St.
Ilia is a Judaic prophet and a wandering hermit, who lived in the time
of the Israeli king of Ahav and queen Iesavel. They worshipped the
pagan god Vaal. St. Ilia predicted horrible drought would befall the
lands of the pagan king, which would be God’s way of punishing him for
his sins. His prophecy came true and the Israeli people were tortured
by drought for three and a half years. Only then did God show his mercy
and sent his prophet to announce the end of the disaster. St. Ilia is
worshipped by all Christians as one of the greatest biblical prophets,
along with Moses. His life story tells how, when he died, a fiery
chariot, pulled by fiery horses, took him to the skies. This is how the
saint is depicted by icon-painters – in a gold-plated sky chariot,
pulled by four white horses. In the christianized mythological
believes, when the world was divided, St. Ilia took the “summer
thunders and storms”; he is the master of all summer sky elements and
hailstorms. Ilinden (or the day of St. Ilia) is celebrated as the day
of the most important saint –“hailstormer”. In his honour, people make
offerings by slaughtering the oldest rooster and baking round loafs for
him. All-village fairs are organized. Ilinden is also the holiday of
all members of the guild of curriers, furriers, packsaddle-makers, and
tile-makers. It is also the name day of all people called Ilia, Ilian/a.
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