Introduction.
At present, the Russian Orthodox Church still occupies a leading place in our country in terms of the number of adherents of religion, although since 1917 it has been separated from the state. The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) is an independent church. It is headed by a patriarch who is elected by the local council for life.
An Orthodox Christian during his life is supposed to perform a fairly large range of various kinds of services, that is, duties in accordance with the canons and customs of his faith. In recent years, the number of people receiving baptism has increased, they seal their marriage with a church wedding, and see off their loved ones on their last journey in accordance with Orthodox customs.
Along with this, the composition of the service is increasing, it becomes more and more complex and diverse. How should you fulfill your Christian duty, properly prepare for communion with the Holy Sacraments, what is their ritual and spiritual side?
The basis of the Orthodox teaching is the Niko-Tsargrad Symbol of Faith, approved at the first two Ecumenical Councils in 325 and 381. These are ideas about the trinity of God, the incarnation of God, redemption, resurrection from the dead, baptism, the afterlife, and so on. All the main provisions of the faith are declared to be divine and eternal.
Sacraments of Christianity.
Sacraments - cult actions, during which “the invisible grace of God is communicated to the believers,” that is, the revival of religious consciousness occurs by reminding the content and meaning of the main provisions of the doctrine.
The Orthodox and Catholic Churches recognize seven sacraments: baptism, communion, repentance (confession), chrismation, marriage, blessing of oil, priesthood.
Initially, there were only two sacraments in Christianity - baptism and communion. All seven were officially recognized only in 1279 at the cathedral in Lyon. All sacraments are borrowed from pre-Christian cults, which received some specific features in Christianity.
Baptism is one of the main sacraments and symbolizes the acceptance of a person into the Christian church. In many pagan religions, the ritual of washing with water was practiced as cleansing from evil spirits. Christianity interprets baptism as death for a sinful life and rebirth for a spiritual, holy life. In the Orthodox Church, the baby is dipped in water three times, in the Catholic Church, they are simply poured over with water. The Orthodox tradition says that water should be free of impurities. Heating is also considered an admixture, therefore, if baptism takes place in winter, according to the strict requirements of the canon, the water should be at natural (outdoor) temperature. At baptism, naming takes place. Usually the name was chosen by the priest based on the names of the saints to whom a particular calendar day is dedicated. An unscrupulous priest could give the baby a name that is already out of use or sounds strange to his contemporaries.
Communion , or the Holy Eucharist (“the sacrifice of fortune”), occupies an important place in the Christian cult. According to legend, this ceremony was established by Christ himself at the Last Supper. In memory of this event, believers partake of the sacrament - bread and wine, believing that they have tasted the body and blood of Christ. The origins of this rite lie in ancient beliefs and are based on sympathetic magic (by eating part of an object to give oneself the qualities of this object). For the first time, the rite of eating bread and wine as a way of communion with divine powers arose in Ancient Greece. The early Christians did not know this rite. It was only in 787 that the Council of Nicaea officially enshrined this sacrament in the Christian cult.
Repentance imputed to the Orthodox and Catholics as a mandatory regular action. Confession is the strongest way to control the thoughts and behavior of a believer. As a result of confession and repentance, forgiveness of sins should follow. Forgiveness of sins is the prerogative of the priest, who imposes punishment or offers a way to correct sins (excommunication - full or temporary, the instruction to fast, pray for a certain time). In early Christianity, confession was public - the entire community judged the degree of the believer's wrongdoing. Only from the 12th century was a secret confession introduced, in which a believer confesses his sins to one priest. The secret of confession is guaranteed. The procedure for confession is different for Orthodox Christians and Catholics. Catholics confess in closed booths, while they do not see the priest, and the priest - the confessing. Thus, the priest speaks to the “soul” of a person, not paying attention to his appearance, which can cause different feelings. An Orthodox believer confesses in the vestibule of the church. The priest covers his head with a veil and lays his hands on it. The identity of the confessing person is not a secret for him, as well as for the others present.
The problem of keeping the secret of confession has always been difficult to solve. Violation of the secret of confession in order to “prevent a greater evil” was allowed in cases when information about anti-government actions was disclosed in confession. In 1722, Peter the Great issued a decree, according to which all priests were obliged to inform the authorities about every revealed case of rebellious sentiments, plans against the sovereign, and other things like that. The clergy readily complied with this edict. On the other hand, the church has arrogated to itself the right to resolve issues of forgiveness for antisocial acts - murder, theft, etc.
Following baptism in the Orthodox Church, anointing ... The human body is smeared with aromatic oil (myrrh), with the help of which the grace of God is supposedly transmitted. The ancient magical origin of this rite is beyond doubt. Anointing as a dedication was already practiced in Ancient Egypt and among the Jews. There is not a word about chrismation in the New Testament, but it was introduced into the Christian cult, apparently taking into account its psychological impact.
Marriage as a sacrament was established only in the XIV century. This rite in Christian churches is one of the most beautiful and solemn acts designed to have a deep emotional impact. Many unbelievers go to this ceremony because of its beauty and solemnity.
Blessing of oil is performed over a sick person and consists in smearing him with wooden oil - oil, which is supposedly sacred. The Orthodox Church believes that with the help of this rite, healing from diseases is accomplished. Catholics spend it as a blessing for a dying person. The connection with ancient magical rites can be traced in the ceremony of blessing - seven apostolic epistles are read, seven ektenias (forgiveness) are pronounced, and seven anointing of the patient with oil is performed.
The ordinance of the priesthood occurs when a person enters the clergy. The bishop transfers "grace" to the new priest by laying his hands on his head. In a distant form, this rite resembles the initiation rites in ancient times. Various closed societies (knightly orders, freemasons) have carried out and are carrying out similar actions. The solemnity of the ceremony is intended to highlight the role of the priests in fulfilling the mission of the church. The initiate takes an oath of selfless service and receives appropriate vestments.
Christian rites.
Prayer ... The church requires constant prayer, turning to God or the saints for help. It is stated that everyone's prayer will be heard and fulfilled according to his faith. The roots of prayer are in magic spells with which the ancient man summoned spirits for help or conjured to leave him. Some Christian prayers are simply borrowed from earlier religions - from the ancient Greeks, Romans, Jews. The obligation of daily prayer to God with the appropriate canonical text is aggravated by the fact that God understands only a certain language used by the church. For Catholics it is Latin, for Orthodox Christians it is Church Slavonic. Therefore, usually after the obligatory prayer initiation, the believer turns to God in his own language and converses with him “without protocol”.
Icons. Orthodox and Catholic churches attach great importance to cult of icons ... In early Christianity, there was a fierce debate about icons, which were regarded as remnants of paganism and idolatry. Indeed, the remnants of fetishism are preserved in the cult of icons. This is manifested in the rules that regulate the care of the icon and stipulate the cases of its destruction. It is impossible to burn or destroy the icon in any other way. If it has fallen into decay and because of this it introduces more into temptation than gives it holiness, it must be let on the river water early in the morning - God himself will dispose of her fate. This is exactly what they did with the idol of the god Perun in Kiev, when Prince Vladimir and his squad first baptized their subjects. Fetish idols had to work miracles, the same is required of icons - they “cry”, become covered with “bloody sweat”, “by themselves” brighten or darken, etc. In Catholicism, there are more sculptural images of deities and saints, and in Orthodoxy it is icon painting that is the leading religious art. Therefore, there are more wonderful stories associated with icons in Orthodoxy.
Cross. Cross worship is the most varied rite. Churches and priests' clothes are crowned with a cross. It is worn on the body by believers; any ceremony cannot do without it. According to the church, the cross is revered as a symbol of the martyrdom of Christ crucified on the cross. Before Christians, the cross was revered as a sacred symbol in Ancient Egypt and Babylon, India and Iran, New Zealand and South America. The ancient Aryan tribes revered a rotating cross - the swastika (the symbol of Khors, the sun god). But the early Christians did not revere the cross, they considered it a pagan symbol. Only from the 4th century in Christianity the image of the cross is approved. So it is still not completely clear why the Catholics have a four-pointed cross, and the Orthodox have a six-pointed one. Eight-pointed, eleven- and eighteen-pointed crosses are also revered.
Orthodox traditions and rituals are so closely intertwined with ancient Slavic traditions that it is almost impossible to separate one from the other. This is especially true for funeral rites. Remember: always, if someone died in the house, they hang up the mirrors. But few people know that this is not an Orthodox tradition, but a pagan one. The father will call such an action superstition, although he will not judge strictly. After all, our roots and connection with ancestors are so strong that it is easier to close our eyes to something than to try to completely eradicate.
And yet, you need to follow a certain order of actions in order to lead a relative on the last journey in an Orthodox way, without paganism and your own conjectures.
Preparing for the funeral
Immediately after death, the body is washed by reciting prayers. They put on clean, better new clothes, put on a pectoral cross, which the deceased wore during his lifetime. The deceased is placed in a coffin, the body is sprinkled with holy water. The arms are crossed on the chest, it is imperative that the right one is on top of the left.
A whisk is placed on the forehead, a cross is next to it, an icon is placed in the hands (the face of the Savior to a man, the Mother of God to a woman). Then they read the canon and light a candle or an icon lamp in the house.
After death, the Sorokoust is ordered in the temple, this is the name of the church commemoration for the repose. It seems that this is due to the way the Orthodox are baptized - only with the right hand. It is said that everything that comes from the right hand is divine, and from the left is demonic. The light of a candle or lamp should be on all the time while the deceased is at home. It is believed that after leaving the body, the soul can be afraid of the darkness, and the light of the flame will calm it down.
Speaking frankly, the Orthodox funeral ceremony begins during their lifetime. The fact that our grandmothers “gathered themselves for funerals” is very Christian: the Church approves when a person prepares for death. This means that he realizes the value of life and with humility accepts his inevitable fate. Therefore, it is not surprising that the Orthodox immediately after the death of a relative should have at hand new clothes, icons, a crown, and candles. It is understood that all this was prepared in advance.
Funeral service and burial
The funeral service is not just a prayer for the soul of the deceased. This is the forgiveness of all sins that the deceased repented of. By the way, this is the origin of the tradition of inviting a priest to his deathbed while a person is still alive, conscious and can repent. Those sins that the deceased did not have time to confess and ask for forgiveness for them, the father cannot let go, they "remain with the deceased."
There are many prohibitions, which, nevertheless, are often violated in our country. For example, you cannot invite an orchestra to a funeral, cremate a body, bury and perform a funeral service on Easter or Christmas. The funeral service takes place in the church, conducted by an authorized person - a priest. The funeral and burial rites are as follows:
The coffin with the body is brought to the church or chapel at the cemetery, placed in front of the altar."Eternal Memory" is proclaimed, the priest reads a prayer, forgives the deceased sins. At this time, relatives hold candles and pray for the soul of a loved one. When the priest's prayer is over, the relatives come up to say goodbye, kiss the icon or cross, go around the coffin. And here is another common superstition: the coffin should not be carried by close relatives. At an Orthodox funeral, it is the relatives who carry the body of the deceased, it is a sacred duty and a great honor. After that, the coffin is closed, immersed in a hearse and sent to the cemetery.
Before the grave, the priest reads a prayer. Relatives throw a handful of earth on the coffin. The burial ceremony has been completed.
After that, an Orthodox cross is erected. They place it not like a traditional monument, but at the feet, so that the face of the deceased is turned to it. Of course, it is not always possible to hold a funeral on the third day after death or invite a priest: it is paid, and the amount is far from symbolic. Therefore, the funeral service is usually ordered “in absentia”. In this case, the priest himself conducts the necessary rituals and gives his relatives a handful of earth from the funeral service. This earth will need to be poured onto the grave as soon as possible.
Orthodox commemoration
After the funeral, a memorial meal is held. If possible, relatives can order a commemoration in a cafe, if not, they commemorate at home. Usually, while the closest relatives go to the cemetery, someone remains to cook. For example, you can ask neighbors for help.
The commemoration is held immediately after the funeral, that is, on the third day after death. If they were buried earlier, they do not remember them after the burial, they wait for the third day. If later, then on the day of burial. On 9, 40 days and the anniversary are also commemorated. By the way, it is prescribed to give alms, pray and perform all sorts of godly deeds for all forty days after death - all this is also considered a commemoration.
