In the calendar of Orthodox holidays there are a rather large number of days in which the church calls to honor the memory of various saints, prophets or martyrs. One such date is August 3, when the day of remembrance of the ancient Jewish prophet Ezekiel is celebrated.
Ezekiel or Jhezkel, which translates as “Jehovah will strengthen, ” is one of the prophets revered in Judaism, Islam and Christianity. His tomb is located in the south-east of Iraq, in the town of Al-Kifl on the Euphrates River and is one of the places of worship of believers. Up to five thousand Jews visited this place to commemorate Ezekiel in Passover - Passover. However, during the reign of Saddam Hussein, access to the tomb was closed. Various religions celebrate the day of remembrance of the prophet Ezekiel, although on different days. For example, Lutherans do this on July 21, and the Armenian Apostolic Church on August 28. In the list of Orthodox holidays, the day of honoring the memory of Ezekiel is attributed to August 3 according to a new style.
Memorial day of the prophet Ezekiel is not one of the great holidays, so Orthodox priests are much less limited in the choice of forms in which they remind parishioners of this saint. For example, to honor his memory on this day during the Divine Liturgy, the priest recites a special prayer - troparion. Ezekiel's troparion sounds like this:
"Prophet of God Ezekiel, Spiritual Gateway
and the Carpenter, at the end of these, the One God said to God, Togo pray, pray
may the door of his mercy be opened
and he will save the souls of those who reverently sing your memory."
It can be accompanied by a kondak or troparion, which in an 8-voice church chant can sound in the second and fourth voices. These are smaller chants, revealing the essence of the deeds of the saint. Ezekiel’s kondak sounds like this:
"God was the prophet, Ezekiel's wonder
incarnation of the Lord heralded all thou
This Lamb and the Creator, Son of God, appearing forever."
The holy prophet Ezekiel was born approximately 622 BC in Judea. He was the son of a priest and himself became a priest, and at the age of 25 he was driven into the Babylonian kingdom during the second invasion of Nebuchadnezzar on Jerusalem. Five years later, he saw several prophetic visions, seven of which are described in the Old Testament Book of Ezekiel. One of them - the prophecy about the resurrection of the dead - is read in the Orthodox Church on Matins of Great Saturday. Due to the large volume of this book and the importance of the texts contained in it, the author is referred to as “great prophets”.
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