.jpg)
Where Did the Custom of Holding Religious Processions in Times of Public Calamity Come From?
January 26
(The Commemoration of the Great Earthquake)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
January 26
(The Commemoration of the Great Earthquake)
By Archpriest Victor Guryev
When public calamities befall us — for example, drought, or unseasonable weather, or when hail by God’s permission devastates the fields, or fires occur, or floods, or some other misfortune — then we usually take up the holy icons from the church, carry out the honorable crosses and banners, and with them perform processions around our villages, fields, and gardens, and we beseech the Lord for mercy. Do you know, brethren, where this custom of performing such processions in times of calamity came from, and who handed it down to us? If you do not know, I will tell you.
The custom of performing processions came to us from Greece, from where we received the Orthodox Christian faith. This can be proven by the fact that there, processions during public calamities were performed already in very ancient times. Thus, in Constantinople, at the death of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, on one of the Sundays there occurred an earthquake that continued, with interruptions, for three months. During this time the walls of the city collapsed, many houses were destroyed, and many national monuments also perished. In those days of calamity the emperor, together with the people, performed processions and continually cried out with tears: “Deliver us, O Lord, from Your righteous wrath for our sins, through repentance. For You have moved the earth and troubled it with shaking because of our lawlessness, that we may glorify You, the only good and loving God” (Prologue, Jan. 26).
Another procession in Constantinople during a time of calamity is mentioned by the ecclesiastical writer George Kedrenos. He says: “When a drought came and for six months there was absolutely no rain, then the brothers of the Emperor performed a procession in which John carried the holy cloth of the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands, one of the nobles carried the letter of Christ to Abgar, and another carried the holy burial cloths of Christ; and they went from the Great Palace to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae, while the patriarch with the clergy performed a second procession.”
Thus, even in times far removed from us, processions were performed, which undoubtedly served as an example or model for our own processions.
Now you know, brethren, from where processions among us took their beginning and from where the custom of performing them came to us. It remains for me only now, at the conclusion of this discourse, to offer you some instruction. What shall I say to you?
First, remember that processions are performed in order to sanctify both people and everything necessary for their life — that is, homes, roads, waters, the air, and the very earth itself, which is trodden upon and defiled by the feet of sinners. All this is so that the inhabited cities and villages and the whole land may become partakers of Divine grace, having cast away from themselves everything destructive and corrupting.
And secondly, do not forget that, in times of public calamities, we must pray with especial fervor “that our good and loving God may be merciful and gracious, turn away from us all His wrath that is stirred up against us, and deliver us from His impending and righteous threat, and have mercy on us, His unworthy servants.” Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
The custom of performing processions came to us from Greece, from where we received the Orthodox Christian faith. This can be proven by the fact that there, processions during public calamities were performed already in very ancient times. Thus, in Constantinople, at the death of Emperor Theodosius the Younger, on one of the Sundays there occurred an earthquake that continued, with interruptions, for three months. During this time the walls of the city collapsed, many houses were destroyed, and many national monuments also perished. In those days of calamity the emperor, together with the people, performed processions and continually cried out with tears: “Deliver us, O Lord, from Your righteous wrath for our sins, through repentance. For You have moved the earth and troubled it with shaking because of our lawlessness, that we may glorify You, the only good and loving God” (Prologue, Jan. 26).
Another procession in Constantinople during a time of calamity is mentioned by the ecclesiastical writer George Kedrenos. He says: “When a drought came and for six months there was absolutely no rain, then the brothers of the Emperor performed a procession in which John carried the holy cloth of the Image of Christ Not Made by Hands, one of the nobles carried the letter of Christ to Abgar, and another carried the holy burial cloths of Christ; and they went from the Great Palace to the Church of the Most Holy Theotokos in Blachernae, while the patriarch with the clergy performed a second procession.”
Thus, even in times far removed from us, processions were performed, which undoubtedly served as an example or model for our own processions.
Now you know, brethren, from where processions among us took their beginning and from where the custom of performing them came to us. It remains for me only now, at the conclusion of this discourse, to offer you some instruction. What shall I say to you?
First, remember that processions are performed in order to sanctify both people and everything necessary for their life — that is, homes, roads, waters, the air, and the very earth itself, which is trodden upon and defiled by the feet of sinners. All this is so that the inhabited cities and villages and the whole land may become partakers of Divine grace, having cast away from themselves everything destructive and corrupting.
And secondly, do not forget that, in times of public calamities, we must pray with especial fervor “that our good and loving God may be merciful and gracious, turn away from us all His wrath that is stirred up against us, and deliver us from His impending and righteous threat, and have mercy on us, His unworthy servants.” Amen.
Source: Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
