A Byzantine Catholic Mission in The Carolinas

“The Holy Fathers were convinced that the commemoration of the departed by alms and sacrifices (Divine Liturgies) brings great com­fort and benefit to them.”  

The custom of offering prayers and sacrifices for the departed comes to us from the Old Testa­ment. Holy Scripture praises the custom as holy and wholesome or pious, as is written in the II Book of Maccabees, ch. 12, v. 45: “lt is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.”  

ln the Byzantine Rite, we commemorate the deceased every day at the Divine Liturgy imme­diately after the Consecration with the petition: “Remember, O Lord, all those who have departed in the hope of resurrection unto eternal life … N.N. … , and grant them rest where the light of Your face shines.” (Liturgy of St. John Chrysos­tom) 

The Byzantine Church has, since the ninth century, established a special day of prayer for the departed popularly known as “Za dušna Subota” (Gr. Psycho-sabbaton; psyche-soul) which literally translated means Souls Saturday. Since the Synaxarion calls for the “universal commemoration” and prayer for “all the souls departed in the faith,” fittingly then, in English, we call these Saturdays – All Souls Saturdays.  

ln the Byzantine Liturgical Year there are five All Souls Saturdays – namely, Meat Fare Saturday, the Second, Third and Fourth Saturdays of the Great Lent, and Pentecost Saturday. Meat-Fare Saturday as a special day of prayer for the deceased can be traced down to the sixth and seventh century, the time when the Typikon of St. Saba, known as the Jerusalem Typikon, had developed. On Meat-Fare Sunday we liturgically com­memorate the Last Judgment (Mt. 25:31-46). Therefore, on the previous day, we, in our charity, intercede with the merciful Judge for the de ceased that they be placed at His right hand when He will come to judge the Living and the dead. During the ninth century, the Second, Third and Fourth Sat­urdays of Lent were also dedicated to the com­memoration of the dead. On Pentecost Saturday we commemorate “all the departed souls since Adam” (cf. Pentecosta­rion).  

Every year, just before Meat-Fare Saturday, the families give the lists of their de­parted loved ones (Hramoty) to the pastor with the request that they be mentioned at the services held for the deceased on the All Souls Saturday.  Members of the family are encouraged to attend these ser­vices on the All Souls Saturdays for by their presence and by their personal prayers and re­ceiving Holy Communion they strengthen the bond of love with their departed loved ones and indeed keep their memory everlasting!  

PRAYER FOR THE DECEASED (Ascribed to St. John Chrysostom) O God of all spiritual and corporeal be­ings, You trampled death, broke the power of Satan and granted life to the whole world; now, O Lord, grant also rest to the soul of Your departed servant N. in a place of light, freshness, and peace, where there is no pain, sorrow, or mourning. As a gracious God and loving mankind, forgive him (her) every transgression committed by him (her) in word, deed, or thought, since there is no man alive who has not sinned. You alone are without sin and Your justice is everlast­ing justice, and Your word is always the truth. For You are the resurrection, the life and the rest of Your departed servant N., O Christ our God, and we render glory to You, together with Your Eternal Father, and Your most Holy, gracious, and life-giving Spirit, now and ever and forever. Amen. 

Excerpt from Byzantine Leaflet Series No.6 With Ecclesiastical Approbation March, 1977  BYZANTINE SEMINARY PRESS Pittsburgh, Pa. 15214

https://archpitt.org/an-explantation-of-the-byzantine-rite-liturgical-practive-of-observing-all-souls-saturdays/