Prayer to the martyr Uar for the weakening of the eternal torment of those who died unbaptized. Note. To read this prayer, you need to take the blessing of the priest.

REMEMBER!!! It is IMPOSSIBLE to leave notes for the repose and commemorate unbaptized and suicides in the temple. Only private, domestic prayer is allowed and has always been allowed for the unbaptized. You can pray to Saint Huar FOR the unbaptized, but NOT for suicides. For home cell prayer for deceased non-Orthodox relatives, the Canon can be recommended to the martyr Ouar, but it is forbidden to read this canon in Orthodox churches and chapels at public services and rites. The Reverend Elder Lev of Optina, not allowing church prayer for those who died outside the Church (suicides, unbaptized, heretics), bequeathed to pray for them in private like this: “Search, Lord, for the lost soul of my father: if it is possible to eat, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in sin with this prayer of mine, but may Thy holy will be done. It is advisable to do this during many days of fasting, and at the same time often proceed to confession and Communion. Due to possible temptations (including deteriorating health), I do not recommend praying for unbaptized relatives to sick, pregnant and lactating women who have small babies under 4-5 years old. When serious temptations arise, it is better to stop reading the prayer and rely on the good providence of God. *** Troparion, voice of the 4th Host of the holy martyrs who suffer legally, in vain oneh, showed you your courageous fortress. And rushing to passion with your will, and die lust for Christ, Izhe accepted the honor of the victory of your suffering, Uare, pray that our souls be saved. Kontakion, voice 4, following Christ, Martyr Uare, Having drunk the cup, and with a crown of torment, you are jubilant, and rejoice with the Angels, pray unceasingly for our souls. and you have suffered zealously for Him, and now stand before Him with angels, and rejoice in the highest, and see clearly the Holy Trinity, and enjoy the light of the Beginning Radiance, remember our relatives and languor, who died in ungodliness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatra, an unfaithful family Thou hast freed you from eternal torment with your prayers, so remember the fir-trees that were buried contrary to God, who died unbaptized, trying to ask them for deliverance from eternal darkness, and with one mouth and one heart we will praise the Most Merciful Creator forever and ever. Amen. The church has venerated the holy martyr Uar since ancient times. They resort to his intercession, asking for petitions for the health of infants and young children, and also, and especially, asking for relief from the fate of the souls of deceased relatives who have not been blessed with Holy Baptism, and babies who died in the womb or during childbirth. The brochure will be useful for everyone who has the love and boldness to offer up a prayer to the Lord for dead unbaptized relatives and loved ones.

Holy Martyr Uar (†307) The Holy Martyr Uar is especially loved by the Russian people. They resort to his intercession, asking for relief from the fate of the souls of relatives and neighbors who died in unbelief, who did not receive Holy Baptism, who did not know the True God, who deviated from God's truth. In addition, they pray to Saint Ouar for the health of infants and young children, as well as for infants who died in their mother's womb or during childbirth. The Holy Martyr Uar lived during the reign of the impious Roman emperor Maximian in Alexandria in the 4th century and was a military leader of the Tian cohort. Believing in the True God, but fearing idolaters, he hid his faith. Not having the courage to openly confess his faith during the persecution, Ouar went around prisons at night, looked after the martyrs and asked for their prayers. One day he learned that among the prisoners there were seven Christian desert teachers. They were tortured, and then the bound ones were thrown into a prison cell, where they starved for several days. Having bribed the watchmen, Ouar entered the prison, freed the martyrs from their shackles, gave them drink and food. “Pray for me, saints of God,” he asked, “and I would like to suffer for Christ, but I am afraid of torture.” “Remember what is said in the Gospel,” answered the martyrs. Let's go, brother, with us to Christ on the martyr's path - let's endure together." The next morning, one of the martyrs died of his wounds, and Saint Ouar, standing before the governor instead of him, said that he wanted to suffer with the Christians. They began to torture him: they tortured him, hewn them with iron knives, then, nailing him upside down to a tree, they tore off the skin from his back, and beat him in the stomach with knotty sticks until the insides fell to the ground. When Saint Ouar died, his body was dragged out of the city and thrown to be eaten by dogs. One pious widow named Cleopatra, whose husband was a military commander in Egypt, looked with sorrow from afar at the sufferings of St. Ouar. When his body was thrown outside the city, blessed Cleopatra secretly brought him to her house at night and buried him in her bedroom. She constantly lit candles over the tomb of the holy martyr and prayed fervently, revering him as a great intercessor and intercessor before God. When the persecution ceased, Cleopatra left for Palestine, in the village of Edra. Under the guise of the remains of her husband, Cleopatra transferred the relics of the holy martyr Uar and laid them in the ancient tomb of her ancestors. Every day she went to the tomb, lit candles, burned incense, and following her example, other Christians began to resort to the prayers of St. Huar and received healing at his tomb. Blessed Cleopatra, seeing that many people were going to the tomb of Huar, decided to build a temple in his honor. By that time, her son John had reached the age of seventeen. Cleopatra asked the king for an honorary position in the army for him and decided that he would begin his service after the construction of the temple was completed. When the church was built, blessed Cleopatra called for bishops, priests, and monks, and the honest relics of St. Varus were transferred to a precious bed, and on top of the relics Cleopatra laid a belt and military clothing, which her son was soon to put on. She fervently prayed to Saint Uar that he would be an assistant to her son and would ask the Lord for him what would be pleasing to Him, and useful to her son. After the consecration of the temple, the relics of Saint Ouar were placed under the throne, on which they performed Divine Liturgy . After the service, blessed Cleopatra arranged a feast for the guests and, together with her son, served them. Suddenly, John fell ill with a fever and died at midnight, leaving his mother in inconsolable grief. With weeping, Cleopatra rushed to the temple and, crouching down to the tomb, began to reproach the holy martyr: “So you repaid me, the saint of God, for working so hard for you! You gave me such help when I placed all my hope in you! Who will bury my body? I'd rather die myself than see my son dead. Give it to me, or take me out of here at once, for life has become a burden to me from bitter sadness. From extreme fatigue and great sorrow, Cleopatra fell asleep right at the tomb. In a dream, Saint Ouar appeared to her, holding her son in his arms. Both of them were bright as the sun, and their clothes were whiter than snow; they wore golden belts and beautiful crowns on their heads. Seeing them, blessed Cleopatra threw herself at the feet of the saints, but the martyr Ouar lifted her up and said: “Oh woman, why are you complaining about me? Do you think that I have forgotten the good deeds that you have shown me? Do I not always listen to your prayers and pray to God for you? And first of all, I begged God for your relatives, who were not worthy of Holy Baptism, with whom you laid me in the tomb, so that their sins would be forgiven them. Then I took your son to the service of the Heavenly King. Didn't you yourself pray to ask God for him what would be pleasing to Him and useful to you and your son? Your son now stands before the Throne of God and serves the King of Heaven, but if you want him to serve the king of the earth and the temporal, take him back.” But the youth, who was sitting in the arms of Saint Uar, embraced him and said: “No, my intercessor! Do not listen to my mother, do not deprive me of communion with the saints. Turning to blessed Cleopatra, Saint John said: “Why are you crying, my mother? I am numbered among the host of heaven and stand before Christ together with the angels. Blessed Cleopatra said: “Take me with you so that I can be with you.” But Saint Ouar answered: “And here, remaining on earth, you are still with us; go in peace, and then, when the Lord commands, we will come to take you.” After these words, both of them became invisible. Coming to her senses, blessed Cleopatra felt unspeakable joy and told the priests about the vision. Together with them, she honorably buried her son at the tomb of Saint Huar, no longer weeping, but rejoicing in the Lord. After that, Cleopatra distributed her estate to the needy and, having renounced the world, began to live at the church of St. Huar, spending day and night in fasting and prayers. Every Sunday, during prayer, Saint Ouar appeared to her with her son. After spending seven years in such deeds and pleasing God, blessed Cleopatra reposed in the year 327. Commemoration of the holy martyr Huar - October 19 (November 1, according to a new style). The Holy Martyr Uar is the only Christian saint who is a heavenly intercessor for the unbaptized dead and babies who died in the womb or during childbirth. In pre-revolutionary Russia there was not a single church in honor of St. Ouar, and this is no coincidence: all the people, with the exception of the Gentiles, were baptized in the Orthodox faith, and therefore there was no need to resort to the intercession of the holy martyr. In our time, the need for the prayerful appeal of believers to this saint is extremely acute: after all, for more than 70 years of theomachy power in our country, millions of people were forcibly excommunicated from the Church; they lived, worked, fought, and left this world without having received Holy Baptism. And even today, not everyone who associates himself with the traditions and culture of our people is in a hurry to accept the sacrament of Baptism. In 2008, after restoration, a chapel was opened in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin in honor of the holy martyr Ouar.

