Meatfare Saturday

A Sharing: For Meat fare Saturday, before the Sunday of the Last Judgement    Inbox

Dan Everiss <oregdan@hotmail.com> Fri, Feb 17, 2017 at 10:26 PM Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Delete | Show original "O Lord of unutterable love, remember Thy servants who have fallen asleep."   MEATFARE SATURDAY The first universal, ancestral Saturday is on Meatfare Saturday. It falls during Meatfare Week and before the last day on which one may eat meat before the Great Fast begins. The following day, Sunday, commemorates the Dread judgment of Christ, and the Church prays for all that have departed in faith and hope of resurrection, beseeching the righteous judge to show forth His mercy upon them on the very day of impartial retribution at the universal judgment. The establishment of this Saturday dates from the first years of Christianity. Among the prayers during the divine services on this Saturday, we hear one for all "that from Adam until today have reposed in piety and correct faith," of every calling and every age; "for all that have drowned, that battle hath mown down, that earthquake hath swallowed up, that have been slain by murderers, that fire hath consumed, that have been food for the wild beasts, birds and serpents, that have been struck by lightning and have perished in freezing cold, that have fallen by the sword, that the horse hath trampled, the rock struck or the earth covered up, that have been slain by deadly potion or poison, or have choked on bones ... ", i.e. all that have met untimely deaths and have been left without a proper funeral. Thus does the Church care for all our fathers, brethren and relatives. Excerpt from The Church’s Prayer for the Dead, in Orthodox Life, Vol. 28,  No. 1, Jan-Feb 1978, pp. 18-19.

complete article:
http://orthodoxlifemagazines.blogspot.com/2017/01/1978-1-prayer-for-dead.html