Explanations of church and home prayers. Ecumenical parental (meat-free) Saturday. Parents' Saturdays

(Read from the day of death 40 days and before the anniversary 40 days before the day of death daily)

“Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope the eternal life of the one who passed away * Your servant, our brother ( Name), and as the Good One and the Lover of Mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forgive and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Thy eternal good things, prepared for those who love Thee: otherwise and sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorify You in the Trinity, faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until your last breath of confession. Be merciful to him, and the faith that is in You, instead of deeds, and rest with Your saints, as you are Generous: for there is no man who will live and not sin, but You are the only One besides all sin, and Your truth is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercy and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory, to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

* Until the 40th day after death, it is necessary to read “newly deceased”, and subsequently - “deceased”.

Prayer for the repose of the soul of the deceased for 9 days

“God of spirits and all flesh, having trampled down death and abolished the devil, and given life to Thy world! O Lord, give rest to the souls of your departed servants: holy patriarchs, Your Eminence metropolitans, archbishops and bishops, who served You in the priestly, ecclesiastical and monastic ranks; the creators of this holy temple, the Orthodox forefathers, fathers, brothers and sisters, lying here and everywhere; leaders and warriors who laid down their lives for the faith and fatherland, the faithful, who were killed in internecine warfare, drowned, burned, frozen to death, torn to pieces by beasts, who suddenly died without repentance and did not have time to reconcile with the Church and with their enemies; in a frenzy of mind, those who committed suicide, those for whom we were commanded and asked to pray, for whom there is no one to pray and the faithful, deprived of a Christian burial ( Name) in a brighter place, in a greener place, in a calm place, from where illness, sadness and sighing have escaped. Every sin committed by them in word or deed or thought, as a good Lover of mankind, God forgives, as if there is no man who will live and not sin. For You are the only one besides sin, Your righteousness is truth forever, and Your word is truth.

For Thou art the Resurrection, and the Life and Peace of Thy servants who have fallen asleep ( Name), Christ our God, and to You we send glory with Your beginningless Father, and Your Most Holy, and Good, and Your Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

Prayer for the newly deceased

“Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope, the eternal life of Your newly departed servant (or Your servant), ( Name) , and as he is good and a lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming iniquities, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, raising him up at Thy holy second coming to partake of Thy eternal blessings, for the sake of which there is only faith in Thee, the true God and Lover of Mankind. For You are the resurrection and life and rest for Your servant, ( Name), Christ our God. And we send glory to You, with Your beginningless Father and with the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, amen.”

Prayers for a deceased spouse

Widow's prayer for her deceased husband

“Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the consolation of the weeping, the intercession of the orphans and widows. You said: call on Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you. In the days of my sorrow, I run to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me and hear my prayer brought to You with tears. You, Lord, Master of all, have deigned to unite me with one of Your servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant as a companion and protector. It was Your good and wise will that you would take this servant of Yours away from me and leave me alone. I bow before Your will and I resort to You in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about separation from Your servant, my friend. Even if you took him away from me, do not take your mercy away from me. Just as you once accepted two mites from widows, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Name), forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or in deed, or in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not subject him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your bounties, weaken and forgive all his sins and Do it with Your saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask You, Lord, grant that all the days of my life I will not cease to pray for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive all his sins and place him in the Heavenly abodes, which You have prepared for those who love Cha. For even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to your last breath of confession; impute to him the same faith, even in You, instead of works: for there is no man who will live and not sin, You are the only one besides sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever. I believe, Lord, and confess that You will hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing a widow weeping green, you were merciful, and you brought her son to the grave, carrying her to the grave; How did You open to Your servant Theophilus, who went to You, the doors of Your mercy and forgave him for his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, heeding the prayers and alms of his wife: here and I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. For You are our hope. You are God, the hedgehog to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Prayer for a deceased wife

(A widower’s prayer for his deceased wife)

“Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart I pray to You: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You blessed the marital union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good for man to be alone, let us create for him a helper for him. You have sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and confess that You have blessed me to unite me in this holy union with one of Your handmaids. By your good and wise will you deigned to take away from me this servant of yours, whom you have given to me as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before Your will, and I pray to You with all my heart, accept this prayer for Your servant ( Name), and forgive her if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; Love earthly things more than heavenly things; Even if you care more about the clothing and decoration of your body than about the enlightenment of the clothing of your soul; or even careless about your children; if you upset anyone by word or deed; If there is a grudge in your heart against your neighbor or condemn someone or anything else you have done from such evil people. Forgive her all this, for she is good and philanthropic; for there is no man who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Thy servant, as Thy creation, do not condemn her to eternal torment for her sin, but have mercy and mercy according to Thy great mercy. I pray and ask You, Lord, to grant me strength throughout the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for Your departed servant, and even until the end of my life to ask her from You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive her sins. Yes, as if You, God, placed a crown of stone on her head, crowning her here on earth; Thus crown me with Thy eternal glory in Thy Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints who rejoice there, so that together with them He may forever sing Thy all-holy name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen."

Children's prayers for deceased parents

Prayer for the deceased mother

I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from my mother who gave birth to and raised me, (Name) - But accept her soul, as if it has gone to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, into Your Heavenly Kingdom.

I bow before Your holy will, which was taken away from me, and I ask You not to take away Your mercy and mercy from her. We know, Lord, that You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart, I pray to You, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment Your deceased servant, unforgettable for me, my mother. (Name), but forgive her all her sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, committed by her in her life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and love for mankind, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on her and save her from eternal torment.

You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, not to cease to remember my departed mother in my prayers, and to beg You, the righteous Judge, to order me in a bright place, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints , from here all illness, sorrow and sighing have escaped.

Merciful Lord! Receive today for Your servant (Name) this warm prayer of mine and reward it with Your reward for the labors and care of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as you taught me first of all to lead You, my Lord, to pray to You in reverence, to trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and to keep the commandments Yours; for her concern for my spiritual success, for the warmth of her prayer for me before You and for all the gifts she asked me from You, reward her with Your mercy, Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom.

Prayer for a deceased father

“Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the keeper of the orphans, the refuge of the grieving and the comforter of the weeping.

I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from my parent who gave birth to and raised me, (Name) , accept his soul, as if it had gone to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, into Your Heavenly Kingdom.

I bow before Your holy will, which was taken away from me, and I ask You not to take away Your mercy and mercy from him. We know, Lord, that You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart, I pray to You, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment Your deceased servant, my parent, who is unforgettable for me. (Name), but forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, committed by him in his life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and love for mankind, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him and deliver him from eternal torment.

You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, not to cease to remember my deceased parent in my prayers, and to beg You, the righteous Judge, to order him in a place of light, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints , from here all illness, sorrow and sighing have escaped.

Merciful Lord! Receive today for Your servant (Name) this warm prayer of mine and give him Your reward for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as He taught me first of all to lead You, my Lord, to pray to You in reverence, to trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and to keep the commandments Yours; for his concern for my spiritual success, for the warmth of the prayer he brings for me before You and for all the gifts he asked me from You, reward him with Your mercy, Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom.

For You are the God of mercies and generosity and love for mankind, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."

Prayers of parents for deceased children

Prayer for a deceased daughter

“Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of the afflicted! With a contrite and tender heart I run to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in Your Kingdom your fallen servant, my child, (Name),

Prayer for a deceased son

“Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of the afflicted! With a contrite and tender heart I run to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in Your Kingdom, Your departed servant, my child (Name), and do it to her eternal memory. You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. It was your good and wise will to take it away from me. Blessed be Thy name, O Lord. I pray to You, Judge of heaven and earth, with Your endless love for us sinners, forgive my deceased child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word, in deed, in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, O Merciful One, our parental sins as well, so that they may not remain on our children: we know that we have sinned many times before You, many of whom we have not observed, and have not done, as You commanded us. If our deceased child, ours or his own, for the sake of guilt, lived in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and his God: if you loved the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you surrendered with the pleasures of life, and not more than with contrition for one’s sins, and in intemperance, vigil, fasting and prayer have been consigned to oblivion - I earnestly pray to Thee, forgive, most good Father, all such sins of my child, forgive and weaken, even if you have done other evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You raised up the daughter of Jairus through the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of the Canaanite wife through faith and the request of her mother: hear my prayer, and do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, remove eternal torment and dwell with all Your saints, who have pleased You from the ages, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: like there is no man like He will live and will not sin, but You are the only One besides all sin: so that when you judge the world, my child will hear Your most beloved voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

For You are the Father of mercies and generosity. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen."

