services on the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent. Although, if on such a Sabbath a saint comes across who has a polyeleos and vigil service, then the funeral service is left.

There are several more days a year when funeral services are held out of touch with Saturday - this is Radonitsa, which usually happens on the ninth day after Easter, on Tuesday, as well as the days of memory of the dead on May 9, September 11 (now already forgotten, but having a special mark in the service book) and Sunday, when the New Martyrs and Confessors of Russia are commemorated and when a memorial service is performed in memory of all those who were tortured during the years of godless power.

It would seem that everything?

But the Typicon here also presents a surprise that opens up to the persistent reader. The thirteenth chapter of the Charter, which bears the title: “It is fitting to know if it happens to sing alleluia on Saturday,” allows you to serve the funeral services on any Saturday, if there is no festive service on that Saturday. Of course, ordinary, non-mortuary Sabbath services can also be served. But the possibility of just a purely funeral service is specifically spelled out in the Charter. Saturday is the last day of the week, and in memory of the Sabbath rest, on this last, final, final day of the week, according to the Charter, it is customary to commemorate the dead.

How did the Pokrovskaya parent?

On January 9, 1592, St. Hermogenes, at that time the Archbishop of Kazan and Astrakhan, sent a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he informed that in Kazan there was no special commemoration of Orthodox soldiers who laid down their lives for the faith and the Fatherland near Kazan, and asked to establish a specific day of memory warriors. In response, the All-Russian Patriarch sent a decree dated February 25, 1592, in which he ordered “for all Orthodox soldiers killed near Kazan and within Kazan, to perform a memorial service in Kazan and throughout the Kazan Metropolis on the Saturday day after the Intercession Holy Mother of God and write them into the big synodik read on the Sunday of Orthodoxy.” Since that time, the service of a special day of remembrance of the dead in the Kazan region has become permanent.

So when to serve Parental Protection Saturday?

According to the decree of Patriarch Job and the historical course of events, the capture of Kazan was on the day of the Intercession, and a memorial service for the fallen soldiers could not be served until that day, but only later, Pokrovskaya parent saturday should be served on the nearest Saturday after the day of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. But, by analogy with Demetrius parental Saturday, celebrated on the Saturday before the day of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, and Intercession Saturday began to be celebrated not after the Intercession, but on the next Saturday before the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Now the custom of serving this memorial day has crossed the borders of the Kazan diocese and is spreading throughout Russia. But the question of the history of the establishment of this day usually remains behind the scenes. Therefore, in this material, an attempt was made to get to the bottom of the events of the establishment of a special memorial day in the Kazan Metropolis.

In 2017, Pokrovskaya parental Saturday will be celebrated on October 7th. This holiday is very important for all believers, and it is not strange that many traditions are associated with it.

Holiday traditions

In general, every Sabbath is a commemoration of the dead. And Pokrovskaya Saturday is the day special commemoration deceased relatives according to the East Slavic tradition.

Intercession Saturday is included in the list of Ecumenical memorial services, which in Orthodox faith there are only three of them: before the Trinity, during Great Lent and on the eve of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos. These days are considered very important for all believers, because on such holidays it is customary for the whole world to pray for the repose of each deceased. It is worth noting that the history of such a holiday as Intercession parental Saturday is exactly the same as that of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, who saved people during the defense of Constantinople.

Pokrovskaya parental Saturday appeared much later than Pokrov, and is not celebrated as widely. Initially, this celebration was dedicated to people who gave their lives to protect their country. Intercession parental Saturday appeared around the 16th century and since that time has been celebrated annually on the eve of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos.

Intercession parental Saturday: what needs to be done on this day

Intercession parental Saturday is a holiday when you need to honor all the deceased relatives and acquaintances according to East Slavic traditions. This holiday is also called “parental” because, according to Christian beliefs, dead people end up in the same world with their parents.

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First of all, on the holiday of October 7, you need to go to church. On this day, Orthodox churches commemorate the dead Christians, a memorial service, a divine liturgy for the dead, and a prayer for the repose of the souls of the departed.

