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Today, Christian Orthodox people celebrate The Saturday of the Repaused

This Saturday is celebrated twice a year, a day in the spring and one in the autumn, when, after the Holy Liturgy a special service is made for the repaused people, called parastas. In this day usually all churches are full of people that come with a plate of coliva.

Coliva is the traditional meal that is usually prepared in the memory of the beloved deceased. It was first prepared in Constantinopol in the time of Archbishop Eudoxie, when Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363), intending to humiliate Christians, ordered the governor to sprinkle blood from the animals sacrificed to the pagan idols over the produce and all other products sold in the markets.
Then Archbishop Eudoxie had a dream of Saint Theodor Tyron telling him to warn Christians not to buy that meal, but to eat boiled grains mixed with honey – that is actually coliva.

Today the coliva is made sometimes with more tasty ingredients, and it is said that the soul of the repaused person was as good as coliva prepared in his/her memory. It is prepared also in the memory of the celebrated saint, this one from the photo was prepared for the feast Saint Panteleimon, 27-th July. After parastas service, where coliva is blessed, people that prepared it share it to the others that attended the service.