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During 2023, nine parental memorial days are specially celebrated in Orthodox churches. On the ninth day after Easter, Radonitsa falls, a holiday widespread among many peoples of Eastern and Southern Europe. Therefore, the celebration has many names in Slavic dialects, as well as congenial traditions.
What date will Radonitsa be in 2023
By tradition, the holiday is celebrated on the first Tuesday after Easter week. Radonitsa in 2023 falls on 25 April. In the annual calendar of the Slavs, the memorial day does not have a clearly fixed date. The holiday comes a day after the equally popular folk spring date in Eastern Europe – Red Hill.
In the church calendar, the feast of Radonitsa is also called the Tuesday of St. Thomas’s week (week). Literally all of us know the expression “Unbelieving Thomas”. So, this is about the Apostle Thomas and the miracle of his assurance of the resurrection of Christ. The Holy Apostle Thomas was the founder of Christian churches in the Middle East and India. The choice of Tuesday by the clergy is due to the ban on worship and memorial services on Krasnaya Gorka, on Fomino Sunday.
The folk tradition came up with its own name for the week with Radonitsa. The Slavic calendar interprets this week as Radunitskaya, Wired (Light, when dead relatives are remembered) or Dead Week. Directly, the feast of Radonitsa itself among the peoples that are fraternal to us by religion can be celebrated from Sunday to Tuesday, depending on the region.
History and traditions of Radonitsa
The emergence of Radonitsa has pagan roots dating back to the depths of centuries. The etymology of the name of the memorable date is different for all Eastern European peoples. There is one thing in common – the joy of the resurrection of Christ. A memorial meal at the grave of the dead is a folklore custom. Our distant ancestors – the Eastern Slavs – even in pre-Christian times believed that with death a person does not disappear completely. They believed in an afterlife. That if you respect and honor the memory of your ancestors, they will help their descendants. On Radonitsa, it was customary to arrange a meal at the grave of an ancestor in order to feast with him as if he were alive: talk to him, make toasts in his honor, “treat” the deceased, scattering food on the grave and pouring it with mash.
The very first kutya – a traditional memorial dish – was prepared by Christians in the XNUMXth century AD in Constantinople. It happened like this: the emperor Julian the apostate ordered all goods in the market to be secretly sprinkled with the blood of animals sacrificed by pagan priests to their gods. Christians had to eat all this and, as it were, become defiled through this food: this happened during fasting. But the angel revealed to the righteous Bishop Evdosii all these intrigues of the emperor. And the bishop warned the Christians and ordered them to prepare a simple meal from what was at home.
On Radonitsa, it is advisable to call a priest to the grave to his relatives so that he serves lithium. It is advisable to agree on this in advance, especially in churches where there are many parishioners. It is important and necessary to pray for all Orthodox Christians on these holy days. But the most important thing is to remember your ancestors on this day and visit their graves. It is also customary to give alms for one’s relatives and do good deeds.
Prayer for the dead on parental days begins the night before. At the all-night evening services, the Parastas, or Great Panikhida, is served. Parastas in Greek means “intercession”. This is a follow-up to the great memorial service for all the departed Orthodox Christians. It is necessary to attend it in person and pray for your deceased relatives. At this all-night service, you can prepare and write memorial notes for the repose and submit them so that the priest commemorates relatives in the morning, at the liturgy.
Memorial days in 2023 according to the Orthodox calendar
The first parental Saturday according to the calendar – Meatless Saturday, falls on 18 February, a week before Lent. The following are the Parental Saturdays of Great Lent, there are three of them:
- Second week of Lent 11 March.
- Third week of Lent 18 March.
- Fourth week of Great Lent 25 March.
The fifth memorial day of this year is Radonitsa, the 9th day after Easter, or Tuesday of St. Thomas Week – 25 April.
The sixth commemoration day – the Day of Remembrance of all those who died during the Great Patriotic War – 9 May.
The seventh memorial day – Ecumenical Trinity parental Saturday – on Saturday before the feast of the Holy Trinity – 3 June.
The eighth memorial day in the calendar of 2023 is the Day of Remembrance of Orthodox soldiers, for the Faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland on the battlefield of those killed – on September 11.
The ninth memorial day of 2023 – Dimitriev parental Saturday – 28 October. Dedicated to the memory of the fallen in the battle on the Kulikovo field.
I call two parental Saturdays – Trinity and Myasopustnaya – “ecumenical”, because they are celebrated by Orthodox all over the world.
All other memorial days are called private. Except, of course, the parent Saturdays of Great Lent. Private memorial days are associated with the history of Our Country and are celebrated only by the Orthodox Church.