Zadušnice: The Orthodox Saturdays for the Departed

The post explains Zadušnice, the designated Saturdays in the Orthodox Church set aside for commemorating the dead. It opens with a saying attributed to Saint Nikolai Velimirovich: if the dead could speak, they would ask only for prayers, because they can no longer pray for themselves. The text describes the practice: on these Saturdays the Church serves the Divine Liturgy and parastas (memorial service), and the faithful bring koliva (boiled, sweetened wheat) and written lists of their departed baptized relatives.

The priest censes the offerings and prays for the repose of all departed Orthodox Christians. A second quotation from Saint Paisios the Athonite compares the longing of the departed for our prayers to the longing of prisoners for visits from family.