On All Souls’ Day - Meatfare Saturday Orthodox Christians honour the memory of their dearly departed.
It is one of the special days on which the church has ordained that we remember the dead. All of these days fall on a Saturday. Church services are held on All Souls' Day followed by memorial ceremonies at which bread, wine and wheat are laid out, as well as the favourite food of the deceased. The priests thurify the food with incense and say the names of the departed. After the prayer the food is handed out with the words: God rest their souls.
People also hand out bread and wheat - a symbol of immortality - to friends and relatives. On this day the relatives of the deceased go to their graves to clean them, plant flowers and remember the good deeds of the departed. Then they pour red wine over the graves, a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ, and light a church candle to honour their immortal souls.
After nearly 35 years, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in London has its own church in the central part of the British capital, in close proximity to the Bulgarian Embassy. There, in the prestigious Kensington district, next to Hyde Park and..
Meatfare Sunday in 2025 will be remembered as a major celebration for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the entire Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom. The "St. John of Rila" Orthodox Church, built with funds from the Bulgarian state and with..
All Souls' Day (Zadushnitsa in Bulgarian) is an important day for many Christians. On this day, we remember deceased relatives and loved ones. The first of the three All Souls' Days of the year, also known as the Great or All Souls' Day, falls on the..
After nearly 35 years, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in London has its own church in the central part of the British capital, in close proximity..
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