The meal should not be "magnificent", the funeral is not a reason for a banquet. It is forbidden to listen to music, but most importantly, there should be no alcohol at the commemoration! Let it be simple dishes that are quickly prepared, because it is better to spend a commemoration in prayer or in remembrance of a loved one, than bothering about the housework. For example, traditionally Orthodox Christians commemorate the departed with kutya. This is a simple porridge that tastes good and, as the holy fathers say, does not require practically any worldly fuss.
Chapter:
RUSSIAN KITCHEN
Traditional Russian dishes
Page 73 of the section
Russian traditions
ABOUT ORTHODOX HOLIDAYS
Orthodox Christian holidays are days of celebrations in honor and memory of events related to the life of Jesus Christ, his mother the Virgin Mary and the Saints especially revered by the Church.
With the birth of Jesus Christ two thousand years ago, the Christian religion appeared. From the Nativity of Christ our chronology is conducted (our era). In Ancient Russia, the year, according to pagan customs, began in the spring. With the introduction of Christianity in Russia, the Orthodox Church adopted the Julian calendar and the era from the "creation of the world", which took place 5508 years before the birth of Christ, and postponed the beginning of the year to September 1.
According to an old custom, Tsar Peter I also met 7208 New Year on September 1. And in December 7208, the tsar's decree was issued: "From now on, the summer should be reckoned not from September 1, but from January 1, and not from the" creation of the world ", but from the" Nativity of Christ. " So 1700 in Russia began on January 1.
Back in the IV century. n. e. Christian holidays were marked according to the Julian calendar introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC. e. At the same time, the onset of Easter should have been calculated according to the first spring full moon, and the beginning of spring was considered March 21, when day is equal to night. But according to the Julian calendar, the vernal equinox receded by one day every 128 years and in the 16th century migrated to 11 March.
This complicated Easter calculations, because the rolling holidays - the entire Easter cycle - depend on the date of Easter, and in 1582 the head of the Catholic Church, Pope Gregory XIII, made a calendar reform.
According to the Gregorian calendar, the vernal equinox was returned to March 21st and is no longer behind that date. For this, unlike the Julian calendar, the last years of the centuries are considered non-leap years, which are not divisible by 400 (1900 is not a leap year, but 2000 is a leap year).
The Gregorian calendar was gradually adopted in Protestant Europe and many other countries.
Russia switched to it only after the decree of January 24, 1918, but state Russia is not churchly. The Russian Orthodox Church did not accept this calendar reform and celebrates holidays in the so-called old style. By the XX century. the difference between the old (Julian calendar) and the new (Gregorian) style came up in 13 days, therefore, for example, Christmas is celebrated in our country not on December 25, as in most countries, but on January 7.
The main Christian holiday is the Bright Resurrection of Christ, called Easter.
This is followed by the twelve great, so-called Twelve Feasts. By the time of celebration, they are divided into fixed (non-rolling), which are celebrated every year on the same days of the month, and movable (rolling), falling on different days of the month, depending on the time of Easter celebration - the first Sunday after the spring full moon, in the period from April 4 to May 8.
The date of the celebration of Easter is determined by Easter and is the basis for establishing the dates of the rolling holidays, which include the Ascension of the Lord, the Day of the Holy Trinity, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday).
| Year | Orthodox Easter |
Catholic Easter |
| 2006 | Apr 23 | Apr 16 |
| 2007 | 08 Apr | |
| 2008 | Apr 27 | 23 Mar |
| 2009 | Apr 19 | 12 Apr |
| 2010 | 04 Apr | |
| 2011 | Apr 24 | |
| 2012 | Apr 15 | 08 Apr |
| 2013 | 05 May | 31 mar |
| 2014 | Apr 20 | |
| 2015 | 12 Apr | 05 Apr |
| 2016 | May 01 | 27 Mar |
| 2017 | Apr 16 | |
| 2018 | 08 Apr | 01 Apr |
| 2019 | Apr 28 | Apr 21 |
| 2020 | Apr 19 | 12 Apr |
| 2021 | 02 May | 04 Apr |
| 2022 | Apr 24 | Apr 17 |
| 2023 | Apr 16 | 09 Apr |
| 2024 | 05 May | 31 mar |
| 2025 | Apr 20 | |
| 2026 | 12 Apr | 05 Apr |
| 2027 | 02 May | 28 Mar |
| 2028 | Apr 16 | |
| 2029 | 08 Apr | 01 Apr |
| 2030 | Apr 28 | Apr 21 |
| 2031 | Apr 13 | |
| 2032 | 02 May | 28 Mar |
| 2033 | Apr 24 | Apr 17 |
| 2034 | 09 Apr | |
| 2035 | Apr 29 | 25 Mar |
| 2036 | Apr 20 | Apr 13 |
| 2037 | 05 Apr | |
| 2038 | Apr 25 | |
| 2039 | Apr 17 | Apr 10 |
| 2040 | 06 May | 01 Apr |
| 2041 | Apr 21 | |
| 2042 | Apr 13 | 06 Apr |
| 2043 | 03 May | 29 mar |
| 2044 | Apr 24 | Apr 17 |
| 2045 | 09 Apr | |
| 2046 | Apr 29 | 25 Mar |
| 2047 | Apr 21 | Apr 14 |
| 2048 | 05 Apr | |
| 2049 | Apr 25 | Apr 18 |
Calculating the day of Orthodox Easter in any year(dates will be obtained in the new style)
Easter day in any year can be determined by the formula (4 + c + d) April or, if the sum is more than 30, then [(4 + c + d) - May 30].
Calculating the number c for a formula
To get the number With, the number of the year must be divided with the remainder by 19
, then multiply the resulting remainder of division by 19
, add 15
and divide the resulting amount with the remainder by 30
.
Number With will be equal to the remainder of this division.
Calculating the number d for a formula
Number d is equal to the remainder of the division of the number (2a + 4b + 6c + 6) by the number 7
,
where:
a- equal to the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 4;
b- equal to the remainder of dividing the number of the year by 7;
With- calculated earlier.
Twelve rolling holidays (new style)
The Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday)- the last Sunday before Easter.
Ascension of the Lord- 40th day after Easter.
Day of the Holy Trinity- 50th day after Easter.
Twelve non-passing holidays (new style)
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin- September 21.
Introduction to the temple of the Most Holy Theotokos- December 4th.
Annunciation to the Most Holy Theotokos- April 7.
Nativity- Jan. 7.
Presentation of the Lord- February, 15.
Baptism of the Lord (Epiphany)- January 19.
Transfiguration- August 19.
Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord- September 27.
Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos- August 28.
Great Holidays (New Style)
Circumcision of the Lord (Civil New Year Old Style)- January 14th.
Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos- October 14.
Nativity of John the Baptist (Baptist)- July 7.
Beheading of John the Baptist- 11 September.
Of the Holy Primate Apostles Peter and Paul- July, 12.
On the twelve and great holidays, Orthodox people did not work. Young and old knew that these days should be dedicated to rest and to God, and they sacredly observed this Christian rule. Work these days was considered a sin and condemned. Sometimes this rest lasted several days: on Christmastide - from January 7 to 18, on Easter - a week, on Trinity - 3-7 days. On some holidays, work was allowed only at certain times, for example, only before lunch, or certain types of work were prohibited.
All holidays are important and significant for the Orthodox Church. But among them there are those who are especially beloved and revered by the people, who have entered their soul and memory forever.
NATIVITY
Jan. 7
The Nativity of Christ is one of the brightest Orthodox holidays, which has always been celebrated with special reverence, beautiful rituals and traditions.
This is how the Gospel tells about the birth of Jesus Christ. The Roman emperor Augustus issued an order to conduct a national census of the population of Palestine. Every Jew had to register in the city where his ancestors came from. Mary and Joseph came from the family of King David, and David's hometown was Bethlehem.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, all houses, inns and hotels were overcrowded with people who had come to the census, so Mary and Joseph stopped for the night outside the city in a cave (den), where the shepherds drove their cattle in bad weather. In this empty cold cave at night, the Blessed Virgin Mary gave birth to a son. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him on the straw in the nursery where the cattle feed is placed.
The shepherds of Bethlehem, who guarded their flocks in the field at night, were the first to know about the birth of Christ. Suddenly the Angel of God appeared before them, and they heard: "Do not be afraid, I proclaim to you a great joy that will be to all people: for now a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, was born in the city of David."
On the same night, the wise men - learned men saw in the sky in the east a new special star, announcing the birth of Christ. This star showed the Magi the way to the Child, and they brought him gold, incense and myrrh (fragrant oil) as gifts. With their gifts the Magi showed that the born Infant Jesus is both a king, and God, and a man. They brought gold to Him as a king (in the form of tribute, tribute), frankincense - as God (frankincense is used in worship), and myrrh - as a person who must die (the dead were anointed and rubbed with fragrant oils).
The first to celebrate Christmas were Christian communities in Rome. The earliest news of this holiday dates back to 354, but it was legalized at the Council of Ephesus in 431. along with Christianity, the holiday began to spread in Russia. The Christmas celebration has preserved to this day many customs and rituals associated with the manger, the Star of Bethlehem, and the gifts of the Magi.
The holiday is preceded by a long Christmas fast, and on its last day, Christmas Eve (January 6), believers do not eat until the first star appears, called Christmas in memory of the star of Bethlehem. After the evening service in the church, all family members gathered at a table festively decorated with spruce twigs, candles ("stars"), ribbons. The table was covered with hay under the tablecloth.
Obligatory dishes on Christmas Eve were sochivo (kutia), that is, boiled cereals with honey, and boiled-ups from dried fruits and berries. The rest of the lean dishes (as a rule, twelve) used to be served cold.
On this day, children stay up late and sit at the table with adults. While waiting for the star, everyone reads the evening prayer together, the elders tell the children about the birth of Jesus Christ, about the wise men who bring gifts.
At the end of the Christmas Eve feast (a great tradition!), All family members exchange gifts prepared in advance. And the children knew several centuries ago that on Christmas Day old Saint Nicholas (Nicholas the Wonderworker) would bring every child a present. Christmas night ends and the long-awaited holiday begins.
Christmas is the most colorful, bright and merry holiday. Streets and squares by Christmas were always in festive decoration, fireworks were arranged everywhere, bells were ringing. An indispensable attribute of the holiday is Christmas trees decorated with stars, lights, balls. According to the Christmas custom, in cities and villages, carol-men (Christos) went to their homes, praised the birth of the Savior with carols - the birth of the Savior, wished the owners health and wealth.
Carollers made painted paper stars up to half a meter in advance and nativity scenes - boxes in the form of a cave with candles inside and wooden figures, moving which they played scenes of the birth of Jesus Christ. And in every house they were generously presented with money, pies, gingerbread and other delicacies.
They thoroughly prepared for Christmas feasts long before the arrival of the holiday. After a six-week fast, when the main food was vegetables, cereals, fish, a large amount of meat products, mainly pork, was prepared for Christmas.
Traditional Christmas dishes - aspic or stuffed pig, baked ham, stuffed poultry (goose, turkey, etc.). On the festive table there were plenty of cold and hot dishes of pork and beef, poultry and game, homemade sausages and smoked meats, jellies, hot soups (noodles with giblets or meat, chicken broth, etc.), pies with meat, mushrooms, eggs, rice.
The choice of drinks is rich and varied - homemade beer and home brew, honey and berry kvass, fruit drinks, light and strong honey, vodka, liqueurs, liqueurs and wines, sbiten. They baked small confectionery: gingerbread, buns with nuts, poppy seeds, honey, carols with various fillings (lean on Christmas Eve and soft on Christmas Eve), cookies in the form of cows, cockerels, etc. In rich families, up to 40 different dishes were served (according to the number of days Nativity Lent).
From Christmas to Epiphany Christmas Eve (from 8 to 18 January) there are holidays - Christmastide. Merry and joyful this time! Riding triplets, sledges, festive treats for guests, visiting close and distant relatives, Christmas fortune-telling, carnival processions, masquerades, mummers ... You can't just list what the Orthodox people amused and had fun with!
During the Christmas holidays, people strive to be better, as this is the time of good deeds. On Christmastide it was always customary to do good: to help the sick and orphans, to give alms, to give gifts to the elderly, prisoners, for Christmas is a holiday of expectation of a miracle, a time of hope, no matter what period of his life a person is experiencing at this time.
Circumcision by the Lord
(OLD NEW YEAR)
14 january
On the eighth day after birth, the Child Christ was given the name Jesus ("Savior"), predicted to the Virgin Mary during the Annunciation by the Angel of God. On the same day, the ancient Jewish rite of circumcision was performed over the newborn. In Christianity, this rite is replaced by the sacrament of baptism and the name of the newborn is given at baptism.
