Today is Mitrovske Zadusnice – here are the customs that the Orthodox respect, and you HAVE to do ONE THING in the CEMETERY!

Funeral services, candles, candles, Photo: Printed screen: Youtube

Saturday is the scheduled day for memorial services, and then there is a service for the deceased at the Serbian Orthodox Church.

Although one can pray for the dead on other days, Orthodox Christians must go to church every Saturday, light a candle, and remember their dead in prayer.

And since the Mitrovica commemorations are tomorrow, they are the second in importance in the Orthodox calendar, just after the ones before the Easter fast, these are the customs that must be respected.

In churches, they are marked with the Holy Liturgy and a memorial service, and people go out to the cemetery before noon and only bring candles, grain, and wine. Any other abundance is unnecessary and not in the spirit of orthodoxy. According to popular belief, a candle lit in the memorial service is worth more than all the candles lit by the deceased during the year, and if it is not lit, the dead will be in darkness for a year.

Memorials are never during Lent, which is why they fall on Saturdays, and then white pastry cakes are baked.

Common for memorial services everywhere is to go out to the cemetery, carry as many candles as the deceased is mentioned, and organize services at the grave, be it juice or a glass of water. At least one bite should be served in the cemetery, as is customary. The offers are used by everyone, even by unknown people who approach the grave, otherwise their rejection or forcing is considered a great sin and insult to the dead.

Probably one of the most interesting legends about the Mitrovica commemorations is that we took them from the Russian Orthodox Church. Those who cannot go out to the grave of the deceased receive a memorial service in the church. The church also commemorates the words of Saint John Chrysostom, one of the greatest fourth-century theologians of Christian preaching: “Help the dead and remember them. Do not hesitate to help those who have left and offer your prayers for them.” .