This page was created in January 2025 and remains a work in progress. In time we plan to add material about each of the Saturdays (done 10/2/2025), insert hyperlinks to other material on this website (done 10/2/2025), include some introductory notes, and provide a list of references (done 12/2/2025).
The liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church appoints special readings from the Apostol and the Gospel at Divine Liturgy on the Saturdays before and after the Great Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. These readings precede those appointed for the Saturday of the particular week after Pentecost and any appointed for the saint commemorated on that day.
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday before the Exaltation of the Cross the reading from the Apostol is 1 Corinthians 2:6-9 (§126, The hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages) and the reading from the Gospel is Matthew 10:37-11:1 (§39, He that loses his life for my sake shall find it).
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday after the Exaltation of the Cross the reading from the Apostol is 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (§125 from the centre, God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise) and the reading from the Gospel is John 8:21-30 (§30, When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he).
The liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church also appoints special readings from the Apostol and the Gospel at Divine Liturgy on the Saturdays before and after the Great Feast of the Nativity of Christ.
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday before the Nativity of Christ the reading from the Apostol is Galatians 3:8-12 (§205, Faith against Law) and the reading from the Gospel is Luke 13:18-29 (§72, Parables about the Kingdom).
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday after the Nativity of Christ the reading from the Apostol is 1 Timothy 6:12-16 (§288, The battle of faith) and the reading from the Gospel is Matthew 12:15-21 (§46, God’s chosen servant).
The liturgical tradition of the Orthodox Church also appoints special readings from the Apostol and the Gospel at Divine Liturgy on the Saturdays before and after the Great Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Theophany).
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday before Theophany the reading from the Apostol is 1 Timothy 3:14-4:5 (§284, Instructions for conduct, warning concerning false teaching) and the reading from the Gospel is Matthew 3:1-11 (§5, John the Baptist prepares the way).
At Divine Liturgy on the Saturday after Theophany the reading from the Apostol is Ephesians 6:10-17 (§233, The armour of God) and the reading from the Gospel is Matthew 4:1-11 (§7, The temptation of Jesus).
The second Saturday before Great Lent ("Meatfare Saturday", so called because according to the traditional rules of fasting observed in the Orthodox Church this Sunday is the last day before Pascha on which meat is eaten) is a day of general commemoration of the departed. On this day we commemorate “all the dead from all the ages who have lived in piety and faith”, asking our Lord and Saviour “to give them in the hour of judgment a good defence before our God who judges all the earth” (sticheron on ‘Lord, I have cried’, Vespers). This commemoration is therefore closely linked to the Sunday that immediately follows it, the Sunday of the Last Judgement. In our parish practice, the departed are commemorated on this day at a general panikhida served immediately before Matins on Saturday evening.
The Saturday before Great Lent ("Cheesefare Saturday", so called because according to the traditional rules of fasting observed in the Orthodox Church this Sunday is the last day before Pascha on which cheese and dairy products are eaten) is described in the Lenten Triodion as a day of commemoration of “all our God-bearing Fathers [and Mothers] who shone forth in the ascetic life.” This commemoration serves as an encouragement to us as we prepare for Great Lent: “Looking with wonder at the victory of the saints, let us strive to equal them in virtue, crying to the Saviour: O God, at their intercessions make us sharers in Thy heavenly Kingdom” (Sessional Hymn, Matins). This day is the lesser patronal feast of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Monastery in Monkerai, New South Wales.
On Saturday of the First Week in Great Lent ("Saint Theodore Saturday") we commemorate Great-Martyr Theodore the Recruit (+c.360 AD). The Lenten Triodion explains this as follows: “There is a specific reason why St. Theodore has come to be associated with the first week of Lent. According to the tradition recorded in the Synaxarion, the Emperor Julian the Apostate (reigned 361-3), as part of his campaign against the Christians, attempted to defile their observance of the first week of Lent by ordering all the food for sale in the market of Constantinople to be sprinkled with blood from pagan sacrifices. St. Theodore then appeared in a dream to Eudoxios, Archbishop of the city, ordering him to warn his flock against buying anything from the market; instead, so the Saint told him, they should boil wheat (kolyva) and eat this alone. In memory of this event, after the Presanctified Liturgy on the first Friday, a Canon of intercession is sung to St. Theodore and a dish of kolyva is blessed in his honour.”
On the Saturdays of the Second, Third and Fourth Weeks of Great Lent ("Memorial Saturdays" or, in Russian, родительские субботы) we again commemorate the departed. This is because each Saturday is traditionally a commemoration of the departed, and also because the cycle of Lenten services is such that the Divine Liturgy and memorial services are not offered for the departed on other days. In our parish practice, the departed are commemorated on these days at a general panikhida served immediately before Matins on Saturday evening.