On this day, the Orthodox celebrate two more holidays - the day of remembrance of St. Basil the Great (330-379) and the New Year in the old style.
The ecumenical teacher Saint Basil the Great (Basil of Caesarea) was the archbishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, a famous theologian, creator of monastic rules and a fighter against the Arian heresy (the false teachings of the Alexandrian priest Arius). He left behind many church scriptures, prayers and church rules.
The eve of the holiday (January 13) is called Vasiliev's evening. Among the northwestern Slavs, he received the name "generous", "generous". That evening the very best was taken out of the storerooms. Since St. Basil the Great was considered the patron saint of pigs, this holiday was also popularly called pork. By this time, cattle were slaughtered, pigs were stabbed so that the holidays were hearty, meaty: "A pig and a boletus for Vasilyev's evening."
A traditional New Year's meal was a whole roasted pig, as well as stuffed pork head, cold and hot pork dishes, pies, pancakes. Kutya was also served. Unlike kutya on Christmas Eve ("Lenten") and Epiphany ("hungry"), she was "rich", cream, butter, almonds, and walnuts were added to it.
Basically, the festive table in terms of the assortment of snacks, dishes and drinks was similar to the Christmas one, and the feast was just as plentiful and cheerful: “As you celebrate the New Year, you will spend the whole year”.
EPIPHANY.
EPIPHANY
January 19
The holiday is established in memory of the baptism of the thirty-year-old Jesus Christ by the prophet John the Baptist (Baptist) in the Jordan River.
The baptism of John meant: as the body is washed and cleansed by the waters of the Jordan, so the soul of a person is cleansed from sins.
The day before, on January 18, a ceremony of water consecration is held in the temples, and on January 19, an ancient rite is performed, the so-called "procession of the cross to the Jordan" to nearby rivers, lakes, ponds, wells and other bodies of water.
It is believed that water after consecration has healing properties, gives "health and blessing." Believers keep baptismal water all year round, take it during times of mental and physical ailment, sprinkle it on houses, outbuildings, etc.
This feast is also called the Epiphany, since on this day God revealed (showed) himself to people in the persons of the Most Holy Trinity: when the incarnate Son of God was baptized in Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove, and the voice of God the Father came from heaven: “This there is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. "
On the eve of the holiday, there is a strict fast. On Epiphany Eve (the eve of the Epiphany), as on Christmas Eve, they served kutya without butter.
Many folk customs and traditions are associated with Epiphany Eve. It was believed that performing the rituals would help preserve health (they collected Epiphany snow for washing), save livestock, and get a rich harvest. And, of course, this is the time of fortune-telling:
“Once on the Epiphany evening, the girls wondered:
They threw a slipper out of the gate, taking it off their feet ... "
On the feast of Epiphany itself, after the procession, a home festive feast begins. On the street these days there are usually strong "Epiphany" frosts, and on the table - infusions and mead, hot, straight from the oven, meat cabbage soup, various meat and fish dishes, pies, pancakes, sbiten and tea in a samovar ...
With his baptism, Jesus Christ laid the foundation for the church sacrament of baptism, which is a prerequisite for believers to belong to the Church of God, that is, only a person who has been baptized can be a member of the Church. Baptism is called "spiritual birth", explaining that only from the moment of baptism begins the true spiritual life of a person.
In the first centuries, adults were baptized - at an age when the decision to be baptized is made consciously and with conviction. Then they began to baptize, as a rule, in infancy. At baptism, a person is given a name in honor of a saint, it is believed that he prays for the betrothed and helps all his life, therefore he is called the heavenly patron.
The day of the sacrament of baptism is celebrated with a home holiday - christening. The closest people come to see the baptized baby and parents, bring gifts and treats. Previously, the most honored guest at the feast was the midwife, and for the festive table they always prepared baptismal kutya - "grandma's porridge" and baked "grandma's pies". Unlike the usual baptismal kutya, they cooked with milk, cream, and a lot of butter was added.
Nowadays, the tradition of serving baptismal porridge has been forgotten, the porridge is supposedly not a festive dish. You can, of course, come to terms with this. But for those who want to revive this custom, we advise you to cook Guryev-style porridge, rice porridge with raisins, honey, and nuts.
THE MEETING OF THE LORD
February, 15
The Old Slavonic word "meeting" means "meeting".
The holiday symbolizes the meeting of the Old and New Testaments, the old and the new world. For the first time, the Jerusalem Church began to celebrate it in the IV century, and from the V century. he became common Christian.
According to the gospel testimony, on the 40th day after the birth of Jesus Christ, Mary and Joseph brought him, according to the law of Moses about the firstborn, for dedication to God in the Jerusalem temple, taking two doves as a sacrifice.
The righteous and pious Elder Simeon lived in Jerusalem at that time and was awaiting the coming of the Savior. He was foretold by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he saw the Savior. Simeon waited a long time for the fulfillment of his promise, according to legend, he lived for about 300 years.
On the day when the parents brought the Infant Jesus to the temple, Simeon immediately approached them, took the Infant in his arms and turned to God with the words: “Now you let Thy servant go, Master, according to Thy word, in peace; for my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples, the light for the illumination of the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel. " Righteous Simeon is called the God-receiver, that is, he who took the Savior into his own hands.
The pious prophetess Anna was in the temple, she also recognized the Savior in the Child. This event, when Saints Simeon and Anna met the Infant Christ brought by the Mother of God and Joseph in the church, is celebrated by the Orthodox Church as one of the great holidays.
The people believed that winter meets summer at Meeting, and the weather was used to judge the future harvest: "At Meeting in the morning, snow is the harvest of early bread, if at noon - medium, if in the evening - late."
MASLENITSA
This holiday has come to us since pagan times, when they arranged the farewell to winter and the welcome of spring in honor of the Sun God Yarila (pancake is the symbol of the Sun).
In Christianity, Maslenitsa is the week preceding Lent and begins 8 weeks before Easter. It was adopted by the Orthodox Church as a religious holiday called "Cheese, or Meat" week (week).
During Cheese Week, you can eat cheese, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs - everything except meat. This helps to make a smooth transition from a meat-eater to the upcoming Lent.
On holidays, flour dishes were prepared in large quantities: pancakes, pancakes, pancakes (always in butter and eggs), as well as pies and pies with cottage cheese, eggs, fish and other fillings. On Shrovetide, it was customary to bake yarn products, that is, fried in a large amount of fat - brushwood, donuts, etc.
Not a single Shrovetide feast is complete without pancakes. “Damn it is round, like a real generous sun. The pancake is red and hot, like a hot all-warming sun, the pancake is watered with melted butter - this is a memory of the sacrifices made to powerful stone idols. A pancake is a symbol of the sun, red days, good harvests, good marriages and healthy children ”- such an enthusiastic hymn to this culinary masterpiece was written by AI Kuprin.
And how many funny proverbs and sayings are associated with them:
"Not butter without pancake",
"Not life, but Shrovetide",
"Butter pancake climbs into your mouth",
"Where there are pancakes, it's okay, where there are pancakes, here we are",
"Shrovetide luncheon, money for money",
"Not everything for the cat is Shrovetide, there will be Great Lent",
"Damn it is not a wedge, it will not split the belly" ...
And it is not surprising that an incredible amount of pancakes was eaten on Shrovetide. And not only them: Shrovetide has always been distinguished by a plentiful table, they did not overeat either at Christmas or at Easter.
Shrovetide is truly a national holiday - for rich and poor, adults and children. Cheerful, mischievous, bold, riotous! They said: "Eat until you hiccup, drink until you dandruff, sing until you die, dance until you drop." On the streets all Maslenitsa days were arranged all kinds of fun: skiing from the icy mountains, in troikas, snowball battles, taking snow towns, fist fights, festivities with songs, dances, merry processions of mummers with a straw effigy of Maslenitsa.
Every day at Shrove Tuesday has its own ritual name:
Monday - meeting;
Tuesday - flirting;
Wednesday - gourmet;
Thursday - wide quarter, revelry, fracture;
Friday - mother-in-law of the evening;
Saturday - sister-in-law's gatherings;
Sunday - goodbye, forgiven day, forgiveness Sunday, adorable.
Entertainment and customs changed according to these days. So, on Tuesday, they arranged sleigh rides for the newlyweds, on Wednesday mother-in-law invited their sons-in-law to pancakes, and on Friday, on the contrary, the sons-in-law treated their mother-in-law.
On Forgiveness Sunday, the fun died down - the next morning, Great Lent began. On the eve of it, trying to cleanse themselves of everything sinful, people asked each other for forgiveness: the younger from the elders, the children from their parents, the poor from the rich, the rich from the poor, priests from the parishioners. “Forgive me, perhaps, if I am guilty of anything before you,” they said as usual to each other. And it is customary to forgive all, voluntarily or involuntarily, insults and insults inflicted on this day. In many places, they go to the cemetery on this day.
Like any Orthodox holiday, Cheese Week has its own religious essence. In the prayers and spiritual songs of these days, the Church recalls the fall of the forefathers Adam and Eve and explains that it came from intemperance, how destructive it is, and how salvific fasting is.
Now Forgiveness Sunday has come to an end and Great Lent is ahead. “Goodbye, Maslenitsa. Sweetly, volozhno fed us, wort, watered mash. Goodbye Shrovetide ... "
For more details see:
- Shrovetide customs, games, ceremonies, dishes and feasts.
THE GREAT LENT
Great Lent (four months) is the most important and strict, established by the Church in imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and nights. It lasts from Forgiveness Sunday to Easter (6 weeks of fasting itself and 7th week - Passion).
On these days, animal products (meat, milk, eggs, etc.) are completely excluded from the diet. Vegetable products are consumed in moderation. Even vegetable oil is allowed only on Saturdays, Sundays and the days of commemoration of especially revered saints, and fish is allowed only on Annunciation and Palm Sunday. It is also recommended to give up alcoholic beverages and limit the use of sweets, hot seasonings and spices.
Great Lent is a preparation for the Bright Resurrection of Christ, it is a time of special repentance and intense prayer. The Church teaches that the meaning of fasting is not only in abstaining from food, but, most importantly, in spiritual cleansing, liberation from evil, anger, slander, and taming lust.
With the onset of the first day of fasting, songs were silenced everywhere, bells ceased to ring. The appearance of churches also changed: mourning vestments on icons, lights were extinguished, lamps were darkened, services in churches continued longer than usual. Life on the street seemed to freeze for several weeks, only on the holidays of the Annunciation and Palm Sunday there was some revival.
On the first Sunday of Great Lent, the so-called "triumph of Orthodoxy" is celebrated in commemoration of the victory of the Ecumenical Church over iconoclasm. On the third Sunday of Lent, the Holy Cross is brought up in the middle of the church and remains for worship during the week ("cross-worship"). On the fourth Sunday of Lent, the memory of St. John of the Ladder is celebrated, on the fifth Sunday of St. Mary of Egypt, on the sixth (Lazarev) Saturday, the resurrection of Lazarus by Jesus Christ.
HOLY WEEK
The last week of Great Lent is called Passion, and all its days are Great. In the letters of Saint Theophan the Recluse it is said about this period: “Here is Easter in the courtyard. But before the Paschal Lordship must go through the darkness of Holy Week, when the darkening of the sun at the hour of the crucifixion of our Savior is recalled ... "
Believers this week are to feel again with all their hearts the great suffering that Jesus Christ took upon himself in the last days of his earthly life.
According to legend, on Thursday - the day of the Last Supper - Christ was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, seized by guards and, by the verdict of the ruler of Judea, Pontius Pilate, was sentenced to death, crucified on Friday and died on the cross, and buried in the evening. A day later, Christ rose from the dead.
Each day of Holy Week has its own ritual meaning. On Maundy Thursday, many rituals were performed related to the protection of the house and pets from evil spirits. It was obligatory to bathe in the bath, symbolizing cleansing from sins. There was a general cleaning on Thursday. They washed and cleaned everything - yards, front gardens, rooms, cleaned and washed clothes. Hence the name - Maundy Thursday. On Maundy Thursday, it was also customary to paint eggs and heat salt with leavened thickening - "Thursday salt" (It is with this "Thursday salt" that Easter eggs should be eaten. partial burning of the mixture, then distill the crystallized salt from the thick powder that has crumbled into a fine powder - blow on it, constantly stirring.)