Prayer for unbaptized and stillborn babies

Prayer for unbaptized infants from the Synodikon of His Eminence Gregory, Metropolitan of Novgorod and St. Petersburg.

“Remember, O Lord who loves mankind, the souls of Your departed servants, the babies who in the womb of their Orthodox mothers died accidentally from unknown actions, or from a difficult birth, or from some carelessness; baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of ​​Your bounties, and save them with Your ineffable goodness.”

Mother's prayer for stillborn and unbaptized children given by Hieromonk Arseny of Athos:

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

Prayer for suicides

(given by St. Leo of Optina)

“Seek, Lord, the lost soul (name); If possible, have mercy! Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done!”

A short prayer for the departed

“Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.”

A short memorial prayer for the departed

“Rest, O Lord, the soul of Thy servant (Thy servant, Thy servant) the newly departed (oh, yh) (name), and forgive him (her, them) all his (her, their) sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant him (her, them) the Kingdom of Heaven. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

“Today is parenting!” - a phrase we hear several times a year. With God, everyone is alive, and memory and prayer for our deceased relatives and friends is an important part of the Christian faith. We will talk about what kind of parental Saturdays there are, about church and folk traditions days of special remembrance of the dead, how to pray for the dead and whether it is necessary to go to the cemetery on parental Saturdays.

What is Parents' Saturday

Parents' Saturdays(and there are them in church calendar several) are days of special remembrance of the dead. These days in Orthodox churches A special commemoration of deceased Orthodox Christians is performed. In addition, according to tradition, believers visit graves in cemeteries.

The name “parental” most likely comes from the tradition of calling the deceased “parents,” that is, those who went to their fathers. Another version is that Saturdays began to be called “parental” Saturdays, because Christians prayerfully commemorated, first of all, their deceased parents.

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are distinguished, on which Orthodox Church prayerfully remembers all baptized Christians in general. There are two such Saturdays: Meat (the week before Lent) and Trinity (on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost). The remaining parental Saturdays are not ecumenical and are reserved specifically for private commemoration of people dear to our hearts.

How many parent's Saturdays a year?

In the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church there are seven days of special commemoration of the departed. All but one (May 9 - Commemoration of Dead Soldiers) have a moving date.

Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday)

Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent

Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent

Saturday of the 4th week of Lent

Radonitsa

Saturday Trinity

Saturday Dimitrievskaya

Parents' Saturdays in 2017

February 18 - Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday)

March 11 - Saturday of the 2nd week of Lent

March 18 - Saturday of the 3rd week of Lent

March 25 - Saturday of the 4th week of Lent

April 25 - Radonitsa

May 9 - Commemoration of deceased soldiers

June 3 - Trinity Saturday

October 28 - Saturday Dimitrievskaya

What are universal parental Saturdays?

Among other parental Saturdays (and there are seven of them in a year), Ecumenical Saturdays are distinguished, on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. There are two such Saturdays: Meat (the week before Lent) and Trinity (on the eve of the Feast of Pentecost). On these two days, special services are held - ecumenical memorial services.

What are ecumenical memorial services?

On parental Saturdays, the Orthodox Church holds ecumenical or parental memorial services. Christians use the word “requiem service” to refer to a funeral service at which believers pray for the repose of the dead and ask the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins.

What is a memorial service

Panikhida translated from Greek means “all-night vigil.” This is a funeral service at which believers pray for the repose of the dead, asking the Lord for mercy and forgiveness of sins.

Ecumenical (meat-free) parental Saturday

Meat Saturday (Ecumenical Parental Saturday) is the Saturday a week before the start of Lent. It is called Meat Eating Week because it falls on Meat Eating Week (the week before Maslenitsa). It is also called Little Maslenitsa.

On this day, Orthodox Christians commemorate all the baptized dead from Adam to the present day. An ecumenical requiem service is served in the churches - “The memory of all Orthodox Christians who have departed from time immemorial, our fathers and brothers.”

Trinity Parents' Saturday

Trinity is the second ecumenical parental Saturday (after Meat), on which the Orthodox Church prayerfully commemorates all baptized Christians. It falls on the Saturday preceding the holiday of Trinity, or Pentecost. On this day, believers come to churches for a special ecumenical memorial service - “In memory of all Orthodox Christians who have departed from time immemorial, our fathers and brothers.”

Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent

During the weekdays of Lent, the usual Liturgy is not performed unless there is a major holiday. Consequently and most importantly, the liturgical commemoration of the dead is also performed less frequently. In order not to deprive the dead of prayerful representation for them, the Church established three special day to pray for them during Lent. These are the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent. What is important here is the fact of the opportunity to be personally at the Liturgy and pray for the departed. That is, it is not easy to submit a note of repose or order a magpie so that the memorial will be commemorated in the church for forty days or forty Liturgies. Or not asking someone to pray for your loved ones. But there is an opportunity to personally take part in prayer.

Radonitsa

Radonitsa, or Radunitsa, is one of the days of special remembrance of the dead, which falls on the Tuesday after St. Thomas week (the second week after Easter). On Thomas Sunday, Christians remember how the resurrected Jesus Christ descended into hell and defeated death, and Radonitsa, directly associated with this day, also tells us about victory over death.

On Radonitsa, according to tradition, Orthodox Christians go to the cemetery, and there, at the graves of their relatives and friends, they glorify the Risen Christ. Radonitsa, in fact, is called so precisely from the word “joy”, the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ

Commemoration of deceased soldiers - May 9

Commemoration of the departed warriors is the only day of special remembrance of the dead in the year, which has a fixed date. This is May 9, Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War. On this day, after the liturgy, churches serve a memorial service for the soldiers who gave their lives for their homeland.

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday

Demetrius Parental Saturday is the Saturday before the day of remembrance of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki, which is celebrated on November 8 according to the new style. If the saint’s memorial day also falls on a Saturday, the previous one is still considered the parent’s day.

Dimitrievskaya Parental Saturday became a day of special remembrance of the dead after the victory of Russian soldiers in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. At first, on this day they commemorated precisely those who died on the Kulikovo field, then, over the centuries, the tradition changed. In the Novgorod chronicle of the 15th century, we read about Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday as a day of remembrance of all the dead.

Funeral commemoration on Parents' Saturday

On the eve of parental Saturday, that is, on Friday evening, in Orthodox harmas a great requiem service is served, which is also called Greek word"parastas". On Saturday itself, in the morning, they serve the funeral service Divine Liturgy, followed by a general memorial service.

At the parastas or at the funeral Divine Liturgy, you can submit notes of repose with the names of those who have died close to your heart.

Prayer for the departed

Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read names from a commemoration book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are written down. There is a pious custom of conducting family memorials, reading which in home prayer, and during church service, Orthodox people remember by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.

Prayer for a deceased Christian

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life of Your departed servant, our brother (name), and as Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him eternal torment and fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You: even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Your glorified God in the Trinity, Faith, and Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until his last breath of confession. Be merciful to him, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen

Widower's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart, I pray to You: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You blessed the marital union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good for man to be alone, let us create for him a helper for him. You have sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and confess that You have blessed me to unite me in this holy union with one of Your handmaids. By your good and wise will you deigned to take away from me this servant of yours, whom you have given to me as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before Your will, and I pray to You with all my heart, accept my prayer for Your servant (name), and forgive her if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; Love earthly things more than heavenly things; Even if you care more about the clothing and decoration of your body than about the enlightenment of the clothing of your soul; or even careless about your children; if you upset anyone by word or deed; If there is a grudge in your heart against your neighbor or condemn someone or anything else you have done from such evil people.

