www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology "Pominanie" books in Church - who has them?

Greetings,

At my Church we have a stand in the entrance room where all parishoners have a little book similar to a passport called a Pominanie. In it we have sections to write the names of people we wish to be prayed for (must be members of the church) and also of those departed members of our family we wish to be remembered in the relevant services.

In the morning before (or early stages of) a service, this 'passport' is placed onto a tray and taken into the altar whereby the Priest would read the prayers for those members, and after the Prosphora and Cross Blessings, the books placed on a table in the nave, with a whole prosphora on top of it, to be consumed by the family (usually in church, though some take it home for other members of the family).

I have never seen this is other churches I have been to (not even Russian Orthodox (MP & ROCOR) churches) thought admitedly I haven't really looked out for them.

Does anyone else have this custom? If not do you know why it died out in common usage?

Any help would be most appreciated.

Christmas greetings to you all!

Christ is born, glorify Him!

Misha

At the back of a Russian Church Abroad there will be small round loaves of bread for sale before the Liturgy. You buy one of these for a couple of dollars (or one for the living and one for the dead) and send it up to the priest in the Altar, together with your list of names to be prayed for. He takes out a small piece for each of the names you have sent up and places it on the diskos/paten besides the large cube of bread which will be consecrated. These little loaves (they look like tiny money bags) are sent back to the back of the Church and you pick them up, together with your list of names.

We call the book a Pomyannik.

The Russian Catholics in Melbourne, do the same as mentioned by Fr Ambrose (only they tend to use the one bread, as they are not so easy to make in volume in a small community). They are usally just inside the front door with the candles.

The UGCC where I go leave their books all the time with the priest, as we use pre-cuts for Holy Communion.

Saint Michael's Russian Catholic Chapel preserves this practice as well as the 'zapivka' (sip of wine and piece of prosphora) immediately after communing.

The books or slips of paper and the Phosphora are left near the door for people to take away with them after the liturgy is over.

I'm in a Byzantine Catholic parish, Russian. We have the Pomyannik and also we have single sheets, about the same size, one for the living, one for those who have fallen asleep. They're on a table with the candles to buy for icons. Before Divine Liturgy the prosphora gets put on a platter which goes on the same table with the Pomyannik and the candles. People make a donation, then write in either the book or the paper and place it under a prosphora. The priest or deacon gathers them up. After DL they are either handed to us or left in the area where we eat our agape meal. The pieces are cut out of the bread as Fr Ambrose has described. A couple of parishioners take turns making the prosphora. Ours look like these [tinyurl.com].

At St. Elias in Brampton, Ontario, we use both the books and slips of paper [specially printed]. An offering is made for a small prosphora and the slip of paper or the book is placed with the prosphora. These are prepared in the exonarthex. They are brought to the sanctuary usually by an altar server following the Little Entrance. During the prothesis, the priest cuts very small particles for the living and the dead and places them on the diskos. All of these commemorations are completed before the Great Entrance. At the anaphora, during the commemorations of the dead and then of the living, the deacon reads the names in a quiet voice. Following the communion of the laity, the deacon places all the commemorative particles into the chalice with the precious Body and Blood. He will consume all of this following the Litany of Thanksgiving. Just before the Litany of Thanksgiving, once the chalice has been transfered from the holy table to the prothesis, the priest holding these prosphoras with the slips of names on a tray(s) makes the sign of the cross with the tray over the Holy Mysteries in the chalice. These prophora and the slips are then returned to the exonarthex and those who made the offerings pick up their own following the dismissal. The prosphora should be eaten before any other foods. Some people eat them immediately and others bring the prosphora to the sick or the person(s) who was commemorated.

Hello,
I use a personal Commemoration book at home. It may be useful to others:

http://www.bookemon.com/book-profile/commemoration-book/102633