Chapel of Saint War in the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin

This aisle was built at the beginning of the 17th century. There are two reasons for this. During the Time of Troubles many children died unbaptized. The gentry, Poles, Swedes, Lithuanians, invaders brought to Rus' not only the destruction of churches and monasteries, but also hunger, cold, epidemics, and many children died in these troubles, who did not accept baptism due to circumstances, including destruction of churches and monasteries by the Poles. His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes blessed the commemoration, blessed the prayer to the martyr Uar to alleviate the fate of unbaptized children. It was from that time that the canon to the martyr Huar originated. Patriarch Hermogenes blessed the creation of the border to the martyr Ouar also for this reason. Tsarevich Dmitry, the last son of Ivan the Terrible, who died at the end of the 16th century, like everyone else at that time, had two names: Dmitry is a baptismal name, and the second (maternity) name of Tsarevich Dmitry was War. And when his veneration spread among Muscovites, a chapel dedicated to the martyr Uar was built, and the appeal to Uar began to enter into the everyday life of believers in Rus'. You can pray to Saint Huar for the unbaptized. The Church does not pray for the unbaptized in the usual manner, their names are not allowed to be commemorated at the Divine Liturgy and funeral services - however, you can ask for them by prayerfully turning to the holy martyr Huar. You can also pray to him for the babies in the womb of the slain. You can ask the holy martyr Uar for a drug addict son, a prostitute daughter, for a sectarian brother ... If your prayer is heard, Uar will ask for them before the Lord God. There are testimonies of believers about the fulfillment of their prayers to Saint Ouar for their unbaptized relatives. So many people tell how the souls of the unbaptized come in a dream, communicate with their relatives, ask them to pray and say that the prayer is heard by God, that it becomes easier for them. And this is exactly what the canon to the martyr Uar is about, that there is an opportunity to alleviate the lot of the unbaptized, and this is confirmed by practice. There were times when they did not know whether a person was baptized or not, and then the soul came and reported that the baptism was and it was possible to sing it according to the charter. This applied in particular to many soldiers who died and were thought to be unbaptized. But they were baptized before the war by monks who secretly lived in those years in Soviet Russia. And when they inquired from distant, distant relatives, it really turned out that the person was baptized. Such cases also happen repeatedly. The practice of prayers to the martyr Uar confirms that this prayer is saving, saving, both for the dead and for the living and those who cross the threshold of the temple. And they are led by love, love for their relatives. But God is love, which means that God leads them, which means that the Lord Himself blesses them. ONCE AGAIN - REMEMBER!!! It is IMPOSSIBLE to leave notes for the repose and commemorate unbaptized and suicides in the temple. Only private, domestic prayer is allowed and has always been allowed for the unbaptized. You can pray to Saint Huar FOR the unbaptized, but NOT for suicides. For home cell prayer for deceased non-Orthodox relatives, the Canon can be recommended to the martyr Ouar, but it is forbidden to read this canon in Orthodox churches and chapels at public services and rites. The Reverend Elder Lev of Optina, not allowing church prayer for those who died outside the Church (suicides, unbaptized, heretics), bequeathed to pray for them in private like this: “Search, Lord, for the lost soul of my father: if it is possible to eat, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in sin with this prayer of mine, but may Thy holy will be done. A remarkable example of the effectiveness of personal prayer can be found in the life of St. Gregory the Dialogist: when he learned that the long-dead Roman emperor Trajan had done a work of such great mercy that it seemed to be more of a Christian than a pagan (hurriedly opposing the enemy at the head of the army, the emperor stopped in all his armor and stood up for the offended widow), then shed streams of tears in prayer for the soul of this man and received assurance through Divine revelation that his prayers were heard. The soul of the pagan emperor was delivered from hell and even implored by the tears of St. Gregory. Although this is a very rare case, it gives hope to those whose loved ones have died outside the Church.

The Holy Martyr Uar is the only saint in the Russian Orthodox Church who has a special grace to pray for unbaptized people. They also pray to him for the Gentiles, and at the private - that is, home - prayer once a year, on the day of the celebration of the memory of the holy saint Ouar, they ask for suicides ...
The Holy Martyr Uar lived in Alexandria of Egypt during the period of severe persecution of Christians (late 3rd-early 4th century). Ouar was the commander of the Hianine Cahort in the Roman army and a secret Christian because of the fear of the persecutors. He suffered for Christ during the reign of Emperor Maximian (c. 307). The pagan emperor sent a decree to all the provinces of the empire subject to him to kill Christians who refused to sacrifice to idols. Life of St. Huara outlined by St. Dimitry of Rostov on the basis of Greek and Latin sources dating back to the so-called. martyrologies (ancient acts of martyrdom).

Not having the courage to openly confess his faith during the persecution, Ouar helped many imprisoned Christians. Visiting prisons at night, he brought food to the prisoners, bandaged their wounds, and encouraged them.

One day he learned that there were seven Christian teachers among the prisoners. They were tortured, and then the bound ones were thrown into a prison cell, where they starved for several days. Having given money to the guards, Ouar went to the prison, gave drink and food to the martyrs. He talked with them all night long.
“Pray for me, saints of God,” he asked, “and I would like to suffer for Christ, but I am afraid of torture.” “If you are afraid to confess Christ on earth, you will not see His face in Heaven,” they answered. Hearing this, Saint Ouar felt in himself the determination to endure suffering for His Name and remained in prison. In the morning one of the martyrs died of his wounds.

When the bound saints were brought before the governor, who was sitting triumphantly in the judge's seat, they were forced to sacrifice to idols, and, since they did not obey, they were naked and severely beaten. Saint Ouar expressed his desire to suffer instead of the deceased prisoner. They began to torture him: they tortured him, hewn them with iron knives, then, nailing him upside down to a tree, they tore off the skin from his back, and beat him in the stomach with knotty sticks until the insides fell to the ground. When Saint Ouar died, the tormentors threw his body outside the walls of the city to be eaten by dogs.
Then Christian teachers were beheaded with a sword. This was in 307.

One pious widow, named Cleopatra, secretly took the remains of the martyr and buried them in her house. At the end of the persecution, in 312, Cleopatra transported the relics of St. Uara to Palestine and laid them in her family cave crypt in the village of Edre (8 miles from the northern edge of the Lake of Gennesaret). Every day she prayed at the tomb of the martyr Uar. Other Christians also began to resort to his help and received healing from the relics of the saint.

Cleopatra, seeing that many people were going to the tomb of Huar, decided to build a temple in his honor. At that time, her seventeen-year-old son John was preparing to enter the service of the Roman army, and her mother fervently prayed to Saint Ouar to be an assistant to the young man. She hoped that when the temple was built, her son would receive an honorary position in the army.

In the new church, the relics of Saint Ouar were placed under the altar. After the celebration of the first Divine Liturgy, Blessed Cleopatra arranged a feast and, together with her son, served the audience. Suddenly, he developed a high fever, and at midnight the young man died. Cleopatra ran to the church and began to reproach the holy martyr: "Pleasure of God, this is how you paid for my labors! It would be better for me to die myself than to see the death of my son." From extreme fatigue and grief, Cleopatra fell asleep right in the temple at the tomb. In a dream, the martyr Uar and her unbaptized son John appeared to her in sparkling robes and crowns.
Saint Ouar said: "Do you really think that I have forgotten your good deeds? I begged God to forgive the sins of your relatives, with whom you laid me in the tomb. I took your son - he stands before the throne of God and serves the King of Heaven; if you want to serve the earthly and temporary king, take him back." But the young man embraced him with the words: "No, do not deprive me of communion with the saints!" And he said to his mother: "Why are you crying? I am numbered with the heavenly army and stand before Christ along with the angels."

Recovering, Cleopatra told the priest about the vision; she honorably buried her son at the tomb of St. Huar, no longer weeping, but rejoicing in the Lord. After that, distributing her estate and renouncing the world, Cleopatra began to live at the church of St. Huar, pleasing God. After spending seven years in prayer, blessed Cleopatra reposed in 327, after the triumph of the consecration of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Jerusalem.

The memory of the holy martyr Huar and with him seven Christian teachers is celebrated on November 1 according to the new style.

The Holy Martyr Uar is especially loved by the Russian people. On the feast day of the holy martyr Uar in Rus' in 1582, the holy Tsarevich Demetrius, the Passion-Bearer of Uglich, was born. In the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral, a chapel was built in honor of the martyr Huar. The so-called “full-length” icon of St. Huar from this chapel is known, painted on the vow of Empress Mary to the extent of the growth of the infant Demetrius.

To the intercession of St. Uara can be used in home prayer, asking for relief from the fate of their unfaithful, unbaptized relatives. Since it is not customary in the church to pray for the dead outside of church communion, it is appropriate to confine ourselves to commemoration in the church during the reading of the canon of St. to Martyr Uar of the names of only baptized Christians, for one reason or another, who departed to another world without repentance, communion, suddenly, away from the temple, in sins. This is all the more relevant because in the Soviet era, as a rule, babies were baptized, and then, due to fear of reprisals from the authorities, they were not brought up in a Christian spirit, they were not taken to church. As a result, many formally baptized people lived in sin, died out of fellowship with God and the church. About them it is appropriate to ask the intercession of the holy martyr Huar.

Martyr for Christ

Holy Martyr War

The Holy Martyr Uar lived in antiquity, in those great times that established the Christian faith in the world. The successors of the apostolic preaching carried the word of Truth to people, not fearing persecution and persecution by the authorities. They sealed the word of the sermon with their blood. Being a Christian at that time meant being outside the law, i.e. to be a criminal, which means to go to death. The apostle also confirms to us:

“All of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death” (Rom. 6:3).

Useful materials

And by the way, the times of persecution of Christians were repeated regularly in history, and they have not ended even now, take a look at the events in the neighboring country, which is not alien to us. And then, all the power of the Roman state was aimed at eradicating the movement of the followers of a certain "Jewish preacher." Christianity withstood the ferocious hatred of the authorities, led by a dark force, fulfilling the words of the Savior:

“I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

The blood of the martyrs testifies to the whole world of the truth of faith in Christ's Resurrection.

Where and when did the saint live

It was in Egypt at the very beginning of the 4th century. Those who violated the emperor's decree on offering sacrifices to the Roman gods were dragged to dungeons and torment.

Interesting fact

Martyr in Christianity (in Greek μάρτῠρος - witness) is a person who accepted torment and death for Christ, confessing his faith, i.e. the one who testified with his blood to the Truth.

Secret Christian

At this time, in Alexandria there was one of the warriors named Uar, who secretly served the prisoners for their faith. For the gold given to the guards, he entered the dungeons at night to wash and bandage the wounds of the martyrs, bring water and food, kissed the shackles on the feet of the faithful disciples of Christ, saying:

“Blessed are you, good and faithful servants of the Lord, having to enter into the joy of your Lord, because you stood for Him even to the point of blood (Heb. 12:4). Blessed are you, good ascetics, with whom crowns are woven in heaven by the hand of the Most High, because “with patience go through the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).

Open confession of faith

Holy Martyr War

Uar was an officer of the Tian garrison cohort and guarded order with the troops in one of the Roman provinces - in Egypt, he had to strictly follow orders and comply with the requirements of the state law on the persecution of Christians. His fate was such that choice - life or Christ touched him directly.

“The one who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake will save it” (Matthew 10:39).

To speak openly about one's convictions meant loss of position, title, shame, imprisonment and torture. The mind said: dodge, do not show up. The body trembled with anticipation of pain, but Christ looked into the soul with the eyes of the martyrs, covered in blood. Ouar asked the Christians in prison to instruct him with the word of faith, strengthen him with prayer.

Seven shackled teachers instructed Huar:

“If you are afraid of temporary torment, then you will not escape eternal; if you fear to confess Christ on earth, you will not be satisfied with the sight of His face in heaven. Go, brother, and walk with us along the path of martyrdom to the Lord, who looks at our exploits; suffer with us, for you will not find another such squad soon.

