This week:
- March 03, Monday: Great and Holy Lent Begins
- March 05, Wednesday: Philoptochos Meeting at 6:15pm in the church hall.
- March 07 Friday, 6pm: Salutations to the Theotokos - Χαιρετισμοί προς την Ὑπεραγία Θεοτόκο
- March 08, Saturday: Divine Liturgy – 3rd Saturday of Souls – 3o Ψυχοσάββατο
SATURDAY OF SOULS (St. Theodore the Tyro and the Koliva Miracle) Part 3
On the Saturday of Souls as well as other similar occasions, the faithful offer koliva. Koliva is a sort of sweet offering made primarily from wheat and includes some or all of the following: raisins, nuts, pomegranate, cinnamon and powdered sugar. It is often formed in the shape of a mound to resemble a grave and decorated with candy in the sign of a cross.
Each family brings a prayerfully prepared koliva dish on the Saturday of Souls and places it in front of the icon of our Lord. Candles are lit and inserted in the koliva dish. Toward the end of the Liturgy, the service with the special memorial hymns and supplications is conducted. The priest calls out the names of those who have fallen asleep. Everyone then chants together, “Eternal be their memory.”
Koliva is an image of the Resurrection. The wheat, which is planted in the earth and grows into something new, is a symbol for those who have passed on in the expectation of revival.
On the first Saturday of Lent, we commemorate the miracle of Saint Theodore the Tyro. Saint Theodore was called Tyro, from the Latin tiro, because he was a newly enlisted recruit in the Roman army. He eventually suffered a martyr’s death for confessing Christ. In a difficult time for Christians, Saint Theodore had appeared to the Archbishop of Constantinople and asked him to prepare koliva to feed the Christians during the fast in order to shield them from the food in the market which was intentionally defiled by the authorities. May Saint Theodore continue to intercede on our behalf, and eternal be the memories of those who have fallen asleep!
Message from Fr. Nick: As we begin our Lenten Journey, we are all invited to join our Pan-Orthodox brothers and sisters for the Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral on Sunday, March 9 at 5 pm. His Eminence Metropolitan Methodios will preside and lead us in worship. Light dinner/refreshments will follow in parish hall.St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Cathedral 41 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge MA 02140 www.stsavaboston.org

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