Radonitsa – The Day of Rejoicing

​Radonitsa – The Day of Rejoicing
A Paschal Commemoration of the Departed in the Light of the Resurrection
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On the Tuesday of the Week of St. Thomas, known in the Orthodox Church as Radonitsa (the Day of Rejoicing), we keep sacred remembrance, as established by the divine wisdom of our Holy Fathers, of all who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and life eternal—from our first parents to the most recently departed among the faithful.

Having just celebrated the radiant and life-giving Pascha—the Feast of Feasts, the Triumph of triumphs—we, the faithful, do not confine the joy of the Resurrection to ourselves alone. With hearts aflame with the light of Christ’s victory, we now extend this same Paschal joy to those who have gone before us, who now rest in the hope of that final and glorious resurrection which Christ, the Firstborn from the dead, has made manifest through His rising. Just as Christ descended into the depths of Hades and proclaimed liberty to the captives, leading forth the righteous of the Old Covenant into Paradise by the light of His divine presence, so now we remember our beloved departed, and we sing to them the song of freedom and eternal life.

This is the ineffable joy that filled the hearts of the Holy Myrrhbearers as they beheld the angelic proclamation: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!” This is the joy that shone forth in the Upper Room when the Risen Christ stood among the Apostles, breathing peace upon them, though the doors were shut. And it is this same divine and all-conquering joy that animates the Church today to call forth the names of her children who have reposed, enveloping them in the unwaning light of Christ's Pascha.

The roots of this sacred tradition are found in the teachings of the Church Fathers, particularly St. John Chrysostom, who in his Homily on the Cemetery and the Cross, extols the piety of offering prayers for the dead on this specific Tuesday, immediately following Bright Week. By this holy practice, the Church manifests the inseparability of the living and the departed—united in Christ, Who is the Resurrection and the Life.

In Orthodox lands, the faithful gather on this day for the Divine Liturgy, wherein the names of the departed are solemnly read aloud before the Holy Gifts. ‘Koliva’—the boiled wheat mingled with honey and raisins, symbolizing both death and resurrection—is lovingly prepared and blessed, bearing witness to the promise of life hidden within the tomb. The cemeteries are adorned and visited, not in sorrow, but in the quiet triumph of the Resurrection. Graves are blessed with holy water, incense is offered, and hymns of Paschal joy resound amid the resting places of the faithful. It is also customary to give alms on behalf of the departed, an act of mercy reflecting the boundless mercy of the Risen Lord, who trampled down death by death.

In the Slavic Orthodox tradition, this day is called Radonitsa, meaning “the Day of Rejoicing,” for it is meet and right to rejoice in the communion of saints, in the vanquishing of death, and in the promise that those who have died in Christ shall rise with Him in glory. The Church does not forget her dead, for in the mystery of the Eucharist and in the communion of love, they remain ever-present. Their memory lives not in mere recollection but in the living Body of Christ, where time and eternity are gathered into one.

Let us, therefore, lift up our hearts and voices in triumphant hymnody:
“Blessed are they whom Thou hast chosen and taken to Thyself, O Lord. Their memory is from generation to generation. Their souls shall dwell with the righteous. Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.”

And again, with the boldness of faith and the unshakable assurance of things hoped for, we cry out:
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life!”