The sacrament of burial of the faithful is the sacrament of the “first” death of a person. Funeral service and prayer “for the repose” of the deceased (personal and church)

Types of funeral services for the deceased in the Temple of God

The church is a place of general prayer for many parishioners who turn to God with praise and requests. The rituals, decoration, and special aura developed over thousands of years inspire hope for the salvation of the soul. With the funeral service in the temple, the transition of the soul to another world is facilitated. Fulfilling the rite promises a future meeting with the deceased.

For lay parishioners and church ministers, the funeral ritual differs in the set of canons and the duration of the service.

Types of funeral services in church:

Baptized children under the age of 7 who are considered sinless.
Laity, baptized, recognizing the Orthodox faith.
Those who passed into another world on the Bright Week of Easter.
Monastic – monks and hieromonks.
Priestly - the highest ranks in the church hierarchy.

The funeral service can only be conducted by an ordained priest belonging to the Orthodox Church.

Prayer at the funeral service

Funerals and ceremonies

About the dead and funerals (Customs and traditions of the Russian people)

“The Orthodox Church guides its children into the afterlife with the sacraments of Repentance, Communion and Blessing of Anointing, and in moments of separation of the soul from the body, it performs a canon for the exodus of the soul.
It is read “on behalf of a person who is separated from his soul and cannot speak,” and is otherwise called the prayer of departure. At the moment of death, a person experiences a feeling of languor. When leaving the body, the soul meets the Guardian Angel given to it in Baptism and evil spirits - demons. The appearance of demons is so terrible that at the sight of them the soul is troubled and trembles. The canon on the outcome of the soul in the absence of a priest should be read by the relatives or friends of the dying person.

If a person suffers for a long time and seriously and cannot die, then relatives can read another canon - “The rite performed for the separation of the soul from the body, never a person suffers for a long time.” Both of these canons are in the complete Orthodox prayer books.

Preparing the deceased for burial

The human body, according to the view of the Church, is the temple of the soul, consecrated by the grace of the sacraments. According to the words of the holy Apostle Paul: “This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality” (1 Cor. 15:53). Therefore, since apostolic times, the Church has lovingly cared for the remains of deceased brothers in faith. The image of the burial of the dead is given in the Gospel, which describes the burial of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Orthodox ritual of preparing the body of the deceased for burial has been preserved since Old Testament times and is expressed in washing the body, dressing it, and placing it in the coffin.

Washing the body with water foreshadows the future resurrection and standing before God in purity and immaculateness. When washing, you should read the Trisagion: “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” or simply “Lord have mercy.” You need to wash your entire body with warm water and soap. According to tradition, ablution is performed by one of the relatives of the deceased.

The body of a Christian is dressed in new, clean clothes of light colors. In some regions of Russia, the deceased, in addition to ordinary clothes, is dressed in a shroud - a white cover reminiscent of the white clothes of baptism. The deceased must wear a pectoral cross. The washed and clothed body is placed on a prepared table face up, towards the east. The lips of the deceased should be closed, hands folded crosswise on the chest (right over left) as a sign of faith in the Crucified Christ. An icon of the Savior or a Crucifix is placed in the hands.

Pregnant women should not wash the deceased to avoid illness in the unborn child. Women who are menstruating should not wash the deceased. Previously, as a rule, only elderly women prepared the deceased for his last journey.

Before placing the body, the coffin is sprinkled with holy water, and you can cover it with incense.

The forehead of the deceased is decorated with a halo, which symbolizes the crown of the Kingdom of Heaven. The Apostle Paul said: “And now there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all those who loved His appearing.” The Savior is depicted on the aureole with the Mother of God and John the Baptist standing before Him. The whisk is sold in the church; it is better to purchase it before the funeral and bring the deceased to the funeral service with the whisk.

A pillow is placed under the head, usually made of cotton wool or dry grass. There is a pious custom of preparing one’s “mortal pillow” in advance, filling the pillowcase with willow branches and birch leaves consecrated in the temple (this consecration occurs on Palm Sunday and on the day of the Holy Trinity, respectively).

The body is covered with a sheet or a special funeral shroud with the image of the Crucifixion - as a testimony to the faith of the Church that the deceased is under the protection of Christ.

The coffin is usually placed in the middle of the room in front of the icons. Candles are lit around him; if possible, then place four candlesticks: one at the head, another at the feet and two on both sides of the coffin; together they form a cross and symbolize the transition of the deceased to the Kingdom of true light.

It is forbidden to place any objects, money, or food in the coffin, since such customs are relics of paganism.

It is clear that the above rules can only be observed if the body has not been taken to the morgue. According to existing Russian standards, without submitting the deceased for an autopsy, it is impossible to obtain death certificates. Because of this, Orthodox people have to give their dead to the morgue for far from pious actions. This is very unfortunate, but every effort should be made to ensure that the body is properly prepared after it is released from the morgue.

Prayer for the deceased before the funeral service

Immediately after washing and vesting the deceased, the priest (or one of the relatives) reads a canon called “Sequence on the departure of the soul from the body” from the prayer book. If a person died not at home, then the canon must still be read on the day of death.

“Following” is read on behalf of the deceased with the purpose that God’s mercy, through our prayer for the deceased, will ease his soul the bitterness of separation from parting with the body. It ends with the prayer “Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope the eternal life has passed away. “, which can be read separately from the canon.

Reading the Psalter for the Dead

In the Orthodox Church there is a custom of reading the Psalter over the body of a deceased layman before burial (the Psalter can be purchased at the church). It is best if reading is done continuously, day and night. Any pious layman can read the psalter. Households and relatives of the deceased should, as far as possible, join the prayer of the reader with their prayers. Of course, several people are needed for continuous reading.

The reading of the Psalter is performed standing, and only in special cases is sitting allowed out of leniency for the weakness of the reader. As you know, the Psalter is divided into 20 kathismas, each of which, in turn, is divided into three parts - “Glories”. When reading for the repose, after each “Glory,” the above-mentioned prayer from “Following the Exodus of the Soul” is said with the name of the deceased, to which is added the word “newly deceased” (the Church considers a person to be such within forty days after death). A child under 7 years of age is called a “baby.” The use of other clarifying names, such as: maiden, youth, wife, warrior, killed, drowned, burned, etc. have no canonical basis and are not found in liturgical books.

Not without reason and not without purpose, since ancient times the Church has laid down the book of psalms to be read over the tomb of the deceased. The Psalter reproduces all the diversity of the movements of our soul, so vividly sympathizes with both our joy and our sorrow, sheds so much consolation and approval into our grieving heart.

