When do they go to the cemetery after Easter according to Orthodox tradition? The priests answer - to Radonitsa. Is it possible to go to the cemetery on Easter?

For the Jews, and later for the Christians who separated from them, Easter has always been a bright holiday. At first, words with the same root for Passover denoted two important events for Jewish history. The first of them is the tenth “Egyptian plague,” when the pestilence passed through all houses, striking all the first-born of people and livestock, passing only Jewish families. The second is the exodus of Jews from Egypt. The word "Passover" is related to the term "passover", which in Hebrew means "passed by", "passed by". In any case, the word carried a positive connotation for the Jewish people back in the Old Testament history.

Later, when, in accordance with biblical history, the Resurrection of Christ fell on the date of the celebration of the exodus of the Jews, Easter began to be associated with it: moreover, not all of our contemporaries who consider themselves Christians know about the “Egyptian plagues” and the exodus from Egypt as once on Easter. Although, of course, for Christians and non-Jews it is precisely this aspect of Easter that is the main one: moreover, it is the most ancient and one of the most joyful holidays in this faith - along with Christmas and the Annunciation.

That is why the church considers it sinful to indulge in gloomy and sad thoughts about the departed on that day, which believers should associate precisely with victory over death.

Another reason why the visit should be postponed is that we usually clean up the grave when visiting a cemetery, but on Easter, as on other church holidays, this cannot be done.

Where did the tradition of going to the cemetery on Easter come from?

But why did it happen that our grandparents and parents stubbornly believe that it is on Easter that we need to go to the cemetery for cleaning and remembrance? The point is that in Soviet times Excessive religiosity, as you know, was not approved - at least. Temples were closed and cemeteries were open. And the believers tried to preserve some kind of ritual as best they knew how and could; perhaps the only solution was to visit the cemetery on that day: then they met with living relatives and could remember the departed.

Now that you can safely go to church on Easter, this is exactly what you should do - although, out of old memory, people of older generations still stubbornly gravitate to cemeteries. You shouldn’t do this: there are specially designated days for this.

By the way, there is also an opinion that the custom of visiting a cemetery on Easter developed even before the ban on churches, that is, before the Revolution: in rural areas churches and graveyards were often located nearby, so people simply went to the dead immediately after the Easter service.

When to go to the cemetery in honor of Easter?

First of all, in order to pay a visit to the departed with the news that Christ is Risen, there is Radonitsa: Tuesday of St. Thomas (next after Easter) week. Contrary to established traditions, you should not bring food to the grave, much less vodka, as they like to do in Russia; however, a red-painted egg can and should be brought - it is a symbol of the Resurrection and the victory of life over death.

A large number of people have ingrained in their minds the obligation to visit a cemetery on Easter. Moreover, they sincerely believe that this is prescribed by the church. In reality, everything is somewhat different.

Let's start with the fact that the clergy negative attitude to visit the cemetery on Easter. They argue that the brightest holiday of the Orthodox should not have a hint of sorrow. During Easter week, no remembrance of the dead takes place in churches, and requiem services are not celebrated on Bright Week.

If a person died during a holiday week, then a funeral service is arranged for him in a special rite, including a large number of Easter chants. The prolonged triumph of communist ideology, which prohibited any religion, provoked a slight shift in some traditions. And somehow I forgot that there is a special day set aside for visiting the cemetery in honor of Easter - Radunitsa, which is the second Tuesday from the Resurrection of Christ.

Light Christ's Resurrection is a celebration of life, when its victory over death is celebrated. According to Orthodox teaching, the death of a person does not mean the end of the road for his soul. She still has a long journey ahead, forty days, to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is for this reason that you should not visit the cemetery on Easter; on this day you should completely surrender to joy.

At the same time, we must not forget that Sunday is only the first day of Easter, followed by a week of holidays, during which all Orthodox Christians should rejoice. And dwelling on sad memories at this time is a sin.

Of course, the concern of the bosses for people can only be welcomed, but it would be nice to consult with representatives of the church about the advisability of such trips. And if they did this, they could find out that Orthodox teaching does not consider it correct to visit the cemetery on the first day of the bright holiday of Easter.

Is it still possible to go to the cemetery on Easter?

In many cities, on Holy Sunday, cemeteries become places of real pilgrimage. When and by whom was this tradition introduced? According to historians, the claim that all this began after October revolution does not have sufficient grounds. Its roots can be traced back to earlier times.

For residents of small villages, as a rule, the road to the church was not close, and therefore every trip to it became a real event. A visit to the temple on Easter was mandatory for every family member, and they prepared for it in advance.

And since there was always a cemetery next to the church, they also visited the graves of deceased relatives. After all, once again committing a short and rather expensive trip in a week, not everyone could afford to remember the deceased.