The Friday of Holy Week is a day of great tribulation. In memory of the torment of the crucified Jesus Christ, fasting on Good Friday reaches its climax: it is not supposed to cook food and eat anything. On Great Saturday, the burial of Christ is remembered, the removal of the Shroud, the mortal shroud, in which the Savior taken from the cross was wrapped, is carried out in the churches. The hostesses began preparing snacks and dishes for the Easter table early in the morning, everything should be ready by Saturday evening.
THE LORD'S ENTRANCE IN JERUSALEM
(PALM SUNDAY)
On the last Sunday before Easter, the Orthodox celebrate the great twelveth holiday. According to the Gospel legends, on this day - six days before Easter - Jesus Christ went with his disciples to Jerusalem. A multitude of people came out to greet him, covering the road with green branches of a palm tree, as was customary to honor the winners.
The Church introduced the custom to consecrate palm trees in the 4th century. In Orthodox Russia, palm branches in rituals were replaced by willow, and the holiday was called Palm Sunday. The pussy willow has long been revered by the Slavs as a sacred tree, and it blooms before other trees. Therefore, on this day, willow branches are consecrated in churches and until the end of the service they hold them in their hands - the worshipers seem to meet the invisibly coming Lord and greet him. The consecrated willow is endowed with miraculous properties, the believers keep its branches for images for a whole year.
On this holiday, fasting is facilitated, fish and vegetable oil are allowed.
ANNUNCIATION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
7 april
The Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos is celebrated by the Orthodox Church in memory of the message to the Virgin Mary by the Archangel Gabriel of the “good news” about her impending birth of the Son of God: “... you will conceive in your womb, and you will give birth to a Son, and you will call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High ... And His Kingdom will have no end. "
On this day, solemn services are held in churches and the Annunciation hymns are performed in honor of the Mother of God: "Rejoice, Blessed One, the Lord is with you."
According to popular belief, the Annunciation is the most joyful holiday on earth and in heaven, even sinners in hell on this day, as well as on Easter, are not tortured. It is considered a sin to work on this day. "On the Annunciation, the maiden does not weave a braid, the bird does not build a nest."
The special significance of the holiday among the days of Lenten is seen in the fact that everyone on this day is allowed to eat fish, consume vegetable oil and wine, even monks.
The Annunciation is also a holiday of the coming of spring: "On the Annunciation, spring overcame winter." On this day, bonfires were kindled and there was a custom “to release birds caught in snares (nets), which brought special joy to children.
EASTER
The Feast of the Resurrection of Christ - Holy Pascha - is the main Christian holiday, "Feast of the Feast and the Triumph of Celebrations."
The troparion of the holiday says: "Christ rose from the dead, trampling death by death and giving life to those in the graves, that is, to the dead." And the Orthodox praise the victory of Jesus Christ over death and hell and the gift of eternal life and bliss.
Easter festivities are distinguished by extraordinary solemnity. The evening on the eve of the holiday is a wonderful and majestic sight wherever there are Orthodox churches. At this time, there is a many-hour church service, the culmination of which comes at midnight. Exclamations "Christ is risen!" merge with the singing of the church choir and bell ringing. Fascinating religious procession around the temple. Lighted candles shine like stars in the sky in the hands of parishioners. The service ends early in the morning before sunrise.
Easter cakes, Easter, painted eggs are consecrated, and lush festive meals begin. The Easter table has always been distinguished by its festive splendor, delicious, abundant and beautiful. What was not on it!
Here is the cleaning (menu) of the table for Holy Christ's Resurrection, taken from a Russian culinary book of the 19th century:
“Colored eggs, Easter, Easter cake, royal forshmak, smoked or boiled ham, different sausages, hunting beef, amateurish, fried veal legs, aspic from game, fried pig, stuffed turkeys, goose with apples, chicken nest jelly ", Cakes," lamb "made from butter, custard and tulle baba, Polish mazurkas, various vodkas, liqueurs and wines."
They also prepared meat rolls, pates, cottage cheese (casseroles, puddings and other cottage cheese products), pancakes, pies, honey cakes and other small products made from wheat flour with images of crosses, animals, birds. In this warm season, cold first courses (okroshka, green cabbage soup, etc.) were popular, from drinks - kvass, fruit drinks and honey, home-made beer and home brew.
Of course, the festive table depended not only on tastes, but above all on wealth and opportunities. The families were poorer and the menu was simpler, but the holiday food was much richer compared to the daily food.
Here is how V. Agafonov describes in the book "My Samarovo" a festive feast of ordinary villagers:
“After returning home after the Easter service, they broke their fast: everyone ate half a colored egg and a piece of cake, sat down at the table, and a plentiful, leisurely festive breakfast began ... The first to appear on the table was a large clay dish of meat cabbage soup with sour rye bread. Then came a stew of mutton giblets with an unleavened loaf, followed by millet porridge with milk. After the porridge, there was ruddy scrambled eggs in a deep bowl. Fried eggs were a baked mash of mashed potatoes with milk and eggs. Sometimes for those who wished, there was also a lapshinnik - thick noodles with ghee ... Finally, a singing samovar was put on the table ... "
Despite the differences in the menu, Easter, Easter cake and colored eggs have always been and remain obligatory ritual dishes on the Easter table. Easter cakes and eggs were eaten all Easter week until Radunitsa.
In the past, hot dishes were not served on this day, it was also not customary to cook fish. The festive table, as a rule, consisted of cold snacks and dishes. Over time, this tradition has been forgotten, and the modern Easter table is represented by the most diverse assortment of hot and cold dishes and snacks.
Easter holidays last a week called Bright Week. At this time, as at Christmas, they visit relatives and receive guests.
Previously, it was customary to present each other with painted chicken, goose, duck eggs, as well as chiseled, wooden, painted on gold with bright patterns or images of flowers and herbs, and in those herbs were seen birds, and animals, and fairy-tale heroes. The production of such eggs was carried out by turners of the Armory Chamber, icon painters, monks. Eggs made of precious stones and metals glorified the great jeweler Faberge all over the world.
It was believed that good deeds performed on Easter in favor of others, especially those deprived of fate, help to remove sin from the soul. Therefore, at this time there were especially many donations.
In the past, on Easter week, starting from Monday, colorful and noisy shows and entertainment were organized everywhere, general fun and jubilation prevailed. In the villages they "flew" on swings, danced in circles. Children have a favorite game - "cue balls": they knocked with Christmas eggs, and the winner turned out to be the one for whom it remained intact.
Try to make Easter as joyful as possible. There is a long-standing sign: whoever spends Easter in a joyful mood will have happiness in life and good luck in business all year round.
ASCENSION TO THE LORD
The Ascension of the Lord is celebrated by the Orthodox Church on the 40th day after Easter. According to legend, after his Resurrection, Christ appeared to his disciples for 40 days and conversed with them. On the 40th day, he left Jerusalem with them and climbed the Mount of Olives, where he spoke to them for the last time: “You ... will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth. Go all over the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved ... ”Then, having blessed the disciples, Jesus Christ ascended into heaven and a cloud hid Him from their eyes. Ascended to heaven, Jesus Christ, as it were, tied together the earthly and the heavenly, the human and the divine.
Ascension is one of the first holidays of the summer. By this time, the sowing work was basically finished, and the cherished desire of the peasants was for a good harvest to grow and ripen. Therefore, the Ascension was understood by the people as "growth, rise."
Everywhere that day they baked "ladders" from dough, each one threw them up at his own field, saying: "So that my rye grows as high." After that, the "ladder" was eaten. They also carried them out into the field and tossed dyed eggs: whoever is taller will grow rye just as tall.
Noisy festive feasts on this day were usually not arranged. What they were rich, they put on the table, however, they tried to make the meal different from the everyday one. Pancakes were an obligatory dish.
DAY OF THE HOLY TRINITY. PENTECOST
Trinity is one of the greatest Orthodox holidays, glorifying the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. It is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter.
On the tenth day after the ascension of Jesus Christ, that is, on the fiftieth day after the Resurrection of Christ, all the apostles and his other disciples, together with the Mother of God, prayed to God on the feast of Pentecost (the memory of how God gave people ten commandments (rules) about how they should live). Suddenly there was a noise from the sky, as from a strong wind; he filled the whole house, and tongues of fire (streams) appeared, which stopped above each of those in the room. And each of Christ's disciples felt that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke to each other in different languages, which they did not know before.
On the occasion of the feast of Pentecost, many people from different countries gathered in Jerusalem, they were amazed to hear the apostles speak about the great works of God, each in his own language. The sermons had such an effect that many believed in Jesus Christ and about three thousand people were baptized that day and became Christians - this is how the history of the Christian Church began, its birth. The apostles began to preach the teaching of Christ in all countries and to all nations, and the number of believers increased more and more day by day.
On Trinity, it was customary to decorate temples and houses with green branches, flowers and herbs. The floors were covered with thyme, calamus and other herbs, flowers were placed in jugs and vases, and birch branches were placed near the iconostases. Birch was considered a tree of God. Girls decorated her with ribbons and flowers, danced around her (flowers and greenery are a sign of life).
The holiday was usually celebrated in nature - in a garden, field, forest. A white tablecloth was laid on the grass, and treats were laid out on it. If they ate at the table, then they put it under a spreading tree near the house. By this time, the meat had not yet "ripened", so they did without it. However, in wealthy families, a lamb or a bird was slaughtered by this day.
Obligatory dishes on the festive table were Trinity loaves, pancakes, noodle makers, millet, scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs, cottage cheese, various pies with fresh herbs and berries, cold soups - okroshki, cold drinks, home-made beer, honey and kvass. Eggs were also served, which were painted green on Trinity.
A week after Trinity, Peter's Lent begins and continues until the day of commemoration of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. This fast is less strict than the Great one: on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday it is allowed to eat fish and vegetable oil.
During the days of the apostolic fast, as a rule, dishes and drinks were prepared from those early vegetables, herbs and berries that ripened in gardens and in the forest - green onions, sorrel, spinach, rhubarb, radishes, blueberries, strawberries, champignons, etc. wild herbs were also used - nettle, quinoa, runny, dandelion, etc.
CHRISTMAS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST
(DAY OF IVAN KUPALA)
7 july
This is one of the most ancient holidays. In pagan times, he was dedicated to the God of the Sun. The Orthodox Church celebrates on this day the birth of John the Baptist, so named because with his sermons he prepared people to receive the Savior. The name of the Baptist was given to him, since he was the first to baptize people into the Christian faith. People came to him, confessed their sins, and he baptized them in the waters of the Jordan. Jesus Christ Himself received the baptism from John and said about him: "Of those born by wives, there is not a single prophet greater than John the Baptist."
Orthodox people meet this holiday with joy and gaiety. People call it Ivanov's Day, Ivan Kupala. Young and old participate in its exciting rituals. Since ancient times, on the Kupala night, they kindled bonfires, jumped over them, danced in circles, weaved wreaths, and swam in the river. Bonfires had a symbolic meaning, it was believed that fire has healing powers. These customs have survived among the people to this day.
One of the most romantic legends is associated with the Kupala night. On this night, the fern flares up with a bright flower, blooms at midnight for a few moments, and you need to have time to pick it. They say: “Whoever gets this flower will have everything that only his soul desires; can then know everything that is happening in the world. " (Here we are talking about an extremely rare phenomenon - a weak glow of fern leaves in the dark at night due to the luminous microorganisms that have settled on them. Few have seen such a glow with their own eyes, so it turned into a "wondrous flower" in legends.)
On Midsummer's Day and on the eve of it, medicinal plants were collected in the forest, in the meadows. According to popular belief, collected at this time, they have the most healing properties. They also say: "The sun plays five times a year: at Christmas, Epiphany, Annunciation, Holy Resurrection and Ivan's birth."
Another date is dedicated to the memory of the great prophet in the Orthodox calendar - the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist (September 11). By order of King Herod, John was martyred through the "beheading" (chopping off) of the head.
Golovosek, Ivan Lenten, as this day is called among the people, is celebrated by strict fasting (fish and vegetable oil are not allowed). They did not eat anything round on Ivan Lenten, and they did not even cook cabbage soup, because the head of cabbage resembles a head in shape. On this day, not only did they not chop cabbage, but also did not pick poppy seeds, did not pick apples, and also did not take cutting or stabbing objects in their hands.