It is very good on all days preceding the burial to order memorial services for the deceased in one or more churches.

At a time when the body lies lifeless and dead, the soul goes through terrible trials - ordeals, and therefore has a great need for the help of the Church. Funeral services make it easier for the soul to transition to another life.

Translated from Greek, “requiem service” means “all-night singing.” Even during the era of persecution of Christians, it became a custom to pray at night over the departed and for the departed. In these terrible times, Christians, fearing the hatred and malice of the pagans, could only escort the bodies of the holy martyrs to eternal rest at night, and at night they could pray over their tombs. Under the cover of darkness, as if symbolizing the moral state of the world at that time, Christians lit candles near the remains of the martyrs and performed funeral singing throughout the night, and at dawn they buried them. Since then, prayer services for deceased Christians have been called memorial services.

The essence of the requiem is in prayerful remembrance of our departed fathers and brethren, who, although they died faithful to Christ, did not completely renounce the weaknesses of fallen human nature and took their infirmities and weaknesses with them to the grave. While performing the requiem service, the Holy Church focuses all our attention on how the souls of the departed ascend from the earth to the Judgment of God, how they stand at this Judgment with fear and trembling, confessing their deeds before the Lord, the Knower of the Heart, not daring to anticipate from the All-Righteous Lord the secrets of His Judgment of souls our deceased. The Church proclaims the fundamental law of this judgment - Divine mercy - and encourages us to pray for them, giving complete freedom to the heart to express itself in prayerful sighs, pour out tears and petitions.

The memorial service ends with the deacon’s proclamation: “In the blessed Dormition, grant eternal rest, O Lord, to Thy departed servant (name), and create for him eternal memory!”

“This prayer appeal,” says Blessed Simeon, Archbishop of Thessalonica, “is a gift and the completion of everything, it sends the deceased to the enjoyment of God and, as it were, transfers the soul and body of the deceased to God.”

Carrying out the body

Shortly before the coffin is taken out of the house, “Sequence on the departure of the soul from the body” is read once again over the body of the deceased. The coffin is carried out of the house face forward, with the singing of the Trisagion. This singing signifies that the deceased during his lifetime confessed the Life-Giving Trinity and now passes into the kingdom of disembodied spirits surrounding the throne of the Almighty and silently singing the thrice-holy hymn to Him.

The body of the deceased is carried by his relatives and friends, dressed in mourning clothes. Since ancient times, Christians participating in funeral processions have carried lighted candles.

According to the charter, when bringing a body into the temple, a special funeral bell must be rung, which announces to the living that they have one less brother, and serves as a prototype of the trumpet sound of the archangel, which will sound on the last day of the world and will be heard in all corners of the Earth.

When the body of the deceased is brought to church, it is placed in the middle of the temple with its face open and facing the east, and lamps are placed near the coffin. With this position of the body of the deceased, the Church wants to express its maternal desire that not only the living participate spiritually in the offering of the mysterious sacrifice, and that the deceased, not being able to pray to God with his dead lips, would pray to Him for mercy with his position.

The funeral rite, colloquially called a funeral service because of the abundance of chants, is similar in composition to a memorial service and differs from it in the reading of the Holy Scriptures, a prayer of permission, farewell to loved ones of the deceased and the burial of the body.

Requiem service following

What kind of divine service is this - the so-called memorial service, which is performed for the dead?

The so-called memorial service, which is served for the dead, is a shortening of the funeral service. During the requiem service, as well as during the funeral service, they pray for the forgiveness of the sins of the dead, for their deliverance from hellish torment for their sins and for residence in paradise with the saints.”

Follow-up burial, or funeral service of the deceased

What kind of divine service is the so-called funeral service or funeral service for the dead?

The study of the burial or funeral service of the deceased is a service during which, with the body of the deceased, they pray for the forgiveness of his sins, for the deliverance of his soul from hellish torment for sins and for its entry into heaven, together with the saints, and the body itself, as having in time resurrected, interred with due honor.

What rituals do we see during the burial of the dead?

When burying the dead, the following rites are more remarkable:

1) the body of the deceased, when placed in the coffin, is covered with a special church veil,

2) a crown with sacred images is placed on his head,

3) during the funeral service, all worshipers hold lit candles in their hands,

4) at the end of the funeral service, the so-called permission (prayer) letter is placed in the hands of the deceased,

5) the body is covered with earth and

6) accompanied to the grave in the presentation of the icon with the singing of the song: “Holy God.”

What does covering the body of the deceased mean?

This means that the deceased, as a member of the holy Orthodox Church, is under her protection - she will pray for his soul until the end of time.

What does the position of the crown on the head of the deceased mean?

This means that his exploits on earth in the fight against the world, the flesh and the devil are over, and he will be rewarded for them in the kingdom of heaven.

What do candles mean in the hands of those praying for the deceased during his funeral service?

This is done to express love for the deceased and warm prayer for him.

What does the provision of a permit letter in the hands of the deceased mean?

This happens as a sign that the deceased leaves here in peace with God and the church - everything has been forgiven to him by the priest.

What is the significance of sprinkling earth on the body of the deceased?

This is done as a sign that man, according to the word of God, is earth, i.e. his body was created from the earth, and must return to the earth for a while, until the general resurrection.

What is expressed by carrying the icon to the grave while singing “Holy God” during burial?

Carrying an icon means that the deceased professed the Orthodox faith and with this faith passed into another world. Singing the angelic song “Holy God” means that the deceased has passed into the angelic world.

Why is the psalter read over the dead?

The Psalter is read to propitiate God towards the deceased, as well as to console the living who are going to the grave.

Why is a cross placed over the grave of the deceased?

As a reminder that the future blessed life is acquired through the suffering of Christ on the cross.

Are every Christian dead buried in the same way?

No. There are some peculiarities when burying priests, monastics and infants.

What are the special features when burying priests?

The body of the deceased priest is dressed in all his sacred vestments.

The face is covered with air - as a sign of respect for his dignity, and a cross and the Gospel are placed on the chest, because during his life he sanctified himself and others with them.

Before burial, it is not the psalter that is read from it, but the Gospel.

They carry out his body with a religious procession and ringing of bells.

At every church past which his body is carried, a lithium is performed for him.

During the burial, the Apostle and the Gospel are read five times (that is, all funeral Gospel and apostolic readings).

What are the special features when burying monastics and infants?

At the burial of monastics, songs adapted to their vows are sung. When burying infants, they do not ask for forgiveness of sins, but for the kingdom of heaven, according to the promise of Christ the Savior.

