What church holiday is celebrated on March 11 according to the new and old styles, what not to do and who has a name day.

On March 11, according to the new church calendar, Orthodox Christians remember St. Sophronius. On the same day is the beginning of Cheese Week, in the folk calendar – Maslenitsa. We talk about the prohibitions and signs of the day that are celebrated in the church on March 11 according to the old style in the material.

March 11, 2024 – what church holiday is today according to the new and old calendar

March 11 according to the new style (March 24 according to the old style) is the day of remembrance of Saints Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the recluse of Pechersk.

Saint Sophronius, Patriarch of Jerusalem, lived in the 7th century. He himself was from Damascus, received a philosophical education, and then went to Jerusalem. There he communicated a lot with desert dwellers and hermits, and together with his confessor, Hieromonk John Mosch, made a pilgrimage to monasteries. Later, from their travel notes, Sophrony and John compiled the famous book “Limonar” or “Spiritual Meadow”.

When they ended up in Egypt, Sophrony became seriously ill, so he decided to take monastic vows – and soon recovered. Sophrony was familiar with the Patriarchs of Jerusalem Zechariah and Modest. In 634, he himself was elected Patriarch of Jerusalem – for 10 years he was the primate of the Jerusalem Church. At the end of his life, Sophronius had to face the siege of Jerusalem by the Mohammedans. The townspeople, completely exhausted by hunger, agreed to open the gates on the condition that the enemy would spare Christian shrines. Alas, the Mohammedans did not keep their word. Therefore, Patriarch Sophrony died in deep sorrow.

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Little is known about the life of Sophrony of Pechersk. He was a recluse and lived in the Far (Feodosiev) caves of the Kiev Pechersk Monastery in the 13th century. Every day the monk read the Psalter and always wore a hair shirt and a heavy iron belt.

The relics of St. Sophrony were buried in the Far Caves of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery.

Holiday March 11th according to the old style – day of remembrance of St. Porfiry.

What do the signs say for March 11th?

In the folk calendar, March 11 is the holiday of Sofron. The signs of the day are used to judge the future weather:

• it was a warm day – summer will also be warm;
• flocks of crows sitting on the ground – it will be cold, on the tops of trees – it will be warm;
• seeing a lark today means warming;
• birds build nests on the sunny side – for a cold summer, and if in the shade – the summer will be warm.

On March 11, people welcomed birds that were returning home from warmer climes, paying special attention to cuckoos. From this day Maslenitsa begins – the week before Lent. It is also called Baba Week or Kolodiy.

What you can do on March 11

The saints of this day are asked to strengthen their faith, to give them strength to endure adversity and difficulties, and to thank God for everything that exists.

During Cheese Week, which begins on March 11, you are allowed to eat milk, dairy products and eggs. In Ukraine, dumplings with cheese have long been prepared for Maslenitsa. Nowadays they also bake pancakes, although this tradition came to us from Soviet times. The first dumplings (or pancakes) are served as alms and for memorial services, for example, they are treated to the poor.

Folk omens advise listening to the cuckoo on this day: after hearing the first song, you need to make a wish – it will definitely come true. They also believe that if you jingle change in your pocket at this moment, it will bring good luck and help you become rich.

What not to do on March 11

Among the prohibitions, what you cannot do today are swearing, especially with loved ones, swearing, wishing harm, envying, hurting animals.

People believe that on this day you should not ask the cuckoo how long you have left to live, and that cooking and eating poultry is not good. Also, do not throw away old things – this will lead to poverty.

March 11 – name day today

Name days today according to the church calendar are celebrated by Vasily, Ivan, Georgy, Efim, Sophrony.

Previously, we published the Orthodox calendar for March 2024 with holidays in the new and old styles.