On Intercession Parental Saturday, people usually bring with them notes of repose with the names of deceased loved ones.

In addition, the feast of October 7 is notable for the fact that people bring food and wine with them to the church to celebrate the liturgy and commemorate the dead. Then all this is given to those in need.

On Pokrovsky Parental Saturday, Ukrainians, according to a long tradition, after a service in the church, go to visit the graves of their relatives. There, people put everything in order, remove garbage, paint fences, bring fresh flowers.

In 2017, Pokrovskaya parental Saturday falls on October 7th. On this day, the Orthodox remember loved ones who have passed away.

Commemoration of the dead is one of the many traditions of Orthodoxy. It is aimed at maintaining the memory of people who left the earthly world and the liberation of the latter from the sins they once committed through prayers.

This day, which has a deep religious significance, is not relevant throughout our vast country. Intercession Saturday is celebrated only in some Russian regions - this has been the custom from time immemorial. These are Izhevsk, Kazan, Perm, Vyatka lands and those that belong directly to the diocese of the city of Yekaterinburg. Since this holiday does not have a fixed date, it happens that it coincides with another Christian church event - the day of memory of the Apostle John the Theologian. In such a situation, a prayer service called panafida is served not on Saturday, as it should be, but on the Sunday following it.

The emergence of the tradition of commemorating the dead on Intercession Saturday is closely connected with certain historical events. In fact, on this day it is customary to honor the memory of the soldiers who died in the battle near Kazan, who laid down their lives for their Motherland.

The mentioned battle took place back in 1552, on October 13, during the reign of the Russian state by Ivan the Terrible, who conquered the monastery of the Tatars with “fire and sword”. Many people gave their souls to the Lord under these circumstances. For this reason, the Church initiated the emergence of a locally revered tradition of commemorating the dead soldiers, and in specific dioceses. It should be noted that the symbol of the battle was a monument erected in honor of the Image of the Savior Not Made by Hands right at the place where the soldiers died - near the Kazan Kremlin.

Initially, the Church established the Intercession Parental Saturday in the same 16th century, 40 years after the bloody Kazan events. This happened through the efforts of the then acting Archbishop of Kazan and Astrakhan, St. Hermogenes. A representative of the clergy wrote a letter to Patriarch Job, in which he voiced a request to establish a specific and permanent date for the commemoration of the deceased Orthodox soldiers. The patriarch gave his blessing. Thus, a new day of remembrance for those who laid down their lives for the faith appeared.

Over time, Christians added to the veneration of the memory of the soldiers who died near Kazan the remembrance of all the dead in general: friends, parents, other relatives, etc. In this form, the tradition we are considering has survived to this day and will exist as long as Orthodoxy is alive in Russia . On the day of the Intercession Parents' Saturday in the churches of the dioceses mentioned above, panikhidas and memorial services are performed. And believers, after visiting temples, go to cemeteries in order to honor the memory of loved ones in their immediate vicinity.

Folk signs and customs of the holiday Pokrovskaya Parental Saturday:

From time immemorial, the Eastern Slavs converted to the Christian faith have been associated with specific folk omens. The most important of them was the belief that on the specified day there is a meeting of winter and autumn. If, on the eve of the Intercession of the Most Holy Theotokos, a snowball suddenly fell, people believed: it was a sign from above, testifying to the special patronage of the territory within which this happened.

There was such a saying among the people: “On Pokrov before lunch - summer, after lunch - winter.” And although it was directly related to the Feast of the Intercession, it contained a hint of the nature of the Day of Remembrance of the Dead. In villages and villages, grief for loved ones who had left the earthly world was strangely intertwined with entertainment.

According to custom, the last festivities fell on Pokrovsky Saturday, and after the Intercession, the time of Pokrovsky evenings and home gatherings began. Probably, historians believe, this tradition has its roots in the pre-Christian period of the Slavs, since the custom of commemorating the dead - it is known for certain - existed even among our pagan ancestors. They had special Saturdays, on which they remembered their loved ones who had passed away untimely.