Confession and death

When one of the seven prisoners, who had been tormented for the faith of Christ for many days, died, Ouar took the place of the deceased and became one of the confessors. Stepping to Golgotha ​​for Christ, he did not succumb to the persuasion and appeals to "common sense", did not turn back out of cowardice and fear of pain. He was tortured terribly, scourged

“his body with iron knives and scrapers, and then, having nailed him to a tree upside down, they tore off his skin from his back, and beat him in the womb with a knotty stick until it was torn apart and all the insides fell to the ground.”

Torment of St. Huara. Tzortzi (Zorzis) Fuka. Fresco. Athos (Dionysiat). 1547

The saint asked his fellow confessors, who wept, looking at his torments, to pray for his soul, which was departing to receive a crown from the hands of the Lord. After five hours of torment, he died, and after him the other six Christians accepted death.

Posthumous events and the fate of the relics

The body of the holy martyr Ur, thrown outside the city as food for wild beasts, was lifted up by Cleopatra, a pious woman who had a high position in Alexandria in the position of her late husband. Cleopatra buried the body of the martyr in her house and prayerfully lit candles over the grave, honoring his feat and trusting in his intercession before the Lord for her family.

Cleopatra had an only son, John, with whom, having taken the body of the holy martyr and their patron, they returned from Egypt to their homeland in the village of Edra, near Mount Tabor in Palestine.

At home, Cleopatra buried Huar and always served his grave with censing. And when others began to come to the grave of the martyr and bring the sick, who received healing there, Cleopatra decided to build a saint. By this time, the son of Cleopatra had grown up and was going to enter the military service. Before the consecration of the temple, Cleopatra brought the military ammunition of the future soldier to the tomb of the saint and asked Ouar to ask God for her son a high rank, an honorary rank and the very best that would be in God's will for herself and her son.

Then there was a feast in honor of the consecration of the temple, but in the midst of the celebration, the son fell ill, and after the feast he died suddenly. The unfortunate mother ran to the coffin to the martyr with a cry: “So did you repay me, the saint of God, for the fact that I worked so hard for you?” ... “Who will close my eyes after death?” she sobbed and struggled. When she was exhausted from tears and suffering, she immediately fell asleep on the relics of the saint and had a dream.

In a dream, her son John, together with Ur, in shining robes and golden crowns, approached her, she rushed to them. Uar addressed her with the words:

“Didn’t you yourself ask me here to ask God for you what is pleasing to Him and useful to you and your son? So I asked the All-good God, and He deigned, according to His inexpressible goodness, that your son be accepted into His heavenly army; and behold, your son, as you see, has now become one of those standing before the throne of God. If you wish, take him back and send him to the service of the earthly and temporal king.”

John also asked Uar, but asked not to listen to his mother and not to give him to the earth from the glory of the Angels, in which the Lord clothed him in Heaven. Cleopatra begged to take her with her, but Ouar promised that she would be taken here in due time. Since then, the woman gave away all her property and constantly remained in prayer in the temple from St. Ouar, where her son was also buried. Both of them in heavenly radiance appeared to her at prayer for consolation every Sunday and strengthened her. As time passed, she herself departed to the Lord.

Day of Remembrance

The memory of all these saints - the martyr Uar, the seven Christian teachers martyred with him, the blessed Cleopatra and her son John - is celebrated by the Church on October 19 in the old style, November 1 in the new style.

As depicted in Huara on icons

Holy Martyr War

Traditionally, martyrs are depicted on icons with a cross in their hands, this is a symbol of standing on the cross for faith, following Christ and sacrifice. Another distinguishing feature that is present on the icons of the martyrs is the red color in the robe. Red is both the color of shed blood and the sign of victory over death.

The martyr Huar is also depicted on icons with a cross and in military attire, usually in a red cloak. The image can be half-length or full-length, it can also be supported by hagiographic pictures along the edges (brands). Next to mch. Urom sometimes depicts other martyrs who suffered with him - seven Christian teachers.

The unusual icon "The Appearance of the Martyr Huar to Cleopatra" is kept in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. On the icon of the 18th century, the kneeling Cleopatra and the martyr Ouar with Iann in her arms, the icon was revered by Muscovites as miraculous, the townspeople came to the Kremlin with their sick children and prayed for healing.

Veneration in Russia

The special veneration of the holy martyr Huar in Rus' is associated with in the name of the holy noble Tsarevich Demetrius. The youngest son of Ivan the Terrible was born on October 19, 1582, on the day of the memory of the holy martyr Uar, his birth name was Uar. After the death of the lad as a result of palace intrigues, his body was laid in the royal tomb in the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin in the chapel of the martyr Huar.

In 1606, the body of the youth from Uglich was also brought in order to convince everyone of the death of the heir, because. impostors appeared, and a troubled time began. The people pitied the dead youth, they prayed for children on his relics and healed, they also prayed to the martyr Huar. During the troubled times of the occupation by the Poles, when churches and monasteries were desecrated, people died untimely from enemies, from hunger and disease, Patriarch Hermogenes blessed the parents who had lost their children unbaptized to offer prayers to the martyr Uar to alleviate their posthumous fate as a consolation.

Now the Archangel Cathedral is a museum, services are not often performed, but one of its thrones (in the northern aisle) is dedicated to the martyr Huar.

What do they pray to the saint

Martyr Uar, like other holy martyrs for the faith of Christ, has a special boldness before the Lord to pray for us sinners. It is known from the life of Martyr Uaru that he prayed to God for the relatives of Cleopatra, who were buried with him. From here came tradition consider Uara as a prayer book for those who died without the sacrament of Baptism. special "specialization" this saint is connected precisely with the fact that the Church prays only for its members.

For the sake of rare exceptions, church people who knew the canons and the severity of the statute turned to the martyr Huar. In the old days such "exceptions" only infants appeared, who, due to the suddenness of individual cases, did not have time to be baptized, i.e. those who died of a baptized mother in childbirth or in the womb from some natural cause. All the people were baptized, and one could understand the grief of a mother who lost her child, who, without baptism, was left outside the Church alone and canopy of death.

The desire of such a mother to pray for a dead child, with whom, while pregnant, she took communion, the Church supported and comforted her with prayers to martyr. Huaru, especially since the people testified to the benefits of such prayer and the consolation received through this saint.

Later, when life changed (but not church canons), they began to turn to the holy martyr Huar not only with a prayer for babies, but also for other unbaptized people.

Of course, it is difficult to reproach people who were born under Soviet rule, where the word of God was banned, and then, without having time to announce it, died at the front or died in the blockade. Someone was secretly baptized, but many still remained unbaptized, and the people suffered, deprived of faith and the Sacraments, and relied on the Martyr. Uara, praying to him for the unbaptized, for the hanged drunkards, for the sectarians who have gone mad. On Private Prayer for the Unbaptized or the Fallen, St. Theodore the Studite said: “unless every one in his soul prays for such and does alms for them.”

• As for public worship, since ancient times there has been a canonical church rule about the inadmissibility of prayerful communication with heretics, pagans and non-believers, this applies to the living and the dead. The Church prays only for her children - living Orthodox Christians, as well as "in the faith of the departed, and the hope of eternal life". Previously, even cemeteries were separate for Orthodox and non-Orthodox. Those who died outside the Church and without baptism are not its members, and cannot be commemorated at the Liturgy and funeral services.
• Rev. John of Damascus says: “Without Baptism no one can hope for eternal salvation, even if he be the most pious of the pious.”

On reading the canon of St. mch. Huaru for the dead not baptized, without repentance, etc.

Holy Martyr War

• In the Church on Proskomedia, only the baptized are commemorated, therefore it is forbidden to submit notes in the shop for the unbaptized, and even more so for suicides. There are no obstacles to the personal prayer of a Christian.
• The Church does not forbid a person to pray for their loved ones, even if they died in wickedness, for former sectarians or suicides. There is no charter for prayer at home, but it is necessary at home to respect the rules and canons of the holy Church, the dogmas of the faith, the patristic institutions and the Mystery of God's salvation.

For home prayer, wishing to alleviate the fate of the dead after death and calling for help from Saint Ouar, you can use the text of the canon to the martyr from the statutory service on the day of his memory. In this canon we read the following appeal to the saint: “Give us, through your prayers, the resolution of sins, correction of life, Uare, and deliverance from all inconvenient.” After each song of the canon, you can add your own prayer. By praying in this way at home, we will not violate the holy rules.

There is another text of the canon " Martyr Uar, he was given the grace to pray for the dead Cleopatra's forefathers, who were not fit to receive holy baptism " in which the request to Uar about his prayer to the Lord is formulated as follows: “Begged Him to have mercy on the remote and faith, and Baptism of our alienated deceased relatives.”

It is forbidden to pray for those who are distant from the faith, who are strangers to holy Baptism, who did not know or even did not want to know Christ the Savior, at a public church service: “It is not good to take bread from children and throw it to dogs” (Matthew 15:26). Such a request contradicts the Gospel: let us remember what Abraham said to the rich man, who asked to send Lazarus to wet his tongue

“A great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can they pass from there to us” (Luke 16:26).

However, everything is determined by faith:

« God! but dogs also eat the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters.” (Matthew 15:27).

But it should be remembered that the Church does not perform the funeral of an unbaptized person, and there can be no talk of the so-called "posthumous Baptism."

You can pray for the unbaptized only by asking for blessings

In any case, you should not start home prayers for the unbaptized on your own without a blessing. Before starting such prayer work in cell prayer, it is necessary to consult with an experienced priest and receive a blessing. We are not always able to do what we have planned.

• In order not to harm ourselves, let us listen to the holy elders. The Optina Elder Leonid (in the schema Leo) instructed one of his disciples to pray for a suicide father : “Give both yourself and the fate of the parent to the will of the Lord, all-wise, all-powerful. Do not test the Highest destinies. Strive by humility to strengthen yourself within the bounds of moderate sorrow. Pray to the all-good Creator, thereby fulfilling the duty of love and the duty of filial, - in the spirit of the virtuous and wise, as follows: “Search, Lord, for the lost soul of my father: if it is possible to eat, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put me in sin with this prayer of mine, but may Thy holy will be done. Pray simply, without trial, committing your heart to the right hand of the Most High.”