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What is the rite of church accompaniment of the deceased?

More often in a church, but it is allowed in the farewell hall, in a chapel at a morgue or in a cemetery, a funeral service for the deceased is held. The service is conducted according to the canons set out in the liturgical book “Trebnik”; the ritual is called “Following the Mortal Bodies of the World.”

The essence of the church requirement is to sing a funeral service for the newly deceased to facilitate his transition to another world and ask the Lord for forgiveness of his sins, known and unknown. Due to the collective appeal to God, prayers are intensified, the request to save, preserve, and have mercy on the newly arrived soul of the deceased becomes more audible.

On what day after death is the funeral service held?

In Orthodox teaching, it is believed that for the first 3 days the soul of the deceased travels across the earth, saying goodbye to its cradle forever. Burial on the third day symbolizes the trinity of the Lord, the Holy Trinity, and also symbolizes the good news. Then it is customary to see off the deceased according to Christian canons, with a funeral service.

The path of the soul will be easier if, before the funeral service, prayers and verses from the Psalter are read over the dead by church-going believers. Lighted candles should stand in a cross, symbolizing the bright world where the path of the deceased lies. After the funeral, for up to 40 days, the soul of a loved one is accompanied by cell prayers and the order of the magpie in churches.

Funeral service for the deceased

Ordering a funeral service for a deceased person in a church does not mean forgetting about remembering him. Every day for 40 days after the death of a person and on the days of his memory, no matter who your loved one is, read the following prayer:

“Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your departed servants: my parents, relatives, benefactors (their names are best remembered so as not to forget anyone) and all Orthodox Christians, forgive them all their sins, whether committed intentionally or by accident, settle them in Your Kingdom Heavenly."

Or the same short prayer:

“Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (Your servant) (name), where there is no sorrow or tears, but life and endless joy.”

When there is not enough time: “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant”

Read the text in Russian of the prayer for the deceased online:

“O Lord and our God, do not forget Your servant (Your) (name) who died in faith and hope for eternal life. You are the Good and Loving Lord of all people, you forgive sins and destroy lies, forgive and forget all his sins and mistakes, accidental and intentional, deliver him from eternal torment and hellish flames, give him the sacrament and joy of Your eternal joys prepared for everyone, those who love you. Even if he (she) sinned, he did not depart from You, believed without a doubt in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity, You, the Lord in the Holy Trinity, One and Glorified, and until his last breath he confessed the Holy Trinity Orthodoxy. Be merciful to him (her), reward at least for faith instead of works, rest with all Your saints, as a Generous God: after all, there is no person who has lived life and not sinned. You, Lord, He is Sinless, Your truth is the Truth in all ages, only You are the God of mercy and generosity, May we all, living and dead, give eternal glory to You, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen".

Prayer for a deceased loved one is a duty of love for a Christian believer. Try not to lose heart: throw out your grief in tears, in communication, but do not forget about prayer.

You can help the deceased even beyond the grave

Daily reading of prayers, which will be given at the end of the article, attending services with prayer for the deceased and for your soul.
Ordering services in the church: funeral service, correspondence memorial service, magpie of repose.

Alms for the repose of the soul. This means that you donate your material resources or time to help other people. You can not just give money to the poor - especially since now everyone knows how begging for alms has become a business - but donate money to orphanages, hospices, nursing homes, and charitable foundations. You can say or write to yourself when giving money: “For the remembrance of the soul (for the repose of the soul) (name).” In addition, you can volunteer for some time at one of the charitable organizations. This will be your work for the soul of the deceased.

If a person was buried and you did not have time to perform the funeral service for him, ask the priest to come to the cemetery for the funeral service or order an absentee memorial service: usually it is held after the morning service in each church, it remembers everyone for whom notes were submitted for the memorial service on that day (that is, this not individual worship). The memorial service is performed before the eve - this is a small table-candlestick, which is easily recognized by the Cross with the image of the crucified Christ above it (in some churches it is large, human-sized). Before the funeral service “on the eve”, it is customary to make a sacrifice for the deceased at the temple - this is any food, except meat and perishable ones; They do not bring alcohol, except for church wine - Cahors. They are placed on a regular table next to the eve.
When attending services or simply going to church to pray in your free time, do not forget to light a candle on the eve with the prayer: “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your deceased servant (Your servant) (name), where there is no sorrow and tears, but life and joy endless."
Sorokoust about repose is the commemoration of a person at the Divine Liturgy for 40 days. You can order a memorial for six months or a year.
Sacrifice for bricks for the temple under construction. In every city there are churches under construction that need funds. When you arrive at the parish of such a church (usually there is a small wooden church next to it, where they accept both notes and donations), ask them to accept a donation for a personalized brick, if possible. The name of your loved one will be written on a brick that will stand in the wall of the temple, and in the temple itself, your deceased will always be remembered during services.
Eternal remembrance. Usually such a request is fulfilled in monasteries: they will pray for the repose of your loved one at every Divine Liturgy until the end of time. Try not to lose heart: throw out your grief in tears, in communication, but do not forget about prayer. Even doctors prove: this is the best psychological remedy for grief. Prayer is not just a conversation with a psychologist or an affirmation; this is communication with the Lord, the best Physician and Comforter. What is impossible for a person - to overcome grief painlessly, without harm to health - is possible for God. Only He can, by His grace, help both your deceased loved one and you to find hope and joy. Prayer will help you understand that life is not only fleeting and can end suddenly, but that it has meaning in eternity. You need to prepare your soul yourself, value life and loved ones, and not do evil and injustice.

How is the funeral service conducted?

The funeral service is not a quick process; it takes about an hour, including bringing in and taking out the coffin, and does not tolerate fuss. Therefore, it is necessary to agree on seeing off the deceased and clarify the time of entry into the church after the fact of death. The funeral service will be held after the provision of documents confirming the death of the person.

Carrying out the last will of the deceased, relatives or other stewards can order a ceremony for a specific minister in one of the churches at his direction. In this case, you must provide an officially issued death certificate. A funeral service can only be performed for a deceased person who has been baptized into the Orthodox faith.

The correct collection of the deceased who goes into eternity also enhances the effect of the funeral service. The deceased is given the best clothes and dressed in ritual attributes. The coffin with the body is first brought into the church . Mourners and parishioners, the cleric conduct the funeral service for the newly presented. According to the canons, the coffin is positioned so that the face of the deceased is facing the altar. The ritual lasts 40-45 minutes, and its essence is a collective request to grant the deceased the Kingdom of Heaven. At the end of the funeral service , the “Prayer of Permission” is placed in the hands of the newly deceased , and the prayed earth is poured onto the cover in the form of a cross. The funeral procession goes from the church to the graveyard, accompanied by a clergyman.