DAY OF THE SAINTS OF THE SUPREME
APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL
July, 12
Peter (Simeon) was a fisherman, but left his occupation and became a disciple of Jesus Christ, one of the closest and most devoted people to him (an apostle of 12, i.e. a disciple of Christ himself). The Roman citizen Paul was an apostle of 70 (disciples of Christ's disciples, who themselves did not see Christ). At first he was a persecutor of Christians (then his name was Saul), but then he spiritually received his sight, was baptized, and took the name Paul in baptism. Paul devoted the rest of his life to the spread of Christianity. (Hence the saying about a sudden radical change in spiritual position: “Converted from Saul to Paul.”)
The people call this holiday Peter's Day. It's a good time! Red summer in bloom. In the forest, mushrooms and berries ripen, in the meadows of herbs (thyme, oregano, mint, St. John's wort, etc.), in the garden - strawberries, currants, in the garden - early vegetables. Haymaking usually began on Petrov's day.
After fasting that day, they broke the fast. For the holiday, as a rule, cattle and poultry were slaughtered. Young potatoes with dill, first cucumbers, salad, chicken pies, fresh berries and mushrooms were also served on the table. And since the Apostle Peter is the patron saint of fishing (and this day is the holiday of fishermen), various dishes from fresh fish are on the table.
If the holiday falls on Wednesday or Friday, then breaking the fast (the beginning of eating meat food) is postponed to the next day, and on this day they eat only lean food, including fish and vegetable oil.
On Petrov's day, they went to visit, received relatives. Young people spent the night singing, dancing, meeting the dawn in the field, on that day they listened to how many years the cuckoo will bake. They walked heartily and had fun on this holiday, because ahead - until the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos - is a miserable time.
SPAS
In August, there are three holidays dedicated to the Savior.
August 14 - the first Savior. Its official church name is the holiday of the Origin of the Honest Trees of the Life-Giving Cross of the Lord (taking out of the Constantinople church for the consecration of the city a particle of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified).
People call it Savior on the water (among the rituals - processions of the cross to the water), as well as honey (they taste fresh honey on this day).
August 14, in addition, is the day of remembrance of the seven Old Testament martyrs Maccabees. On Maccabees, dishes with honey and poppy seeds were served to the table - lean pies, buns, gingerbread, pancakes. The meal began with pancakes: poppy milk, poppy-honey mixture were prepared in special dishes - makalniks, and pancakes were dipped into it. The youth danced round dances with playful songs "Oh, poppy on the mountain", showered each other with poppy seeds.
From 14 to 27 August - Dormition Fast, with which the Church venerates the Most Holy Theotokos. Like Great Lent (before Easter), this fast is the most revered and strict. You should eat in the same way as during Great Lent, fish is allowed only on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord.
August 19 - Transfiguration of the Lord - the second Savior (Savior on the mountain, apple). The holiday is dedicated to the transformation of the Savior and the discovery of his divine essence. Here is how the Gospel describes this event: “... Jesus took Peter, James and John, and raised them alone on a high mountain, and was transfigured before them: his clothes became shining, very white, like snow, as on earth a white litch cannot whitewash ... And a cloud appeared overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, saying: “This is my beloved Son; Listen to him ... "
The Feast of the Transfiguration has a great meaning. By His transfiguration, Christ, as it were, says to people: "Transform your life, transform yourself as well." On this day, tree fruits (apples, pears, plums, etc.) are consecrated in the church as a reminder that everything - from man to plant - should be dedicated to God.
Since the Transfiguration falls on the time of the Dormition Lent, all the dishes are lenten on the festive table. According to the Charter of the Church, the use of fish, vegetable oil and wine is allowed on this day. In the garden, under a spreading apple tree or at home, a table was laid - pies with apples, berries, poppy seeds, mushrooms, pancakes and pancakes, baked, stewed and stuffed apples, poured with honey, apple kvass, compote ...
August 29 - the third Savior. The Church celebrates the feast of the Image of Our Lord Jesus Christ not made with hands in memory of the transfer in 944 from Edessa to Constantinople of the fabric on which, according to the Gospel description, the face of Jesus Christ was imprinted by hands.
Among the people, the third Savior was called the Savior on canvas, canvas, as well as bread, nut. Nutty - because by this time the nuts were ripe. And grain - because the day before the Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos was celebrated, with which the end of the harvest of bread was associated.
On this day, as well as on the Assumption, they baked bread and rolls from the new harvest. Since grain and bread have always been of great importance for the Slavs ("Bread on the table, and the table is the throne, and as there is not a piece of bread, so the table is a board"), many wonderful folk traditions and rituals are also associated with this holiday. According to the dying (last) sheaf, they judged about sowing, about the future harvest, about the weather for the next autumn and winter.
ASSUMPTION OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
August 28
The Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos is the last twelveth feast of the church year (the liturgical church year begins on September 1).
According to legend, after the ascension of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God lived on earth for several more years (some Christian historians say 10 years, others - 22 years). The Apostle John the Theologian, according to the will of Jesus Christ, took her into his house and with great love took care of her until her death.
She loved to visit the places where the Savior visited, and often prayed that he would quickly take her to his heaven. The Most Holy Mary was overjoyed when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to her with the news that this would happen in three days, and began to prepare. All the apostles gathered to say goodbye to her, except Thomas. It was sad for them to be deprived of their common Mother, but she consoled, promising not to leave them and all Christians after her death.
The apostles buried the most pure body of the Mother of God, at her request, in the garden of Gethsemane, in the cave where the bodies of her parents and righteous Joseph were buried. During her burial, many miracles happened: from touching her bed, the blind received their sight, every disease was healed.
Three days after the burial of the Mother of God, the Apostle Thomas arrived in Jerusalem. He was very saddened, and the apostles, taking pity on him, decided to go and roll the stone away from the grave cave in order to give him the opportunity to say goodbye to the body of the Mother of God. But her holy body was not in the cave, but only the burial shroud.
The amazed apostles returned home and during prayer they heard angelic singing, saw the Mother of God in the heights surrounded by angels and heard her words: “Rejoice! I am with you all the days; and I will always be your prayer book before God. "
The holiday is called the Dormition, because the Mother of God died quietly, as if she had fallen asleep, and, most importantly, it is called so for the short stay of Her body in the tomb, since three days later she was resurrected by the Lord and ascended to heaven. Since then, the Mother of God has repeatedly appeared on earth during times of wars and other disasters, always sending her help to those in need.
Among the people, the Great Most Pure is the holiday of the end of the harvest. On this day, loaves were consecrated in churches, with songs and jokes they went to the field for the last - a dozhin sheaf, for a festive feast they baked pies from the flour of the new harvest, organized feasts-treats in a fold.
THE CHRISTMAS OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
September 21
The holiday is dedicated to one of the most important events in Christianity - the birth of the Virgin Mary. This is one of the most revered Orthodox holidays: "Your birth, Virgin Mary, has brought joy to the whole universe, because the Sun of righteousness has shone from You, Christ is our God ..."
In the people it is called autumn, osshock. In time, the holiday coincides with the end of the main field work. The Mother of God was honored and thanked for the harvest. Autumn is, in essence, a harvest festival, which sometimes took place for a whole week and was distinguished by wide hospitality. We went to visit relatives and invited them to our place.
It was considered obligatory to invite young people to their parents to strengthen good friendly relations between them. After all, the Mother of God is not only the patroness of agriculture, but also the giver of all prosperity, the protector of the family and motherhood.
The festive table is, first of all, what the garden, vegetable garden and forest presented at this time. Since the grandchildren were usually left in the grandfather's house for several days, many dishes were prepared especially for the children - various delicacies and sweets.
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE LORD'S CROSS
September 27
The holiday was established in memory of the acquisition of the Honorable and Life-giving Tree of the Cross of the Lord by the Equal-to-the-Apostles Queen Helen (mother of the Byzantine emperor Constantine) in 326, and from the 7th century. with this day they began to combine the memory of the return of the Life-giving Cross from Persia by the Greek emperor Heraclius (629).
In 313, Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the state religion of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). It took the holy relics, and Konstantin's mother Helen led a special expedition to find them. The cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified was discovered by this expedition during excavations at the site of his execution, which took place in 33 AD (i.e., 280 years after the execution). It has become one of the most highly revered relics of Jerusalem and the Christian Church. According to legend, after the discovery, it was erected for some time on Mount Calvary, and then parts of it were sent to many countries, where they are kept as a shrine in Christian churches to this day.
On this day, a service is held in Orthodox churches, during which the priests carry the Cross from the altar to the middle of the temple, which is being raised ("erected") to be honored by the worshipers.
A strict fast has been established for the Exaltation, products of plant origin, vegetable oil are allowed.
People associate this day with the beginning of cabbage harvesting. Young people at Vozdvizhenie organized parties - "skits". There is a belief that on this day all reptiles "move" and crawl underground for the winter, so it is better not to go into the forest and all doors must be well locked so that they do not "by mistake" climb into the huts or to the cattle.
THE COVER OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
October 14
In the V century. the robe, head cover and part of the belt of the Mother of God were transferred to Constantinople from Palestine. And the celebration of the Intercession of the Mother of God was initiated by the following event. The rich Constantinople was once again attacked by enemies, and the situation was critical. Prayers for salvation and protection were served in churches.
In the middle of the X century. during the all-night vigil in the Church of Blachernae in Constantinople, where these relics were kept, blessed Andrew had a vision of the Mother of God. For a long time, the Mother of God was in prayer for the salvation of the inhabitants of the city, after which she approached the throne, removed the veil from her head and spread it over the worshipers in the temple, as if protecting them. Soon after, the enemies were driven out of the empire, and the Orthodox have since praised its intercession and intercession.
The Day of the Intercession, according to the popular calendar, served as a kind of milestone separating autumn from winter: "On the Intercession before lunchtime - autumn, after lunchtime - winter". In the village, by the Pokrov, heavy agricultural work was ending and the time of winter gatherings for needlework began.
INTRODUCTION TO THE TEMPLE OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
4 december
According to church tradition, when Mary was three years old, her parents Joachim and Anna brought her to the Jerusalem temple for dedication to God. Her parents placed her on the first rung of the stairs leading to the temple. And Maria herself, without any help, climbed the high fifteen steps. At the entrance to the temple, the high priest met her and, by the inspiration of God, led her into the Holy of Holies - the main part of the temple, where no one had the right to enter, only he himself, and then once a year.
The parents, having fulfilled their vow, returned home, and Mary remained until the age of fourteen to live at the church, where, together with other girls, she studied the Law of God and needlework.
Among the people, the introduction (input, beginning, arrival) was associated with the onset of winter: the "introduction frosts" began, "the introduction came - the winter brought." In Russia at this time, large Vvedensky fairs were organized everywhere.
St. Nicholas the Wonderworker
December 19th
Saint Nicholas, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Nicholas the Pleasant - the beloved saint of the faithful - was the archbishop of the city of Myra in Lycia in the 4th century. The Orthodox Church honors his memory twice a year: December 19 (Nicholas "winter") and May 22 (Nicholas "Veshniy").
During his life and after his death, Nicholas the Wonderworker was a great intercessor of all who asked him for help. Many stories are told about his secret miracles and good deeds. He saved from execution unjustly condemned common people and royal nobles; tamed storms at sea, preventing shipwrecks; he healed the blind, lame, deaf and dumb. More than once he helped ruined merchants, enriched many when they were in extreme poverty and poverty; saved girls from dishonor. He saved his fellow citizens from the seemingly inevitable death of starvation.
How widespread the glory of the miracles of St. Nicholas was already in the middle of the 9th century is the testimony of John, the deacon of Naples: "There is no place on the globe so deaf, there is no solitude or desert where his words and miracles would not shine." People of all times and peoples have been seeking help and support from Nicholas the Wonderworker for more than a century and a half. In many countries, churches were opened in his memory. In Europe, Saint Nicholas began to be called Santa Claus over time, and in Russia they began to be associated with the traditional Santa Claus.
The associations of Santa Claus with Santa Claus are wrong. The first is a good Christian saint, the second is a formidable and all-powerful pagan god who, becoming the invincible General Frost, can turn any enemy army to dust by unprecedented frosts and save Russia, as it was in 1812 and the tragic winter of 1941-42. Santa Claus can't do that.
The temple in the town of Mira (modern town of Demre), the basis of which was the church in which St. Nicholas served, was named Baba Noel Kilise - the church of St. Nicholas (Church of Santa Claus).
The people of Nicholas the Wonderworker are called "the second after God intercessor", they are considered the patron saint of agriculture and cattle breeding, the master of earthly waters, the protector from all troubles and misfortunes, they pray to him as a heavenly patron during trips to sea and land, in spiritual adversity.
