Today, June 11, 2022, Orthodox Christians celebrate the Trinity parent on Saturday. Priest Dionisy Efimov, head of the missionary department of the Ufa diocese of the Russian Orthodox Church, told socialbites.ca about the origin of Parents’ Day and explained who and how it should be commemorated on this holiday.
“In the Orthodox Church they pray for both the living and the dead, for which there are special days to commemorate the dead. One of these days, and probably the most important, is Trinity Parent Saturday, on the eve of the feast of the Holy Trinity, or Pentecost,” said Father Dionysius.
Efimov explained the special place of the holiday in the Orthodox calendar by the date of its origin.
“Why has this day become the most important day in commemoration of the dead? For the Day of the Holy Trinity is the day when, according to Christian tradition, the building of the Church is completed, in which both the living and the dead participate. That is why today we commemorate the dead,” said the priest.
On Parent Saturday, believers commemorate all dead Orthodox Christians. People come to church and hold memorial services for their relatives. Also on this day, it is customary to line up the graves of relatives in cemeteries.
The priest Theodosius explained that the custom of commemorating the unbaptized and suicides on Trinity Saturday is a common misconception.
“There is an opinion that on the day before the Trinity absolutely all people are commemorated: baptized, unbaptized, and even suicides. But this is a common misconception. On this day, those who died a natural death are the commemorated Orthodox Christians,” he said.
Previously, it was known in the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church. declaration on the revival of the post of abbot of the military and naval clergy.