About a week before I went to the monastery, I had this strong urge to go visit the graves of my relatives. I knew that a few of them were buried in the old cemetery in town, but I didn’t know exactly where. I talked to my mom about going there, and she said that we would try to go after I came back from the monastery.My mom never visited her mother’s grave since she had died over 22 years previously. She raised me to think that visiting graves was not that important. The dead were dead and there was nothing else to it. However, after both of us became Orthodox, our minds started to change.
When I was at the monastery we celebrated the Saturday of Souls. There are three of these on the three Saturdays before the first Sunday of Lent. We had a special vespers that commemorated the dead. The nuns sang many hymns and read many prayers regarding God to have mercy on those who have departed. We also read the names of the departed that were sent to the monastery to be prayed for. This service really had an impact on me. It solidified in my heart, the importance of praying for the departed.
Upon my return from the monastery, my mother and I went out to visit the graves of our departed ancestors. We couldn’t find the graves, but soon found help in the maintenance men working in the graveyard. They took us to the office and looked up plot numbers for us.
When we found the plot, we also found some unexpected graves. We found the grave of my grandmother (my mother’s mom). We also knew that my great grandmother was buried out there along with my great grandfather. We also found the graves of my mother’s uncle, aunt, and cousin. However, we found several other graves. Through some research we found them to be my great-great grandfather and great- great grandmother, my great-great grandfather’s 1st wife (no relation to me), my great-great uncle, and my great-great-great uncle who has a special civil war soldier memorial at his grave.
After we found our ancestors I read the prayers for the departed from an Orthodox prayer book. This was an amazing experience. I felt somehow connected to my ancestors. I felt like they could hear my prayers for them.
Now my mother and I try to make a weekly trip out to the cemetery to pray the prayers of the departed over our ancestors. We also say short prayers for them each morning.
My interest in my departed ancestors has led to a new hobby about which I am completely obsessed. I now have the compulsion to find out all of my ancestors that I can. I joined www.ancestry.com and have been bowled over by all of the information that I have been able to find out. I have also spent countless hours and many sleepless nights digging through documents. (I have a bad habit of being an all or nothing person. It is very hard for me to do things in moderation!)
My great-great grand father came to Kentucky after the Civil War, but he was originally from Virginia. He served in the 23rd infantry of Virginia during the Civil War. I have traced his lineage all the way to the 1600s back to the beginning days of the Virginian colony. (This link goes back around 10 generations. How amazing!)
I also found out my great-great-great grandfather (on a different branch of the tree) came over from Ireland. (That means that I am 1/32 Irish.) However, I am a little stuck there. I have narrowed it down to 10 possible boats that he could have been on.
I haven’t even started on my father’s family tree. His relatives came over from Germany. That will be very fascinating to track down, another adventure to experience.
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