Saturday of Souls (or Soul Saturday) is a day set aside for the commemoration of the dead within the

liturgical year The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

and

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (''sui iuris'') particular churches of th ...

. Saturday is a traditional day of prayer for the dead, because Christ lay dead in the

Tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a :wikt:repository, repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be ...

on Saturday. These days are devoted to prayer for departed relatives and others among the faithful who would not be commemorated specifically as saints. The

Divine Services In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In t ...

on these days have special hymns added to them to commemorate the departed. There is often a

Panikhida A memorial service (Greek: μνημόσυνον, mnemósynon, "memorial"; Slavonic: панихида, panikhída, from Greek παννυχίς, ''pannychis'', "vigil"; Romanian: parastas and Serbian парастос, parastos, from Greek παρ ...

(Memorial Service) either after the

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of C ...

on Saturday morning or after

Vespers Vespers is a service of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern), Lutheranism, Lutheran, and Anglican ...

on Friday evening, for which Koliva (a dish made of boiled wheatberries or rice and honey) is prepared and placed on the Panikhida table. After the Service, the priest blesses the Koliva. It is then eaten as a memorial by all present.

Relationship to Radonitsa

Another Memorial Day,

Radonitsa Radonitsa (Russian Радоница, "Day of Rejoicing"), also spelled Radunitsa, Radonica, or Radunica, in the Russian Orthodox Church is a commemoration of the departed observed on the second Tuesday of Pascha (Easter) or, in some places (in sou ...

, does not fall on a Saturday, but on either Monday or Tuesday of the second week after Pascha (

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

). Radonitsa does not have special hymns for the dead at the Divine Services. Instead, a ''Panikhida'' will follow the Divine Liturgy, and then, all will bring paschal foods to the cemeteries to greet the departed with the joy of the Resurrection.

Schedule

There are several Soul Saturdays throughout the year: * The Saturday of Meatfare Week (the second Saturday before

Great Lent Great Lent, or the Great Fast, (Greek: Μεγάλη Τεσσαρακοστή or Μεγάλη Νηστεία, meaning "Great 40 Days," and "Great Fast," respectively) is the most important fasting season of the church year within many denominat ...

) * The second Saturday of Great Lent * The third Saturday of Great Lent * The fourth Saturday of Great Lent * Radonitsa (Monday or Tuesday after St. Thomas Sunday, i.e. Second Sunday of Easter) * The Saturday before

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

*Intercession Saturday (the Saturday before the Intercession Day, i.e. 1 October). * Demetrius Saturday (the Saturday before the feast of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, i.e. 26 October).

Observances by jurisdiction

Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics

All Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics observe Soul Saturdays on Meatfare Saturday (i.e., two Saturdays before the beginning of Great Lent); the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent; and the Saturday before Pentecost.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church

In the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

, there is a commemoration of the dead on the Saturday before the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel on 8 November instead of the Demetrius Soul Saturday.

Russian Orthodox Church

The Russians observe memorials on Commemoration Day of Deceased Warriors ( 9 May), Memorial Day of Orthodox Warriors killed for Faith, Tzar and Fatherland on battlefield (

11 September Events Pre-1600 * 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hun ...

), the Saturdays closest to 26 October (Saint Demetrius) and 23 September (Conception of St. John the Forerunner).

Serbian Orthodox Church

In the

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches. The majori ...

, there is also a commemoration of the dead on the Saturday closest to the Conception of

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

—

23 September Events Pre-1600 *AD 38, 38 – Julia Drusilla, Drusilla, Caligula's sister who died in June, with whom the emperor is said to have an incestuous relationship, is deified. *1122 – Pope Callixtus II and Holy Roman Emperor Henry V, Hol ...

Slavic and Greek Churches

In Slavic and Greek Churches, all of the Lenten Soul Saturdays are typically observed. In some of the Churches of the Eastern Mediterranean, Meatfare Saturday, Radonitsa and the Saturday before Pentecost are typically observed.

References

External links

Photo: Ektenia during PanikhidaPhoto: Blessing Kolyva at the end of a Panikhida
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saturday Of Souls Death customs Eastern Orthodox liturgical days Christianity and death Holidays based on the date of Easter Christian festivals and holy days March observances April observances October observances Saturday observances Observances honoring the dead