In the Russian Orthodox tradition, there are special memorial days on which the living carry out the commemoration of deceased relatives. Radonitsa is one of these parenting days.
The dating of Radonitsa differs depending on the time of the celebration of Easter (according to the church charter, Radonitsa falls on the Tuesday of the second week after Easter). During the Bright Week itself, the departed are not remembered. The first commemoration of the dead after the feast of Bright Resurrection of Christ is celebrated on Radonitsa. This name of the memorial day is not accidental, because on this day living people share Easter joy with those who have already left this world.
In Orthodox churches on Radonitsa, a liturgy is celebrated with some funeral features (prokemen, Apostle and the Gospel of the Dead). After the liturgy, a memorial service is performed, where special Easter chants are inserted (for example, the troparion and the Easter kontakion). Believers are trying to order the commemoration of the dead at Radonitsa both for the liturgy and for the requiem.
The custom of visiting the graves of deceased loved ones on Radonitsa is widespread. Believers not only clean the graves after winter, but also commemorate the dead with prayer. Usually the troparion of Easter, "Christ is Risen", is read or sung three times. Then you can read the 90th psalm. Instead of the usual funeral kontakion "Rest with the saints", it is customary to read or sing the kontakion of Easter "Asche and Bezsmertne descended into the grave." Also, special funeral troparia from the panikhida and litiya "From the spirits of the righteous dead" can be read or sung. Some believers in cemeteries on the day of Radonitsa read (sing) the canon of Easter.
Commemoration of the dead on Radonitsa can also be performed at home after visiting the liturgy and burial places. The above Easter chants may also be sung at home.
Radonitsa serves as a special memory of the fact that Christ descended into hell, brought people out of there who believed in him, delivering them from spiritual death.