Symbol of faith

How to help a dying person?

Death is the last earthly destiny of every person; after death, the soul, separated from the body, appears before the judgment of God.

It's scary when a person dies and doesn't realize it. It is a great blessing if the relatives took care of the dying parting words and called the priest to the dying person (of course, not against his wishes) to perform the sacraments of Confession, Communion and Unction on him.

If the dying person has not been baptized, then, first of all, the sacrament of Baptism is performed on him. This is the best parting word for a soul preparing to embark on the road to eternity. These Sacraments are not performed on a person who is unconscious and unable to testify to his will.

Why is it read “waste”?

At the moment of separation of the soul from the body, according to the testimony of many who have experienced clinical death, a person experiences a feeling of languor. He sees unclean spirits, terrible in appearance, and hears their terrible voices.

The transition to eternity is facilitated by reading special church prayers over the dying person - “The Canon of Prayer for the Exodus of the Soul,” which is written on behalf of the dying person, but can be read by a priest or someone close to him.

If a person dies in a hospital, the canon can be read at home. The main thing is to support the soul with prayer in these most difficult moments for it.

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church note)

Health is commemorated for those who have Christian names, and repose is remembered only for those baptized in the Orthodox Church.

Notes can be submitted at the liturgy:

For proskomedia - the first part of the liturgy, when for each name indicated in the note, particles are taken out of special prosphoras, which are subsequently dipped into the Blood of Christ with a prayer for the forgiveness of sins

The first days after death

An ancient custom is the reading of the Psalter for the deceased. Divinely inspired psalms console the grieving hearts of the loved ones of the deceased and serve to help the soul separated from the body. It is not necessary to be near the deceased; you can read the Psalter anywhere and at any time.

Instead of the Psalter on Bright Week, according to tradition, one of the books of the New Testament is read. Reading the Acts of the Holy Apostles is extremely beneficial and instructive; it contains both prayer for the deceased and consolation to relatives.

a magpie for the deceased as early as possible - a prayerful commemoration in the church during the Divine Liturgy for forty days in a row. If funds allow, order magpie in several churches or monasteries. In the future, the sorokoust can be renewed or immediately submitted a note for a long-term commemoration - six months or a year.

Sorokoust about repose

This type of commemoration of the dead can be ordered at any hour - there are no restrictions on this either. During Great Lent, when the full liturgy is celebrated much less frequently, a number of churches practice commemoration in this way - in the altar, during the entire fast, all the names in the notes are read and, if the liturgy is served, then parts are taken out. You just need to remember that people baptized in the Orthodox faith can participate in these commemorations, just as in the notes submitted to the proskomedia, it is allowed to include the names of only baptized deceased.

Preparing the body for burial

The deceased is freed from clothes, the jaw is tied up and placed on a bench or on the floor, with a cloth laid down. For ablution, use a sponge, warm water and soap, using cross-shaped movements to wipe all parts of the body three times, starting with the head.

The washed and clothed body, which must have a cross on it (if preserved, a baptismal cross), is placed on the table face up. The deceased's lips should be closed, his eyes closed, his hands folded crosswise on his chest, the right one on top of the left.

A Christian woman’s head is covered with a large scarf that completely covers her hair, and its ends do not need to be tied, but simply folded crosswise.

The Crucifix is placed in the hands (there is a special funeral type of Crucifix).

If the body is transferred to the morgue, then it is advisable to wash and dress the deceased before the funeral service personnel arrive.

The coffin is carried out of the house feet first with the singing of the Trisagion. The coffin is carried by relatives and friends, dressed in mourning clothes.

Sorokoust about repose

Order from the monastery in Jerusalem

When and where is the funeral service held?

The funeral service and burial usually take place on the third day (in this case, the day of death itself is always included in the counting of days, i.e. for a person who died on Sunday before midnight, the third day will be on Tuesday). The funeral service can take place in a church, in a cemetery chapel, in a mortuary chapel, at home or in a cemetery.

How does the funeral service take place in the church?

Don't forget to take your death certificate to the temple. If for some reason the delivery of the coffin to the church is delayed, be sure to notify the priest and ask to reschedule the funeral service.

In the temple, the body of the deceased is placed on a special stand with its feet facing the altar, and candlesticks with lit candles are placed in a cross shape near the coffin. The coffin lid is left in the vestibule or in the courtyard. It is allowed to bring fresh flowers into the church. All worshipers have burning candles in their hands. A funeral kutya is placed on a separately prepared table near the coffin, with a candle in the middle.

Worshipers stand with lit candles. The coffin remains open until the end of the funeral service (unless there are special obstacles to this).

The everlasting psalter

The indefatigable Psalter is read not only about health, but also about peace. Since ancient times, ordering a commemoration on the Everlasting Psalter has been considered a great alms for a departed soul.

It is also good to order the Indestructible Psalter for yourself; you will feel the support. And one more important point, but far from the least important, there is eternal remembrance on the Undying Psalter. It seems expensive, but the result is more than millions of times more than the money spent. If this is still not possible, then you can order for a shorter period. It's also good to read for yourself.

The everlasting psalter

Order from the monastery in Jerusalem

What does the “crown” on the forehead mean?

The body of the deceased is crowned with a “crown” with the image of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the Forerunner, and with the inscription “Trisagion”, thereby honoring the deceased as a winner who has ended his earthly life, preserved the faith and hopes to receive from the Lord Jesus the heavenly crown prepared for the faithful by the mercy of God and at the prayerful intercession of the Mother of God and Forerunner.

What do they pray for during a funeral service?

The funeral service consists of many chants. They briefly depict the whole fate of man: for the violation of the Creator’s commandments by the first people, Adam and Eve, man again turns to the ground from which he was taken, but despite the many sins, he does not cease to be an image of the glory of God, and therefore the Holy Church prays to the Lord , by His ineffable mercy, forgive the deceased’s sins and honor him with the Kingdom of Heaven.

At the end of the funeral service, after reading the Apostle and the Gospel, the priest reads a prayer of permission. With this prayer, the deceased is allowed (freed) from the prohibitions and sins that burdened him, which he repented of or which he could not remember in confession, and the deceased is released into the afterlife reconciled with God and his neighbors.