The more popular version is related to the peculiarities of the board Soviet power. Religion began to be considered illegal, and it was almost impossible to find special literature on the interpretation of Orthodox customs. And communication with a clergyman to understand all the nuances could result in quite serious troubles. So people began to interpret Easter traditions in accordance with their vision.

When do they go to the cemetery after Easter?

The church calendar speaks of the second Tuesday after Easter (Radunitsa) as the day when all the dead should be remembered. It is on this day that the good news of the resurrection of Christ can be carried to the cemetery, to relatives and friends who rest there. No other day from Bright Week is suitable for this purpose.

In order useful information! When clergy are asked about the permissibility of painting eggs for Easter if the family is still in mourning, they give an affirmative answer. According to some superstitions, only black color can be used for this purpose in such a situation. The Church claims that there are no color restrictions.

I would also like to remind you that during Lent, three parental Saturdays are established at once, on which it is necessary to remember the deceased, offer prayers for them in churches, visit their graves, preparing them for Easter. One more nuance. Christian traditions do not allow food to be left at the final resting place of a relative. The soul of the deceased has no need for food, and this tradition comes from paganism.

In conclusion, we would like to quote a verse that we really liked because it has answers to all the questions:

Don't go to the cemetery on Easter

Don't go to the cemetery on Easter
To all those who are no longer with you.
On this bright holiday, stand in Christ, rejoice,
Praise God throughout the whole wide world!

Don't go to your deceased parents
There are other days for this
After all, whether you want it or not, -
On this day they see Christ!

Don't bring your suffering to them,
Sorrow and tears, heartache,
Don't join them in a drunken group
On the day when Love rules the world!

Do not deprive them of a bright holiday,
They don't need praise or flattery,
Their souls will remain silent, unrequited,
But you came - they are here too...

On Easter day, sometimes in spring,
Give joy to everyone who is dear to you.
In Jesus Christ Resurrection
Dear ones, do not disturb the graves...

Don't go to your parents for Easter
Don't kiss the cross over them.
Do not sadden them in a quiet abode -
On this day they see CHRIST!

Every year on the day of the Resurrection of Christ, thousands of people go to the cemetery to clean up the graves and remember their deceased relatives. Let's understand the reasons for this attraction to graves on the first day of Easter, and not on Radonitsa, when the commemoration of the dead is prescribed according to church regulations.

The tradition of honoring the graves of ancestors dates back to ancient times. Philologist Mikhail Gasparov in his book “The Capitoline Wolf” talks about how the Romans buried their deceased relatives outside the city along the roadsides big roads, it was believed that a passerby should stop near the grave and read an edifying epitaph, many of which began with the words: “Stop, passerby.” It was believed that the more passersby read the epitaph and remembered the deceased, the happier his afterlife fate would be.

The custom of honoring the dead was adopted by the first Christians in literally words owe their survival. The Roman Empire did not allow the creation public organizations or groups other than funeral colleges, whose members took care of each other's dignified burial. So the followers of the new religion began to gather in the catacombs, where Christian symbols can still be found. Some researchers even attribute the famous Latin inscription to them:

SATOR
AREPO
TENET
OPERA
ROTAS

When crossed, the word "tenet" gives the image of a cross. However, let's return to our coffins. Almost simultaneously with the veneration of the dead, there is a tradition in the Church of condemning meals at graves as remnants of pagan superstitions.

Blessed Augustine in his “Confessions” talks about how his mother, Blessed Monica, a pious Christian, stopped going to cemeteries with offerings:

« One day, according to the established order in Africa, she brought porridge, bread and pure wine to the graves of the saints. The gatekeeper did not accept them. Having learned that this was the bishop’s prohibition, she accepted his order so obediently and respectfully that I myself was surprised at how easily she began to condemn her own custom, rather than talk about its prohibition. Having learned that the glorious preacher and guardian of piety forbade this custom even to those who soberly celebrated it - there is no need to give drunkards the opportunity to drink to the point of insensibility - in addition, these peculiar commemorations were very reminiscent of pagan superstition - my mother very willingly abandoned it: she learned to bring to the graves of martyrs, instead of a basket full of earthly fruits, a heart full of pure vows, and to give to the poor according to her means. The Corpus Christi was communed there; Imitating the passions of the Lord, the martyrs sacrificed themselves and received the crown».

As we can see, the tradition of visiting graves on certain days has a long history, and the Church from the very beginning made sure that the commemoration of the dead did not turn into disgusting. If you open the texts of ancient Russian preachers, they are surprisingly similar to the notices asking not to litter on graves, which can be seen at the entrance to cemeteries even in our time.

Since ancient times, the Church has struggled with excessive veneration of the dead by Christians. The historian Vasily Bolotov talks about the Carthaginian bishop Caecilian, who reproached the rich pious widow Lucilla for “the fact that, according to her custom, before receiving the Holy Mysteries, she kissed the bone of some dubious martyr.”