On Intercession Parental Saturday, both funeral requiems and liturgies are served in churches. As you know, in order for the clergyman to mention your relative during the liturgy, you need to write the name of the deceased on a piece of paper and take it to the church, and then throw a note in an urn specially prepared for this, or give it directly to the priest.

Intercession parental Saturday in 2017: Earlier on this day, a festive table was laid in churches, at which one could taste consecrated food and wine. Now in the same place you can simply bless the food and wine brought with you, and the clergy distribute alms to the poor. After visiting the temple, you can go to the cemetery, clean the graves and bring flowers and sweets, or any other food there.

As you know, the festive table on the day of the Intercession Parental Saturday should be modest, and the dishes should be Lenten, since such a restriction demonstrates our grief for those who have died and whom we commemorate.

As noted: During the day of parental Saturday in temples and churches, priests perform memorial services, commemorating the deceased relatives and loved ones. After they are held, people come to the graves of relatives and dear people in order to rid them of garbage, paint fences, change flowers, and the like. Arriving from the cemetery, memorial meals are served. It is important to remember that on this day it is not advisable to eat excesses in dishes. It is best to set a modest table, emphasizing grief for all the dead.

The tradition of visiting the church for services and the graves of the dead in the northern parts of the country is very popular. Residents are in a hurry to put the graves in order before the frosts and snow fall, and often this happens the next day after the Intercession. The central regions do not honor Pokrovskaya Saturday so much, devoting time only to Dmitrievskaya Saturday, which is considered the most significant and obligatory event.
Belarus celebrates this day in a different way. She preliminarily prepares for the holiday on Friday, covering exclusively lean and light dishes for dinner, which cleanse the body for eating the heaviest food on the Sabbath meal.

Going to church:

What to bring to church on parental Saturday:

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

Bring food to church- “on the eve” is an ancient practice of performing common feasts, that is commemoration of the dead.

Traditionally, parishioners of the temple gathered a larger common table so that everyone together to remember the dead people close to their hearts.

Now the products that were collected, the church distributes at its discretion. A certain amount of food is used to meet the needs of the parishes, and the rest is distributed to the poor, who receive help from the church. If there is still food left, then it goes to the beggars in the street.

Bringing food to the temple on parental Sabbath, we serve our neighbor, and commemorate our dead.

Coming to the funeral liturgy, people prepare special notes in advance with the names of all deceased relatives or loved ones. Then these notes are thrown into prepared urns or given to the priest, who is passing by with a container for notes.

What to choose: Many doubt whether it is better to go to the cemetery or go to church? According to the church, going to the cemetery is quite acceptable if a person first attends a church service. It happens that people neglect church attendance and prefer simply visiting the graves of the dead. But in the afterlife, prayer and collective participation in the service is valued higher than cleaning the grave and communicating with the deceased at the monument.

It will be difficult for a person who has committed many bad deeds and who has not respected biblical laws to get into heaven. Only the prayer of his relatives or close people for the repose of the soul and its admission to paradise can help in this. Which speaks of the importance of first praying in the church, putting a candle for the repose, defending the service to the end, expressing gratitude to other parishioners and clergy, and only then come to the cemetery.

If in Pokrovskaya parent Saturday there is no way to visit a temple or a cemetery, you can pray for the repose of the deceased at home.

Prayer for the dead- this is our main and invaluable help to those who have departed to another world. They do not need, by and large, neither a coffin, nor 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 feels a great need for constant prayer, for she cannot do good deeds herself, with which she would be able to propitiate the Lord.

Celebration of Pokrovskaya Saturday:

It happens that a person, due to the will of thoroughness, fails to visit a church to pray for deceased acquaintances and relatives. Perhaps he is seriously ill, is in another country or in old age. Then it is really allowed to mention all the dead people.

However, it is important to know that after death people do not need holiday tables, alcoholic beverages or incredibly beautiful monuments, fences and bouquets of flowers. Since they are in a bodiless state, a person needs constant prayer, since he does not have the opportunity to independently perform good deeds.

And in this case, the main task of self-remembrance of loved ones is fervent prayer, which is directed to God. It is necessary to ask for forgiveness for loved ones who have left this world. It is very important to do this for people who have committed many bad deeds during their existence. It is very difficult for them to find peace if there is no sincere prayer of loved ones.

