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| Church of the Holy Theodoroi in Oia |
On the first Saturday of Great Lent, the Orthodox Church honors Saint Theodore the Tiro, and specifically the “commemoration of the miracle of the kollyva by Saint Theodore the Tiro.”
Julian the Apostate - a pagan Roman Emperor - wanted to “contaminate” Christian subjects by secretly ordering during Clean Week (the first week of Great Lent starting on Clean Monday) that all food in the marketplace be sprinkled with the blood of pagan sacrifices. Saint Theodore then appeared in a dream to the then Archbishop of Constantinople and ordered him to inform all Christians so that they would not buy food from the marketplace and instead to boil kollyva for their food. Thus, the pagan emperor's purpose was thwarted, and on Clean Saturday the people gave thanks to the Saint. Since then, the Church has commemorated this event to the glory of God and to honor Saint Theodore.
Let us make this clear:
The Saturday of Saint Theodore, which commemorates the miracle of the kollyva, is NOT a Saturday of Souls!
The official number of Saturday of Souls of the Greek Orthodox Church for the repose of the souls of the deceased are two:
1) The Saturday before Meatfare Sunday, the so-called "Saturday of Souls."
2) The Saturday before Pentecost Sunday, the so-called "Golden Kollyva of Pentecost."
On the Saturday of Saint Theodore, which we celebrate during the first week of Great Lent, the housewives offer the kollyva in memory of the miracle performed by the Saint and NOT for the sake of the deceased as has been mistakenly believed! Of course, any memorial prayer for the repose of the souls is not prohibited, we are simply clarifying the significance and meaning of the kollyva for this specific day.
The local folk tradition of Oia (a coastal town on the island of Santorini) states that on the “Kollyva-Saturday of Saint Theodore” (that is what they call it in Oia), the housewives of Oia made the kollyva with the aim of promoting the health and protection of their families. They were the kollyva... of the living! They made the kollyva to honor the memory of the Saint's miracle, where through them (the kollyva) and the commemoration of the miracle, they asked the Saint to always be the helper and protector of their families, just as he helped the Christians not to be contaminated by the pagan foods of Julian the Apostate. That is why the kollyva they made were not "decorated" like the classic kollyva for the dead, but mixed the ingredients like a meal, thus symbolizing the meal of kollyva that the Christians ate at the command of Saint Theodore.
Julian the Apostate - a pagan Roman Emperor - wanted to “contaminate” Christian subjects by secretly ordering during Clean Week (the first week of Great Lent starting on Clean Monday) that all food in the marketplace be sprinkled with the blood of pagan sacrifices. Saint Theodore then appeared in a dream to the then Archbishop of Constantinople and ordered him to inform all Christians so that they would not buy food from the marketplace and instead to boil kollyva for their food. Thus, the pagan emperor's purpose was thwarted, and on Clean Saturday the people gave thanks to the Saint. Since then, the Church has commemorated this event to the glory of God and to honor Saint Theodore.
Let us make this clear:
The Saturday of Saint Theodore, which commemorates the miracle of the kollyva, is NOT a Saturday of Souls!
The official number of Saturday of Souls of the Greek Orthodox Church for the repose of the souls of the deceased are two:
1) The Saturday before Meatfare Sunday, the so-called "Saturday of Souls."
2) The Saturday before Pentecost Sunday, the so-called "Golden Kollyva of Pentecost."
On the Saturday of Saint Theodore, which we celebrate during the first week of Great Lent, the housewives offer the kollyva in memory of the miracle performed by the Saint and NOT for the sake of the deceased as has been mistakenly believed! Of course, any memorial prayer for the repose of the souls is not prohibited, we are simply clarifying the significance and meaning of the kollyva for this specific day.
The local folk tradition of Oia (a coastal town on the island of Santorini) states that on the “Kollyva-Saturday of Saint Theodore” (that is what they call it in Oia), the housewives of Oia made the kollyva with the aim of promoting the health and protection of their families. They were the kollyva... of the living! They made the kollyva to honor the memory of the Saint's miracle, where through them (the kollyva) and the commemoration of the miracle, they asked the Saint to always be the helper and protector of their families, just as he helped the Christians not to be contaminated by the pagan foods of Julian the Apostate. That is why the kollyva they made were not "decorated" like the classic kollyva for the dead, but mixed the ingredients like a meal, thus symbolizing the meal of kollyva that the Christians ate at the command of Saint Theodore.
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| Kollyva served as a meal. |
So they would take the plate with the kollyva on Saturday morning to the Church of Saint Theodore in Oia along with the paper on which are the names of their loved ones and the priests would pray for their health, but those who wanted to would also offer a special trisagion for the repose of their deceased loved ones.
However, what has a special place in the local folk tradition of Oia and is connected to the Saturday of Saint Theodore was related to unmarried girls.
The unmarried females would take three pieces of wheat grains ("three" in the name of the Holy Trinity) from the "blessed" kollyva, wrap them in a piece of white cloth that they tied with red thread, forming the shape of a Cross in the form of an amulet, and put them under their pillow for three consecutive nights so that they would dream of their future husband.
However, what has a special place in the local folk tradition of Oia and is connected to the Saturday of Saint Theodore was related to unmarried girls.
The unmarried females would take three pieces of wheat grains ("three" in the name of the Holy Trinity) from the "blessed" kollyva, wrap them in a piece of white cloth that they tied with red thread, forming the shape of a Cross in the form of an amulet, and put them under their pillow for three consecutive nights so that they would dream of their future husband.
They believed that just as Saint Theodore appeared in the dream of the then Archbishop of Constantinople and ordered him to inform the Christians about Julian's purpose, so he would appear in their own sleep and show them which young man they would marry. So before they went to sleep on Saturday night, and after they had said their prayer, they would say the following verse with the expectation of dreaming of their future husband...
"Άγιε μου Θεόδωρε,
Θόδωρε συνόδωρε,
που τον κόσμο βοηθάς,
και τις τύχες συναντάς,
εκεί στην έρημο που πας,
άμα δεις και τη δική μου,
να τη γλυκοχαιρετάς!"
It should be noted that when residents of Oia settled in Piraeus, they brought these traditions with them. They have also spread to other islands of the Aegean. Increasingly people are becoming aware that the Saturday of Saint Theodore is primarily for the living and not the reposed, and we eat kollyva not for the reposed but for the living, for their health and protection. Therefore when receiving kollyva on this day, we should not say things like "Eternal be their memory" or "God forgive their souls" or "God rest their souls", but instead "Many years!" and "May you be healthy and blessed!"
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
"Άγιε μου Θεόδωρε,
Θόδωρε συνόδωρε,
που τον κόσμο βοηθάς,
και τις τύχες συναντάς,
εκεί στην έρημο που πας,
άμα δεις και τη δική μου,
να τη γλυκοχαιρετάς!"
It should be noted that when residents of Oia settled in Piraeus, they brought these traditions with them. They have also spread to other islands of the Aegean. Increasingly people are becoming aware that the Saturday of Saint Theodore is primarily for the living and not the reposed, and we eat kollyva not for the reposed but for the living, for their health and protection. Therefore when receiving kollyva on this day, we should not say things like "Eternal be their memory" or "God forgive their souls" or "God rest their souls", but instead "Many years!" and "May you be healthy and blessed!"
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