This episode brings us almost closely to the problem of visiting a cemetery instead of a temple on Easter. Caecilian threatened to excommunicate the widow from the Church because she prefers communion with the dead to communion with Christ, and this remark also applies to those who share the joy of the Holy Resurrection of Christ with the dead rather than with living people.

However, let’s not get carried away with moralizing and again turn to historical examples. In the records of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra of the 15th century, which were included in later editions of the Pechersk Patericon, there is a story about how the deceased responded to the Easter greeting:

« In 6971 (1463) such a sign happened in the Pechersk Monastery. Under Prince Semyon Alexandrovich and under his brother Prince Mikhail, under Archimandrite Nikola of Pechersk, a certain Dionysius, nicknamed Shchepa, looked after the cave. On the Great Day he came to the cave to worship the bodies of the dead, and when he reached the place called the Community, he said: “Fathers and brothers, Christ has risen! Today is a Great Day." And it thundered in response like powerful thunder: “Truly Christ has risen»».

This passage is sometimes used as an argument for visiting cemeteries at Easter. However, there are several significant clarifications to this story.

Firstly, in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra there are still small churches in caves where the venerable fathers are buried. Of course, services are held there on Holy Week, but no one considers the tombs of holy relics as an analogue of a cemetery. Secondly, the Monk Dionysius did not perform any funeral commemoration, but simply came to cense the deceased monks and congratulate them on the Easter holiday, since Christians believe that their God is “not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.” Thirdly, the monk did not arrange any meals in the tomb, did not place a glass of vodka with black bread on the graves and did not crumble an egg there. In other words, his actions were nothing like what some of our fellow citizens do at the graves of loved ones on Easter.

The Church says it is undesirable to visit cemeteries on Easter not because it has anything against our deceased relatives, but because the church charter provides many other days for visiting cemeteries and funeral prayers.

An expert in church regulations, priest Afanasy (Sakharov), Bishop of Kovrov, in his book on the Orthodox burial rite, writes about the peculiarities of Easter and Bright Week: “ On this day, as throughout Bright Week, there is no place for sobbing about one’s misery, for crying about sins, for fear of death.».

Let us remember that at the Easter service the famous word of St. John Chrysostom is read, which in particular says that Christ abolished “the sting of death.” To visit a cemetery on this day means not to believe in the Resurrection of Christ..

Metropolitan Anthony (Bloom) of Sourozh once remarked that “ a cemetery is not a place where corpses are piled up, but a place where they await the Resurrection" For repentance, Christians had 6 weeks of Lent and Holy Week, so a person should rejoice after such a difficult path.

Of course, if a person, after the Easter service and breaking the fast, decides to go to the cemetery, clean up the grave and sing the troparion “Christ is Risen from the Dead,” he will not sin, but most people go to the cemetery instead of visiting church.

The same Saint Athanasius (Sakharov) has wonderful words that the Church does not forget about the departed even on the day of Holy Easter: “ Death and the dead, however, are often remembered on this appointed and holy day... a holiday and a triumph of celebrations, much more often than on other, lesser holidays. But on Easter - this is a victorious remembrance of the trampling of death by the death of Christ, this is the most joyful and comforting confession of faith that life is given to those in the tombs). It is clear, therefore, that at Easter there cannot and should not be any talk of memorial prayers, of any public commemoration not only of the dead, but also of the living».

I personally know people who go to the grave of their father and husband on Easter only to pour a glass of vodka there, because “the deceased really liked to drink.” To do this means to cease to be a Christian, turning into a strange follower of the cult of the active dead, who continue to eat, drink or “wear pants” after death.

Andrey ZAYTSEV, photo: Ekaterina STEPANOVA, Sergey SHULYAK
Magazine "Neskuchny Sad"

Is it possible to go to the cemetery on Easter and remember the dead? This question worries many, but what does the church say: Read the priest’s answer.

Soon Orthodox people will celebrate the Holy Resurrection of Christ - the holiday of Easter. On this day, according to tradition, people eat Easter cakes and colored eggs, and many also go to the cemetery to remember their deceased relatives. This tradition developed many years ago, but now the church says that you cannot go to the cemetery on Easter.

But on the other hand, authorities in many Russian cities specially run additional buses to the cemetery for Easter. It’s like you don’t want to, but it’s like they’re pushing you! So is it possible to go to the cemetery on Easter? And if not, then why?

Is it possible to go to a cemetery on Easter: what does the church say?

Orthodox priests actually do not approve of visiting the cemetery on Easter, explaining that the brightest holiday for believers should not be overshadowed by a tinge of sorrow. On Easter Week, churches do not commemorate the dead, and on Bright Week there are no memorial services. And for the dead during the holiday week they even hold a funeral service according to a special rite, which includes many Easter chants.