Forgive her all this, for she is good and philanthropic; for there is no man who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Thy servant, as Thy creation, do not condemn her to eternal torment for her sin, but have mercy and mercy according to Thy great mercy. I pray and ask You, Lord, to grant me strength throughout the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for Your departed servant, and even until the end of my life to ask her from You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive her sins. Yes, as if You, God, placed a crown of stone on her head, crowning her here on earth; Thus crown me with Thy eternal glory in Thy Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints who rejoice there, so that together with them He may forever sing Thy all-holy name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Widow's Prayer

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the consolation of the weeping, the intercession of the orphans and widows. You said: call on Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you. In the days of my sorrow, I run to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me and hear my prayer brought to You with tears. You, Lord, Master of all, have deigned to unite me with one of Your servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant as a companion and protector. It was Your good and wise will that you would take this servant of Yours away from me and leave me alone. I bow before Your will and I resort to You in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about separation from Your servant, my friend. Even if you took him away from me, do not take your mercy away from me. Just as you once accepted two mites from widows, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or in deed, or in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not consign him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, weaken and forgive all his sins and commit them with Thy saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask You, Lord, grant that all the days of my life I will not cease to pray for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive all his sins and place him in the Heavenly abodes, which You have prepared for those who love Cha. For even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to your last breath of confession; impute to him the same faith, even in You, instead of works: for there is no man who will live and not sin, You are the only one besides sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever. I believe, Lord, and confess that You will hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing a widow weeping green, you were merciful, and you brought her son to the grave, carrying her to the grave; How did You open to Your servant Theophilus, who went to You, the doors of Your mercy and forgave him for his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, heeding the prayers and alms of his wife: here and I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. For You are our hope. You are God, the hedgehog to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Parents' prayer for deceased children

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of the afflicted! With a contrite and tender heart I run to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in Your Kingdom your deceased servant (your servant), my child (name), and create for him (her) eternal memory. You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. It was your good and wise will to take it away from me. Blessed be Thy name, O Lord. I pray to You, Judge of heaven and earth, with Your endless love for us sinners, forgive my deceased child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word, in deed, in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, O Merciful One, our parental sins as well, so that they may not remain on our children: we know that we have sinned many times before You, many of whom we have not observed, and have not done, as You commanded us. If our deceased child, ours or his own, for the sake of guilt, lived in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and his God: if you loved the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you surrendered with the pleasures of life, and not more than with contrition for one’s sins, and in intemperance, vigil, fasting and prayer have been consigned to oblivion - I earnestly pray to Thee, forgive, most good Father, all such sins of my child, forgive and weaken, even if you have done other evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You raised up the daughter of Jairus through the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of the Canaanite wife through faith and the request of her mother: hear my prayer, and do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, remove eternal torment and dwell with all Your saints, who have pleased You from the ages, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: like there is no man like He will live and will not sin, but You are the only One besides all sin: so that when you judge the world, my child will hear Your most beloved voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For You are the Father of mercies and generosity. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Children's prayer for deceased parents

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the keeper of the orphans, the refuge of the grieving and the comforter of the weeping. I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from my parent (my mother), (name) (or: with my parents who gave birth and raised me, their names) - , and his soul (or: her, or: them), as having gone (or: gone) to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, accept into Your Kingdom of Heaven. I bow before Your holy will, which was taken away (or: taken away, or: taken away) from me, and I ask You not to take away from him (or: from her, or: from them) Your mercy and mercy. We know, Lord, that You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart, I pray to Thee, merciful Judge, do not punish with eternal punishment the unforgettable deceased (unforgettable deceased) for me Thy servant (Thy servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but forgive him (her) all his sins ( her) voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, created by him (her) in his (her) life here on earth, and according to Your mercy and love for mankind, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him (her) and eternal save me from torment. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, not to cease to remember my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in my prayers, and to beg Thee, the righteous Judge, to order him in a place of light, in a place of coolness and in a place of peace, with all the saints, from nowhere all sickness, sorrow and sighing have fled. Merciful Lord! Accept this day for Thy servant (Your) (name) my warm prayer and give him (her) Your reward for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as He taught (taught) me first of all to lead You, my Lord, in reverently pray to You, trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and keep Your commandments; for his (her) concern for my spiritual progress, for the warmth of his (her) prayer for me before You and for all the gifts he (she) asked me from You, reward him (her) with Your mercy. Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom. For You are the God of mercies and generosity and love for mankind, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Previously, in Rus' on Easter everyone prayed, both the church and the entire believing people, for dead orphans for whom there was no one to pray. You also pray, saying in your prayer:

Lord, our support. Our protection and hope. We come to You every hour, every minute of ours. Although our roads are all different, we will come to You in different time, but everything, every single one. I pray to You, Lord, You are my Heavenly King, Father-Protector, all-forgiving and loving. Forgive and have mercy on the souls of my deceased relatives (names). Forgive them as only You can forgive. And have mercy, as only You, our just and merciful Father, have mercy. Forgive them for the sins they committed, knowing they were sins. But believing in Your all-forgiving pure heart, just as children believe in the mercy of their parent, and the sins that they committed, not knowing the sin. Forgive them and have mercy, Lord, my God, merciful Lover of mankind, I ask You, Your many-sinful and unworthy servant Natalya for all centuries, for all those who died without repentance, not having the opportunity to ask for forgiveness in their last hour, with their last breath due to misfortune or illness, being treacherously killed or unconscious. Forgive all those baptized and unbaptized, those who believe and those who have not yet believed: as only You can forgive in the immense glory of Your wisdom and love for mankind. Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Your prayer can be this or that, the main thing is to pray for the deceased, for those who are unknown to you.
Perhaps no one has prayed for them for a long time. Be it you.

About the deceased.

Remember, Lord, the souls of your departed servants, my parents (names) and all relatives in the flesh. And forgive all sins, voluntary and involuntary, grant them the kingdom and communion of your eternal good things and your endless and blissful life of pleasure (bow).

Remember, Lord, the souls of the departed and all in the hope of resurrection to eternal life, our departed fathers and brothers and sisters, and Orthodox Christians lying here and everywhere, and with Thy Saints, where the light of Thy face is present, have mercy on us all, for He is good and a lover of mankind, Amen (bow).

Grant, Lord, forgiveness of sins to all our fathers, brothers and sisters who have previously departed in faith and hope, and create eternal memory for them.

Our sins are like debts that are passed down through family. If the guilty person did not have time to atone for his sin, then his descendants will answer for him. To atone for the sins of parents, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, it is necessary to fervently pray for the souls of the departed and generously do good deeds: give alms, help those in need, and often order prayer services for the departed in church. For the same purpose, prayer has been given, through which one can get rid of the faults of those who did not live according to the laws of God.

“In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” says the Holy Scripture. “Ask and you will be rewarded.”

Now I, a sinner, born of a sinner, bound by the bonds of sin from century to century, bow my knees before God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, before the Mother of Jesus Christ, the Holy Mother and the Ever-Virgin. I beg forgiveness for myself and my entire family, who came before me and who will come after me. Forgive, Lord, the sins of my family, for the sake of all that is holy, for the sake of all the saints devoted to You. For the sake of John the Baptist, John the Baptist, the forty holy great martyrs, for the sake of the milk with which You were fed, Lord, King of earth and heaven! For the sake of the Cross of Your Faith, for the sake of Your Church. Free, Lord, my family from punishment for our sins. For You said that You forgive Your debtors, just as we will forgive our debtors. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now, forever and forever. Amen.

By praying for others, you yourself will be forgiven.

Among the deceased people there are those who did not know prayers or did not have the opportunity to confess before their death. For example, mentally ill people, people who died suddenly, and so on.

Someone should pray for these people, because how difficult it is now for restless souls. So don't forget what you said knowledgeable people even in ancient times: by praying for others, you yourself will be forgiven. Here you will learn about prayer for those who died in a state of insanity, that is, for mentally ill people. If you ask the Lord for those who are no longer here, then the Lord will hear you in the very Hard time of your life.

Wonderful are Your works, O Lord, and there is no end or limit to the greatness of Your mind! Lord, in Your power to humble the proud, to destroy the greedy and stingy, to deprive the wise of reason. But You, Lord, reject destruction, save the perishing, help those who ask, admonish the guilty.

Lord our God! I intercede in my prayer with the remembrance of Your departed servants, who were unable to confess their hearts and souls before their death, through a crushing mental illness or for some other reason known to the essence of Your all-seeing eye. Incline Your ear to my prayer and soon hear and accept for permission and forgiveness all those who have fallen asleep without confessing to You and Christian prayer. For I grieve and lament for these souls, the souls of the suffering and restless. Son of God, Jesus Christ, forgive and have mercy on everyone who could not ask for themselves before their death.