On Saturday of the Fifth Week in Great Lent (“The Saturday of the Akathist”) the Orthodox Church honours the Mother of God by singing the Akathist to her. In the Russian tradition this is done at Matins on the preceding Friday evening. The consensus amongst liturgical historians is that this commemoration has its origins in the practice, prior to the Council in Trullo in 692 AD, of transferring the Great Feast of the Annunciation to a Saturday in Great Lent; a Saturday commemoration of the Mother God was retained by the Church and later assigned to this particular Saturday in honour of the deliverance of Constantinople from enemies at various times through her prayers. The singing of the Akathist as Holy Week approaches reminds us of the Incarnation of Christ and of the help in all difficulties that Christians receive through the prayers of the Mother of God.
On Saturday of the Sixth Week in Great Lent (“Lazarus Saturday”) the Orthodox Church commemorates the Christ's raising of Lazarus from the dead at Bethany. As Metropolitan Kallistos (Ware) has said: “The resurrection of Lazarus is a prophecy in the form of an action. It foreshadows Christ’s own resurrection eight days later, and at the same time it anticipates the resurrection of all the righteous on the Last Day: Lazarus is ‘the saving first-fruits of the regeneration of the world’.” The liturgical texts also focus on the evidence in the Gospel account of the two natures of Christ, human and divine. The appointed readings at Divine Liturgy are Hebrews 12:28-13:8 (§333 from the mid-point, Rules for Christian living) and John 11:1-45 (§39, The raising of Lazarus).
The Seventh Saturday of Great Lent is Great Saturday.
In addition to Meatfare Saturday and the Second, Third and Fourth Saturdays of Great Lent, there are three other Saturdays on which special services for the departed are appointed:
The Saturday before Pentecost (in Russian, Троицкая родительская суббота) is a day of commemoration of the departed that follows essentially the same liturgical texts and order as are appointed for Meatfare Saturday. The texts are included in the Pentecostarion. In view of the long services on Saturday evening and the following Sunday morning for the Great Feast of Pentecost, this commemoration is rarely, if ever, observed in our parish.
Holy Protection Saturday (in Russian, Покровская родительская суббота) is generally the Saturday before the day of commemoration of the Protection of the Mother of God, 14 October (1 October on the Church calendar). Established to commemorate those Orthodox soldiers who fell during the capture of Kazan in 1552 AD, it is now a day of commemoration of all departed Orthodox Christians that is observed particularly in those regions such as the Urals and Siberia that became part of Russia after 1552. It has not traditionally been observed in our Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR); the authoritative annual Троицкий Православный Русский Календарь published by ROCOR's Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York, USA, makes no mention of it.
Saint Demetrius Saturday (in Russian, Дмитриевская родительская суббота) is generally the Saturday before the day of commemoration of Great-Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica, 8 November (26 October on the Church calendar). Although thought by some to have been established to commemorate those Russian soldiers who fell in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380 AD, a similar commemoration is observed amongst all the Orthodox Slavs. In the Russian Orthodox Church it is now a day of commemoration of all departed Orthodox Christians. Traditionally, and in ROCOR today, the service on this day follows the rules in Chapter XIII of the Typikon (‘Saturday services when Alleluia is sung’); that is, there is no special service appointed for the departed. In the Moscow Patriarchate during the second half of the Twentieth Century the services followed the same order as on Meatfare Saturday. If the Saturday before the day of commemoration of Great-Martyr Demetrius coincides with a major liturgical feast-day such as that of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God or Righteous John of Kronstadt, the commemoration of the departed is transferred to another Saturday. In our parish practice, the departed are commemorated on this day at a general panikhida customarily served immediately before Matins on Saturday evening.
Getcha, Archimandrite Job. The Typikon Decoded: An Explanation of Byzantine Liturgical Practice. Yonkers, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2012.
Pentecostarion of the Orthodox Church. St. John of Kronstadt Press, 2010.
Schmemann, Alexander. Great Lent: Journey to Pascha. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1996.
Sokolof, Archpriest D. A Manual of the Orthodox Church’s Divine Services. Jordanville, NY: Printshop of St. Job of Pochaev, 2001.
The Lenten Triodion. South Canann, PA: St Tikhon’s Seminary Press, 2001.
The Lenten Triodion: Supplementary Texts. Bussy-en-Othe, France: Monastery of the Veil of the Mother of God, 1979.
Wybrew, Hugh. Orthodox Lent, Holy Week and Easter: Liturgical Texts with Commentary. Crestwood, NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 1997.