Alms

It is most useful for the souls of the departed, and for one's own, to give alms. As the Holy Scripture says:

“Almsgiving delivers from death and can cleanse every sin” (Tob. 12:9).

Temples and especially revered icons of martyr. Huara in Moscow and other cities

• Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin (northern aisle). Moscow, Kremlin, Cathedral Square. Icon martyr. Huara of the 18th century, a revered image, considered miraculous according to cathedral traditions.
• Church of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy. Address: Moscow, Vishnyakovsky per., 15 (metro station "Paveletskaya", "Novokuznetskaya"). Every Saturday, prayers are served in the church to the holy martyr Uar.
• Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Veshnyaki (parish of St. Nicholas in Kuznetsy). Address: Moscow, st. Pyatnitskaya, d. 51, art. metro station "Tretyakovskaya", "Dobryninskaya", travel troll. No. 25. Temple of the St. Tikhon Theological Institute, where there is also a venerated icon of the martyr Uar, before which every Saturday after the liturgy a prayer service is performed.
• Church of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica on Blagusha. Address: Moscow, st. Ibragimova, d. 6., m. "Semenovskaya", here in the right aisle is the miraculous icon of the holy martyr Uara.
• Church of the Holy Martyr Uara at the Domodedovo Cemetery. Address: Moscow region, Domodedovo district, Domodedovo cemetery.
• Church of the Martyr Uar. Address: Khimki, Mashkinskoe shosse, bld. 1. Planernaya metro station, further bus. No. 268-k to the stop "Mashkinsky cemetery"; from st. metro station "Rechnoy Vokzal" by taxi to the OBI store, from there walk 5 minutes to the temple; from the railway station Khimki by bus. No. 28 or No. 42 to the stop "Mashkinsky cemetery".
• Church of the Holy Martyr Uar. Address: Moscow region, Mytishchi district, pos. Veshki, st. Podsolnechnaya, d. 175. Metro station "Altufievo", then by bus number 303, travel time 15 minutes. Prayers, incl. St. Martyr Huar, are performed on Sundays at 11.00, after the Divine Liturgy.
• Chapel-temple of St. Martyr. Huara. Address: Balashikha, md. Nikolsko-Arkhangelsky, st. Okolnaya, Vlad. 4.
• Church of St. mch. Huara. Address: Ivanovo region, South district, With. Mugreevo-Nikolskoye.
• Church of St. mch. Huara. Address: Irkutsk region, Bokhansky district, s. Tikhonovka.
• Chapel of St. mch. Huara. Address: Murmansk region, Tersky district, Varzuga village.
• Trinity-Georgievsky diocesan convent, Cathedral of St. Varus the Great Martyr. Address: Sochi, Lesnoye village, st. Budyonnovskaya.

Conclusion

Previously, prayer for the unbaptized was an exceptional case, but in Soviet times, and even now, unfortunately, many found themselves outside the Church. The Church prays only for those who are inside her, for her faithful children. A person who did not believe in the Resurrection and the afterlife, for whom the words " salvation of the soul" were an empty phrase, why do we need a posthumous prayer?

Relatives, who themselves do not live a Christian life, usually bother about church prayer for their unbaptized relative. In the Sacrament of Baptism, we make a choice - with whom we are: with Christ, or with other forces. Even more zealously than for the unbaptized, Martyr Uar should pray for us who, having given holy vows in Baptism, violate them, betraying Christ, deviating into the vanity of worldly life.

Having given his life for Christ, the holy martyr Ouar boldly stepped towards the choice, by deed of faith and with his blood he answered the questions:

"Do you deny Satan...?" "I deny!" "Do you unite yourself with Christ?" "I combine and believe in Him, as the King and God."

His true faith withstood a terrible test. Without faith it is impossible to be saved, the Church teaches us, the Lord Himself says:

“Whoever has faith and is baptized, he will be saved; but whoever does not have faith, he will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

Works of faith - life in Christ. And the judgment of all is in the hands of God.

Canon and prayer for the dead without holy Baptism, for private reading

Canto 1
Irmos: Load the Pharaoh's charioteer, sometimes the miracle-working Moses rod, hitting the cross and dividing the sea, save Israel the fugitive pedestrian, singing the song of God.

Chorus (during private reading): Holy martyr Uare, pray to God for us.

Be implored, O Lord, to be your holy martyr Uar and clothe yourself in mercy and bounty; and this one will be poured out even to hell, Lover of mankind, and will be generous, even if we are asked by Your rich mercy.

Great martyr of Christ, remember the embittered and helpless, sitting in the gloom of darkness, impenetrable, and do not stop, falling down to the generous Lord, until I console with His rich mercy.

You could pray for the wondrous family of Cleopatra, glorious passion-bearer, because even today, being able, you can free yourself from the torment, those who are remembered from us, if you diligently pray for them to the Lord, for your sake I will console the Lord with His rich mercy.

Theotokion: To the helpless Good Helper, look from Your glory, Mistress, to the darkness of hell and see the troubles of those who have been touched, before You we remember, and do not stop begging for them Your Son and the generous Lord and Master, until I console with His rich mercy.

Canto 3
Irmos: Establish at the beginning Heaven with reason and found the earth on the waters, on the stone of me, Christ, affirm Thy commandments, as if there is nothing holy, more than You, the One Lover of mankind.

Move the face of the Holy Powers of Heaven with you to prayer, martyr, and do a wonderful thing, and great, and honestly, moreover, joy to those who do not have hope and comfort, who do not hope, bitter our unfaithfully dead ancestor and remember with them, hedgehog to grant them forgiveness from the Lord and great mercy.

Quite a passion-bearer and beloved of Christ, assure, if freedom is desirable for the tormented and joy, then our relatives, and others like them for the sake of unbelief, who have attracted eternal torment, will not find measures with their joy, if you ask the Lord for forgiveness and great mercy.

Uare, the victorious sufferer, be merciful to our prayers, and see the dejected unspeakable need, and he himself, compelled by pity, relentlessly praying to the Mistress of the Humanity, may he grant them forgiveness and great mercy.

Theotokion: World-wide hope, God-pleasing village, our reconciliation to God, Mary the Lady, accept the petitions of the present presence and do not stop praying to Your Son and the Lord of all, may He give the hopeless to You for the sake of forgiveness and great mercy.

Sedalen
If you pray for the whole world, great martyr, and don’t stop, asking for all mercy and every criminal, the images of the fiercely vexed Lord and constantly annoying, even dead things to yourself to the end and acquiring nothing, as if you did evil, also, passion-bearing, stand for our dead relatives, as if possible starting, do not retreat, praying and falling down to the Lord who has mercy on all, may he forgive and have mercy, even in the darkness sitting and fiercely grieved.

In sedal
The joys of the eternal monks, the namesake of heavenly peace, the great Uare, daring, dare to remember before the Lord the tender couple of our forefathers, if not in the tomb of them, we lay thee, with an earnest petition to pity, hedgehog from them, we copulate thee. The same, fall down and pray, for the Lord will not reject your presence, but bows down from immeasurable goodness, sends deliverance and great mercy to the distressed.

Canto 4
Irmos: You are my fortress, Lord, You are my strength, You are my God, You are my joy, do not leave the bowels of the Father, and having visited our poverty, I call Thee with the prophet Habakkuk: glory to Your strength, Lover of mankind.

Yelma, ubo, passion-bearer, love all those who come running to you with faith, and we also love to be from those who pray to you. What else will the Humanitarian do with the desire to glorify you, if not by giving the begging mercy to the touched and all consolation deprived of the eternal prisoner, so will it continue, O good martyr, praying for them without fail.

The winter is fierce and barrenness of salvation lies in the wicked of the dead, and crying is joyless, here, after all, the essence is remembered, even from us. But you, passion-bearer, unite these to the generation of the righteous, and do not be poor in praying for them.

Let the gloomy dungeon of hell forever envelop our ancestors and relatives, and all that is remembered with them: you, the wondrous sufferer, who lowered the power of unbelief and sinful power, so and henceforth do not forgive these hedgehogs with the Cleopatra family, martyr, praying.

Theotokion: By Thee, Most Pure One, we know to glorify all the Contributors, and from Thee the Flesh-bearer is the uncharming Savior, magnify the Savior with skill, and we praise Thee, the Lady, and we bow to Thee, and we pray, have mercy on our relatives who died in unbelief and hedgehog deliver these not impoverished to the Son, praying.

Canto 5
Irmos: Thou hast thrown me away from Thy face, O unstoppable Light, and an alien darkness has covered me, cursed, but turn me and direct my path to the light of Thy commandments, I pray.

Every gift, martyr, and every mercy from the merciful Lord are poured out, even if they are amazing and wonderful, but they add up to forgiveness in the wickedness of the dead, majesty is gracefully left to this. The same day, the great work is done, the Lord, the martyr, beg.

Do not turn away, Lord, from our compunction, remember the multitude of our sins below, moreover, remember Your ancient mercy, and for the sake of Your bounty, and for the sake of War of the sufferer, do not be poor in the wealth of Your immeasurable mercy, but pour out mercy and forgiveness, hedgehog from us reminiscent.

There is a great martyr, and the philanthropy of the Lady and to those who are in the sea far away, the same appear today and, falling down, beg Him to have mercy on the distant and faith, and the Baptism of the estranged dead, our relatives and all those who are remembered with them, to grant forgiveness and greatness mercy.

Theotokion: Appear, Mistress, to our exhaustion and wake up in need, helping us everywhere and all the time, Thou art the Christian Hope and Hope, so do not reject our petitions, but make perfect and full of Your unwritten grace.

Canto 6
Irmos: Cleanse me, Savior, many of my iniquities, and raise me from the depths of evil, I pray: I cry out to You, and hear me, God of my salvation.

May the swayings of the enemy not rejoice, having received souls for self-interest, but you, martyr, destroy his desires with your warm prayers, begging the Lord to forgive us those we remember and deliver us from eternal torment.

The beginning of our feat of Cleopatra's kind of forgiveness, from here on, guilty of perceiving, raise you to prayer, and don’t despise those who are remembered by us, great martyr, and don’t reject sinners, but, having taken a bite, ask the Lord Christ for forgiveness and deliverance from bitter torment.