The most important prayer a prayer for the deceased parents, people who gave you life, and consequently, your children, and your grandchildren, and many future generations.

How to forget the gentle and caring hands of your mother, who worked for you day and night, not knowing sleep and rest, the hands that fed and cherished you, cherished as the most precious thing in the world. How to forget about the mother's heart that ached for you, in which you could always find a response. Yes, how can you forget your beloved mother, who, without hesitation, would throw herself into fire and water for you. Do not forget your parents, do not do bad deeds for the sake of blessed memory those who are no longer with you, but who in the next world will shed tears, seeing your sins. After all, parents are responsible for you even after their death. The Lord will ask them: why didn't they teach their child to reason?

Pray for your parents. Remember them, give alms. For it is better not to decorate the graves of the dead with flowers, but to distribute alms for the deceased parents and do good deeds in the name of their memory. Then their souls will be saved.

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the guardian of the orphans, the grieving refuge and the weeping comforter. I am running to you, orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to You: hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from the sighing of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, Merciful Lord, quench my grief about separation from my parent (my mother) (name) who gave birth and raised (who gave birth and raised) me (or with my parents who gave birth and raised me, (names of parents)), his soul ( ee), as if having departed to Thee, with true faith in Thee and with firm hope in Thy philanthropy and mercy, accept into Thy Kingdom of Heaven. I bow before Your holy will, it was taken away from me, and I ask You not to be taken away from His mercy and Your mercy. We know, Lord, as You are the Judge of this world, You punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even up to the third and fourth generation; but also merciful fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of the heart, I pray to Thee, Merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment the deceased, Your servant, my parent, who is unforgettable for me, but forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, created by him in knowledge and ignorance, in his life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and philanthropy, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Theotokos and all the saints, have mercy on him and deliver eternal torment. You, Merciful of fathers and children! Grant me all the days of my life, until my last breath, do not stop remembering my deceased parent in your prayers, and implore Thee, the righteous Judge, and put him in a place of light, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints, all sickness, sorrow and sighing will flee from nowhere. Merciful Lord, accept this warm prayer of mine this day about Your servant and reward him with Your recompense for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as if he had taught me first of all to lead You, your Lord, in reverence to pray to You, to trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses, keep your commandments; for your well-being about my spiritual success, for the warmth of our prayers for me before you and for all the gifts he asked me from you, reward him with your mercy, your heavenly blessings and joys in your eternal Kingdom. You, Thou art the God of mercies and generosity and philanthropy, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and now. And forever and ever. Amen."

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

It should be said here that after the death of a spouse, they usually do not marry for a year. If the spouses were married, then after the death of the husband, the wife must take his wedding ring for herself.

If she no longer marries and remains a widow until her death, then both wedding rings, as well as her wedding things, are placed in her coffin. If the husband buries his wife, then her wedding ring remains with him, and after his death they put it in his coffin, so that he would come to her in the Kingdom of Heaven and say: "I brought our rings with which the Lord God crowned us."

Lord, have mercy on my children who died in my womb! For my faith and my tears, for the sake of Your mercy, Lord, do not deprive them of Your Divine light!


This prayer is also suitable for stillborns.
Remember, Lover of mankind, Lord, the souls of Your departed servants, babies, who died in the womb of Orthodox mothers, accidentally from unknown actions, or from a difficult birth, or from some kind of negligence. Baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of ​​Thy bounties and save them by Thy inexpressible grace.”

How to commemorate the dead on Intercession Saturday:

In order for our deceased loved ones to feel our support and prayerful help, it is necessary to learn how to honor their eternal memory according to all the rules.

* You can not submit memorial notes for the liturgy, as well as order requiem services, magpies and other specific services "for the remembrance of the soul" about unbaptized persons and suicides. All others can be remembered without limitation.

* On the day of remembrance, one should behave quietly, modestly, in thoughts of the dead, in prayer for the salvation of their souls. You can and should visit the temple, defend the service.

