How to properly celebrate parental Saturday Bashny.Net

“One can remember the dead only when one believes that they are alive” – Archpriest Alexander Tkachenko.

There are special days in the year when every Orthodox believer should remember loved ones who have passed away. And above all, their deceased parents. These days in the church calendar are called parental Saturday. They are created so that everyone can feel an eternal, invisible connection with those who are not around.





Orthodox Parent Saturdays Today "Site" prepared for you parental calendar for 2019. It contains several memorial days. Ecumenical (meatless) Saturday, March 2, completes the series - Dmitrievskaya, November 2.

Before we get to specific dates, let’s get to the point. commemoration? Maybe there is no need to attend the funeral services at all, since a person is not with us, then he does not need anything. Turns out it's not that simple. And to think in this way is a great sin.





We care for loved ones, visit them when they get to the hospital or are in detention. We bring food, we tell the news, we promise to come back, we do everything we can to help a person endure the hardships of incarceration. But the death of relatives is always shocking and baffling.

As paradoxical as it may sound, but only the death of loved ones helps to understand how much they were dear to us. But what do we do next? How can I express my love in the future? None of us have any experience of being outside the world. We don’t know what happens to people after they die.





Answers to disturbing questions are given by the Church: without faith in life after death, remembering the dead is a meaningless occupation. The Holy Fathers explain that biological death deprives the body, but liberates the soul. A person enters a yet unknown to us, but quite real world - "another world." And this transition is inevitable for everyone, regardless of personal desire. Everyone will meet the Lord.

This meeting can be joyful, or it can be painful and unbearable. It all depends on what kind of life a person lived and what actions he did. This knowledge reveals the simple truth – it is in our power to help the departed soul. One should live a righteous life and share it with the dead through prayer. This is the main principle of spiritual help.





Prayer for the dead We need as much as the dead. Prayer communication helps to solve earthly problems and the living. Here is how Saint Nicholas of Serbia explains the meaning of memorial days:

“When the Lord forgives sinners, their sins do not fall on the shoulders of their descendants. This is the meaning of church prayers for the dead, so that the Lord will forgive their sins and that punishment will not fall on their children. When we leave this life, our loved ones become closer to the Lord and can intercede for us before Him.





Therefore, every Orthodox Christian should take care of the departed loved ones. And this should be done in daily prayer and, most importantly, in universal prayer services. Then the power of prayer increases significantly.

Orthodox Parental Saturdays in 2019 It's a day like this.

Parent Saturdays in 2019

1. Opens a series of special memorial days Universal Parent Saturday. The memorial day falls on the Meat Desert Week (the week before Maslenitsa) 7 days before the beginning of Lent. In 2019, it's March 2. Orthodox believers pray for all relatives who have died before, as well as for those who left this world in the distant past.
   
   
   
   
2. During Great Lent There are three memorial Saturdays: Saturday of the second week of Lent – March 23, Saturday of the third week of Lent – March 30, Saturday of the fourth week of Lent – April 6. These days, Orthodox Christians primarily pray for their deceased parents. In the temples after the liturgy, a special funeral service is performed - a memorial service.
   
   
3. Parents' Day Radonitsa (ninth day of Easter) falls on May 7. This holiday is associated with the tradition of sharing Christ’s Resurrection with deceased relatives. The Church calls not to grieve for the temporary separation from loved ones, but to rejoice in the victory over death received in exchange for the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ.
   
   
   
   
4. Remembrance of the dead soldiers - May 9.
5. Trinity Universal Parental Saturday It's June 15th. On this day you need to visit not only the service, but also the cemetery. Graves of deceased relatives are cleaned, decorated with greenery. It is strictly forbidden to bring food and drink alcohol there. It is better to give food to those in need or bring it to the temple.
   
   
   
   
6. November 2nd is celebrated Dimitriev Parental Saturday. In the temples, memorial services, lithiums are performed. After the service, you need to visit the dead at the cemetery, and in the evening it is advisable to gather relatives for dinner and commemorate loved ones with prayer. The memorial meal should be modest, without alcohol.
   
   
   
   

The main task of the believer in memorial - it's a sincere prayer. Some worldly affairs and hard work should be put aside. The holiday should be celebrated in a clean house, so clean the house in advance, prepare food for tomorrow. Go to worship in the morning and give charity. After the service, go to the cemetery, clean the graves.

If you can't attend church services on parental Saturday, go to church on Friday night. At this time, a great memorial service is served - parastasis. On Friday, you can submit notes for the dead for Saturday, order a mortuary, leave food for a memorial service. Donation can be made to the church circle, the temple has many needs, not only food.





If you cannot attend a service, try to recite a prayer at work or at home. This does not require much time, the main thing is the desire to give spiritual attention to the deceased. You can remember in your own words, or you can read prayers from the prayer book. Repose canon You can find it in advance and print it out.

“Peace, Lord, the souls of your dead servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all their sins, free and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.” Amen.





“Lord, hear our prayers for the parents who left this land and went to your kingdom, where eternal life is...” Only You can comfort the souls of our mourners. Please forgive all the sins of the departed and give him a life of joy and happiness in Heaven. I weep and pray for the soul of the servant of God (name) with faith and hope for comfort.

Don't leave me alone in grief, help me overcome the loss. Let him forgive all his sins, let the soul rest and find eternal life. I will pray for him and praise your name, our Lord. For you are our Father, and only you know when our last hour on earth will strike, to take after our souls into the kingdom of heaven. May we find eternity with you. Forever. Amen.





Prayer for the rest of our children: “Our Father, Lord, we pray to You!” In heaven my son is with you. Please give him comfort and care. Do not leave him alone, take away all his sorrows and torments. By your will you have given me a child, and you have also taken him into your kingdom. So light him with your love and care!

Purify his soul from despondency, for now he is with you forever. You are our King, our Creator, only by Your will we walk through sinful land, and all of us will give our souls to heaven. But before my time has come, take care of my child like all your children, for only You can give us comfort. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.





We do not leave our loved ones even after their death. By remembering them in our daily prayers, we bring them back into our lives. Parental Saturday is a manifestation of our love for the departed.

God loves us all. When we pray for the dead, we pray not so much for them as with them. Bright memory and eternal peace to all who passed away, they are in our hearts forever, and may the Lord keep your family.

Show the article to your friends on social networks, because this is the information that everyone should know about.