The most powerful prayers on Parents' Saturday

In the Orthodox calendar there are special dates dedicated to the commemoration of the dead - Parents' Saturdays. On these days, memorial services are held for all deceased Christians, and believers put candles for the repose of relatives and visit cemeteries. "Izvestia" tells what prayers to read on memorial days.

What prayers to read on Parents' Saturday

Prayer for those who left this world is an integral part of the spiritual life of a Christian. This is not just a tribute to the deceased, but also a way to alleviate their posthumous fate.

From the point of view of Orthodoxy, after the demise of a person's life does not end, since the soul is immortal. However, the deceased can no longer pray for the remission of his sins - it is up to his living relatives and friends to ask God for him. The clergy emphasize that all people need prayerful remembrance, not only in the first 40 days after death, but also after the end of this period.

According to the Church's statutes, one should pray for the dead every Saturday. Parents' Saturdays are special days of remembrance, often associated with major Orthodox holidays, such as Easter, Trinity, etc. As a rule, on such days the faithful memorialize the father, mother, and other family members.

Twice a year the Ecumenical Parents' Saturdays are celebrated - Meat Feast Saturday (two days before Shrovetide week) and Trinity Saturday (before Pentecost). They are called Ecumenical because at this time the clergy and parishioners pray for all Christians who have ever lived, regardless of the degree of kinship. In this way the church cares for the souls of people who have no one to remember them.

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There are several ways to pray for the deceased. You can put a candle in the temple or at home, submit a note with his name to the proskomidiya, order a sorokoust or funeral service. At the same time, there are no rigid rules concerning how the prayer should sound: the believer has the right to read one of the existing prayers or to address God in his own words. This does not affect the "power" of the prayer in any way.

When visiting a cemetery or commemoration in the home, a requiem litia for the laity can be performed. It is suitable both for praying for the newly deceased (the first 40 days) and for the dead at other times.

A short prayer for the deceased

As the clergy note, it is necessary to pray for the deceased as much as the soul requires. However, during Parents' Saturdays, when many believers gather in the temples, it is not always possible to devote a lot of time to commemoration, so you can read a short prayer for the repose:

"Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your deceased servant (name). Forgive him all his trespasses voluntarily and involuntarily and grant him the Kingdom of God!"

"Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (names), and all Orthodox Christians, and forgive them all their trespasses freely and unwillingly, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven."

"Lord our God, let us commemorate the departed earthly servant (name), who passed his soul to Heaven. Forgive him for all the sinful deeds that he committed, for we repent and for his soul in our prayers we ask You, O God, for Your mercy. Grant him deliverance from suffering and torment, and give him a better life. Do not let him go away from You, let his soul be near You forever. May his soul be illuminated with the light of heaven. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Forever and ever. Amen."

Prayers for the deceased father, mother, son, husband

If a believer wants to remember a specific relative, he can give his name in a brief prayer or pray for him separately. For the remembrance of parents there is the following prayer:

"O God, who accepted Abraham's sacrifice and looked upon the burnt offering, who made it possible for Anna the prophetess to give birth to Samuel, accept good parents, father and mother, remember, O Lord, the long ago of my mother: remember, O Lord, the nurturing, remember, O Lord, the tears, remember, O Lord, the groaning, remember, O Lord, how they did not want to be separated from me, and now they are separated from me in this world. But for feeding and nurturing, and for tears and groaning, and for separation from me, grant them eternal joy. Do not call them, O Lord, from agony to agony, from sorrow to sorrow, from suffering to suffering. But for the sacrifice of birth and offering to You, O Lord, of me, Your unworthy servant (name), grant them the kingdom of heaven. That Thy much honored and majestic name, Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, may be blessed and glorified, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen."

If it is necessary to honor the memory of a father or mother separately, the following prayer can be recited (given in an abbreviated version, full text here):

"O Lord, Jesus Christ our God! You are the guardian of the strong, the refuge of the sorrowful, and the comforter of those who weep.

I come to Thee, O strong, groaning and weeping, and pray to Thee: hear my prayer, and do not turn Thy face away from the sorrows of my heart and from the tears of my eyes. I pray Thee, merciful Lord, quench my sorrow for the separation from my (my) (name) parent(s) who gave birth and brought me up, and take his soul, as one who has gone to Thee with true faith in Thee and with firm hope in Thy humanity and mercy, into Thy heavenly kingdom" <...>.

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In case it is necessary to remember the husband, the following prayer is recited (given in an abbreviated version, full text here):

"Christ Jesus, Lord and Almighty! You are the comfort of the weeping, the comfort of the orphan and the widow. Thou hast said: Call upon Me in the day of thy affliction, and I will deliver thee. In the days of my affliction I come to You and pray to You: do not turn Your face away from me, and hear my prayer, which I bring to You in tears. Thou, O Lord Lord of all, hast pleased to unite me with one of Thy servants, so that we may be one body and one spirit; Thou hast given me this servant as a partner and protector. But it is Your good and wise will that this servant of Yours be taken away from me and that I be left alone. I bow before this Your will, and to You I resort in the days of my sorrow: quench my sorrow at the separation from Your servant, my friend. If thou hast taken him from me, do not withdraw thy mercy from me. As you once accepted two mites from a widow, so accept this prayer of mine" <...>.

To remember a son or daughter, it is recommended to recite the following prayer (given in a shortened version):

"Lord Jesus Christ our God, Lord of life and death, Comforter of those who mourn! With a broken and contrite heart I come to You and pray to You: remember. O Lord, in Your kingdom remember Your deceased servant (your deceased servant), my child (name), and grant him (her) eternal remembrance. Thou, O Lord of life and death, hast given me this child. It is Your good and wise will that this child be taken away from me" <...>.

Earlier "Izvestia" told how to properly put candles for the repose.