REMEMBER DAYS
Orthodox Christians especially revered days dedicated to the memory of the dead. Memorial days are: 3.9, 40th days and anniversary after death. The church also established common memorial days: Ecumenical parental Saturday (on the eve of meat-eating or Pancake week); Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent; Radrnitsa (Tuesday after Easter week); Trinity parental Saturday (on the eve of Trinity); Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday (in the third week after the Intercession on the eve of Dmitriev's day).
Wake on the 3rd, 9th, and 40th days is arranged for relatives, relatives, friends and acquaintances of the deceased. You can come to such a commemoration to honor the deceased without an invitation. On other days of commemoration, the closest relatives gather.
It is customary to serve ritual food at the memorial table - lean kutya, pancakes, satiety and jelly (in former times, oatmeal). In addition to these obligatory dishes, hot and cold dishes, pastries, pastries and drinks are served. The first course is usually kutya (kolivo).
According to the Church charter, there should be no alcohol (vodka, wine, etc.) on the memorial table. Wine is a symbol of earthly joy, a commemoration is an occasion for joint prayer for the better fate of the soul of the deceased in the afterlife. Unfortunately, a modern memorial meal is often arranged not according to the Church charter, but according to an established custom or pagan tradition.
At the table, it is customary to conduct pious conversations, remember the deceased, his life, good deeds and deeds (hence the name - commemoration).
The most revered of the common memorial days is Radonitsa. This name comes from the word "joy" that the Resurrection of Christ brought to all. On this day, the living, as it were, share this joy with the dead in the hope of a general resurrection.
After the funeral liturgy and funeral service, Orthodox Christians go to the graves of relatives and friends. The graves or tables in the enclosure are covered with a light-colored tablecloth, the crosses are tied with colored embroidered towels and small wreaths of artificial flowers are hung on them.
The funeral meal usually begins at about 15:00. Snacks and drinks brought from home are spread on the tablecloth. Among the compulsory ritual meals on Radonitsa there are memorial lenten kutia, kulich, colored Easter eggs, sated, as well as pancakes, baked Easter, honey gingerbread, drachena, kokurki (wheat bread with an egg baked in it). Other food is also brought to the cemetery: homemade sausage, fried meat, poultry and fish, as well as alcoholic beverages.
Before a meal, a glass of vodka or wine and a tablespoon of kutya or satiety are poured onto the grave. Be sure to read the prayer "Our Father ...", as well as the Easter troparion "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling death by death and giving life to those in tombs." At the meal, they remember the good deeds and the life of the deceased. When leaving, they leave an Easter egg, cake, cookies, sweets near the cross.
Such a ritual of commemoration of the dead on Radonitsa has developed among the people for a long time, since pagan times, but it does not meet the prescriptions of the Orthodox Church. According to the Church charter, it is not recommended to arrange a commemoration at the cemetery: those who have completed their earthly journey need not food, but our sincere prayers for the repose of their souls. And such a commemoration only torments the soul of the deceased. Just put the Easter gifts brought from home on your own grave, read the Easter troparion and remember the dead with a kind word.
On Trinity parental Saturday it was customary to come to the cemetery after the memorial service in the church. They took with them bouquets of herbs and birch branches with which they swept the graves, and here they made a memorial meal. Obligatory ritual dishes were lean kutia, green eggs (in birch or nettle broth), pancakes, honey cakes, cookies. When leaving, 2-3 half-peeled eggs and pancakes were left on the graves.
On Dmitrievskaya parental Saturday usually commemorate Orthodox soldiers who gave their lives for their faith and fatherland (nowadays it has become a tradition to commemorate dead relatives on this Saturday). In all churches on this day, Divine Liturgies are held, psalms and prayers are read. Believers bring kutya, bread, pancakes, sweets or honey to the temple. At the end of the liturgy, all of this is consecrated with holy water.
The commemoration, as a rule, takes place at home with the family, at a table with lighted candles. It is believed that on the Dmitrievsky parental Saturday, the souls of ancestors descend to earth to see how the memory of them is preserved, how people preserve the heritage left to them. According to tradition, the memorial meal should be tasty and plentiful, be sure to include dishes and drinks of the national cuisine. The traditional dish of the festive table is stuffed pork head. Obligatory ritual dishes are also prepared - lean kutya, pancakes, oatmeal, honey or cranberry jelly, satu, etc.
The custom of commemorating the dead, which has come down to us since Old Testament times, is a kind of history lesson for young people, it fosters love and respect for loved ones, their heritage, does not allow the thread that connects many generations of people to be interrupted.
See also about traditions:
Section - Shrovetide customs, games, rituals, dishes and feasts.
Page - a full calendar of the name day, attorney of the Moscow Patriarchate, information about Christianity, its history, the mystery of the Resurrection of Christ, about sins in Orthodoxy, etc.
Page - Dictionary of Christian names, history and meaning of names.
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Orthodoxy has its own set of religious holidays and rituals, which are the basis of the Christian cult. Church calendars are rich in various events: almost every day is marked by some important ceremony or holiday. At the same time, holidays and Christmastide are divided into great and twelve.
The main holidays of the Orthodox Christian tradition
Easter is considered a "triumph of celebrations" when the greatest Christian sacrament was performed. This is followed by the twelve holidays. There are 12 of them. Three of them are carryover. This means that the date of the celebrations changes from year to year, depending on which day Easter is celebrated. This:
- Palm Sunday, or, as it is called according to the church calendar, the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem;
- Ascension of the Lord;
- Trinity.
The remaining nine are always celebrated on the same day, that is, they are non-transient. Among them:
- Nativity;
- Baptism;
- Candlemas;
- Annunciation;
- Nativity of the Virgin;
- Introduction of the Virgin into the temple;
- Dormition of the Most Holy Theotokos;
- Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord.
- Circumcision of the Lord;
- Nativity of John the Baptist (Forerunner);
- Peter and Paul;
- The beheading of John the Baptist;
- Cover.
In addition, there are many patronal feasts that are dedicated to various events in church history and are associated with the life of Christ and the Mother of God. The days of the erection of the temple are also celebrated. The last holidays are of local significance.
Orthodox rites and sacraments at Christmas
Christmas is considered one of the most significant holidays. On this day, the birth of the son of God Jesus Christ is celebrated. It should be noted that such a widespread celebration was not accepted during the first five centuries after the spread of Christianity. Only half a millennium after this event, the monk Dionysius the Small made the appropriate calculations, which allowed him to assert that he had determined the date of Christ's birth. In accordance with this, the Roman Christian Church commissioned Dionysius the Small to develop a new Easter - a table for celebrating Easter. Traditionally, Easter is celebrated on the first Sunday after the full moon that follows the equinox. This happens either in May or April. In this regard, Easter is a rolling celebration.
Despite the fact that the monk's calculations were arbitrary and artificial, the entire Christian world agreed with them. In fact, the date of his birth is not mentioned anywhere in the Gospel. Most likely, the clergy, trying to spread Christianity among the pagan peoples as much as possible, chose the most suitable date when many pagans celebrated carols. Contrary to popular belief, such rituals are found not only among the Slavs. Songs and dances in the winter months in honor of the pagan gods were found among the peoples of Egypt, and among the ancient Sumerians, and among European peoples.
In Russia, the celebration of the Nativity of Christ was combined with pagan carols. In the Christian tradition, this period is called Christmastide. Traces of pagan beliefs are common on Christmastide fortune-telling, lighting fires, dressing up, driving the Goat, and much more, which, according to pre-Christian beliefs, should have helped the Sun overcome the cold and make winter recede.
Many signs were also associated with the celebration of Christmas and the entire Christmas cycle of holidays. So, it was believed that if the Christmas day was clear and quiet, an excellent harvest should be expected. A warm Christmas leads to a cold and prolonged spring, and a blizzard portends a good wheat harvest.
Orthodox traditions
In ancient Russia, there was a close connection and interaction between the church and domestic life of our ancestors. Orthodox people pay great attention not only to what they cook for dinner, but also how they cook it. They do this necessarily with prayer, in a peaceful state of mind and with good thoughts. And they also pay special attention to the church calendar - they see what day it is - fast or fast. These rules are especially strictly observed in monasteries. An Orthodox person must pray to God before starting to prepare food. Prayer is the reverent striving of the human soul towards the Creator. God is our Creator and Father. He cares for all of us more than any child-loving father and gives us all the blessings in life. By it we live, move and exist; in this regard, we must pray to Him. We sometimes pray internally - with our mind and heart, but since each of us consists of a soul and a body, for the most part we say the prayer aloud, and also accompany it with some visible signs and bodily actions, such as the sign of the cross, bowing to the belt , and for the strongest expression of our reverent feelings for God and deep humility before Him, we bow our knees and bow down to the ground (bowing to the ground). One should pray at all times, without ceasing. Church tradition prescribes to pray in the morning, upon awakening from sleep, to thank God for keeping us in the night and ask for His blessing for the coming day. At the beginning of a business - to ask for God's help. At the end of the work - to thank God for help and success in the work. Before lunch - so that God bless us food for health. After dinner - to thank God who feeds us. In the evening, before going to bed, to thank God for the day spent and ask Him for the forgiveness of our sins, for a peaceful and serene sleep. In all cases, the Orthodox Church has prescribed special prayers. Prayer before lunch and dinner - "Our Father" or "Look to everyone in You, Lord, they hope, and You give them food in good time, open Your generous hand and fulfill all animal goodwill." In this prayer, we ask God to bless us with food and drink for health. Under the hand of the Lord, of course, here is the giving to us of blessings, as well as the fulfillment of all living benevolence, that is, the Lord cares not only about people, but also about animals, birds, fish, and in general about everyone living. Prayer after lunch and dinner: ʼʼThank You, Christ our God, for you have filled us with Your earthly blessings; Do not deprive us of Thy Heavenly Kingdom, but as among Thy disciples you came, Savior, give them peace, come to us and save us. Amen. In this prayer, we thank God that He has filled us with food and drink, and we ask that He does not deprive us of His Heavenly Kingdom. These prayers should be read while standing, facing the icon, which must certainly be in the kitchen or in the dining room, aloud or silently, making the sign of the cross at the beginning and at the end of the prayer. If there are several people sitting at the table, the older person reads the prayer aloud. It is important to note that to make the sign of the cross, the first three fingers of the right hand - thumb, index and middle - are folded together, the last two fingers - the ring and little fingers - are bent to the palm. Fingers folded in this way are placed on the forehead, on the stomach, and then on the right and left shoulder. By putting the first three fingers together, we express the belief that God is One in Essence, but threefold in Persons. Two bent fingers show our faith in the fact that in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there are two natures: divine and human. By depicting the cross on ourselves with folded fingers, we show that we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ crucified on the Cross. We shade the forehead, abdomen and shoulders with a cross to enlighten the mind, heart and to strengthen the strength. Prayer or mood can influence the taste of your meal. In the lives of the saints there is a very convincing story on this topic. Once the prince of Kiev Izyaslav came to the monastery of St. Theodosius of the Caves (he reposed in 1074) and stayed to dine. On the table there was only black bread, water and vegetables, but these simple dishes seemed to the prince sweeter than overseas dishes. Izyaslav asked Theodosius why the monastery meal seemed so tasty to him. To which the monk replied: “The prince, our brethren, when they cook food or bake bread, first take a blessing from the abbot, then they bow down three times before the altar, light a candle from the lamp in front of the icon of the Savior, and with this candle they light a fire in the kitchen and bakery. When it is necessary to pour water into the cauldron, the minister also asks the elder for this blessing. Τᴀᴋᴎᴍ ᴏϬᴩᴀᴈᴏᴍ, we do everything with blessing. Your servants begin each business with a murmur and annoyance at each other. And where there is sin, there should be no pleasure. At the same time, your yard managers often beat the servants for the slightest offense, and the tears of the offended add bitterness to the food, no matter how expensive they are.
The Church does not give any special recommendations regarding food intake, however, you cannot eat before the morning service, and even more so before communion. This prohibition exists so that the body weighed down with food does not distract the soul from prayer and communion.
People who consider themselves believers try to live all aspects of life according to their religious tradition. In the Biblical tradition of Mediterranean culture, to which Christianity in general belongs, and Orthodoxy in particular, the question of a person's name has always been very important. The names of the heroes of faith - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - were repeated many times in generations, first among the Old Testament Jews, and then among Christians. It was believed that giving a child the name of the righteous made him, the child, a partaker of the holiness and glory that the original bearer of the name had already received from God. Here, the main motive for naming the baby was the desire to delegate to him, albeit only by name, part of the merits before God by their prototypes.