How to say goodbye to the deceased

After the prayer of permission accompanied by the singing of the stichera “Come, we will give the last kiss, brothers, to the deceased, thanking God...” a farewell to the deceased takes place. The last kiss marks the eternal union of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Relatives and friends of the deceased walk around the coffin with the body, bowing and asking forgiveness for involuntary offenses, kissing the icon on the chest of the deceased and the aureole on the forehead.

In the case when the funeral service takes place with the coffin closed, they kiss the cross on the lid of the coffin or the priest’s hand. At the end of the funeral service, the body of the deceased is escorted to the cemetery with the singing of the Trisagion. If the priest does not accompany the coffin to the grave, then the burial takes place where the funeral service took place - in a temple or at home. With the words “The Lord’s earth and its fullness (that is, everything that fills it), the universe and everyone who lives on it,” the priest sprinkles earth in a cross shape on the veiled body of the deceased. If, before death, unction was performed on the deceased, then the remaining consecrated oil is also poured crosswise onto the body.

Memorial service

The funeral service begins with the usual exclamation: “Blessed is our God always, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.” Then the Trisagion of Our Father is read. Lord have mercy 12 times. Glory to this day. Come, let us worship... Psalm 90: “He lives in the help of the Most High...”. In this psalm, before our spiritual gaze there is a gratifying picture of the transition into eternity of a truly believing soul along the mysterious path leading to the abodes of the Heavenly Father. In the symbolic images of asps, lions, skims and dragons, the psalmist expresses the ordeals of the soul along this path. But here the psalmist also depicted to us the Divine protection of the faithful soul of the deceased: “He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the fatal plague; He will cover you with His feathers, and you will be safe under His wings; the shield and the fence are His truth.” The faithful soul says to the Lord: “My refuge and my defense, my God in whom I trust.”

What does a funeral service “guarantee”?

A funeral service, as such, is really not a ticket to heaven. Even the Prayer of Permissiveness, read by the priest over the body, is by no means a forgiveness of all his sins, but only those that he realized, but did not bring to confession due to forgetfulness or did not have time.

How the coffin is lowered into the grave

The deceased is usually lowered into the grave facing the east, with the same thought with which it is customary to pray to the east - in anticipation of the coming of the Morning of Eternity, or the Second Coming of Christ, and as a sign that the deceased is moving from the West (sunset) of life to the East of eternity.

When the coffin is lowered into the grave, the Trisagion is sung. The cross can be made of any material, but it must be of the correct shape. He is placed at the feet of the deceased, with a crucifix to the face of the deceased - so that at the general resurrection of the dead, rising from the grave, he can look at the sign of Christ’s victory over the devil. Tombstones with crosses carved on them are also erected.

The cross over the grave of a Christian is a silent preacher of blessed immortality and the coming resurrection.

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church note)

Health is commemorated for those who have Christian names, and repose is remembered only for those baptized in the Orthodox Church.

Notes can be submitted at the liturgy:

Order from the monastery in Jerusalem

How are babies buried?

A special succession is performed over dead infants who have received the sacrament of Baptism, as over sinless, immaculate creatures. It does not contain prayers for the remission of sins, but there are petitions to honor the baby with the Kingdom of Heaven according to the false promise of the Lord (Mark 10:14).

Although the baby did not perform any feats of Christian piety, having been cleansed of original sin in holy Baptism, he became the immaculate heir of eternal life.

The rite of burial of infants is replete with words of consolation to grieving parents. His chants testify to the Church’s belief that blessed babies, after their death, become prayer books for all who loved them on earth. Funeral services according to this rite are performed for children under seven years of age.

Are funeral services performed for unbaptized and unborn babies?

Unbaptized babies, including unborn ones, are not given a funeral service. About the afterlife fate of such St. Gregory the Theologian said: “they will not be glorified and will not be punished by the righteous Judge... for not everyone who is not worthy of punishment is already worthy of honor, just as everyone who is not worthy of honor is already worthy of punishment.”

What is an absentee funeral service and in what cases is it performed?

Previously, the funeral service in absentia was allowed by the Church only in cases where the body of the deceased was unavailable for burial (fires, floods, wars and other emergency circumstances).

Now this phenomenon has become widespread, firstly, due to the lack of churches in many cities and villages; secondly, due to the high cost of transport and other funeral services, as a result of which the relatives of a deceased Christian decide to save on the funeral service.

The latter is extremely regrettable, since it is better to refuse a wake, wreaths, or a tombstone, but make every effort and bring the body to the temple; as a last resort, call the priest home or to the cemetery. Nevertheless, the Church meets people halfway and, if necessary, performs an absentee funeral service, somewhat shortened compared to the usual one.

An absentee funeral service must be ordered before the funeral, remembering to take the death certificate to the church.

In the temple you will be given a whisk, a scroll of paper with the text of the prayer of permission, and a small bag of earth. As already mentioned, the whisk should be placed on the forehead of the deceased, the prayer should be placed in the right hand, and the earth should be scattered over the body in a cross shape - from the head to the feet and from the right shoulder to the left.

It happens that an absentee funeral service takes place some time after the funeral. Then the burial soil should be scattered over the grave, and the aureole and prayer should be buried into the grave mound to a shallow depth.

Candle of repose

In an Orthodox church, it is customary to place candles for the repose of the dead in front of the Lord’s crucifix. Approaching the crucifix and the square candlestick (tetrapod) in front of it, you can light a candle from any burning candle located on the candlestick and place it in an empty cell. At the same time, a believer must read at least a short prayer (not necessarily out loud): “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant.”

On the contrary, those who deliberately light funeral candles “for the death” of the living incur the wrath of the Lord, because the grace of God that fills the “temples of the Living God” cannot serve spiritual abomination and uncleanness. Those who perform such sorcery and who believe in them live not according to the spirit, but according to the flesh. The apostle Paul said about such people: “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on carnal things, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on spiritual things. To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for they do not submit to the law of God, neither indeed can they” (Rom. 8:5-7).

What happens to the soul after death?

For the first two days, the soul remains on earth and, with the angel accompanying it, visits those places that attract it with memories of earthly joys and sorrows, good and evil deeds. On the third day, the Lord commands the soul to ascend to heaven to worship Himself.

Then the soul, returning from the Face of God, accompanied by angels, enters the heavenly abodes and contemplates their indescribable beauty. So she remains for six days - from the third to the ninth. On the ninth day, the Lord commands the angels to again present the soul to Him for worship.

After the second worship of God, the angels take the soul to hell, and it contemplates the cruel torment of unrepentant sinners. On the fortieth day after death, the soul ascends for the third time to the Throne of the Lord, where its fate is decided - the place it has been awarded for its deeds is assigned.

