Slava (was: Re: .com/religion) (fwd)

Thanks for explaining it!

Now, what is IS-HS NI-KA? I understand nika to mean "overcomes"
or similar. I've usually seen IC-KC NI-KA (Greek).

Padraic.

Thou wrote:

> Well, here's a little brief thing...if you want to ask any more specific
> things email me offlist.
>
> Every family has a patron saint, and this saint's feast day is the
> family's Slava. AFAIK the Slava only exists in the Serbian Orthodox Church
> (ie. I don't think it exists in the Russian or Greek Orthodox church).
>
> We make a woven bread thing, it's like a sweet leavend bread but made with
> holy water, and then it's blessed at the church and you take it home with
> a burning yellow candle, and it has on it four stamps IS-HS NI-KA. There's
> a koljivo, which is like a porridge made with wheat and raisins and
> vanilla. Then also you have to have wine, and oil for the flameholder that
> you hang in front of the icon. You make the bread thing first, then go to
> the Church where it gets blessed, then you go home and all the big family
> is there and we break the woven bread thing and everybody eats a little of
> that and a little koljivo and whatnot, and if someone comes over they eat
> some too.
>
> ----ferko

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