Even unbelief for the sake of seeing the end of evil, and the hope of the good is very much the death of the wrath of God for the sake of it, but you, passion-bearing, boldness of acceptance, the joy of absolution instead of terrible languor from the Heavenly King ask and, exhausted from sorrow, observe in the Lord's mercy.

Bogorodichen: Kaya, Lady, will malice overcome Your Mother of prayer? Truly, if you stand still today, praying for those who are asked by you, grant them joyful forgiveness, deliverance and great mercy.

Kontakion, tone 4
Following Christ, martyr Uare, Having drunk the cup, and tied the crown of torment, and you rejoice with the Angels, pray unceasingly for our souls.

Ikos
Remember our words, bright inhabitant of Heaven, Christ's glorious Great Martyr Uare, named eternal rest, and with your great suffering, you acquired an impenetrable and bright rest from an impassable dungeon, and unceasing languor, and need, trying with your God-pleasing prayers to deliver the tender servants, for their sake we pray to you, forthcoming and in zeal, crying out, fulfill our petitions, holy one, and pray unceasingly to Christ God for our souls.

Canto 7
Irmos: The fire of God's condescension was sometimes ashamed in Babylon, for this sake of the children in the cave with a joyful foot, as if in a flower garden rejoicing, I sing: blessed be Thou, God of our fathers.

Like the sun, Lord, enlighten everyone, and unenviously pour rain on everyone, and unceasingly bestow mercy on those who anger You, and now listen to Uar, Your sufferer, and shed Your mercy to the end on our estranged relatives and even unfaithful with them, Humane.

Now, as before, be generous, Lord, and beg to appear, Vladyka, as if about Cleopatra, create, and about us, Merciful, create; send Your generosity and mercy to those we remember, God be the source of mercy inexhaustible.

If the prophet, cheering, sings of Your mercy, Lord, forever, because we have not failed You in bounty, we believe that Your mercy is immeasurable, and from the abyss to the depths of the flooded pour out Your mercy, O our Lord.

Theotokion: Mount Thee will be spoken by the wise in the prophets, we believe that and from You the Stone of the Mother of God should come out without the admixture of a man; imzhe our salvation and from the depths of hell the erection of the recipients, Mistress, raise and today from hell we remember, yes, we constantly magnify Thee, the All-Merciful.

Canto 8
Irmos: By the Musikian body coordinating and countless people worshiping the image in Deir, the three youths did not obey, the Lord was praised and praised for all ages.

May the balls be the words of Your ancient, Mercy, Lord, who speaks and raises our hope, as if You heard Your saints, Lord, hedgehog have mercy on the unfaithful dead, even today we bring Thee to prayer, but for the sake of their petitions, have mercy on the non-Orthodox who died, with knowledge and ignorance of You , Vladyko, annoyed.

The Lamb of God, having redeemed us with His Most Pure Blood, Hearing the prayer of Feklino and Blessed Gregory, Methodius with many and Macarius accepting petitions, and rejoicing, and delivering the evil-doers to the dead, and Chrysostom to pray for these, write up, accept ubo, Vladyka, with these glorious Uar and by the prayers of their remembrance from us, forgive and have mercy.

Ask for joy for us, great martyr, let us rejoice, for if we find our relatives delivered from eternal torment with your prayers; For the Lord always hears your prayers and fulfills your petitions, but you are not impoverished for these and now praying, let us glorify you.

Theotokion: Immaculate Lady, abound in a lot of mercy and generosity, wondrous and Blessed Mother Tsareva, for us who seek mercy, where we will find this India, if we do not hasten to You, falling down, You have given birth to a Stream of sweetness to us, Blessed One.

Canto 9
Irmos: Terrified of this Heaven, and the ends of the earth were surprised, as if God had appeared as a man of the flesh, and Your womb was the most spacious of Heaven, thee, the Mother of God, the Angels and the man of office magnify.

O Bose, yes you can, glorious Uare, With your God-pleasing prayers, accept and pour out mercy, even alienated to the end, There is only one generosity and mercy Parent, and everything is possible for Him as the Master, to Him relentlessly, sufferer, praying to forgive and have mercy even from us reminiscent.

Do the work marvelously, O great martyr, and your glory is applied, if from the Lord forgiveness and His righteous wrath change, ask the grieved dark wickedness for the sake of our ancestor and hedgehogs, in sorrow and in anticipation of the most fierce beings, but weigh in fearless deliverance, even if the Master of the Forgiven put.

And what a marvelous miracle will appear, what glory is most famous, and what kind of mercy is greater than that, if you, martyr, having regretted, implore the merciful Lord to forgive the sin of wickedness, even from us commemorated, and save them from their fierce languor.

Theotokion: Merciful Lady, philanthropic and not remembering evil, accept the pity of our petition and intercede relentlessly for mercy to Your merciful Son and Master, to have mercy and forgive the sin of heterodoxy by our dead relatives and even commemorated with them, absolution and the place of this mercy is an inalienable tribute.

Svetilen
So it will be righteous, Lord God, who forgave Ty Cleopatra's forefathers, and today hear the prayer of Your great martyr Uar and our, many-sinners, predestination: deliver us from torment, who are remembered with pity before You. Speed ​​up the same, Generous One, and strive as if you are merciful to have mercy on these, as you can, though.

Prayer
Oh, holy martyr Uare, venerable, with zeal for the Mistress of Christ we kindle, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and you zealously suffered for Him, and now the Church honors you, as if glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven, Who has given you the grace of great boldness to Him, and now stand before Him with the Angels, and rejoice in the Highest, and see the Holy Trinity clearly, and enjoy the light of the Beginning Radiance, remember our relatives and languor, who died in ungodliness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatra, the unfaithful generation of your prayers freed you from eternal torment , so remember the fir-trees buried contrary to God, who died unbaptized, trying to ask them for deliverance from eternal darkness, so that with one mouth and one heart we will praise the Most Merciful Creator forever and ever. Amen.

^sss^Holy Martyr War^sss^

Traditionally, the next Saturday before the feast of the Holy Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica. whose memory, 8 November. The Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of all the departed Orthodox Christians from the century, to put it simply, today is the Ecumenical Demetrius Parental Saturday.

This year, this day coincided with November 1, when the Catholic Church also remembers all the dead.

And on the same day the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the holy martyr Uar. The same saint is also revered by the Catholic world, but on October 19th.

Unfortunately, many people do not know this saint, but this is a great saint who has been revered in Rus' since ancient times. In Russian Orthodox Church more in 1607 he was glorified by His Holiness Patriarch Hermogenes.

Why is this Egyptian holy martyr Uar so great?

The fact is that at a time when the Church does not pray for the unbaptized, It is to him that great power is attributed to be a prayer book and intercessor before God. for dead Gentiles, for children who died without baptism, for babies killed in abortion ...

In the words of the prayers to this saint it is said so: " O glorious miracle! The unfaithful dead are delivered and liberated from the places of hell by the prayers of the martyr Uar. By his prayers he forgives the dead pagans. We will diligently pray to him, and our relatives will be remembered who died in unbelief, may Christ have mercy on them and free them from torment, as the only Merciful".

Saint War and Saint Cleopatra

According to the life War was a warrior, the head of the Roman detachment in Egypt at the beginning of the 4th century, belonged to the number of secret Christians. Having openly confessed his faith, Ouar was martyred and died from torture around the year 307.

The body of Uara, thrown out to be eaten by animals, took pious widow, Cleopatra and kept it in her house. At the end of the persecution, in 312, she transported the relics of Uar to Palestine and laid them in her family cave crypt in the village of Edre (8 miles from the northern edge Lake of Gennesaret), and then built a temple in honor of the saint.

Cleopatra laid the body of the martyr in the tomb with her non-Christian dead ancestors. Some time after his death, Ouar appeared to Cleopatra and said to her:« Woman, have I forgotten your good deeds, the first: I begged God for your non-Christian (filthy) relatives, among whom you laid my body of dead bodies, and their sins were forgiven» Blessed Cleopatra constantly prayed over the tomb of Saint Ouar, revering him as a great intercessor and intercessor before God.

Blessed Cleopatra, seeing that many Christians were going to the tomb of the saint, decided to build a temple in his honor. By that time, her son John had reached the age of seventeen. Blessed Cleopatra asked the king for an honorary position in the army for him and decided that he would begin his service after the construction of the temple was completed. When the church was founded, blessed Cleopatra called for bishops and presbyters, and the honest relics of St. Ouar were transferred to a precious bed, and on top of the relics Cleopatra placed a belt and military clothing, which her son was soon to put on. She fervently prayed to Saint Uar that he would be an assistant to her son and would ask the Lord for him what would be pleasing to Him, and useful to her son.

After the consecration of the temple, the relics of Saint Ouar were placed under the altar, on which they celebrated the Divine Liturgy. After the service, blessed Cleopatra arranged a feast for the guests and, together with her son, served them. Suddenly, Saint John fell ill with a fever and died at midnight, leaving his mother in inconsolable grief. With weeping, blessed Cleopatra rushed to the temple and, crouching at the tomb, began to reproach the holy martyr: “So did you repay me, the saint of God, for having worked so hard for you? What kind of help did you give me when I despised my husband for you and placed all my hope in you? Who will bury my body? I'd rather die myself than see my son dead. Give it to me, or take me out of here at once, for life has become a burden to me from bitter sadness.

From extreme fatigue and great sorrow, blessed Cleopatra fell asleep right at the tomb. In a dream, Saint Ouar appeared to her, holding her son by the hand. Both of them were bright as the sun, and their clothes were whiter than snow; they wore golden belts and beautiful crowns on their heads. Seeing them, blessed Cleopatra threw herself at the feet of the saints, but the martyr Ouar raised her up and said: “O woman, why are you complaining about me? Do you think that I have forgotten the good deeds that you have shown me? Do I not always listen to your prayers and pray to God for you? And first of all, I begged God for your relatives, with whom you laid me in the tomb, so that their sins would be forgiven them. Then I took your son to the service of the Heavenly King. Didn't you yourself pray to ask God for him what would be pleasing to Him and useful to you and your son? Your son now stands before the Throne of God and serves the King of Heaven, but if you want him to serve the king of the earth and the temporal, take him back.” But the youth, who was sitting in the arms of Saint Uar, embraced him and said: “No, my intercessor! Do not listen to my mother, do not deprive me of communion with the saints. Turning to blessed Cleopatra, Saint John said: “Why are you crying, my mother? I am numbered among the host of heaven and stand before Christ together with the angels. Blessed Cleopatra said: “Take me with you so that I can be with you.” But Saint Ouar answered: “And here, remaining on earth, you are still with us; go in peace, and then, when the Lord commands, we will come to take you.”

