Where does an Orthodox saint get a chariot and lightning, and what folk signs are associated with Elijah's Day

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

On August 2, Russian Orthodox Christians celebrate the Day of the Prophet Elijah - a very ancient holiday associated with many interesting traditions and beliefs. There are similar holidays in other Christian denominations - there they fall on other days, but they are also celebrated very violently and cheerfully. Besides Russia, Ilya the Prophet is very “popular” in Greece, Georgia and most Slavic countries.

Such love for this biblical prophet is connected with the fact that he turned out to be "similar" to several mythological characters at once, which different nations worshiped before the adoption of Christianity. As a result, the holidays dedicated to these characters smoothly and painlessly turned into the day of veneration of the prophet Elijah, retaining many of their attributes.

Where did the lightning and chariot come from

Back in Byzantium, in the first centuries of our era, Elijah was sometimes confused with the ancient Greek gods - Zeus and Helios. Which is not surprising - outwardly, the prophet was somewhat reminiscent of these two. As you know, Zeus, according to the ancient Greeks, could command thunder and lightning, and Helios, the sun god, rode across the sky in a fiery chariot. And just such "abilities" possessed, according to biblical legends, the prophet Elijah.

More precisely, this is how people who did not understand religious subtleties perceived him. In fact, in the Old Testament, a story is described when Elijah, trying to convince the Israeli king Ahab to give up worshiping the pagan god Baaal, invited him to arrange a kind of competition: to put up two altars with wood, one for Baal, and the other for the true God, and see whose prayers will help light the wood on them. The priests of Baal cried out to their deity for a long time, but nothing happened to their altar, but lightning struck the altar made by Elijah from heaven. And later the prophet Elijah was taken to heaven alive for his many merits.

These legends often became subjects for paintings. The scene with the ascension of Elijah to heaven, the artists depicted in different ways, including as if he was rising into the air on a flying chariot. As a result, soon the image of this prophet was already firmly associated with lightning and chariots flying across the sky, that is, with the main distinguishing features of Zeus and Helios. And since Zeus, according to myths, also had a rather hot-tempered and cruel character, Elijah also began to be attributed with a harsh disposition. However, the first Christians still did not consider the prophet exactly like Zeus: they began to consider him strict only in relation to sinners.

Deputy Perun and not only

A similar metamorphosis occurred with the prophet Elijah and in the Slavic lands. The Slavs had their own thundering god - Perun, in some ways quite similar to Zeus. He, too, had a little habit of throwing lightning bolts at those he didn't like and keeping everyone at bay. Perun's Day in different regions could be celebrated at different times, but most often it was a summer holiday. In ancient Russia, it usually fell on July 20. By this day, the harvesting of bread, vegetables and mown grass was ending in the fields - after the completion of such a large work, it was necessary to have a proper rest.

The Day of Perun began with a sacrifice - the Thunderer had to be properly appeased. For this purpose, the largest, strongest and most terrible-looking bull was usually chosen. To then cook the meat of this bull, they made a fire, and the fire for it was produced by friction by one of the priests. After the fire broke out, the main part of the holiday began - dancing around the fires and jumping over the fire, various funny competitions. And since Perun was considered not only the lord of the thunderstorm, but also the patron saint of warriors, competitions between men - fist fights and battles with different weapons - were an obligatory item of the festive "program" on his day.

After the adoption of Christianity in Russia, the prophet Elijah, in a sense, replaced Perun. The holiday dedicated to the god of thunder remained the same - it only changed its name to Ilyin's Day, and they began to start it not with sacrifices, but simply with the lighting of fires. In some regions, Ilyin's day for a long time continued to be celebrated on July 20, and in some places it was celebrated twice - on this day and on August 2.

Like the Byzantines, the Slavs also began to perceive Elijah the prophet as a formidable lover to scare sinners with thunder and lightning. However, this did not prevent them from arranging merry folk festivals with songs, round dances and tasty treats on his day. Most often, Ilyin's Day was celebrated in the fresh air, somewhere in the field, and residents of several neighboring villages gathered for the celebration.

Later, around the 12th century, Elijah the Prophet in Russia began to be confused with another Ilya, also canonized - with Ilya of Murom. Despite the fact that there is no special similarity, except for names, between these saints, the Prophet Elijah is sometimes credited with some facts from the life of his Murom namesake even now - for example, some articles dedicated to him say that it is he, and not Ilya Muromets, the first 33 years of his life he was seriously ill and could not even get out of bed.

Rain is a good omen

With Ilya's day in Russia, many different signs were associated with the weather. It was believed that it was on this day, August 2, that summer gives way to autumn and that this is the last day when you can swim in rivers and lakes. Most likely, this sign was due to the fact that in August algae bloom usually begins in water bodies, and swimming there, firstly, is not very pleasant because of their specific smell, and secondly, it is dangerous because of various infections. In addition, our ancestors believed that the weather on Ilyin's day indicated what the next summer would be like: if it rains on that day, the next year will be fruitful.

And in continuation of the theme, a story about 9 biblical characters who did unacceptable things from the point of view of Christian morality.