Lord, our Father and Heavenly King, rest their souls with the saints, now, forever and forever. Amen.

What prayer is read for unbaptized dead children.

This prayer is also suitable for stillborn children.

Remember, O Lord who loves mankind, the souls of Your departed servants, the babies who died in the womb of Orthodox mothers, accidentally from unknown actions or from a difficult birth, or from some carelessness. Baptize them, O Lord, in the sea of ​​Your bounties and save them with Your ineffable grace.

A prayer for the unborn, read only by the mother.

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

Wife's prayer for her husband.

Usually they do not marry until one year after the death of their husband. If the spouses were married, then wedding ring the wife must pick it up. If she never marries again and remains a widow until her death, then both wedding rings, as well as her wedding things, are placed in her coffin. If a husband buries his wife, then her wedding ring remains with him, and after his death it is placed in his coffin: so that he can come to her in the Kingdom of Heaven and say: “I brought our rings with which the Lord God married us.”

Prayer:

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the consolation of the weeping, the intercession of the orphans and widows. You said: call me on the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you. In the days of my sorrow, I run to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me and hear my prayer brought to You with tears.

You, Lord, Lord of all, have deigned to unite me with one of Your servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant as a companion and protector. It was Your good and wise will that you would take this servant of Yours away from me and leave me alone. I bow before Your will and I resort to You in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about separation from Your servant, my friend. Even if you took him away from me, do not take your mercy away from me. Just as you once accepted two mites from widows, so accept this prayer of mine.

Remember, Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or in deed, or in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not consign him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Thy compassions, weaken and forgive all his sins and commit them with Thy saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.

I pray and ask You, Lord, grant that all the days of my life I will not stop praying for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, for the forgiveness of all His sins and His indwelling in the Heavenly abodes, which You have prepared for those who love Cha. For even if you sin, do not depart from You and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is Orthodox even until your last breath of confession: with the same faith, even in You, instead of deeds imputed to him: for there is no man who will live and not sin, you are one besides sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever. I believe, Lord, and confess that You will hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing the widow crying green, have mercy, calm my sorrow. How did You open to Your servant Theophilus, who went to You, the doors of Your mercy and forgave him his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, heeding the prayers and alms of his wife: here and I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life.

For You are our hope, You are God, to have mercy and to save, and to You we send glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A husband's prayer for his wife.

There are prayers that no one will read for a person. These include the prayers of a widower or widower. These prayers are read in solitude, looking at the unforgettable face of the spouse with whom they lived their life on earth.

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart I pray to You: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name), in Kingdom of Heaven Yours. Lord Almighty! You blessed the marital union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good for man to be alone; let us create for him a helper for him. You have sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church.

I believe, Lord, and confess that You have blessed me to unite me in this holy union with one of Your handmaids. By your good and wise will you deigned to take away from me this servant of yours, whom you have given to me as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before Your will and pray to You with all my heart, accept my prayer for Your servant (name) and forgive her if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; If you love earthly things more than heavenly things; if you care more about the clothing and adornment of your body than about the enlightenment of the clothing of your soul; or if you are careless about your children, or if you beat someone up in word or deed; If there is a grudge in your heart against your neighbor or condemn someone or something he has done from such evil ones.

Forgive her all this, for she is good and philanthropic; for there is no man who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Thy servant, as Thy creation, do not condemn her to eternal torment for her sins, but have mercy and mercy according to Thy great mercy. I pray and ask You, Lord, to grant me strength throughout the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for Your departed servant, and even until the end of my life to ask her from You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive her sins. Yes, as if You, God, placed on her head a crown from an honest stone, crowning her here on earth; Thus crown me with Thy eternal glory in Thy Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints who rejoice there, and together with them may eternally sing Thy all-holy name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Prayer for deceased parents.

And finally, the most grateful prayer to those who gave life to you, and therefore to your children and grandchildren. Do not forget your parents, do not do bad deeds and deeds, for the sake of the holy memory of the one who is not there, but on whom sin will be laid for you. For your parents are responsible for you even after death. The Lord will ask them: why didn’t they teach their child to be wise? This prayer is read by children about their deceased parents:

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the keeper of the orphans, the refuge of the grieving and the comforter of the weeping.

I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from my parent (my mother) (name) (or from my parents who gave birth and raised me, names of parents), and his (her) soul. , who has come to You, with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, accept into Your Heavenly Kingdom. I bow before Your holy will, it was taken away from me, and I ask You not to take away Your mercy and mercy from him. We know, Lord, as You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart I pray to Thee, merciful Judge; do not punish with eternal punishment the deceased Thy servant, my parent, who is unforgettable to me, but forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, committed by him, in his life here on earth, and according to Thy mercy and love for mankind, for the sake of prayers Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him and deliver him from eternal torment. You, merciful fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, not to cease to remember my deceased parent in my prayers, and to beg You, the righteous Judge, to place him in a bright place, in a cool place and in a place of peace, with all the saints, from here all illness, sorrow and sighing escaped. Merciful Lord, accept this day for Thy servant my warm prayer and reward him with Thy reward for the labors and cares of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as having taught me first of all to lead Thee, my Lord, in reverence to pray to Thee, in Thee alone to place my trust. in troubles, sorrows and illnesses, keep Your commandments; for Your concern for my spiritual success, for the warmth of the prayers I bring for me before You and for all the gifts that I have asked from You, reward him with Your mercy, Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom. You, for You are the God of mercies and generosity and love for mankind, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and to You we send glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Five ecumenical Saturdays are considered days of special remembrance of the dead:

1. Meat-producing parent universal Saturday happens two weeks before Lent. On this day, the Holy Church prays for all Orthodox Christians who died an unnatural death (wars, floods, earthquakes).

2. Trinity Ecumenical Parental Saturday occurs before the day of the Holy Trinity (on the 49th day after Easter). On this day, all deceased pious Christians are remembered.

3. Parental - 2nd, 3rd, 4th Saturday of Lent. Instead of daily commemoration of the dead during the Divine Liturgy, which does not happen during Lent, the Holy Church recommends enhanced commemoration on these three Saturdays.

Clean parenting days:

1. Tuesday of St. Thomas week. This day is called Radonitsa among the Russian people. This is the ninth day after Easter.

2. September 1, the day of the Beheading of St. John the Baptist (strict fasting is required).

3. Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday is celebrated a week before November 8 - the Day of the Great Martyr Dmitry of Thessalonica.

Farewell prayer for death.

The Lord Jesus Christ our God, who gave the divine commandments to the saints as his disciple and apostle, to bind and solve the sins of the fallen, and from them we also accept guilt and create: may he forgive you, spiritual child, if you have done anything free in this present world or involuntary, now and ever, forever and ever. Amen.

Prayers to the Lord for the repose of the departed.

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life, the repose of Your servant (name), and as the Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming iniquities, weaken, forgive and forgive all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, deliver him from eternal torment

the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and pleasure of Your eternal good things, prepared for those who love You. Even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Your God, glorified in the Trinity, faith: and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in the Unity is Orthodox even until your last breath of confession. Therefore, be merciful to him, and give him rest in faith, even in You, instead of deeds, and rest with Your saints, who are generous. There is no man who will live and not sin; but You are the only one besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever; and You are the only God of mercies, and generosity, and love for mankind; and to You we send glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen.

* * *

God of spirits, and of all flesh, having trampled down death and abolished the devil, and given life to Thy world, O Lord Himself, rest the soul of Thy departed servant (name) in a bright place, in a green place, in a place of peace, from where sickness, sorrow and sighing have escaped . Every sin committed by him, in deed or word or thought, as the Good Lover of Mankind, God forgives: for there is no man who lives and does not sin, for You are the only One besides sin, Your truth is righteousness forever, and Your word is truth. Thou art the resurrection, and the life, and the rest of Thy departed servant (name), Christ our God, and to Thee we send up glory, with Thy Beginningless Father, and Thy Most Holy and Good and Life-giving Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Prayer for repose Orthodox warriors, for faith and patronymic in the battle of those killed.