After these words, both of them became invisible. Coming to her senses, blessed Cleopatra felt unspeakable joy and told the presbyters about the vision; together with them, she honorably buried her son at the tomb of Saint Huar, no longer weeping, but rejoicing in the Lord. After that, having distributed her estate to the needy, having renounced the world, Cleopatra began to live at the church of St. Huar, spending day and night in fasting and prayers. Every Sunday, during prayer, Saint Ouar appeared to her with her son. After spending seven years in such deeds and pleasing God, blessed Cleopatra reposed in 327.. In a report at the diocesan meeting of Moscow in 2003, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II noted: “Recently, the veneration of the holy martyr Huar has become more widespread. Chapels are built in his honor, icons are painted. From his life it follows that he had a special grace from God to pray for unbaptized dead people. During the time of militant atheism in our country, many people grew up and died unbaptized, and their believing relatives want to pray for their repose. Such private prayer has never been forbidden. But in church prayer, at divine services, we commemorate only the children of the Church who have communed with her through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.

Some pastors, guided by mercenary considerations, perform a church commemoration of unbaptized people, accepting a lot of notes and donations for such a commemoration and assuring people that such a commemoration is tantamount to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. People with little church have the impression that it is not necessary to receive Holy Baptism or be a member of the Church, it is enough just to pray to the martyr Huar. Such an attitude towards the veneration of the holy martyr Uar is unacceptable and contradicts our church doctrine.

The Primate of the Russian Church rightly pointed out that important canonical violation, which, unfortunately, has recently become a fairly common phenomenon.

However, it is not the life of the holy martyr Uar that gives grounds for those distortions of Orthodox piety that the Patriarch spoke about. No one prays for the pagans, resorting to the help of the prophet Jonah, although the shipbuilders asked him: rise up and pray to your God, for God save us, let us not perish(Jonah 1, 6).

For this anti-canonical practice, unfortunately, there is a textual basis in the latest editions of the liturgical Menaia.

So, on October 19, two services were given to the martyr Huar - the statutory and non-statutory. The first one (pointed to by the Typicon) is composed quite habitually and traditionally. The holy martyr is glorified together with the prophet Joel. The main motive of the divine service can be expressed by the troparion of the canon: give me your prayers us resolution of sins hagiography fix, ware"(Canto 9, p. 469).

The second service - which the Typicon does not mention at all - begins with a rather unconventional and pretentious title: " Another service, vigilant, to the holy martyr Huar, he was already given the grace to pray for the dead Cleopatra's ancestors, who were not able to receive holy Baptism " .

Regarding this name, the following should be noted.

Firstly, it is not just a service in honor of such and such God's saint, as it always happens in the Menaion, but a certain goal is declared, as if the most important task: to glorify Uar precisely as prayer book for the unbaptized "Cleopatra Ancestors".

For comparison, suppose someone wanted to compile a new alternative service "The feast of the Beheading of the honest head of John the Baptist, to whom grace has already been given to heal from a headache"- on the grounds that, they say, the prayer of the Forerunner helps with pain in the head. Or someone would compose a new service "Prelate Nicholas, to him was given the grace of deliverance, to grant the governors an unrighteous death, to accept those who have." Although the Church sings with such words (Akathist, ikos 6th) of the Miracle Worker of Myra, this does not give grounds to make this single episode from the life of St. Nicholas decisive in the content and title of the service to the saint. In the same way, the title of the service should not have impoverished the abundance of gifts of the glorious martyr and miracle worker Uar.

Secondly, it should definitely be said that the name of this second, hazing service contains, if not a direct lie, then an unsubstantiated and unfounded statement: there is no evidence that Blessed Cleopatra (Comm. on the same day, October 19) has relatives were unbaptized. It is likely that a pious and zealous Christian wife was raised by believing Christian parents. Life of St. Uara gives no reason to suspect Cleopatra's relatives of unbelief and paganism. It would be necessary to declare this, having at least some facts testifying to their wickedness.

Let's remember what life says. After the martyrdom of Uar, Cleopatra secretly stole his body and, instead of her deceased husband, took "... the relics of Saint Uar, brought them, like some kind of jewel, from Egypt to Palestine and in her village, called Edra, which was located near Tabor, she laid with her ancestors" . After some time, Saint Ouar appeared in a dream to Cleopatra and said: “Or do you think that I did not feel anything when you took my body from a pile of cattle corpses and laid me in your room? Do I not always listen to your prayers and pray to God for you? And first of all, I begged God for your relatives, with whom you laid me in the tomb, so that their sins would be forgiven them.

Thirdly, even if we assume that among Cleopatra's relatives there were people who were not baptized and did not believe in Christ, they, by the Providence of God, ended up in a crypt, consecrated by the grace emanating from the relics of St. Ouar: “The earth is on it, your most patient body, wise, lies, divinely sanctified”(Canon, Song of the 9th statutory service, p. 469). God is all-powerful even to resurrect the dead from touching the relics of His saints, as was the case with the holy prophet Elisey: throwing her husband in the tomb of Eliseov, and in the fall, the body of a man is dead, and touched by the bone of Eliseov, and revived, and rose to his feet(2 Kings 13:21).

True, no one has yet come up with the idea of ​​creating a new service “To the prophet Elisha, to him was given the grace to raise the dead to their feet”.

Let us also note that if there were unbaptized relatives in the family crypt, neither Cleopatra herself prayed for their salvation to Christ, nor did she ask the holy martyr Uar for prayers about this. The martyr carried out his intercession before the Lord, standing before the throne of the Almighty, and not at all consulting with those living on sinful earth.

Consider the content of the liturgical text hazing services to the martyr Uar according to the Menaion.

The stichera on "Lord, I have called" of small vespers assert about St. Ouar, as if “whose prayers forgive the dead pagans Lord Christ" . « Unfaithfulness the dead are delivered and from the places of hell are freed by the prayers of Uar the martyr " .

From such a more than dubious thesis follows the following first timid petition: “Accept our pity, martyr, and remember in the darkness and canopy of death the sitting condemned, even relatives from us, and pray to the Lord God to fulfill our petitions for them” .

At the Great Vespers in stichera on "Lord, I have cried," this theme is developed with great boldness: “begged Christ God of all to have mercy on our relatives, Faith and Baptism not reached have mercy on them and save our souls" .

At the end of the stichera, there is a "glorifier" of more than half a page, which contains such "real screams": "Remember... Faith and Baptism of the Holy Orthodox did not reach, but taco in perplexity, as if in contradiction, deceived and all-differently fallen, hear, great martyr, real cries, and beg to give forgiveness to those oppressed, and forgiveness, and deliverance from the sorrowful ” .

The theme of begging for the unbelievers and the unbaptized is intensified in the stichera “on lithium”.

“…Remember our relatives… alienated by heterodoxy dead, infidels and unbaptized, and pray to Christ God to grant them forgiveness and remission " .

« Even for non-Orthodox pleading who have died for many years ... and now pray diligently, martyr, to deliver from the gates of hell and from the sorrows of liberation of the unchanging, like ... the salvific offspring of not accepting and alienating the Orthodox faith, hasten, therefore, to ask them from Christ God for forgiveness and forgiveness, and great mercy " .

In the "slavnik" the stichera "on the verse" again asserts about Cleopatra that "This takes on its own infidels relatives, by the prayers of the glorious martyr, they were delivered from the bitterness of eternal torment. This gives the compiler of the canon the basis for the prayerful invocation: “In the same way, our parents and neighbors, pityingly, bake even faith and baptism of the saint alienated... ask Christ God to cry for their change, and from the darkness of endless merciful deliverance " .

The verse on the 50th psalm contains a petition: “... deliver our infidels relatives and forefathers and all, we pray for them, from fierce and bitter languor" .

In the canon of the service, the theme of prayerful intercession to the martyr Uaru for the unbaptized is intensified by the appeal, never found in other known church texts, with the same petition to the Mother of God Herself to repent of all the unbaptized and heterodox dead without exception.

“Deliver with your warm prayers from fierce torment infidels ours and unbaptized relatives ... and give them deliverance and great mercy "(Bogorodichen sedalen, c. 479) .

“... Intercede relentlessly for mercy to Your merciful Son and Master, hedgehog have mercy and forgive the sin of heterodoxy dead relative of ours"(Canto 9, p. 484).

Not only Holy Mother of God, but also the angelic ranks move to pray for the unbelievers: “Move the face of the holy Powers of Heaven with you to prayer, martyr, and do a miraculous deed ... unfaithfully dead ancestor and hedgehog with them remembered hedgehog to grant them from the Lord forgiveness and great mercy "(Canto 3, p. 478.

The canon offers other saints as allies and helpers to the martyr Uar:

“For thou hast listened to Thy saints, Lord, have mercy on unfaithful dead, even today we bring Ty to prayer, but for the sake of their petitions, generous non-Orthodox deceased» (Canto 8, p. 483). This petition is noteworthy, since it obliges not one martyr Uar, but a whole council of holy saints of God to ask for the salvation of the unbaptized: “The Lamb of God, having redeemed us with His Most Pure Blood, Hearing the prayer of Feklino and the blessed Gregory, Methodius with many and Macarius receiving petition, and joy, and deliverance malevolent having given to the dead, and Chrysostom to pray for these, write up, accept ubo, Vladyka, with these glorious War and prayers their remembered from us, forgive and have mercy "(Canto 8, p. 483).

Bishop Athanasius (Sakharov) noted that the prayer of St. Gregory the Dialogist for Tsar Trajan and the prayer of St. Methodius of Constantinople with the Father's Cathedral for Tsar Theophilus are mentioned here - so these were prayers not "for the pagans" or "for heretics", but "for the king" , according to the apostolic commandment to pray for the king and for all those who are in power(1 Tim. 2:2). The prayers of the rest of the saints of God mentioned in the canon obviously belong to the category of “private”, and not “public”.