*The most important thing for any deceased is a commemoration at the proskomedia. Thus the sins committed by the deceased are cleansed and redeemed by immersion in the blood of Christ, a great sacrifice. You should keep this in mind and submit a note on the day of commemoration to perform this ceremony.

* It is good to pray not only in the temple, but also at home. There are special prayers for the departed, so they need to be read - always with attention, reverence and meekness in the heart.

*According to folk tradition, on days such as Parental Protection Saturday, one should take food to the temple or bake pies, buns, cookies, buy sweets and distribute all these delicacies to acquaintances and strangers, especially children, neighbors. Yes, and by yourself, with your family, it is also useful to commemorate the deceased.

*A trip to the cemetery on the Day of Remembrance of the Dead was also mentioned earlier. One can only add that it is better not to leave treats on the grave, as this is contrary to Christian Orthodox tradition. It is better to bring fresh flowers or a special wreath of artificial plants there, clean up, communicate with the deceased in peace, pray for the repose of his soul.

Intercession parental Saturday,
Makes us think about the past
Remember all the dead, pray,
Wish them eternal paradise.
On this day, the soul becomes brighter,
Reminds me a lot of the past
We sadly think about
How we miss them.

Pray for the parents of the deceased
And give alms with a pure heart,
Do good deeds in their name
And then your soul will be saved.
On Intercession Memorial Saturday,
Place a candle for the repose of the departed soul,
Let prayer soothe you
May the Lord protect you from trouble.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, special dates have been set for commemoration of the dead, one of which is Intercession Parental Saturday. She is celebrated to the highly esteemed Protection of the Holy Mother of God with a non-transferable date - October 14. But the parental Saturday can be transferred if it coincides with other church celebrations.

The holiday was established in 1592 at the request of the Archbishop of Kazan and Astrakhan Hermogenes (after canonization - Hermogenes). In it, he applied for official permission, making it possible to commemorate the Russian soldiers who died during the capture of Kazan. That event in 1552 marked the end of the Kazan Khanate, which became the successor of the Golden Horde in the 15th century, and continued to raid Russian lands. Young Ivan the Terrible personally led the campaign, the third in a row only with his participation, but finally ended in victory.

Leading at that time Orthodox Church Patriarch Job contributed to the spread of religion in the territories conquered by Ivan the Terrible. He positively assessed the idea of ​​Hermogenes, who was firm in matters of faith, who also sought to Christianize the territory of the former khanate. Thus, locally venerable commemorations were introduced in a number of dioceses (Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Vyatka, Izhevsk). In the future, the tradition spread across the regions, and believers began to commemorate all relatives, relatives, and not just those who died during the capture of Kazan.

An interesting place from a historical point of view, which is directly related to the holiday, is the Church-monument to Orthodox soldiers. It was installed in Kazan on a holy place - a real grave of the heroes of that war. The names of all those who found a valiant death here are recorded in the ancient synodics, which they were able to preserve to this day.

The initiative to bury the fallen with special honors in a mass grave belonged to Tsar Ivan IV himself, impressed by the number of those who died in the confrontation. All those with a pectoral cross are buried in a mass grave. A monastery was founded here, later moved to a higher place due to floods. Now the pyramid-symbol is surrounded on all sides by the water of the Kazanka River.

For many East Slavic peoples, this day was considered a memorial day, although it sometimes had a different name - “Grandfathers”. IN Orthodox holiday Slavic ritualism coexists superbly: rituals different for different areas fixed it in the folk agricultural calendar. All works and worldly affairs had their own sequence, formed over the centuries. The period of weddings began with Intercession, preparation for winter, accompanied by generous treats and wild festivities, so a special time was chosen to commemorate the ancestors.

The Intercession Parental Saturday allows all believers to show their duty towards the departed. It is considered a good tradition to visit the resting places of loved ones and relatives, especially since local authorities organize events that allow you to visit city cemeteries without any problems.

Prayer, as a way of communication and liberation from sins, is possible both at home and as part of public worship. Memorial services for the dead are performed in churches, and finding time to visit which is a charitable deed.



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