From here it is clear that the days of intense prayer for the dead should be the third, ninth and fortieth days after death. These terms also have another meaning. The commemoration of the deceased on the third day is performed in honor of the three-day resurrection of Jesus Christ and in the image of the Most Holy Trinity. The prayer on the ninth day is a rendering of honor to the nine angelic ranks, who, as servants of the Heavenly King, petition for pardon for the deceased.

The everlasting psalter

Order from the monastery in Jerusalem

How to properly remember the dead?

In order to properly remember the deceased on a memorable day, you need to come to the temple at the beginning of the service and submit a funeral note with his name. Notes are accepted by request and for funeral services.

Proskomedia is the first part of the Divine Liturgy. During it, the priest extracts small pieces from special prosphora bread, praying for the living and the dead (submitted in customized notes). Subsequently, after Communion, these particles will be lowered into the Chalice with the Blood of Christ under the prayer: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those who were remembered here by Your honest Blood and the prayers of Your saints.”

Translated from Greek, “requiem service” means “all-night singing.” Even during the era of Roman persecution, nightly prayer for the dead became a custom.

The essence of the memorial service is a prayerful remembrance of the departed brothers and sisters, who, although they died faithful to Christ, did not completely renounce the weaknesses of fallen human nature and took their infirmities with them.

By performing a memorial service, the Church reminds all living how the souls of the departed ascend from the earth to the Judgment of God, how they stand at this Judgment with fear and trembling, confessing their deeds before the Lord.

Not daring to determine the posthumous fate of the deceased, which will become known only after the Judgment, the Church reminds us of Divine mercy and encourages us to pray for the dead, allowing our hearts to pour out in tears and petitions for a loved one.

The note should be titled “On Repose”, names should be written legibly, putting them in the genitive case (for example, Peter, Mary). For clergy, indicate their rank, in full or in an understandable abbreviation (for example, Metropolitan John, Deacon Vasily). Children under seven years of age are called infants; those who died before the fortieth day are newly deceased; on the anniversary of death - ever-memorable. Warriors are listed separately.

The simplest and most common way to sacrifice for the deceased is to buy a candle. Each temple has a kanun - a special candlestick in the form of a rectangular table with many cells for candles and a small crucifix. It is here that candles are placed with a prayer for repose; memorial services and funeral services in absentia are held here.

Why aren't all suicides given funeral services?

These are people who did not want to fully endure the trials meted out to them and independently encroached on what lies solely in the power of God - human life. In the same way, we are not supposed to perform funeral services for murderers if they have not repented of their deeds.

There are people who apparently committed suicide, but they still have funeral services. These are, firstly, mentally ill people who are not fully aware of their actions. Random suicides - i.e. those who did not calculate the dose of alcohol, drank poison by mistake, accidentally discharged a barrel into themselves while cleaning a weapon, fell out of a window, simply wanting to scare relatives or make a joke on friends, faking a suicide attempt, etc.

Secondly, these are those who sacrificed their lives to save the life of someone else.

Church services in Orthodox churches in Jerusalem

Sorokoust about repose

The everlasting psalter

Church note

Prayer for health

Sorokoust about health

Temples and monasteries where services are held

SocButtons v1.5

Is it possible to organize a funeral service at the morgue?

If it is not possible to bring the deceased to the temple, the church ritual can be performed in the chapel of the morgue, cemetery or at home. In all cases, the service is conducted by an Orthodox priest, adhering to the canons of the Trebnik. Church accompaniment of a funeral will not be accepted if it was conducted by a non-ordained person. You can pray for the souls of the departed everywhere; the magpie is ordered in different churches, but the funeral service is supposed to be held only once.

The reasons for serving outside the church may be different, but relatives should ask who is guiding the deceased on his final journey, the priest or someone disguised as him.

What is a funeral service and how to properly remember the dead

Every person sooner or later encounters misfortune, the irrevocable loss of loved ones and relatives. God alone knows how the soul enters the body at conception and how it leaves it at the moment of death. After the soul of the deceased has passed on to another world, living people need to take care of its salvation. To do this, it is necessary to observe all Orthodox Christian traditions.

What is a funeral service

The funeral service for the deceased in a church or in a ritual hall at a morgue is one of the important rituals, a burial rite that sends farewell to the departed soul to another world.

The rites include:

Relatives, relatives, friends and acquaintances of the deceased present at the funeral service, together with the priest, should pray and ask the Almighty for help to the soul of the deceased.

Important! The funeral service is not a rite of forgiveness of sins. A prayerful funeral petition frees the soul of the deceased from those sins for which repentance was made during life, which the person could not remember in confession, or those that he did not consider to be a sin.

Funeral service rules

After a person has died, relatives or people familiar with the deceased must read a prayer for the exodus of the soul, and read the Psalter until the 40th day (preferably 3 times from beginning to end).

Advice! You can purchase a prayer book with prayers for repose and the Psalter at any church store, although a Christian should have these books in stock.

According to Orthodox custom, the funeral service takes place on the third day from the moment of death.

This is due to the fact that from days 1 to 3 the soul is on earth, near its home, with loved ones, or traveling around the world, and then ascends to worship the Creator. From days 3 to 9, the newly departed soul is shown the heavenly abodes by angels, and then, from days 10 to 40, she contemplates hell.

On the 40th day, the soul appears before the Throne of the Lord and on this day its fate until the Last Judgment is decided: whether it will await it in heaven or hell.

Important! The intense prayer of the Church and the relatives of the deceased play a very important role and help the soul enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

According to tradition, at the end of the funeral service, the coffin with the deceased is accompanied to the cemetery by the relatives of the deceased, led by a priest.

Previously, the procession stopped at every intersection along the route to read funeral prayers. Now the cleric anywhere asks mourners to pray for the soul of the deceased. The number of such stops is not regulated.

Funeral service in church

In Orthodoxy, it is customary to perform the funeral service for the deceased in church.

To complete it you need:

know the will of the deceased (often people on their deathbed ask that their soul be sung by a certain priest in a specific church);
be sure that the deceased was baptized in the Orthodox faith;
obtain a death certificate from the civil registry office;
prepare a death certificate (with signatures and seals);
come to the chosen church and present the necessary documents certifying the fact of death, agree on the date, time and place of the funeral service;
purchase in the church shop the necessary attributes for the deceased: a body cross, a cross in the hands, candles for the coffin, a blanket, a small pillow, a shroud, a whisk, a form with a prayer of permission;
for people saying goodbye to the deceased, buy a sufficient number of candles;
make a donation for the Sacrament.