Invincible, incomprehensible and strong in battle, Lord our God! You, according to Your inscrutable destinies, send the Angel of Death to another under his roof, to another in the village, to another on the sea, and to another on the battlefield from the weapons of war, spewing out terrible and deadly forces, destroying the bodies, tearing apart the limbs and crushing the bones of the warriors; We believe that according to Your, Lord, wise vision, such death is accepted by the defenders of the Faith and the Fatherland. We pray to Thee, Most Blessed Lord, remember in Thy Kingdom the Orthodox soldiers killed in battle and receive them into Thy heavenly palace, as wounded martyrs, stained with their own blood, as if they suffered for Thy Holy Church and for the Fatherland, which Thou hast blessed, as Thy property. We pray to You, accept the warriors who have gone to You into the hosts of warriors Heavenly forces , accept them by Thy mercy, as those who fell in battle for the independence of the Russian land from the yoke of the infidels, as if they defended the Orthodox faith from enemies, who defended the Fatherland in difficult times from foreign hordes; Remember, Lord, and all those who fought a good deed for the ancient preserved Apostolic Orthodoxy, for the Russian land that You have chosen, sanctified and holy in its language, and the enemies of the Cross and Orthodoxy offered both fire and sword. Receive in peace of soul Thy servants (names), who fought for our prosperity, for our peace and tranquility, and grant them eternal rest, as they saved cities and towns and defended the Fatherland with themselves, and have mercy on Thy Orthodox soldiers who fell in battle with mercy, forgive them all their sins , in this life done in word, deed, knowledge and ignorance. Look with Your mercy, O Most Merciful Lord, on their wounds, torment, groaning and suffering, and impute to them all this as a good deed and pleasing to You; Accept them by Thy mercy, having endured fierce sorrow and hardship here, in need, cramped conditions, in labor and vigils, there was hunger and thirst, you endured exhaustion and exhaustion, you were considered like sheep of the slaughter. We pray to Thee, Lord, that their wounds may be healing and oil poured out on their sinful sores. Look down from heaven, O God, and see the tears of the orphans who have lost their fathers, and accept the tender prayers of their sons and daughters for them; hear the prayerful sighs of fathers and mothers who have lost their children; hear, O most gracious Lord, the inconsolable widows who have lost their spouses; brothers and sisters crying for their relatives - and remember the men who were killed in the strength of their strength and in the prime of their years, the elders, in the strength of spirit and courage; look at our heartfelt sorrows, see our lamentation and have mercy, O Most Good One, towards those who pray to You, Lord! Thou hast taken away our dear ones from us, but do not deprive us of Thy mercy: hear our prayer and accept Thy servants (names) who have mercifully gone to Thee. call them to Your palace, like valiant warriors who laid down their lives for faith and the Fatherland on the battlefields; accept them into the host of Your chosen ones, as those who served You with faith and righteousness, and rest them in Your Kingdom, like the martyrs who went to You wounded, ulcerated and betraying their spirit in terrible torment; brought into Your holy city all Your servants (names) who are ever remembered by us, like valiant warriors who fought courageously in the terrible battles of which we remember them; their garments there are in fine linen, bright and clean, as if here they whitened their vestments in their blood and were worthy of the crowns of martyrdom; make them collectively participants in the triumph and glory of the victors who fought under the banner of Your Cross with the world, flesh and the devil; place them in the host of the glorious Passion-Bearers, the good-victorious Martyrs, the Righteous and all Your Saints. Amen.

Prayer for those who died a sudden (sudden) death.

Inscrutable are Your destinies, Lord! Thy ways are unsearchable! Give breath to every creature and everything from those who bring into existence, You send the Angel of death to him on a day he does not know, and at an hour he does not expect; You snatch him from the hand of death, granting him life with his last breath; Be long-suffering to the new one and give him time for repentance; You cut it like a grain with the sword of death in one hour, in the twinkling of an eye; you strike him with thunder and lightning, you burn him with flame, and you betray him as food for wild beasts; Whom he commanded to be swallowed up by the waves and abysses of the sea and the abysses of the earth; stole them with a destructive ulcer, where death, like a reaper, reaps and separates father or mother from their children, brother from brother, husband from wife, tears the baby from the womb of the mother, casts lifeless strong of the earth, rich and poor. What the hell is this? Your look is wondrous and perplexing to us, O God! But Lord, Lord! You are the only One who knows everything, weigh, why this happens and why

Was it that Your servant (name) was suddenly consumed by the gap of death? If You are punishing him for his many, grave sins, we pray to Thee, O All-Merciful and All-Merciful Lord, not with Thy wrath to reprove him and punish him completely, but, according to Thy goodness and according to Thy unconditional mercy, show him Thy great mercy in the forgiveness and remission of sins. What if your deceased servant in this life, thinking about the day of judgment, recognized his repentance and desired to bring you fruits worthy of repentance, but not having achieved this, was called by you on a day that you did not know and did not expect at the hour, for that reason even more We pray to Thee, Most Gracious and Most Merciful Lord, to correct, arrange, complete the unfinished repentance that Thy eyes have seen, and the unfinished work of salvation; The imams have only one hope in Your endless mercy: You have Judgment and punishment, You have truth and inexhaustible mercy; You punish, but at the same time you are merciful; beeshi, and at the same time you are acceptable; We diligently pray to Thee, O Lord our God, do not punish the one suddenly called to You by Thy Last Judgment, but have mercy, have mercy on him and do not cast him away from Thy presence. Oh, it’s terrible to suddenly fall into Your hands, O Lord, and appear before Your impartial Judgment! It is terrible to come to You without gracious guidance, without repentance and communion of Your Holy Terrible and Life-giving Mysteries, Lord! If Your servant, whom we remember, has suddenly died, he has sinned so much, he is so guilty of condemnation at Your righteous court, we pray to You, have mercy on him, do not condemn him to eternal torment, to eternal death; Be patient with us, give us the length of our days, to pray to You all our days for Your departed servant, until You hear us and accept by Your mercy the one who suddenly went to You; and grant us, Master, to wash away his sins with our tears of contrition and our sighs before You, so that Your servant (name) may not be brought down by his sin to a place of torment, but may he dwell in a place of rest. You Yourself, Lord, having commanded to strike at the door of Your mercy, we pray to You, O Most Generous King, and we will not cease to beg Your mercy and cry with the repentant David: have mercy, have mercy on Your servant, O God, according to Your great mercy. If You are not satisfied with our words, this little prayer of ours, we beseech You, Lord, with faith in Your saving merits, with trust in the redemptive and miraculous power of Your sacrifice, offered by You for the sins of the whole world; We pray to Thee, O Sweetest Jesus! You are the Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, you were crucified for our salvation! We pray to You, as our Savior and Redeemer, save and have mercy and deliver eternal torment from the soul of Your suddenly deceased servant (name), who is constantly remembered by us, do not leave him to perish forever, but grant him the ability to reach Your quiet refuge and rest there, where all Your Saints rest. Together we pray to Thee, Lord Jesus Christ our God, by Thy mercy accept all Thy servants (names) who suddenly came to Thee, who were covered by water, who were embraced by the coward, who were killed by murderers, who were hit by fire, hail, snow, frost, hunger and the spirit of a stormy slaying. , thunder and lightning struck, struck with a destructive ulcer, or died by some other guilt, by Your will and permission, we pray to You, accept them under Your mercy and resurrect them into eternal, holy and blessed life. Amen.
Funeral prayer

Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope the life of Thy eternal departed servant (Thy fallen servant; the name of the rivers) and as Good and Lover of mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forsake and forgive all his (her) voluntary and involuntary sins ; elevating him to Your holy second coming, to the communion of Your eternal blessings, for the sake of the only faith in You, the true God and Lover of mankind. For Thou art the resurrection and life and rest of Thy servant (Thy servant; the name of the rivers), Christ our God, and to Thee we ascribe glory, with Thy Beginning Father, and with the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen.

Dimitrievskaya Parents' Saturday is the closest Saturday before Memorial Day (October 26 / November 8). Installed after . Initially, commemoration was performed for all the soldiers who died in this battle. Gradually, Dimitrievskaya Saturday became a day of funeral commemoration of all deceased Orthodox Christians.