Almost all the troparia of the canon, as well as the Lamp, contain the same petition « ... faith, and Baptism of the alienated dead our relatives and everyone ... grant forgiveness and great mercy "(Canto 5, p. 481).

The service is crowned with stichera “in praise”, where such appeals meet as a refrain:

“... Forgive him for forgiveness who died heterodox» .

“... His prayers send mercy dead in disbelief» .

The last seal of the "praiseful" stichera is a half-page "slavnik" containing, in particular, the following appeals: “... Remember the memories, I will take out our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, and even with them , the trees are anti-Godly buried, the dead are not baptized. For these, therefore, stand before Christ God ... and try to ask them for deliverance from eternal darkness ” .

On Canonical Inadmissibility
church commemoration of non-Orthodox

The canonical consciousness of the ancient Church absolutely did not allow prayerful communion with heretics, Jews and pagans. Such a ban on prayer communication applied to both the living and the dead. As Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin rightly noted, “deceased Christians remain members of the Church, and therefore the Church lifts up its prayers for them as well as for its living members,” therefore “The Church can, of course, bury only those who belong only to her.”

This can be clearly shown by comparing the above quotations from the non-statutory canon to the martyr Uar with the church canon from the Trinity Parental Saturday service, placed in the Colored Triodion. In this liturgical sequence, literally in every song of the canon, it is noted that the Church commemorates only baptized Orthodox people who ended their earthly life in faith and piety.

“Let us all pray to Christ, creating memory today from the age of the dead, that I will deliver the eternal fire , in the faith of the deceased, and the hope of eternal life» (Canto 1).

“You see, you see, as if I am your God, who set the limits of life with a righteous judgment, and accept everything into incorruption from aphids, deceased in the hope of eternal resurrection» (Canto 2).

“The ever-present sea of ​​life that swam over Christ, in the incorruptibility of your life, vouchsafe a haven of shelter, fed by the Orthodox life» (Canto 3).

“Fathers and forefathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, from the first and even to the last, in the goodness of the dead and piety, remember all our Savior"(Canto 4).

“The ever-burning fire, and the dark darkness, the gnashing of teeth, and the endlessly tormenting worms, and save our Savior from all torment, all true dead» (Canto 5).

“From the ages you have received faithful God, every human race, vouchsafe forever with the servants of Thee to glorify Thee "(Canto 6).

“In Your terrible coming, Bountiful, place Your sheep at the right hand, Orthodox Ty in life served Christ, and reposed in Thee"(Song 7).

“Crushing the shadow of death first, shining like the sun from the tomb, create the sons of your resurrection, Lord of glory, all the dead in faith, for ever"(Canto 8).

“Every age, old men, and young babies, and children, and milk, masculine and feminine, God rest, Thou hast accepted faithful» (Canto 9).

In the troparia of the Mother of God of this service, in contrast to the haunting service to the martyr Ouar, the Church asks for intercession from the Blessed Virgin Mary only for the faithful: “Jets of a living spring, sealed, appeared to the Virgin Mary, without a husband, for the Lord was born, immortality faithful give water to drink for ever"(Canto 8).

Lengthy and detailed petitions for the departed are read according to the Rule at Vespers on the Day of the Holy Spirit - especially in the third kneeling prayer, placed in the Colored Triodion. But even in this all-encompassing prayer only Orthodox Christians are mentioned: “Hear us praying to You, and give rest to the souls of Your servants, our fathers and brothers who have fallen asleep before, and other relatives in the flesh, and all of our own in faith, about them we also create a memory now for in You is the dominion of all, and in Your hand you hold all the ends of the earth.”.

According to the Missal, a commemoration is performed at the proskomedia about everyone in resurrection hope eternal life and Your fellowship with those who have fallen asleep Orthodox» . The order of the Eucharistic canon of the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom contains the following words : “We still bring Thee this verbal service about others in the faith of the dead... and about every righteous Spirit in faith deceased" and also a request: And remember all the dead about the hope of the resurrection eternal life". At the liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the primate prays in this way: “May we find mercy and grace with all the saints who have pleased You from the beginning ... and with every righteous spirit in faith deceased", and finally: And remember all those who have died before about the hope of the resurrection of eternal life» . About unbelievers, neither St. John Chrysostom, nor St. Basil Great prayers did not exalt, remembering the words of the gospel: whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not have faith will be condemned(Mark 16:16).

The Holy Fathers acted in full accordance with the apostolic teaching: What communion with righteousness and lawlessness, or what communion of light with darkness, what agreement of Christ with Belial, or what part will I return with the unfaithful, or what combination of the Church of God with idols?(2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) wrote: “Our prayers can act directly on the souls of the deceased, If only they died in the right faith and with true repentance, i.e. in communion with the Church and with the Lord Jesus: because in this case, despite the apparent distance from us, they continue to belong with us to the same body of Christ. He quotes from Rule 5 of the VII Ecumenical Council: “ There is a sin unto death when some, sinning, remain uncorrected, and ... cruelly rise up for piety and truth ... in such people there is no Lord God, unless they humble themselves and become sober from their fall". In this regard, Vladyka Macarius remarks: “Those who die in mortal sins, in impenitence and out of communion with the Church are not honored with her prayers, according to this apostolic commandment.”

The rulings of the Local Council of Laodicea expressly forbid prayer for living heretics: It is not proper to pray with a heretic or a renegade» (Rule 33). " Should not accept holiday gifts sent from Jews or heretics, below celebrate with them» (Rule 37). The same Council of Laodicea forbids members of the Church to pray for the dead buried in non-Orthodox cemeteries: “ To the cemeteries of all heretics, or to the so-called martyr places among them, may the churchmen not be allowed to go for prayer, or for healing. And those who walk, if they are faithful, be deprived of the fellowship of the Church for some time» (Rule 9). In interpreting this Canon, Bishop Nikodim (Milash) noted: “This Canon of the Council of Laodicea forbids an Orthodox, or, as the text says “church”, anyone belonging to the Church, to visit such heretical places for the sake of prayer and worship, since otherwise he can be be suspected of being prone to this or that heresy and not be considered Orthodox by conviction.

In the light of this, the ancient and widespread tradition of separating Orthodox cemeteries from others - German, Tatar, Jewish, Armenian - becomes clear. After all, the funeral prayer in cemetery churches and chapels is performed, according to the Service Book, about « lying here and everywhere Orthodox» . Behind "Here lying Gentiles" The church does not pray.

Likewise, the Church does not pray for suicides. rule Saint Timothy of Alexandria, given in the Book of Rules, forbids the church commemoration of those persons who “he will raise his hands on himself or throw himself down from a height”: “About such an offering is not befitting, for there is a suicide”(Answer 14). Saint Timothy even warns the presbyter that such cases “must certainly test with all diligence, lest it fall under condemnation”.

It is noteworthy that while the Holy Fathers forbid praying for living and dead heretics, they positively resolve the issue of the possibility of church prayer for apostates who, due to weakness and cowardice, could not stand the test during persecution: “either those who suffered in prison and were overcome by hunger and thirst, or outside the prison at the judgment seat, tormented by gouging and beating, and finally overcome by the weakness of the flesh.” "For those- decides Saint Peter of Alexandria,-when some, by faith, ask for the offering of prayers and petitions, it is righteous to agree with him.(See: Rulebook, rule 11). This is motivated by the fact that "compassion and condolences to those who weep and lament for those overcome in the feat ... it is not at all harmful to anyone"[Ibid].

Church canonical Rules do not allow the opportunity to pray for heretics and pagans, but declare them anathema and thereby deprive both during life and after death of prayerful communion with the Catholic Apostolic Church.

The only case of liturgical intercession for the unbaptized is prayers and litanies for the catechumens. But this exception only confirms the rule, since the catechumens are precisely those people whom the Church does not consider to be strangers in faith, since they have expressed a conscious desire to become Orthodox Christians and are preparing for holy Baptism. At the same time, the content of the prayers for the catechumens obviously applies only to the living. There are no prayer rites for deceased catechumens.

Blessed Augustine wrote: “There should be no doubt that the prayers of St. Churches, saving sacrifice and alms benefit the dead - but only those who before death lived in such a way that after death all this could be useful to them. For for those who have lost faith aided by love, and without communion in the sacraments in vain neighbors do deeds of that piety, which they did not have in themselves when they were here, not accepting or in vain accepting the grace of God and treasure themselves not mercy, but wrath. So, they do not acquire new merit for the dead when they do something good for them known, but only derive consequences from the beginnings they have previously laid down.

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod for the first time allowed in 1797 Orthodox priests, accompanied in certain cases by the body of the deceased non-Orthodox, to confine themselves only to singing Trisagion. The "Handbook of the clergy" states: " Forbidden burial of infidels according to the rite of the Orthodox Church; but if a non-Christian of the Christian confession dies and “there is no priest or pastor of either the confession to which the deceased belonged, or another, then the priest of the Orthodox confession is obliged to lead the corpse from the place to the cemetery according to the rules indicated in the code of church laws”, according to which the priest should the deceased „“ to escort from the place to the cemetery in robes and stole and lower it into the ground while singing the verse: Holy God"(Decree of the Holy Synod of August 24, 1797)" .

St. Philaret of Moscow remarks in this connection: “According to the rules of the Church, it would be fair if the Holy Synod did not allow this. In allowing this, he used indulgence and showed respect to the soul, which bears the seal of baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no right to demand more.”

The handbook also explains the following: Obligation for an Orthodox priest to bury a non-Christian of the Christian confession is conditioned by the absence of the spiritual person of other Christian confessions, in which Orthodox priest and must make sure before he fulfills the request for the burial of a non-believer by him (Tserkovny vestnik. 1906, 20).

The Holy Synod, in a ruling dated March 10–15, 1847, decided: 1) at the burial of military officials Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed confessions Orthodox clergy may, by invitation, perform only that, which is said in the decree of the Holy Synod on August 24. 1797 (escort to the cemetery with singing Trisagion. - holy K.B.); 2) Orthodox clergy has no right to sing those who died according to the rank of the Orthodox Church; 3) the body of a deceased non-Christian confession cannot be brought before burial to the Orthodox Church; 4) regimental Orthodox clergy for such ranks cannot perform house requiems and include them in the church commemoration(Case of the Archives of the Holy Synod of 1847, 2513)" .