Attention! The land with which the priest sprinkles a cross on the body of the deceased is not bought - it is given out in the church.

It is necessary to correctly calculate the time for which the funeral meal will be scheduled (the funeral service lasts on average 40 minutes).

Carrying out the ritual

Usually the body is brought from the morgue to the temple fully prepared:

there is a crown on the forehead of the deceased;
there is a cross in his hand and on his chest;
the body is covered with a shroud.

The required cleric places candles on the coffin and lights them, and relatives distribute candles to those accompanying the deceased on his last journey (lit candles in their hands symbolize the victory of life over death).

The coffin is placed facing the altar and the priest begins to read prayers, psalms, and Holy Scripture. Thus, he and those present, praying together with the cleric, beg the Almighty to forgive the deceased all his sins and grant the Kingdom of Heaven. The stronger the conciliar prayer, the greater the “chance” for the soul to unimpededly pass through the airy ordeals and ascend to the abode of heaven.

After reading the prayer of permission, a piece of paper with its text is placed in the hand of the deceased and the last opportunity comes to say goodbye to the deceased. To do this, you need to kiss the icon on the chest and the aureole on the forehead of the deceased. In these intimate and reverent seconds, you can ask for forgiveness from the deceased, whisper his last words.

If the funeral service is performed with the coffin closed, then when saying goodbye you should venerate the cross on its lid. Then the priest covers the deceased with a shroud and sprinkles him with consecrated earth in the shape of a cross.

Important! The icon lying on the chest of the deceased should be taken home, placed on the iconostasis and prayed in front of it.

The Church never sets tariffs for services. The price tags indicate only the estimated donation amounts - the amount that a person is willing to donate (this is determined by the financial capabilities of the donor himself).

Existing bans

Funeral services are not performed in the Orthodox Church for:

unbaptized (for such deceased people should be prayed privately);
Gentiles;
God-fighters;
those who have renounced Christ;
suicides (the exception is taking one’s own life while in a state of insanity, but this must be proven and permission to perform a funeral service obtained from the ruling bishop);
infants who have not been worthy of Holy Baptism (they have not been cleansed by the Holy Spirit from the sin of their ancestors);
stillborn or babies killed in the womb.

Funeral service in absentia

A sacrament is rarely performed without the presence of the body of the deceased. This is possible in the following cases:

when the deceased was buried many years ago, but for some reason there was no funeral service;
if a person died in war, as a result of a terrorist attack, a plane crash, drowned in a shipwreck, or went missing.

The priest sanctifies and blesses the specially prepared soil and reads a prayer. At the end of the funeral service, the land plot is given to the relatives of the deceased. It is necessary to sprinkle the grave crosswise.

If the deceased was cremated, then the earth should be poured into the urn with the ashes.

Advice! If the burial place is unknown or is far away, and there is no way to get to it, then there is no need to take the land from the church.

Some strange, pagan customs and inexplicable speculations hover around deceased people and their funerals.

People far from the church listen to them, perform them, and do not think at all about the meaning:

curtain mirrors, windows, TV and all reflective surfaces in the house where the deceased was, so as not to see his reflection;
tightly close the windows and vents in the house (supposedly so that the soul remains at home);
place a large container with clean water under the coffin (for the sake of washing the soul from unrepentant sins);
put watches, things, money, food in the coffin (so that you can live happily in another world);
it is forbidden for close relatives to carry the coffin with the body of the deceased (atheists believe that the carriers will soon die too);
look at the funeral procession through the window of your house (it is believed that soon one of the household members will also die);
after removing the body or coffin from the house, wash the floor (so that the dead person does not return);
pour vodka onto the grave mound and sprinkle it with bread crumbs;
instead of wishing the “Kingdom of Heaven,” wish the deceased “May the earth rest in peace”;
to believe that after the death of a person, his soul moves into birds, cats, dogs and other animals, taking the form of insects;
to believe that if the deceased is not buried, then his restless soul wanders around the world in the form of a ghost;
to believe in the imminent death of the person who stood between the coffin and the altar;
cremation is the cause of incurable illnesses and relatives of the deceased.

Caring for the soul of a deceased Christian does not end with just a funeral service.

Important! Cell and cathedral prayer, remembrance at the Liturgy, requiem service, magpie for repose are important funeral requirements.

You can’t just submit notes - you need to work in prayer together with the priest.

A loved one who has passed into another world must be mourned in a Christian way, with hope and faith to meet him in eternity. Therefore, a rich funeral, a huge monument on the grave and a wake with exquisite dishes will calm and console the living a little, but will not bring any benefit and will not help the dead.

> Orthodox funeral

Who doesn't deserve church accompaniment?

Only a baptized person who has accepted the faith and recognizes the Trisagion is worthy of being escorted to the other world with prayers. Concealing the fact of the absence of baptism falls on the organizers as a sin.

Therefore, ritual farewells will be denied:

Infants who died in the womb or before baptism.
Persons who do not recognize the Orthodox Church with the three-fingered cross.
Atheists.
To the Gentiles.

Suicide is considered an irredeemable sin, because only God can decide when the soul should leave the body.

But in some cases, a petition to the bishop and his permission for the ceremony is possible. The circumstances in a particular case are examined.

How do Orthodox funerals take place?

Archpriest Igor Fomin

An Orthodox funeral is an important event in the life of believers. Archpriest Igor Fomin, rector of the Church of St. Alexander Nevsky at MGIMO.

For Christians, death is not the end of everything, but a transition to eternal life. Therefore, a funeral is not a difficult farewell to a person who will never be there again, but a farewell to another world that awaits each of us after death. During a funeral, the main thing for us is prayer for the soul of the deceased person.

In the Creed - a prayer that tells what Orthodox Christians believe - there are the words: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.” That is, I hope and wait for the resurrection of the dead.

It is also important that our faith pays a lot of attention not only to the soul, but also to the body of a Christian, because the body is the temple of the soul. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit living in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own (Apostle Paul, 1st Epistle to the Corinthians: 6, 19).

The body of a Christian is sanctified by the Communion of the Divine Body and Blood of Christ the Savior. And most importantly, we believe that the dead and decayed body of a Christian will come to life again after the General Resurrection of the dead: For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality (Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians, 15:53) . Therefore, it is important for Christians to prepare the body for burial.

If a person died at home and there is such an opportunity, he is washed with water and the Trisagion prayer is read:

“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.”