History of establishment

Dimitrievskaya Saturday was established by the Grand Duke. Having won the famous victory on the Kulikovo field over Mamai on September 8, 1380, Dimitri Ioannovich, upon returning from the battlefield, visited the Trinity-Sergius monastery. , the abbot of the monastery, had previously blessed him for the battle with the infidels and gave him two monks from among his brethren - . Both monks fell in battle and were buried near the walls of the Church of the Nativity Holy Mother of God in the Old Simonov Monastery.

At the Trinity Monastery they commemorated the Orthodox soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo, with a funeral service and a common meal. Over time, a tradition developed to perform such a commemoration annually. More than 250 thousand soldiers who fought for the Fatherland did not return from the Kulikovo field. Along with the joy of victory, the bitterness of loss came to their families, and this private parent’s day became essentially a universal day of remembrance in Rus'.

Since then, on the Saturday before October 26/November 8 - the day of remembrance of St. Demetrius of Thessalonica (the name day of Demetrius of Donskoy himself) - funeral services were performed everywhere in Rus'. Subsequently, on this day they began to commemorate not only the soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield for their faith and Fatherland, but also all deceased Orthodox Christians.

Traditions

On Dimitrievskaya Parental Saturday, people traditionally visit the graves of deceased relatives; memorial services are held in churches and cemeteries. funeral litias, arrange funeral meals.

On this day, as well as on other parental days (on Saturdays, on Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks), Orthodox Christians pray for the repose of the souls of deceased Christians, mainly parents. But Dimitrievskaya Saturday also carries a special meaning: established after the Battle of Kulikovo, it reminds us of all those who died and suffered for Orthodox faith.

If it is not possible to visit a temple or cemetery these days, you can pray for the repose of the deceased in home prayer. In general, the Church commands us not only on Sunday, but every day to pray for deceased parents, relatives, known people and benefactors. For this purpose, the following is included in the daily number short prayer:

Prayer for the departed

Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read names from a commemoration book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are written down. There is a pious custom of conducting family memorials, reading which both in home prayer and during church services, Orthodox people remember by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.

Church commemoration on Parents' Saturday

To remember your deceased relatives in church, you need to come to church for a service on Friday evening before parental Saturday. At this time, a great funeral service, or parastas, takes place. All troparia, stichera, chants and parastas readings are dedicated to prayer for the dead. On the morning of the memorial Saturday itself, the funeral Divine Liturgy is celebrated, after which a general memorial service is served.

For church commemoration at parastas, separately for the liturgy, parishioners prepare. In the note, in large, legible handwriting, the names of those commemorated are written in the genitive case (to answer the question “who?”), and the clergy and monastics are mentioned first, indicating the rank and degree of monasticism (for example, Metropolitan John, Schema-Abbot Savva, Archpriest Alexander, nun Rachel, Andrey, Nina). All names must be given in church spelling (for example, Tatiana, Alexy) and in full (Mikhail, Lyubov, and not Misha, Lyuba).

In addition, it is customary to bring food to the temple as a donation. As a rule, bread, sweets, fruits, vegetables, etc. are placed on the canon. You can bring flour for prosphora, Cahors for the liturgy, candles and oil for lamps. You are not supposed to bring meat products or strong alcoholic drinks.

Must be remembered

Prayer for the departed is our main and invaluable help to those who have passed into another world. The deceased, by and large, does not need a coffin, a grave monument, much less a memorial table - all this is just a tribute to traditions, albeit very pious ones. But the eternally living soul of the deceased experiences a great need for constant prayer, for it cannot itself do good deeds with which it would be able to appease the Lord.

Parents' Saturdays(and there are several of them in the church calendar) - these are days of special remembrance of the dead. On these days, special commemoration of deceased Orthodox Christians is performed in Orthodox churches. In addition, according to tradition, believers visit graves in cemeteries.

The name “parental” most likely comes from the tradition of calling the deceased “parents,” that is, those who went to their fathers. Another version is that Saturdays began to be called “parental” Saturdays, because Christians prayerfully commemorated, first of all, their deceased parents.

On the eve of Parents' Saturday, that is Friday evening in Orthodox harmas a great funeral service is being served, which is also called the Greek word "parastas" . All troparia, stichera, chants and parastas readings are dedicated to prayer for the dead. On Saturday itself, in the morning, they serve the funeral Divine Liturgy, after it - a general memorial service.

You can apply for parastas or funeral Divine Liturgy funeral notes with the names of those who died close to your heart. In the note, in large, legible handwriting, the names of those commemorated are written in the genitive case (to answer the question “who?”), and the clergy and monastics are mentioned first, indicating the rank and degree of monasticism (for example, Metropolitan John, Schema-Abbot Savva, Archpriest Alexander, nun Rachel, Andrey, Nina). All names must be given in church spelling (for example, Tatiana, Alexy) and in full (Mikhail, Lyubov, and not Misha, Lyuba).

Moreover, according to the old church tradition, as a donation to the temple It's customary to bring food on a special table - "on the eve". As a rule, Lenten foods are placed on the eve: bread, sweets, fruits, vegetables or wine (Cahors) for the liturgy. You can bring flour for prosphora, candles and oil for lamps. You are not allowed to bring meat products or strong alcoholic drinks.

About our duty to the dead

The love that our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us should extend not only to the living, but also to our loved ones and relatives who have left us. Our love for the departed should be even greater, because our living loved ones can help themselves by repentance or doing good deeds and thus ease their fate, but the deceased can no longer help themselves, all their hope for easing their lot in the afterlife lies only in surviving members of the Church. We must sympathize with them in this, especially since their fate is unknown to us. As Saint Theophan the Recluse said: “The fate of those who have departed is not considered decided until the general Judgment. Until then, we cannot consider anyone completely condemned, and on this basis we pray, strengthened by the hope of God’s immeasurable mercy!”. Most people die with sins. The word is true that we are born in sins, and spend our lives in sins, and although we repent and receive communion, we nevertheless sin again, so that death always finds us in sins.

Only for a while does a person leave his body, leaving this visible one and moving to another world, invisible to us, in order to rise again in the general resurrection. The body disintegrates, but the soul continues to live and does not cease to exist for a moment. The Savior says there is no God God of the dead, but alive, for with Him all are alive (Luke 20:38).

Some souls are in a state of anticipation of eternal joy and bliss, while others are in fear of eternal torment that will completely come after Last Judgment. Until then, changes in the state of souls are still possible, especially through the offering of the Bloodless Sacrifice for them (commemoration at the liturgy), as well as through other prayers.

According to Orthodox teaching, through the prayers of the Church, the dead can receive relief or liberation from afterlife punishments. “Whoever wants to show his love for the dead and give them real help, can best do this with prayer for them and especially with remembrance at the Liturgy, when the particles taken for the living and the dead are immersed in the Blood of the Lord with the words: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those who were remembered here with Your honest Blood, with the prayers of Your saints.”(Saint John (Maximovich). Life after death). We cannot do anything better or more for the departed than to pray for them, offering commemoration for them at the liturgy.

It must be remembered that prayer for the departed is our main and invaluable help to those who have passed into another world. The deceased, by and large, does not need a coffin, a grave monument, much less a memorial table - all this is just a tribute to traditions, albeit very pious ones. But the eternally living soul of the deceased experiences a great need for constant prayer, for it cannot itself do good deeds with which it would be able to appease the Lord.

Pray for the departed, take care of their souls. Remember that we all have one road and everyone has that path ahead of them; How we will then wish that they would prayerfully remember us too!

Prayer for the departed
Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors(their names) and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is more convenient to read names from a commemoration book - a small book where the names of living and deceased relatives are written down. There is a pious custom of conducting family memorials, reading which both in home prayer and during church services, Orthodox people remember by name many generations of their deceased ancestors.