The priest's answer. But Archpriest Sergius Arkhipov, priest of the Intercession Church, Zhizdra, Kaluga region, in the Orthodox magazine “Thomas” gives the following answer to this question: “From the point of view Orthodox tradition, you should not visit cemeteries on Easter. Christ's Resurrection is the triumph of life over death, evidence that God has everyone alive. Easter is a day of joy, not sorrow. Therefore, during the entire Easter week, funeral services and memorial services are not held in churches.”

“When we go to the cemetery on Easter, we discover not only spiritual insensitivity, but also a complete misunderstanding of the meaning of saving Christian teaching,” says Hieromonk Job (Gumerov), answering a similar question on the Pravoslavie.ru portal.

Why did the custom of going to the cemetery on Easter appear?

There are several opinions on this issue.

Some believe that the custom of going to the cemetery on Easter originated before the October Revolution. In small villages, graveyards were located next to churches, and not all villages had churches. Believers from many kilometers away came on foot to the night service and brought treats. And the next morning, since we had already walked a long distance, we also visited the graves of relatives.

Others believe that the tradition of going to the cemetery on Easter appeared already in the godless Soviet era.

The priest's answer.“For participating in an Easter service or simply for blessing an Easter cake and eggs, a person could easily receive a reprimand at the service, lose his queue for an apartment, or lose his position. Therefore, instead of the temple, people began to visit the graves of their relatives on Easter Day, especially since traditionally in Russia the cemetery was located not far from the church. It was a kind of religious dissidence, when a believer, deprived of the opportunity to visit the temple, nevertheless celebrated, as best he could, what was taken from him religious holiday, – this is what Sergiy Arkhipov writes in the Foma magazine.

When to go to the cemetery and remember the dead, if not on Easter?

The Church says that it is necessary to remember the dead and visit cemeteries on the ninth day after Easter - on Radonitsa. It is Tuesday of the week following Bright Week that is the special day of remembrance of the dead in the Church. This tradition is Russian. Orthodox Christians in the Middle East and Greece do not have it.

Easter is the greatest Christian holiday. On it, around the passion of Christ and his resurrection, the main pillars of Christianity rest.

Many people are surprised to hear that even on Easter the church prescribes a number of prohibitions and restrictions for parishioners. There are many official church rules and folk signs about what not to do on Easter - we previously introduced our readers to them.

Easter is the time for the meeting of the dead and the living

One of the most ancient Christian beliefs says that souls dead people return from Paradise and walk the Earth with us. This happens throughout the week during which Easter is celebrated.

The bright Resurrection of Christ means the triumph of life over death and victory over evil, therefore this holiday is bright and cheerful, despite the fact that Jesus Christ gave his life for us and for our sins.

The Savior returned from heaven to be with his disciples and complete the work he had begun, passing on the remaining knowledge. Since ancient times, many have believed that for this reason all the dead are allowed to leave Paradise during the holiday so that they can meet their loved ones. Do not be afraid of this ancient legend, because only from Paradise do people come to us. Those who were wicked and went to hell remain there forever.

Cemeteries are empty at this time, as people’s souls return home, so it was not customary to go to churchyards before Easter, disturbing someone’s peace. When Christianity was persecuted in our country, this belief was erased from the memory of the people. But now that everything is in order, tradition is again paramount.

Signs for Easter about the dead

• There are many folk signs associated with the belief about the return of our loved ones. We talked about the most important signs for Easter earlier.
• If the dead return and they are sad, the weather on such a Resurrection of Christ is usually rainy.
• If you have a weak appetite during the festival, it is better to designate some dishes for the dead, without removing them, but leaving them, for example, on the windowsill.
• If you feel depressed and you think a lot about what you might have done wrong in the past, it is no coincidence. This sign says that one of the dead is trying to ask you for forgiveness.
• If you go to the cemetery on Bright Sunday, do not take food with you to remember the deceased, as this promises you great bad luck. Just try to clean up and put things in order at the grave, but nothing more.
• In conclusion, I would like to note one interesting sign- if you dream of a deceased person on Easter, then everything he says to you, or everything he does, happens as if in reality. This is a real dialogue. Many people at Easter see their deceased mothers or fathers, who give them instructions or simply tell them that they love them.

Easter is the time when the departed come to us to see how we live, and not vice versa. According to folk sages, this is a gift from God to those who are not with us, and a reminder that the two worlds are interconnected. Everyone who is alive now, sooner or later, will meet their loved ones in heaven.

The connection between us and those who have died is strengthened not only at Easter. Whether this is good or bad is up to you to decide. You can find out what the deceased dreams about on ordinary days from our dream book: it will tell you the interpretation of such a dream. Let real world and the world of dreams will be filled with love and goodness for you on any day, and not just during Great Easter. Good luck, and don't forget to press the buttons and

28.04.2016 02:13

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