Such a norm of piety, which forbids the burial of the heterodox, was observed everywhere in all local Orthodox Churches. However, in the middle of the 19th century, this provision was violated.” In 1869, Patriarch Gregory VI of Constantinople established a special rite for the burial of the deceased non-Orthodox, which was also adopted by the Hellenic Synod. This order consists of the Trisagion, the 17th kathisma with the usual refrains, the Apostle, the Gospel and a small dismissal.

In the very acceptance of this rite, it is impossible not to see a departure from the patristic tradition. This innovation was carried out among the Greeks in parallel with the adoption of the new, published in Athens in 1864, the so-called "Typicon of the Great Church of Constantinople", the essence of which was to reform and reduce the statutory worship. The spirit of modernism, which is shaking the foundations of Orthodoxy, urged to compose similar rites in the Russian Orthodox Church. As noted by Archpriest Gennady Nefedov, “just before the revolution, the Petrograd Synodal Printing House printed a special pamphlet in Slavonic font “The service of the deceased non-Orthodox”. This rite is also indicated to be performed instead of a memorial service, with the omission of the prokimen, the Apostle and the Gospel.

This very “offering of rites over the deceased non-Orthodox” appeared in our Church as a manifestation of the revolutionary-democratic and renovationist mentality that captivated the minds of other theologians and clergy at the beginning of the 20th century. His text cannot be justified from the ecclesiastical canonical standpoint. The text of this "Chinese Order" in the Ribbon contains a number of absurdities.

So, for example, at the beginning of the Order it says: "For some reason blessed guilt, it will be fitting for an Orthodox priest to bury the body of the deceased non-Orthodox» . We have already shown above that church canons are no "Blessed Guilt" are not allowed here.

After the usual prayerful beginning, the "Application" cites Psalm 87, which contains, in particular, the following words: The food is to tell who is in the tomb, Your mercy, and Your truth in perdition; food will be known in darkness, your wonders, and your righteousness in the land of oblivion(Ps. 87:12-13). If you clarify that the Church Slavonic word food means “is it really”, the Psalm will become a rebuke to those who read it over the non-Orthodox dead.

This is followed by Psalm 119, which sings walking in the law of the Lord(Ps. 118:1). St. Theophan the Recluse, in his interpretation of this Psalm, cites the patristic judgment: “Not those blessed who stain themselves with sin in the corruption of the age, but those who blameless in the way, and walk in the law of the Lord." .

In fairness, it should be noted that in the editions of the Trebnik of the last ten or fifteen years, this "Ordinance" is no longer printed.

From the point of view of the Orthodox traditional attitude to the issue under consideration, the position of the monk Mitrofan, who published the book “The Afterlife” in 1897, should be considered correct. Let's take a few quotes from it.

"Our St. The Church prays for the departed thus: “God give rest, O Lord, to the souls of Thy servants who have reposed in the faith and hope of resurrection. God give rest to all Orthodox Christians.” This is who the Church prays for and with whom she is in inseparable union and communion. Hence, there is no union and communion with dead non-Christians and non-Orthodox... For a true Christian, except for suicide, no kind of death terminates the union and communion with the living - with the Church ... The saints pray for him, and the living pray for him, as for a living member of a single living body.

“Let us ask if all those who are in hell can be delivered through our prayers? The Church prays for all the dead, but only the dead in true faith will surely be delivered from the torments of hell. The soul, while in the body, is obliged to take care of its future life itself, must earn it so that after the transition to the afterlife, the intercession of the living could bring relief and salvation to it.

“The sins that constitute blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, that is disbelief, bitterness, apostasy, impenitence, and the like, make a man eternally lost, and so dead the intercession of the Church and not alive will not help, because they lived and died out of communion with the Church. yes about those Church already and does not pray» .

Here the author obviously has in mind the words of the Gospel: If he speaks a word against the Son of man, he will be released to him; and whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be released to him either in this age or in the next(Matthew 12:32). From these words of the Savior, many naturally concluded that, in principle, remission of sins is possible even after the death of the sinner. Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) remarks in this connection: About those who died with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, or, which is the same, in mortal sin, and unrepentant The church does not pray, and that is why, as the Savior said, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be released to a person either in this age or in the next.

Reverend Theodore the Studite did not allow open commemoration at the liturgy of the departed iconoclast heretics.

Let us cite a number of sayings of the Holy Fathers, in which they, calling for prayer for the dead, did not allow it to be performed by the Church for those who died outside of Church communion - heretics and unbaptized.

Blessed Augustine: "The whole Church observes this, as given from the Fathers, so that pray for those who died in the communion of the body and blood of Christ when they are remembered in due time at the very sacrifice.

Saint Gregory of Nyssa: “This is a very charitable and useful thing - to perform with the divine and glorious sacrament commemoration of the dead in the right faith» .

Saint John of Damascus: “The mystics and self-beholders of the Word, who conquered the circle of the earth, the disciples and divine Apostles of the Savior, not without reason, not in vain and not without benefit, established with terrible, pure and life-giving mysteries to perform commemoration of the faithful dead» .

Saint John Chrysostom: “When all the people and the holy cathedral stand with outstretched hands to heaven, and when a terrible sacrifice is presented: how can we not propitiate God, praying for them (the dead)? But this about those only who died in faith» .

On the commemoration of the non-Orthodox
in home prayer

In the words we quoted at the beginning of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy at the Moscow diocesan meeting in 2003, it was noted that only private, domestic prayer is allowed and has always been allowed for the unbaptized, but “at the service we commemorate only the children of the Church who have communed with her through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.” This division into ecclesiastical and private prayer is essential.

New Martyr Athanasius (Sakharov), Bishop of Kovrov, compiled the fundamental work “On the Commemoration of the Dead According to the Rules of the Orthodox Church.” In the section “Canon to the Martyr Ouar for deliverance from the torment of the non-belief of the dead,” he writes: “Ancient Rus', with all the severity of its attitude towards the dead, found it possible to pray not only for the conversion of the living to the true faith, but also for deliverance from the torment of the non-belief of the dead. At the same time, she resorted to the intercession of the holy martyr Huar. In the old canons there is a special canon for this case, completely different from the canon found in the October Menaion under the 19th day.

However, this section, as well as the sections “Prayer for unbaptized and stillborn babies” and “Prayer for suicides”, Vladyka Athanasius places in Chapter IV - “Commemoration of the Dead at home prayer". He rightly writes: At home prayer with the blessing of the spiritual father, even those who cannot be commemorated in church services can be commemorated. “The commemoration of the departed, out of humility and for the obedience of the Holy Church, transferred to our home cell prayer, will be more valuable in the eyes of God and more gratifying for the departed than committed in the temple, but with violation and neglect of the statutes of the Church.”

At the same time, about the statutory public worship, he notes: All funeral services are precisely defined in their composition, and the time when they may or may not be performed is precisely appointed. And no one has the right to transgress these limits established by the Holy Church.

So, in a church assembly headed by a priest or bishop, there is no way to legally pray for the unbaptized (as well as for non-Orthodox and suicides). Let us note that the treatise of Bishop Athanasius deals with both the statutory divine service and the services according to the Trebnik (the service of the funeral service, panikhida). At the same time, in the first three chapters there is no mention of the service to the martyr Uar. It is noteworthy that Vladyka himself writes at the beginning of Chapter IV: “We have touched all various cases when the Holy Church permits or herself calls, sometimes strenuously calls to prayer for the departed. But all the hitherto listed cases of commemoration of the dead are performed with the priest. Thus, the rite of the vigilant hazing service to the martyr Huar, which we have considered, cannot be recognized either by the Orthodox liturgical text or the rite of the Orthodox Treasury.

Many Holy Fathers spoke about the possibility of private commemoration in home prayer of those dead who cannot be commemorated in a church meeting.

Reverend Theodore the Studite found it possible for such people to commemorate only secretly: “is it only every in your soul prays for such and does alms for them.”

Venerable Elder Lev of Optina, not allowing church prayers for those who died outside the Church (suicides, unbaptized, heretics), he bequeathed to pray for them in private like this: “Seek, Lord, the lost soul of my father: if it is possible to eat, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not put this prayer of mine in sin, but Thy holy will be done.

Venerable Elder Ambrose of Optina wrote to one nun: “According to church rules, commemorate a suicide should not be in church and sister and family can pray for him secretly how Elder Leonid allowed Pavel Tambovtsev to pray for his parent. Write out this prayer... and give it to the unfortunate relatives. We know many examples that the prayer transmitted by the elder Leonid calmed and comforted many and turned out to be valid before the Lord.

The testimonies of the Holy Fathers we have cited force us, in full agreement with the words of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, to raise in our Church the question of abolishing from the annual liturgical cycle the hazing vigil service to the martyr Huar, which is not provided for by the Typicon, as contrary to canonical church norms.

In all likelihood, only the canon to the martyr Uar (but, of course, not the following of the "All-Night Vigil") is possible in special cases "some kind of blessed guilt" recommend for home cell prayer for deceased non-Orthodox relatives with a mandatory ban read this canon in Orthodox churches and chapels at public services and services.

LITERATURE

1. Ambrose Optinsky, Rev. Collection of letters to monastics. Issue. II. Sergiev Posad, 1909.

2. Athanasius (Sakharov), Bishop. On the commemoration of the dead according to the Charter of the Orthodox Church. SPb., 1995.

3. Bulgakov S.N. Handbook for a clergyman. M.: 1993.

4. Demetrius of Rostov, St. Lives of the Saints. October. 1993.

5. Journal of the Moscow Patriarchy. 2004, no. 2.

6. Macarius (Bulgakov), Met. Orthodox dogmatic theology. T. II. SPb., 1857.

7. Menaion. October. M.: Ed. Moscow Patriarchy, 1980.

8. Mitrofan, monk. Afterlife. SPb., 1897; Kyiv, 1992.

9. Nefedov G., prot. Sacraments and Rites of the Orthodox Church. Part 4. M., 1992.

10. Nicodemus (Milash), Bishop. Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1996.

11. Missal. M.: Ed. Moscow Patriarchy, 1977.

12. Trebnik. Part 3. M.: Ed. Moscow Patriarchate, 1984.

13. Theodore Studite, Rev. Creations. T. II. SPb., 1908.

14. Theophan the Recluse, St. Interpretation of Psalm 118. M., 1891.

15. Tsypin V., prot. Canon law. M., 1996.