An important religious holiday - the Resurrection of Christ - is coming soon. Many have a custom to go to the cemetery on Easter, although the church opposes visiting the churchyard on Bright Sunday. Do they go to the cemetery on Easter, or is it better to do it on specially designated days?
Why does the church oppose
What does the church answer to the question, is it possible to go to the cemetery on Easter? The clergy urge parishioners to refuse to visit the churchyard on Easter. There is no text in the Bible prohibiting believers from going to the churchyard on a great holiday. But the priests explain that Easter is a time of bright joy and fun. On a holiday, you cannot be sad and upset, on the contrary, you need to try to clear your mind of negative thoughts. This is why you can't go to the cemetery on Easter.
Important!Visiting a cemetery on Easter is not a terrible sin, but the church does not approve of the deed.
Many clergy are of the opinion that it is worth refusing to visit the cemetery on Easter.
On a bright Sunday and the following Easter week, there are no memorial services. For a parishioner who died on Easter week, a special funeral service takes place, including Easter chants.
After the festive service in honor of the Resurrection of Christ, thousands of people go home and receive guests all day or go to visit themselves. On a bright Sunday, the triumph of life over death is celebrated, and you should not go to the graves. As the priests say, those people who prefer to go to the cemetery on Easter Sunday do not quite understand the meaning of the saving teaching of Christianity. Those who share the joy of Christ's Bright Resurrection will not visit the graves of the dead on the great holiday.
It is necessary to remember the departed, but for this the church allocates special parental Saturdays before Easter. After Easter Sunday, believers will celebrate Radonitsa, when the church is supposed to commemorate the dead.
If for some reason you will visit the cemetery on Easter, be sure to go to the church for service before that.
Where did the tradition of going to the cemetery on Easter Sunday come from?
There are two options where the tradition of visiting churchyards on Easter Sunday came from.
- In Soviet times, almost all churches were closed. Believers baptized and buried the funeral secretly, inviting priests home. Since it was impossible to go to the festive service in the temple, believers went to the cemetery on Easter Sunday, where they could pray in peace. Now anyone can go to the service. The need to visit the graves on Easter has disappeared. True believers do not go to the cemetery on Easter.
- Before the October Revolution, the dead were buried near churches. The churches were located far away, the villagers had to go to the service many kilometers away. After the night service, they also visited the graves of deceased relatives, brought lit Easter cakes and eggs, and remembered the deceased.
There is an opinion that the tradition of visiting a cemetery on Easter dates back to Soviet times.
Parental Saturdays
Great Lent does not provide for daily prayers for repose. The Church determines several dates when common prayers for the salvation of the souls of the dead will take place before the Last Judgment. The Church does not forget about the departed, and every year before the Great Feast, each person has the opportunity to remember in prayers the departed people.
In 2018, parental Saturdays fall on the following dates:
- March, 3rd;
- 10th of March;
- March 17.
After Easter week, on the 10th day after Easter, Radonitsa is celebrated.In 2018, the general funeral service and visit to the cemetery will take place on Tuesday 17 April.
There are certain rules about what to do on parental Saturdays.
The cemetery is worth visiting on parent's Saturday
On the memorial day, you should visit the church, light candles for the repose, write demands. It is advisable to distribute coins and food to those in need. Many believe that a visit to the cemetery on parental Saturday is a must. If possible, it is advisable to put the graves in order and spend some time there. The church welcomes the ennobling of graves on memorial days.
It is strictly forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages in the cemetery, arrange a feast after visiting it. Memorial Saturday is a day when you should remember your departed loved ones with kind words and a fond memory, and not with drinking alcohol, which often ends with songs and dances.
But you shouldn't grieve much at the cemetery either. Of course, the loss of loved ones is a very great grief, and over the years the pain dulls, but does not disappear. But the Orthodox Church reminds us that despondency is also a sin, so it is better to remember all the good things that were associated with the dead.
What to do on Radonitsa
Special memorial services are held on Radonitsa
The very name of the holiday "Radonitsa" means not grief and sadness, but joy. Believers rejoice that the dead have entered the kingdom of God. Their worldly concerns and difficulties have ceased, and someday they will all be reunited together in heaven. These thoughts should bring joy to believers.
A special memorial service is served at Radonitsa, accompanied by Easter chants. Also, when visiting the cemetery on Radonitsa, they pray for the dead and at the graves. Before going to the cemetery, the Orthodox visit the church, give notes, light a candle on the altar, and receive communion.
A church candle is lit at the cemetery, prayers are read. If possible, it is better to invite a priest to Radonitsa, but you can read the prayer yourself. After that, it is necessary to put the graves of relatives in order: remove the garbage, paint the fence, wipe the monument, etc. And then you should spend some time in silence, remembering all the happy moments when the person was still alive.
Unfortunately, there are still folk traditions that the church condemns in every possible way:
- Drinking alcoholic beverages at Radonitsa. In cemeteries during the holiday, you can meet people who arrange real drinking on the graves. The souls who have departed from us need a prayer for salvation. They should know that they are not forgotten and are constantly remembered with a kind word and bright thought, and drinking alcohol in the cemetery will only offend the memory of the dead.
- The Church is categorically against leaving illuminated Easter cakes and colored eggs on the graves. Some even put on a glass of vodka, covering it with a piece of bread. In no case should you do this.
- After visiting the cemetery on Radonitsa, most people go home, where they arrange lavish feasts, forgetting the true meaning of this holiday.
Visiting a cemetery on Easter is equated by some to a terrible sin, but it is not, although the church does not approve of it. Still, the holiday of Holy Sunday is the day when you should have fun and not indulge in sadness. And you need to remember the departed on specially designated days.