Remember, O Lord our God, in the faith and hope of the eternal life of your departed servant, our brother (Name), and as He is Good and Lover of Mankind, forgiving sins and consuming untruths, weaken, forgive and forgive all his voluntary and involuntary sins, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Thy eternal good things, prepared for those who love Thee: even if sin, but do not depart from You, and undoubtedly in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God glorify You in the Trinity, faith, and the Unity in the Trinity and the Trinity in Unity, Orthodox even until your last breath of confession. Be merciful to him, and faith, even in You instead of deeds, and with Your saints, as You give generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But You are the One besides all sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever, and You are the One God of mercies and generosity, and love for mankind, and to You we send glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! In contrition and tenderness of my heart I pray to You: rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Name), in Your Heavenly Kingdom. Lord Almighty! You blessed the marital union of husband and wife, when you said: it is not good for man to be alone, let us create for him a helper for him. You have sanctified this union in the image of the spiritual union of Christ with the Church. I believe, Lord, and confess that You have blessed me to unite me in this holy union with one of Your handmaids. By your good and wise will you deigned to take away from me this servant of yours, whom you have given to me as a helper and companion of my life. I bow before Your will, and I pray to You with all my heart, accept this prayer for Your servant (Name), and forgive her if you sin in word, deed, thought, knowledge and ignorance; Love earthly things more than heavenly things; Even if you care more about the clothing and decoration of your body than about the enlightenment of the clothing of your soul; or even careless about your children; if you upset anyone by word or deed; If there is a grudge in your heart against your neighbor or condemn someone or anything else you have done from such evil people.
Forgive her all this, for she is good and philanthropic; for there is no man who will live and not sin. Do not enter into judgment with Thy servant, as Thy creation, do not condemn her to eternal torment for her sin, but have mercy and mercy according to Thy great mercy. I pray and ask You, Lord, to grant me strength throughout the days of my life, without ceasing to pray for Your departed servant, and even until the end of my life to ask her from You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive her sins. Yes, as if You, God, placed a crown of stone on her head, crowning her here on earth; Thus crown me with Thy eternal glory in Thy Heavenly Kingdom, with all the saints who rejoice there, so that together with them He may forever sing Thy all-holy name with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the consolation of the weeping, the intercession of the orphans and widows. You said: call on Me in the day of your sorrow, and I will destroy you. In the days of my sorrow, I run to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me and hear my prayer brought to You with tears. You, Lord, Master of all, have deigned to unite me with one of Your servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; You gave me this servant as a companion and protector. It was Your good and wise will that you would take this servant of Yours away from me and leave me alone. I bow before Your will and I resort to You in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow about separation from Your servant, my friend. Even if you took him away from me, do not take your mercy away from me. Just as you once accepted two mites from widows, so accept this prayer of mine. Remember, Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Name), forgive him all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, whether in word, or in deed, or in knowledge and ignorance, do not destroy him with his iniquities and do not subject him to eternal torment, but according to Your great mercy and according to the multitude of Your bounties, weaken and forgive all his sins and Do it with Your saints, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life. I pray and ask You, Lord, grant that all the days of my life I will not cease to pray for Your departed servant, and even before my departure, ask You, the Judge of the whole world, to forgive all his sins and place him in the Heavenly abodes, which You have prepared for those who love Cha. For even if you sin, do not depart from You, and undoubtedly the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are Orthodox even to your last breath of confession; impute to him the same faith, even in You, instead of works: for there is no man who will live and not sin, You are the only one besides sin, and Your righteousness is righteousness forever. I believe, Lord, and confess that You will hear my prayer and do not turn Your face away from me. Seeing a widow weeping green, you were merciful, and you brought her son to the grave, carrying her to the grave; How did You open to Your servant Theophilus, who went to You, the doors of Your mercy and forgave him for his sins through the prayers of Your Holy Church, heeding the prayers and alms of his wife: here and I pray to You, accept my prayer for Your servant and bring him into eternal life. For You are our hope. You are God, the hedgehog to have mercy and save, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of the afflicted! With a contrite and tender heart I run to You and pray to You: remember. Lord, in Your Kingdom Your departed servant (your servant) my child (Name), and do for him (to her) eternal memory. You, Lord of life and death, have given me this child. It was your good and wise will to take it away from me. Blessed be Thy name, O Lord. I pray to You, Judge of heaven and earth, with Your endless love for us sinners, forgive my deceased child all his sins, voluntary and involuntary, in word, in deed, in knowledge and ignorance. Forgive, O Merciful One, our parental sins as well, so that they may not remain on our children: we know that we have sinned many times before You, many of whom we have not observed, and have not done, as You commanded us. If our deceased child, ours or his own, for the sake of guilt, lived in this life, working for the world and his flesh, and not more than You, the Lord and his God: if you loved the delights of this world, and not more than Your Word and Your commandments, if you surrendered with the pleasures of life, and not more than with contrition for one’s sins, and in intemperance, vigil, fasting and prayer have been consigned to oblivion - I earnestly pray to Thee, forgive, most good Father, all such sins of my child, forgive and weaken, even if you have done other evil in this life . Christ Jesus! You raised up the daughter of Jairus through the faith and prayer of her father. You healed the daughter of the Canaanite wife through faith and the request of her mother: hear my prayer, and do not despise my prayer for my child. Forgive, Lord, forgive all his sins and, having forgiven and cleansed his soul, remove eternal torment and dwell with all Your saints, who have pleased You from the ages, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life: like there is no man like He will live and will not sin, but You are the only One besides all sin: so that when you judge the world, my child will hear Your most beloved voice: come, blessed of My Father, and inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For You are the Father of mercies and generosity. You are our life and resurrection, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

Lord Jesus Christ our God! You are the keeper of the orphans, the refuge of the grieving and the comforter of the weeping. I come running to you, an orphan, groaning and crying, and I pray to you: hear my prayer and do not turn your face away from the sighs of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray to You, merciful Lord, satisfy my grief over separation from the one who gave birth and raised (who gave birth and raised) me my parent (my matter), (name) (or: with my parents who gave birth to and raised me, their names) - , but his soul ( or: her, or: them), as if she had departed ( or: those who have gone) to You with true faith in You and with firm hope in Your love for mankind and mercy, accept into Your Heavenly Kingdom. I bow before Your holy will, by which I was taken away ( or: taken away or: taken away) from me, and I ask You not to take it away from him ( or: from her, or: from them) Your mercy and mercy. We know, Lord, that You are the Judge of this world, you punish the sins and wickedness of the fathers in children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, even to the third and fourth generation: but you also have mercy on the fathers for the prayers and virtues of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. With contrition and tenderness of heart, I pray to You, merciful Judge, do not punish the unforgettable deceased with eternal punishment (unforgettable deceased) for me Your servant (your servant), my parent (my mother) (name), but let him go (to her) all his sins (her) voluntary and involuntary, in word and deed, knowledge and ignorance, created by him (her) in his life (her) here on earth, and according to Your mercy and love for mankind, prayers for the sake of the Most Pure Mother of God and all the saints, have mercy on him (Yu) and deliver eternal torment. You, merciful Father of fathers and children! Grant me, all the days of my life, until my last breath, to never cease to remember my deceased parent (my deceased mother) in your prayers, and beg Thee, the righteous Judge, to bring him to justice (Yu) in a bright place, in a cool place and in a calm place, with all the saints, but from nowhere all illness, sadness and sighing have escaped. Merciful Lord! Receive today for Your servant (Yours) (name) this warm prayer of mine and give it to him (to her) Your reward for the labors and care of my upbringing in faith and Christian piety, as I taught (who taught) First of all, I lead You, my Lord, to pray to You in reverence, to trust in You alone in troubles, sorrows and illnesses and to keep Your commandments; for his care (xia) about my spiritual success, for the warmth it brings (by her) prayers for me before You and for all the gifts to them (by her) what I have asked from You, give it to him (to her) By your grace. Your heavenly blessings and joys in Your eternal Kingdom. For You are the God of mercies and generosity and love for mankind, You are the peace and joy of Your faithful servants, and we send glory to You with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen

Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh.

I have a peculiar attitude towards death, and I would like to explain why I treat death not only calmly, but with desire, with hope, with longing for it.

My first vivid impression of death was a conversation with my father, who once told me: “You must live in such a way that you learn to expect your death the way a groom expects his bride: to wait for it, to long for it, to rejoice in advance about this meeting, and to meet it reverently, affectionately.” The second impression (of course, not immediately, but much later) was the death of my father. He died suddenly. I came to him, to a poor little room at the top of a French house, where there was a bed, a table, a stool and a few books. I entered his room, closed the door and stood there. And such silence washed over me, such a depth of silence that I remember exclaiming out loud: “And people say that death exists! What a lie this is!” Because this room was full of life, and such a fullness of life that I had never seen outside it, on the street, in the yard. This is why I have such an attitude towards death and why I experience the words of the Apostle Paul with such force: For me, life is Christ, death is gain, because while I live in the flesh, I am separated from Christ... But the apostle adds further words that also greatly amazed me. The quote is not exact, but this is what he says: he completely wants to die and unite with Christ, but he adds: “However, you need me to stay alive, and I will continue to live.” This is the last sacrifice he can make: everything he strives for, everything he hopes for, everything he does, he is ready to put aside because others need him.

