For an Orthodox person, Great Lent is a special time of repentance and spiritual improvement. During this period, believers try to take care of their souls. In addition to prayers for oneself, church tradition prescribes to remember the departed as well.
The time of holy Great Lent is the best suited for turning to the Lord in one's prayers, because this period should be spent by a Christian in special piety. The Church does not call upon the believer to be selfish, making prayers exclusively for himself. In the Orthodox tradition, there is the concept of the connection between the earthly and heavenly Church, which is expressed in a prayer appeal to the saints, as well as in the commemoration of the dead. During Great Lent, a Christian prays not only for himself, but also commemorates deceased relatives and acquaintances, thereby fulfilling the religious duty of remembering the deceased and showing his love for deceased ancestors.
The church charter prescribes to commemorate the dead three times during the period of the Holy Forty-day. These parental days include the second, third and fourth Saturdays of Lent.
Divine service in the Orthodox Church begins the night before, therefore, the commemoration of the dead is carried out from the Friday evening services of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturday. There is a special service in the temples on Friday nights. Some parishes have the practice of celebrating on these days divine services like the ecumenical parental Saturdays, remembering the names of the deceased at the funeral litanies, as well as performing the prayer reading of the 17th kathisma.
On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Saturday of Great Lent, the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is served in churches, at which the dead are also commemorated. It is noteworthy that it was Saturdays that were chosen for commemoration on the Forty-day, because on Sundays the liturgy of Basil the Great is celebrated, in which there is no funeral litany.
At the end of the Sabbath liturgies, a memorial service for the deceased is served in churches, at which dead Orthodox Christians are also commemorated.
In 2016, Lent Parental Saturdays fall on March 26th, April 2nd and April 9th.