The era of early Christianity, especially its pronounced Hellenistic period, did not regulate the special process of choosing a name for a child. Many of the names were specifically pagan, as evidenced by their Greek translation into Russian. Actually, the people who became saints gave their names a sacred character, made them Christian names. It should be understood that the effect of precedent is very dear to any believer. If once in a religious life something happened just like that, then in the future it is worth repeating the same path to achieve success in the most important thing - the salvation of your own soul. In part, this approach resembles the Old Testament tradition, but only in part, since in the Old Testament there is no understanding that deceased saints are active characters, especially in the lives of people who bear their names. There it is more of a tradition than mysticism.
In Christianity, with its feeling that “everything is alive with God”, the saint whose name a person bears is a real acting character in the fate of his ward. This patronage was expressed in the concept of "heavenly patron saint". It is interesting that often the "heavenly patrons" themselves did not have any heavenly patrons at one time, therefore, they could realize their holiness without an additional mystical element in their lives, without additional help. At the same time, there is no superfluous help, and the tradition of giving names in honor of the saints - and receiving prayers and patrons in their person - has strengthened already in the first few centuries of Christianity. In Russia, this tradition appeared along with the adoption of Orthodoxy as an integral part of it. The Baptist of Russia - Prince Vladimir, Equal to the Apostles - himself, in his baptism, received the Christian name Vasily.
The question of choosing a name in Christian families has always been decided by the parents. In Russia, during the Synodal period, among the peasantry, the custom was formed to delegate this right to the priest who performs baptism. It is clear that the parish priest, not really bothering himself with the question of finding out the life of his or not his parishioners, preferred to use the calendar. Saints - ϶ᴛᴏ a list of saints with the dates of their death, distributed according to the calendar. In the Christian tradition, the date of earthly death has always been considered the beginning of eternal life, and even more so among the saints. Consequently, special holidays in honor of the saints were usually celebrated not when they remembered their birth, but when they remembered the day of their departure to God. During the centuries-old history of the Church, the calendar was constantly replenished. For this reason, now every day the Church celebrates the memory of many saints, therefore, you can choose a name according to its euphony and tolerance to the tastes of relatives, the most suitable one. At the same time, as the most authoritative books on Orthodox rituals, the New Tablet and the Interpretation of Orthodox Divine Services of Blessed Simeon of Thessaloniki, say, the name of the baby is given by the parents. The priest, while reading the naming prayer, only records the parental choice.
Parents, if they do not have a clear plan about the name of the child, can use the calendar. The principle here is simple: you need to look at the names of the saints on or after the baby's birthday, or on the day of baptism.
In the old days, they baptized, if there were no emergency cases, on the fortieth day after birth, on which, according to the Old Testament belief, the woman-mother was cleansed of the consequences of pregnancy and could herself be present at the baptism of the baby. But the name was given and ranked among the so-called catechumens on the eighth day. Here, too, not everything is so arbitrary and accidental. On the one hand, on the eighth day, the Jews performed a rite of circumcision of the infant, that is, his dedication to God and entry into the number of the chosen people. This has been the practice since the time of Abraham.
Since Christian baptism replaced circumcision, it was logical that the infant's entry into the number of the “holy people”, that is, Christians, also took place on the eighth day. At the same time, there was also a proper Gospel interpretation of this tradition. Symbolically, the eighth day was associated with the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Apostle Paul writes about this in the Epistle to the Hebrews, in seven days God created this world and took care of it, and now believers are waiting for "this day", the eighth, when Jesus Christ comes. By the way, the eighth day of the week in the Orthodox week coincides with the first, and this is Sunday when Easter is remembered. Consequently, the symbolic meaning of the rite of naming on the eighth day after the birthday is ϶ᴛᴏ also inscribing the name of the newborn in the book of life of the Kingdom of Heavenʼʼ.
But this, of course, ideally, in practice now the naming prayer is performed on the same day when the child is baptized, and is not singled out as a separate liturgical action. In this prayer, the priest invokes the grace of the Holy Spirit on the newly-baptized one and bases him on the sign of the cross, sanctifying all his thoughts, feelings and actions, for the first time calling him by his chosen Christian name. And from then on, this name will be used in the whole life of a person as his church name, by which, in the end, he will be called to the Judgment of the future Kingdom.
At the same time, the most widespread tradition has always been the custom of giving a name to a child in honor of a saint revered by the family. This practice is based on the fact that people who are truly believers make personal prayer contact with this or that saint. If this is so, then usually in the family of previous generations there are already people who bear the names of the revered saint. Hence, there is, as it were, a tradition of continuity, which, among outsiders, can create the illusion of only generic respect, for example, naming children in honor of grandfathers, grandmothers, mothers or fathers, and so on. Yes, for a person of little religiousness, this is exactly the way it is, moreover, it is a worthwhile motive in non-religious families, at least it is not reprehensible and very human. At the same time, initially, the main reason was precisely the veneration of a particular saint by whole generations. Sometimes it happens that a real miracle associated with this or that saint bursts into the ordinary course of life, then grateful parents can give their child his name in order to perpetuate their relationship to the heavenly patron in their son or daughter.
Now in the Baptismal Certificate, as a rule, the “heavenly patron saint” is indicated and the day of the year when a person celebrates Angel's Day, or name day. If a child is baptized by Alexander - ϶ᴛᴏ does not mean that he celebrates the name day every time he sees the day of commemoration of St. Alexander in the calendar, since there are several saints with this name. The name day is the day of remembrance of a very specific person - for example, the holy righteous prince Alexander Nevsky. Actually the name Day of the Angel is the popular name for the day of remembrance of the saint, whose name a person bears. The fact is that the Guardian Angel is also given to a person at baptism, as a companion and helper in spiritual life. At the same time, the saint, after whom the person is named in a figurative sense, is also called the Angel, or the messenger, transmitting the will of God to the person. More precisely, of course, to say not the Day of the Angel, but the name day, or the day of the namesake, that is, the date of remembrance when the Church remembers the achievement of the Heavenly Kingdom by the saints.
Moreover, if the life of the saint is known in detail, in addition, after his death some unusual miracle occurred, for example, the discovery of his remains (the acquisition of relics), then there should be several days of memory of such a saint in a year. Accordingly, there are also several name days - both as reasons for an intensified religious life, and as family holidays. The largest number of name days per year among people bearing the name in honor of John the Baptist.
The main responsibilities of any person in relation to his heavenly patron are the following: knowledge of his life story, prayer to him, the possible imitation of his holiness. Any believer strives to have at home not only an icon, that is, an image of the saint in whose honor he is named, but also his Life, as well as special prayers to him - an akathist and a canon.
What does the word holiday itself mean in the Christian calendar? The root is "celebrated", which means "empty" or "empty". And all because earlier the border between holiday and rest was rigid, and in this regard, it was so difficult and with great difficulty to assess this very social phenomenon, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ in fact, it was called a holiday.
Holidays in Christian traditions developed from Jewish holidays, which greatly influenced the very Christian tradition. Thus, a kind of sacred calendar has developed, in which such a cultural and religious phenomenon of the holiday as worship has developed. But each holiday is different from the other in that they have a different type of worship.
An equally important and interesting question is the very original meaning of the Christian holiday. It essentially consists in singing, reading, bowing on a given day ... These Orthodox traditions also include folk traditions, which include baking pies, rolls, cakes and many other delicacies, dyeing eggs.
Many Christian traditions are borrowed from the worship of the Jewish community. Our holidays sometimes overlapped with Jewish holidays, drawing something important and special from them, but at the same time adding their own customs and traditions, and even adding their own meaning regarding the life, death, birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The science that is directly involved in the study of the holiday is usually called eortology (from eorthо - "holiday").
National traditions associated with the sacrament of marriage are interesting. The wedding is one of the seven Sacraments of the Holy Church, through it a special grace is given, which is sanctifying. This is a sacrament, a Sacrament in which, with a free (before the priest and the Church) promise of mutual fidelity to each other, the bride and groom bless their conjugal union, in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church, and the grace of God is requested and given for mutual help and unanimity, and for blessed birth and Christian education of children. Grace in the sacrament unites with the visible side. Such methods of giving grace are established by the Lord Himself and are performed by priests or bishops appointed by persons of the church hierarchy. The church in our country is separated from the state, in this regard, today the wedding is performed only when the marriage is formalized in the registry office. First of all, there must be mutual consent of the bride and groom. There should be no compulsion to marry. If during the marriage the priest sees that the bride, by her behavior, refutes this decision (crying, etc.), then the priest must find out what the reason is. There must be a blessing for the marriage of the parents. No matter what age the spouses are, they marry with their permission or with the permission of their guardians or custodians.
Parents have more spiritual experience and responsibility for their children before God. It happens that young people marry for the frivolity of youth, for a fleeting hobby, in this connection, both moral and human disturbances enter their family life. It often happens that marriages do not last for a long time, since there was no blessing from the parents, no comprehension and preparation for the path of life, there was no deep awareness of the great responsibility not only for oneself, but also for one's family, for one's half. The Gospel says that the flesh is united together. The wife and husband are one flesh. Happiness, joy and sorrow in half. Young people cannot fully realize this, and when they frivolously enter into marriage, their daily life disappoints them, and divorce comes.
The church refuses a wedding if, for example, a person is mentally or mentally ill. Marriage is not allowed to persons who are closely related, and, of course, church marriage is impossible if one of the married is an atheist or a representative of a Muslim or pagan, non-Christian religion. The laity are allowed to marry three times, but already the fourth wedding is not allowed. Such marriages are invalidated. They should not come to get married in a drunken state. Often asked about pregnancy, it is not an obstacle to marriage. Now the betrothal and the sacrament of the wedding itself are performed together, on the same day. It is extremely important for young people to properly prepare for a sacred marriage: confess their sins, repent, receive communion, and spiritually cleanse themselves for a new period of their lives.
Usually the wedding takes place after the liturgy, in the middle of the day, but not in the evening. It must be Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Sunday. In Orthodox churches, weddings are not performed on the following days: on the eve of Wednesday, Friday and Sunday (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday) throughout the year; on the eve of the twelve and great holidays; in the course of many-day fasts: Velikiy, Petrov, Uspensky and Rozhdestvensky; during Christmas time, as well as continuous weeks of Cheese (Maslenitsa) and Easter (Light); September 10, 11, 26 and 27 (in connection with strict fasting for the Beheading of John the Baptist and the Exaltation of the Holy Cross), on the eve of temple holidays (each church has its own).
White dress - everything light in the church is a symbol of holiness and purity. The Sacrament must be dressed with the most beautiful things. White towels, on which the bride and groom stand, also symbolize the purity of the marriage. The bride must have a headdress - a veil or a scarf; cosmetics and jewelry - either absent, or in a minimal amount. Neck crosses are required for both spouses. Previously, two icons were taken from home - the Savior and the Mother of God, now not everyone has them and they are purchased in churches on the eve of the wedding. The flame of candles in the hands of the young symbolizes the burning of their souls with faith and love for God, as well as the fiery and pure love of the spouses for each other. According to Russian tradition, it is advisable to keep candles and a towel for life.
Wedding rings are also needed - a sign of eternity and the continuity of the marriage union. In the old days, one of the rings was supposed to be gold and the other silver. The golden ring symbolized by its brilliance the sun, the light of which is likened to the husband in a marriage union, the silver ring is the likeness of the moon, a lesser luminary, shining with reflected sunlight. Now, as a rule, gold rings are bought for both spouses. The rings are placed on the throne before the betrothal, and then they are put on the fingers of the spouses, and the engagement with the rings is performed.
At the wedding, it is desirable that there are witnesses. Οʜᴎ must hold the crowns on the heads of the wedding couple. Crowns - ϶ᴛᴏ a sign of victory over passions and a reminder of the duty to keep purity. As a symbol of royal power, they are also a symbol of the union of husband and wife.
Earlier in the first century of Christianity it was customary to wear these crowns for eight more days without removing them. Parents must also be present. Οʜᴎ pray to God, because in the Sacrament not only priests turn to God in their prayers, but also everyone present in the church. The parents who are married are usually congratulated. They bless the icon, which has been preserved from their wedding, then they give it to the young when they go to get married. If the parents are not married, then they acquire icons in the church. These icons are brought to the church, placed near the iconostasis, and after the wedding, the priest blesses with these icons. Usually these are icons of the Savior and the Mother of God.