I have seen a lot of death. I worked as a doctor for fifteen years, of which five years were in the war or French Resistance. After that, I lived for forty-six years as a priest and gradually buried an entire generation of our early emigration; so I saw a lot of death. And I was amazed that the Russians were dying calmly; Western people are more often with fear. Russians believe in life, go into life. And this is one of the things that every priest and every person must repeat to himself and others: we must not prepare for death, we must prepare for eternal life.

We know nothing about death. We don’t know what happens to us at the moment of dying, but we at least know rudimentarily what eternal life is. Each of us knows from experience that there are some moments when he no longer lives in time, but with such a fullness of life, such a jubilation that does not just belong to the earth. Therefore, the first thing we must teach ourselves and others is to prepare not for death, but for life. And if we talk about death, then talk about it only as a door that will open wide and allow us to enter eternal life.

But dying is still not easy. Whatever we think about death, about eternal life, we know nothing about death itself, about dying. I want to give you one example of my experience during the war.

I was a junior surgeon in a front-line hospital. A young soldier of about twenty-five, my age, was dying. I came to him in the evening, sat down next to him and said: “Well, how are you feeling?” He looked at me and replied: "I'm going to die tonight." - “Are you afraid to die?” - “It’s not scary to die, but it hurts me to part with everything that I love: with my young wife, with the village, with my parents; and one thing is really scary: to die alone.” I speak: "You won't die alone." - "So how?" - “I’ll stay with you.” - “You can’t sit with me all night...” I answered: "Certainly can!" He thought and said: “Even if you sit with me, at some point I will no longer be aware of this, and then I will go into the darkness and die alone.” I speak: “No, not like that at all. I'll sit next to you and we'll talk. You will tell me everything you want: about the village, about the family, about childhood, about your wife, about everything that is in your memory, in your soul, that you love. I will hold your hand. Gradually you will become tired of talking, then I will begin to talk more than you. And then I will see that you are starting to doze, and then I will speak more quietly. You close your eyes, I will stop talking, but I will hold your hand, and you will periodically shake my hand, know that I am here. Gradually, your hand, although it will feel my hand, will no longer be able to shake it, I myself will begin to shake your hand. And at some point you will no longer be among us, but you will not leave alone. We will make the whole journey together." And so hour after hour we spent that night. At some point, he actually stopped squeezing my hand, I started shaking his hand so that he knew I was there. Then his hand began to grow cold, then it opened, and he was no longer with us. And it's very important point; It is very important that a person is not alone when he goes into eternity.

But it also happens differently. Sometimes a person is sick for a long time, and if he is then surrounded by love and care, it is easy to die, although it hurts (I will also say this). But it is very scary when a person is surrounded by people who are just waiting for him to die: they say, while he is sick, we are prisoners of his illness, we cannot move away from his bed, we cannot return to our lives, we cannot rejoice in our joys; he hangs over us like a dark cloud; as if he would die quickly... And the dying person feels it. This can last for months. Relatives come and coldly ask: “Well, how do you like it? Nothing? Do you need something? do not need anything? OK; you know, I have my own things to do, I’ll come back to you.” And even if the voice does not sound cruel, the person knows that he was visited only because he had to be visited, but that his death is impatiently awaited.

But sometimes it happens differently. A person dies, dies for a long time, but he is loved, he is dear; and he himself is also ready to sacrifice the happiness of being with a loved one, because this can give joy or help to someone else. Let me now say something personal about myself.

My mother had been dying of cancer for three years; I followed her. We were very close and dear to each other. But I had my own job - I was the only priest of the London parish, and besides, once a month I had to travel to Paris for meetings of the Diocesan Council. I didn’t have the money to make a phone call, so I came back, thinking: will I find my mother alive or not? She was alive - what a joy! what a meeting! .. Gradually it began to fade away. There were times when she would ring the bell, I would come, and she would tell me: “I’m sad without you, let’s be together.” And there were times when I myself felt unbearable. I went up to her, leaving my work, and said: “It hurts me without you.” And she consoled me about her dying and her death. And so we gradually went into eternity together, because when she died, she took with her all my love for her, everything that was between us. And there was so much between us! We lived almost our entire lives together, only the first years of emigration we lived apart, because there was nowhere to live together. But then we lived together, and she knew me deeply. And once she told me: “How strange: the more I know you, the less I could say about you, because every word I would say about you would have to be corrected with some additional features.” Yes, we reached the point when we knew each other so deeply that we could not say anything about each other, but we could join in life, in dying and in death.

And so we must remember that everyone dying in a situation where any kind of callousness, indifference or desire “for it to finally end” is unbearable. A person feels this, knows it, and we must learn to overcome all the dark, gloomy, bad feelings in ourselves and, forgetting about ourselves, think deeply, peer, and get used to the other person. And then death becomes victory: O death, where is your sting?! O death, where is your victory? Christ has risen, and not one of the dead is in the tomb...

I want to say something else about death because what I have already said is very personal. Death surrounds us all the time, death is the fate of all humanity. Now there are wars, people are dying in terrible suffering, and we must learn to be calm towards own death, because we see life in it, eternal life emerging. Victory over death, over the fear of death, lies in living deeper and deeper into eternity and introducing others to this fullness of life.

But before death there are other moments. We don’t die right away, we don’t just physically die out. Very strange phenomena happen. I remember one of our old ladies, Maria Andreevna, wonderful small creature, who once came to me and said: “Father Anthony, I don’t know what to do with myself: I can’t sleep anymore. Throughout the night, images of my past rise in my memory, but not light ones, but only dark, bad images that torment me. I turned to the doctor and asked him to give me some sleeping pills, but sleeping pills don’t relieve this haze. When I take sleeping pills, I am no longer able to separate these images from myself, they become delirium, and I feel even worse. What should I do?" I then told her: “Maria Andreevna, you know, I don’t believe in reincarnation, but I believe that we have been given by God to experience our lives more than once, not in the sense that you will die and come back to life again, but in what is happening to you now . When you were young, you, within the narrow limits of your understanding, sometimes did wrong; in word, thought, and action they defamed themselves and others. Then you forgot about it and at different ages They continued, to the best of their understanding, to act similarly, again, to humiliate, desecrate, and discredit themselves. Now, when you no longer have the strength to resist the memories, they pop up, and each time they pop up, they seem to say to you: Maria Andreevna, now what are you over eighty years old, almost ninety - if you were in the same position that you are now I remember when you were twenty, thirty, forty, fifty years old, would you have acted as you did then? If you can look deeply at what happened then, at your condition, at events, at people and say: no, now, with my life experience, I could never say this murderous word, I could not do that what I did! - if you can say this with your whole being: with your thought, and your heart, and your will, and your flesh - it will leave you. But other, more and more other images will come. And every time the image comes, God will pose the question to you: is this your past sin or is it still your present sin? Because if you once hated a person and did not forgive him, did not reconcile with him, then the sin of that time is your present sinfulness; she has not left you and will not leave until you repent.”

I can give another example of the same kind. I was once called by the family of one of our decrepit old women, a bright, bright woman. She clearly should have died that day. She confessed, and finally I asked her: “Tell me, Natasha, have you forgiven everyone and everything, or do you still have some kind of thorn in your soul?” She answered: “I have forgiven everyone except my son-in-law; I’ll never forgive him!” I said to this: “In this case, I will not give you a prayer of permission and will not commune the Holy Mysteries; you will go to God’s judgment and will answer before God for your words.” She says: “After all, I’m going to die today!” - “Yes, you will die without a prayer of permission and without communion, if you do not repent and reconcile. I'll be back in an hour"- and left. When I returned an hour later, she greeted me with a shining gaze and said: “You were so right! I called my brother-in-law, we explained ourselves, reconciled - he is now coming to see me, and I hope we will kiss each other to death, and I will enter eternity reconciled with everyone.”