The Shepherd, February 2008
Adapted from
“THE HOUSE OF GOD
& THE CHURCH SERVICES”
By the Priest N. R. Antonov
Continuation
§ 147. The Memorial Service. The Memorial Service, or Panikhida, as it is called in Russian and now by many English Orthodox who have readily adopted this term, is a service which gives us the opportunity to fulfil for our departed ones their last wish as expressed in the verses which we have already quoted (§146): “constantly pray for me.” The word panikhida actually means an all-night vigil, and originally it derived from those vigils that the Christians used to keep at the tombs of the martyrs. Until the departed has been buried, panikhidas are served daily, and they are especially served on the third, ninth and fortieth days after the death of the departed and on the appointed Soul Sabbaths throughout the year.
A panikhida is served on the third day because Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day; on the ninth it is served in the hope that the departed might find repose in the place where the nine ranks of the Angels abide; and on the fortieth day because that is the day on which, from our this-worldly point of view we accept that the particular judgment of the departed has been completed and because we hope that the Lord, Who on the fortieth day ascended into Heaven, will receive the departed into the radiant mansions of Paradise. We also particularly remember the departed in prayer on their namedays, showing that our love for them has not faded with the course of time, but that it is renewed every year. And just as during their earthly life we prayed for their health and wellbeing, so after death we continue that ministry of love by praying for their salvation. On the anniversaries of their death, we pray for them because the day of their death is, we hope, a second birthday unto life in Heaven.
Soul Sabbaths (in Russian they are called Forebears’ Saturdays) are those Saturdays in the year when we especially remember our departed forebears in prayer. There are two principle ones: the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday, and that before Pentecost-Trinity Sunday. To these the Russians have added a third: the Saturday next before St Demetrius’ day (26th October). [Also the second, third, and fourth Saturdays during Great Lent are popularly counted as Soul Sabbaths.]
We pray for the dead on the Saturday before Meatfare Sunday, because on that Sunday we commemorate the Second Coming of the Saviour and Christ’s Dread Judgment of the living and the dead, and we beseech the Righteous Judge to reveal His mercy to the departed. We do so on the Saturday before Trinity Sunday, because through the descent of the Holy Spirit, celebrated at that feast, the redemption of the world was sealed and we pray that the dead, as well as the living, will share the blessing which was then extended to us. The Russians keep the Saturday before 26th October as a Soul Sabbath because that day was the birthday (and nameday of the Prince Dimitri Donskoy, the victor of the battle of Kulikovo, who always commemorated those who had fallen in that battle, which was so important in the emergence of the Orthodox state of Russia. As the feastday of St Demetrius of Thessalonica is a major one, and it would be inappropriate to combine it with the commemoration of the departed, their memorial is kept on the previous Saturday each year. What thus began as something akin to our Armistice Day has, like that, over the years taken on a wider significance, becoming a commemoration not only of fallen warriors but of all the faithful departed. In many churches, on 29th August, there is also a special commemoration of those who have fallen in battle.
There is a specially touching commemoration of the departed on the Tuesday of the second week of Pascha, - again only it seems among the Russians. This is called “Radonitsa” - a word closely related to the word “radost’” - joy, because it is observed during the most joyous days of the Church Year, when we are celebrating Christ’s victory over death. On this day, the faithful visit the graves of their departed loved ones to greet them with the great joy of the Resurrection of Christ and with the hope of their own resurrection unto blessedness.
When commemorating the departed, we always prepare koliva, or kut’ya. This is a dish of boiled wheat grains, sweetened with honey (often also decorated with berries and nuts), which is blessed and then shared by the participants in the prayers as a sign of their brotherhood in Christ. The honey represents the spiritual sweetness which awaits those who die in the Faith and in repentance. The wheat grain reminds us of the doctrine of the resurrection confirmed by the word of Christ Himself: “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit” (John 12:24).
… to be continued in the next issue with
“The Consecration of a Church”
|
