On the Meaning of Radonitsa
"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'
***
A note in the
English-language edition of the Synaxarion says that the above account was
written "by a monk who wished to remain annonymous." This account does
not appear in the Slavonic or Greek Pentecostaria.
The development
of a special commemoration of the dead during Thomas Week is undoubtedly
related closely to the fact that memorial services are prohibited by the
Typicon from being served from Great Thursday through Thomas Sunday. Thus, in
the entry for Holy and Great Thursday, the Typicon states: "It is fitting
to know: That the Litia for the reposed does not take place in the narthex
until Thomas Sunday." Then, in the entry for Monday of Thomas Week, the
Typicon states at the end of the instructions for Matins and the First Hour:
"And the usual Litia in the narthex." Thus, the begining of Thomas
Week presents the first opportunity to commemorate the departed (other than at
the Proskomidia) since the middle of Passion Week.
It is
interesting to note that in the Typicon and Pentecostarion that are currently
in use in the Russian Church, there is no specific mention of a commemoration
of the dead on Tuesday of Thomas Week, and the services appointed for that day
do not contain any requiem elements. Nonetheless, it is quite common to serve a
General Panikhida in church on that day and also to serve Requiem Litias at the
graves of the departed.
Their are many
folk customs associated with Radonitsa. Perhaps other members of the Ustav List
would like to share their knowledge and experience of these customs with us.
By Daniel Olson