In Orthodoxy there are many patrons of the Sacred Marriage. Childbirth and marriage were considered sacred even in Old Testament times, since they were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, the Savior of the world, and childless families were considered punished by God. Large families, on the other hand, were considered blessed by God. Sometimes the Lord tests people, and after prayers sends down a child to them. For example, Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of Saint John the Prophet and Forerunner, the Baptist of the Lord, did not have children for a long time. Joachim and Anna, the parents of the Most Holy Theotokos, gave birth already in old age. For this reason, it is customary to pray to them as patrons of marriage. Those who are married, turning to a priest for a blessing, confess and spend their further married life with the blessing of the Church, trying to live according to the commandments of God. If any questions arise, they come to the priest for advice. There are second and third marriages. If the bride and groom have already been married, then it is less solemn. But if one of them gets married for the first time, then it happens as usual, the first.
According to church canons, neither divorce nor a second marriage is permissible. The dissolution of a marriage is carried out according to Orthodox law. In the documents of the local council of 1917-1918 there is a certificate in which it is accepted that the dissolution of the marriage union, illuminated by the Church, occurs in cases when a person changes his faith; commits adultery or has unnatural vices; inability to marital cohabitation, which occurred before marriage or was the result of deliberate self-mutilation; disease with leprosy, syphilis. When, without the knowledge of the spouse (s), a person leaves the family and lives separately. Conviction by sentence to punishment. Encroachment on the life of a spouse or children, pimping, remarriage of one party, or an incurable, severe mental illness. Unfortunately, this happens quite often. The Church does not issue papers on divorce, and a ceremony is not performed for this. If a person wants to conclude a new marriage and get married again, in this case he turns to the diocesan bishop with a written statement and indicating the reason why the previous marriage was dissolved. Vladyka examines the application and gives it permission. The sacrament of the wedding, belief in the Lord is not consistent with fashion or popularity. This is a deeply personal matter of each person.
Since ancient times in Russia, every young couple entering into marriage was married in a church. Thus, it was believed that henceforth the spouses became responsible before God and the Church. Οʜᴎ swore an oath not to break the union sent down from above. In modern society, young people have the right to choose for themselves whether they should get married in a church. It already depends on their immediate attitude and understanding of the importance of the upcoming event. After all, the Church says that a Christian marriage should be the only one in the life of two people.
Usually, registration for the ceremony is carried out 2-3 weeks before the event. The rector of the church, where the wedding is supposed to be, should be inquired about how everything should be done, and also get permission to take photos and videos. According to church traditions, before getting married, young people should observe several regulations, namely, to fast for several days and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. It is important to note that in order to perform the sacrament of Marriage, icons of the Savior and the Mother of God are needed, with which the bride and groom are blessed. There should also be wedding rings, wedding candles and a white towel, ĸᴏᴛᴏᴩᴏᴇ will symbolize the purity of the intentions of the newlyweds.
The wedding ceremony lasts about 40 minutes, which should be taken into account when inviting relatives and friends to the temple. You should also think about who will play the role of witnesses, since they will have to hold crowns over their heads at all times. In no case should you lower them, you can only change the hand that holds the crown. Witnesses must be baptized and wear a cross. In the temple, you must first submit a certificate of civil marriage.
A church wedding takes place as follows. Through the Royal Doors, the priest goes out to the bride and groom. Holding the cross and the Gospel, he blesses the young three times. During the betrothal, the priest gives the newlyweds lighted candles, and puts the rings on the throne in the altar. After reading the prayers, the rings are put on. It is important to note that in order to perform the Sacrament of the Wedding, the young go to the center of the church and stand on a white towel (foot) in front of the analogue on which the Cross, the Gospel and the crowns lie. The priest asks about the consent of the young to unite their hearts before the Church. Decorated crowns (crowns) rise above the heads of the newlyweds. Cups of wine are brought to the spouses, and the young drink from them three times. At the end of the wedding, the priest takes the hands of the bride and groom and leads them around the lectern three times in a circle. Approaching the wedding icons at the Royal Doors, the newlyweds kiss them. The wedding ends with a chaste kiss between the bride and groom. Having passed this solemn moment together, the newlyweds become even closer to each other.
Throughout the history of the development of ancient Russia, many wedding traditions have accumulated. The territory of the state was a huge space with different cultures and nationalities. For this reason, it is not surprising that each nation tried to follow the customs and traditions that were rooted in their land.
It was customary to marry young people in Russia at an early age, starting at the age of 12. At the same time, it was in the order of things that the bride and groom did not know each other well enough before their wedding, and often never saw each other at all. The decision for the young man was made by his parents, and he was only informed about his fate shortly before the wedding itself. In some parts of the country, the guy who looked after the bride had to first tell his father about it. If he received approval from him, then two matchmakers with bread were sent to the girl's house.
In general, weddings lasted an average of 3 days. Sometimes they continued for weeks at a time. But any wedding, of course, was preceded by the so-called "conspiracy" and "swindle". There were times when it was the parents of the future bride who initiated the wedding. Οʜᴎ a person close to them was sent to the groom's house, and he acted as a matchmaker. If he received consent, the future relatives proceeded to matchmaking in the usual way. Sometimes the bride's parents resorted to trickery: if their daughter was not particularly beautiful and pretty, they replaced her with a servant for a while. The groom had no right to see his bride before the wedding; therefore, when the deception was still revealed, the marriage could be terminated. However, this happened very rarely. They usually went to the bride's house to get married together with relatives. The bride's parents were presented with various gifts in the form of wine, beer and various pies. Traditionally, the bride's father did not have to agree to give up his daughter for some time. But, following the results of the conspiracy, in the end he blessed her for the wedding. The agreement between the families went like this: before signing a paper on the details of the upcoming celebration, the parents sat down opposite each other, they were silent for a while. The agreement also indicated the dowry given together with the bride. Usually it consisted of the bride's things, various little things for the house and, if the prosperity allowed, then money, people and some real estate. In the event that the bride came from a poor family, the groom was obliged to transfer a certain amount of money to the bride's parents to create the appearance of a dowry.
On the eve of the wedding, a bachelor party and a bachelorette party were arranged in the houses of the bride and groom, respectively. For the bachelor party, the father or brother of the groom called numerous friends. As "entrants" they went from house to house with gifts and invited to the bachelor party.
At the bachelorette party, the bride was preparing for the upcoming wedding. Often, the bride lamented, saying goodbye to her family and the girl's share, fearing an unknown future in someone else's family. Sometimes the bridesmaids sang choral songs.
By tradition, at the wedding feast, young people practically did not have to eat or drink anything. On the second day, the wedding moved to the groom's house. On the third day, the bride boasted of her cooking skills and treated the guests with her pies.
On the eve or in the morning on the day of the celebration, the matchmaker of the bride went to the groom's house to prepare the wedding bed. This is how an old Russian wedding took place. Some traditions have survived to this day and are successfully used in different variations to this day.
Wedding dresses will always be slightly different from wedding dresses. The fact is that the Orthodox Church adheres to certain rules regarding the clothes in which we enter the church, and wedding dresses are no exception. The basic requirements for the wedding dress of the bride in all churches are the same - in general, the dress should be quite modest.
The colors that are uniquely suitable for a wedding dress are, of course, white and all kinds of light shades of warm or cold tones, from pearl gray to baked milk. Pale pink, blue, cream, vanilla, beige will correspond to the spirit of the light holiday of marriage.
Any minor deviations from this rule are best discussed with the priest in advance. The color of the wedding dress is not as important as the length and degree of openness of the top. The wedding dress should be below the knee, the shoulders and arms should be covered up to the elbow, the head should be covered with a cape. At the same time, it is better not to hide the face behind a veil: it is believed that the open face of the bride also symbolizes her openness towards God and her husband.
Clothing for a wedding should not go beyond the rule about what you can wear to church. Hence the conclusion: even a black dress for the bride is more acceptable than a trouser suit, neckline or short skirt. In the Orthodox wedding tradition, it is not customary for a boy and a girl to carry the train for the bride in church, as it happens in a Catholic wedding. Before the wedding, you cannot use lipstick, so as not to leave marks on the icons that will need to be kissed.
There are no prohibitions about the further fate of the wedding dress. A wedding dress can also be worn in everyday life. The belief that a wedding dress must be kept for life is nothing more than a prejudice today. In the 19th century in a peasant society, this made sense, since only two events stood out against the background of everyday life - the wedding and the funeral. Usually, in what they were crowned, in that and buried. The fact is that it was no longer possible to use a wedding dress - you don't even go to church on Sunday in a wedding dress. Another option was possible - to pass on the wedding dress by inheritance.
Among other Orthodox rites, it is extremely important to note the burial rite. Its essence consists in the Church's view of the body as a temple of the soul consecrated by grace, of the present life as a preparation for the future life, and death as a dream, upon awakening from which eternal life will come.
Death - ϶ᴛᴏ the last earthly lot of every person, after death the soul, separated from the body, appears at the Judgment of God. Believers in Christ do not want to die with unrepentant sins, for in the afterlife they will become a heavy, painful burden. Of the many questions that you can ask yourself, perhaps the most important is the question of how best to prepare for death. To a seriously ill person, you need to invite a priest who will confess him and give the Holy Communion, perform the Sacrament of Unction (Blessing of the Holy One) on him. At the very moment of death, a person experiences a painful feeling of fear, anguish. When leaving the body, the soul meets not only the Guardian Angel given to it in Holy Baptism, but also demons, the terrible appearance of which makes it awe. To pacify the restless soul, the relatives and friends of a person leaving this world can themselves read the waste over him - in the Prayer Book this collection of prayer songs is usually called the "Prayer Canon for the Separation of the Soul from the Body". The canon ends with a prayer from the priest (priest), verb (read) for the exodus of the soul, for its release from all bonds, for release from any oath, for the forgiveness of sins and repose in the abodes of the saints. This prayer is supposed to be read only to the priest, in this regard, if the canon was read by the laity, the prayer is omitted.
The touching rituals performed by the Orthodox Church on a deceased Christian are not just solemn ceremonies, often invented by human vanity and saying nothing to the mind or heart, but on the contrary: they have a deep meaning and significance, since they are based on the revelations of holy faith (that is, opened, bequeathed by the Lord Himself), known from the apostles - disciples and followers of Jesus Christ. The funeral rites of the Orthodox Church bring consolation, serve as symbols that express the idea of a general resurrection and future immortal life.
On the first day, the body of the deceased is washed immediately after death. The ablution is performed as a sign of the spiritual purity and integrity of the life of the deceased and out of the desire that he should appear in purity before God upon the resurrection of the dead. After washing the deceased, they put on new clean clothes, which indicate a new garment of incorruption and immortality. If, for some reason, there was no pectoral cross on a person before death, then it must be worn. Further, the deceased is placed in a coffin, as in an ark for preservation, which is first sprinkled with holy water - outside and inside. A pillow is placed under the shoulders and head. The arms are folded crosswise, so that the right one is on top. A cross is placed in the left hand of the deceased, and an icon is placed on the chest (usually for men - the image of the Savior, for women - the image of the Mother of God). This is done as a sign that the deceased believed in Christ crucified on the cross for the sake of his salvation, and surrendered his soul to Christ, that together with the saints he goes to eternal contemplation - face to face - of his Creator, on Whom he laid everything during his lifetime. hope. A paper whisk is placed on the forehead of the deceased. The deceased Christian is symbolically decorated with a crown, like a warrior who has won a victory on the battlefield. This means that the Christian's exploits on earth in the struggle against all the pernicious passions that overwhelmed him, worldly temptations and other temptations have already ended, now he expects a reward for them in the Kingdom of Heaven. On the rim is the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and St. John the Forerunner, the Baptist of the Lord, with the words of the Trisagion ("Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us") - his crown, which is given to everyone after accomplishing the feat and observing the faith, the deceased hopes to receive by the mercy of the Triune God and by the intercession of the Mother of God and the Forerunner of the Lord.
The body of the deceased, according to the position in the coffin, is covered with a special white cover (shroud) - as a sign that the deceased, as belonging to the Orthodox Church and united with Christ in her holy sacraments, is under the protection of Christ, under the patronage of the Church - she will pray until the end of the century about his soul. The coffin is usually placed in the middle of the room in front of the home icons. A lamp (or candle) is lit in the house, which g
Orthodox traditions - concept and types. Classification and features of the category "Orthodox Traditions" 2017, 2018.