On this day, the Tuesday of St. Thomas week, according
to the order instituted by our Holy Fathers, we call to remembrance, in Paschal
joy, all those who have died from the beginning of the ages in faith and in the
hope of resurrection and life eternal. "Having previously celebrated the radiant
feast of Christ's glorious Resurrection, the faithful commemorate the dead
today with the pious intent to share the great joy of this Pascha feast with
those who have departed this life in the hope of their own resurrection.
This is the same blessed joy with which the dead heard
our Lord announce His victory over death when He descended into Hades, thus
leading forth by the hand the righteous souls of the Old Covenant into
Paradise. This is the same unhoped-for joy the Holy Myrrhbearing Women experienced
when discovering the empty tomb and the undisturbed grave clothes. In addition,
this is the same bright joy the Holy Apostles encountered in the Upper Room
where Christ appeared though the doors were closed. In short, this feast is a
kindred joy, to celebrate the luminous Resurrection with our Orthodox forefathers
who have fallen asleep.
“There is evidence of the commemoration of the dead
today in the writings of the Church Fathers. St. John Chrysostom mentions the
commemoration of the dead performed on Tuesday of St. Thomas week in his
"Homily on the Cemetery and the Cross."
"Today, the faithful departed are remembered in
Divine Liturgies, 'koliva' is prepared and blessed in the churches in memory of
those who have fallen asleep, and the Orthodox graves in cemeteries are blessed
by the priests and visited by the faithful. On this day alms are given to the
poor. Furthermore, it should be noted that due to the great spiritual joy this
jubilant commemoration bears, it is called in the Slavonic tongue, 'Radonitsa,'
or Day of Rejoicing."
From the "Synaxarion of the Lenten Triodion and
Penecostarion" (published in 1999 by HDM Press, Rives Junction, Michigan)
on "Radonitsa'
Source: http://www.orthodox.net/ustav/radonitsa.html
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