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BLAGO Fund: Archives of Serbian Medieval Orthodox Treasure:
Ravanica . MileÅ¡eva . Manasija . Studenica . GraÄanica . St. Peter's Church . Pillars of St. George . Sopoćani
Ravanica . MileÅ¡eva . Manasija . Studenica . GraÄanica . St. Peter's Church . Pillars of St. George . Sopoćani
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One of our many customs in the Church is that of preparing and serving koljivo at the time of a funeral, and whenever a parastos is served in the Church for the departed. Koljivo is boiled wheat covered with sugar. It is often decorated with walnuts arranged in the figure of a cross and sometimes prepared with other ingredients such as pomegranates, raisins or grapes. The custom of serving koljivo in the Orthodox Church can be traced back to the fourth century and is connected with St. Theodore the Recruit. Julian the Apostate came to power in 361 and insisted on returning the Empire to paganism. Toward this end he ordered all foodstuffs to be removed from the market in Constantinople on the first day of Great Lent and substituted it with sacrificial food in order to defile the fast, for it is stated in the Acts of the Apostles that the early Christians were admonished to "abstain from things offered to idols" (Acts 15:29). St. Theodore suggested to the Patriarch that he use boiled wheat (koljivo) as a substitute for the Lenten foodstuffs. Since that time koljivo, having been connected with celebrating the memory of the Saints, is brought to the Church and blessed during what is known today as the memorial service. Koljivo was also distributed to the poor as a form of almsgiving. In many places the practice of our Church calls for the people to partake of koljivo after the parastos. In other places it is held in the front of the Church and all are invited to partake of it. In some regions koljivo is taken to the cemetery during a funeral. The symbolic meaning of Koljivo is founded on scriptural texts. It symbolizes the resurrection in connection with the saying of our Lord: "Most assuredly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain" (John 12:24). Along this line St. Paul writes: "The body is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption" (I Cor. 15:42). In the teaching of the Church we are advised that there is no death in God, but life everlasting. Through our love toward the departed in the memorial service, we emphasize that those who have fallen asleep on the Lord still live as members of the Church triumphant. What we do in our prayers of the parastos is to commit our departed loved ones to the mercy of God, who has the means to help them far beyond our knowledge, and this is all good. At the same time, we remind ourselves of the end of our own experience in this world and the need to prepare ourselves for life after this one, that is, to repent and accept the grace of God through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus through the custom of koijivo the Church reminds us in a most tangible way of the reality of our Faith, which is the resurrection and the life to come. |