Nov. 4: Demetrius “Ancestral” Saturday (Дмитрівська субота)
Join us on Saturday Nov. 4 at 9:30 a.m. at the Cathedral as we celebrate a Divine Liturgy for the all of our dearly departed - “All Souls’ Day”, if you will. This Saturday is one of several commemorations of the departed throughout the year.
Read more about How the Orthodox Celebrate All Souls' Day.Traditions
In addition to attending the Divine Liturgy, it is also customary to bring a booklet/hramatka (граматка) - you can get a free one from the church office - with the names of all the departed in your family, which will be read during the liturgy (you can leave your booklet with pan Wowk at the candle kiosk when you arrive and pick it up after the liturgy).
Read more about the origins of Demetrius Saturday.In Ukraine as well as in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece and Macedonia, it is also a tradition to bring kolyvo or kutia (кутя) to have blessed (instead of or in addition to the kolachi) at the end of the service. The boiled wheat, resembling soil, is then shaped into a mound like a grave, and set with a candle in the centre.
Читайте КУТЯ ТА КОЛИВО: ПОРІВНЯЛЬНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ОБРЯДОВИХ СТРАВ (НА МАТЕРІАЛАХ ІЗ ЗАХІДНОГО ПОЛІССЯ).According to Orthodox Wiki, kolyvo is symbolic of the resurrection of the dead on the day of the Second Coming of the Lord. St. Paul said, “what you sow does not come to life unless it dies” (I Corinthians 15:36), and St. John, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).
Thus, as the wheat is buried in the soil and disintegrates without really dying but is later regenerated into a new plant that bears much more fruit than itself, so the Christian’s body will be raised again from the very corruptible matter from which it is now made; however, it will be raised not in its previous fleshy substance but in an incorruptible essence which “will clad the mortal body with an immortal garment”, in the words of St. Paul (I Corinthians 15:53).
Kolyvo in Romania. Nicubunu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kolyvo then, symbolizes the Apostolically-rooted hope in the resurrection of the dead as the only eventuality that gives meaning and attains the longed-for perfection on the part of the individual who takes his life to be a divinely ordained meaningful living forever.
The 16th century Archbishop Gabriel of Philadelphia wrote that kolyvo is a symbol of the general resurrection, and the several ingredients added to the wheat signify so many different virtues.
Recipe for Kolyvo
4 cups dry wheat berries
Bring large pot of water to a boil. Add berries, stir. Turn off heat and let sit for one hour.
Turn heat to medium and cook for about one hour. Do not over cook where the berries split. Make sure there is plenty of water and berries do not become mushy.
Drain in cold water. Pat dry between paper towels. May be refrigerated until needed.
Add:
1 tbs parsley
2 cups chopped walnuts or slivered almonds
2 cups raisins and/or cranberries
1 package Graham Crackers crushed (plain or cinnamon). If using plain Graham Crackers add a few shakes of cinnamon.
Drizzle with honey. Just enough to barely be sticky, yet still crumbly.
Place in dish to be used.
Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and use plastic wrap to smooth until totally covered.
Put a cross on top with whole almonds or slivered almonds, or cinnamon.
Be creative.