Immediately after death, the “Sequence on the departure of the soul from the body” and the Psalter are read over the body of the deceased, with the addition of prayers for the departed. If a person died outside the home (in a hospital or somewhere else), after which his body ended up immediately in the morgue, you can read prayers at home. Then the body is brought to the temple, where the priest performs the funeral service over it. And after the funeral service, the coffin with the body of the deceased is buried.

After the burial, it is customary to organize a wake. But this is no longer a church tradition, but our human need to get together and remember a deceased loved one with a kind word. It is important to understand that the wake should be held quietly and reverently.

The funeral and burial are usually performed on the third day after death (in this case, the first day is the day of death itself, regardless of the time of death).

Under special circumstances - wars, epidemics, natural disasters - burial earlier than this period is permitted. In modern practice, due to the nature of the work of government and medical organizations, it is often necessary to hold a funeral later than the third day. There is nothing wrong with this, and it does not affect the posthumous fate of the deceased in any way. The funeral service is not performed on the first day of Easter and on the day of the Nativity of Christ until Vespers.

Does a church ritual guarantee “going to heaven”?

God's judgment is strict, and the soul will still go through the ordeal that is due to it. But any prayer, and collective prayer and especially in the Temple, makes the path easier. Collective prayer within church walls, according to strict canons, funeral services in absentia, helps, but does not guarantee successful completion of obstacles.

Therefore, you need to earn an easy path to the Kingdom of God with your whole life, keeping the commandments, committing as few sinful acts as possible and performing repentance.

Private prayer for those who are no longer with us is the best way to let us know that they are remembered and honored.
Anyone can submit a memorial note to be remembered in prayer to God during the service. Ask your question

Orthodox mission and catechesis

Now it is important for us to dwell a little on the sacrament of burial and the sacrament of holy anointing after the funeral service.

As already mentioned, the funeral service that is now used in our churches is quite strongly, even radically different from the one that existed for a long time in the practice of the Orthodox Church. It is unlikely that many ordinary believers now have a good idea of the modern funeral service. But it is easy for everyone to see that for the most part it is associated with a strong fear of God's Judgment and therefore with a universal repentant mood. One gets the impression that a deceased Christian is always only a worldly, everyday person, that is, a “layman.” (Or rather, in the vestibule of the church, because funeral services are not supposed to be held in the church. Funeral services, like baptisms, are only supposed to take place in the vestibule or in a separate room. And the temple itself exists only for the Eucharistic gathering in the church.)

There was a joke: the first time a person is brought to church is for baptism, the second time he comes there for a wedding, and the third time he is brought there for a funeral service. This is how, unfortunately, many Orthodox people lived for entire generations, for entire centuries. It is precisely for such people that the current funeral service, which was formed in the second millennium of Christian history, is very suitable. It is no coincidence that only intimidation and prayers of repentance remained there: they say, how terrible, how scary it is for a deceased person to appear before God, because he has no justification before Him and cannot have one. And this whole rite lasts a long time, it takes us through kathismas, stichera, canons, special tragic (admittedly, magnificent, brilliant) verses of St. John of Damascus, etc. This is precisely the mood of the modern funeral service.

The burial of a Christian should be perceived by us as the last liturgical sacrament of the church. This is exactly how the Church for many centuries once treated the burial of the faithful. The main meaning and content of the sacrament of burial in the ancient Church was the firm belief in the birth of the deceased into eternal Life. This is what distinguished the ancient sacrament of burial. Therefore, it was not accidental that the ancient view of the church on the death of a person, and especially a martyr, as on the day of his birth[2].

It is interesting that the ancient liturgical tradition associated with the sacrament of burial had direct connections and parallels with all the main church sacraments. This is understandable. If burial was a sacrament of rebirth, then it should have had direct connections with other sacraments of human rebirth in the Church - first of all, the sacrament of repentance, baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. Therefore, the ancient Church could celebrate its Eucharist on the tombs of the martyrs. The Eucharist and burial have always been associated with funeral agapes (now called “commemorations”), performed both in memory of martyrs and in memory of ordinary deceased Christians. And such commemoration at that time included not so much slavish petitions for the repose of the deceased, but rather a firm and joyful filial confidence in such repose. In my heart there was not constant trembling and horror or some kind of hesitation - either my whole life will pass me by or not - but the complete confidence of the church that every person, having acquired the grace, faith and love of Christ, at the same time gains in Christ and through Christ Eternal Life.

In an ancient monument of the 3rd century, which is called “Didascus a

lia" ("Teaching of the Holy Apostles"), it says: "But you, according to the Gospel and according to the power of the Holy Spirit, gathering together in memorials [i.e.
in memorial places], read the sacred scriptures, and constantly send up prayers to God, and offer the Eucharist, received in the likeness of the royal body of Christ - both in all meetings, and in tombs, and at the death of the dying” ( Skaballanovich M.N.
Tolkovy typikon. M., 2004. P. 129).

In another ancient monument of pre-Nicene times - in the “Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ” - we read: “If an

mnesis [i.e. remembrance, remembrance of the departed], (then) before they sit down [at the agape meal], they receive the sacraments [i.e. they receive communion by receiving the Eucharist]” (ibid., p. 80).

Already from the 3rd century, the days on which the Eucharist was celebrated - and most often these were Easter, Pentecost, Epiphany and Sundays - were also joined by the days of remembrance of the holy martyrs. This is where our annual remembrances of various saints come from. And we always remember them as clear witnesses of the victory of Christ, the victory of Life over Death. Therefore, in ancient times, the burial of believers always had a festive, joyful character.

But this is how the Church treated the life and death of Christians not only in the pre-Nicene period of its history. For Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, who lived at the end of the 5th - first half of the 6th century, the burial of the faithful was also, of course, one of the central sacraments. Pseudo-Dionysius calls the dead Christians very solemnly - “holy deceased”, and the rite performed over them - “sacrament”, which occurs as follows. The deceased is brought to the temple, and the hierarch “performs a prayer of gratitude [precisely gratitude, pay attention to this!] prayer to God, after which the liturgists [i.e. ministers performing sacred rites], having read the false promises of our sacred resurrection found in the divine utterances, sacredly sing songs similar in words and identical in meaning to the psalm utterances. Then the first of the liturgists dismisses the catechumens and pronounces the names of the already deceased saints, with whom he honors the just deceased with equal glorification, and encourages all [the faithful] to ask for [his] blessed death in Christ. Then the divine hierarch, approaching the deceased, performs the most sacred prayer over him [which Maximus the Confessor directly calls epiclesis[3]], and after the prayer the hierarch himself kisses him, and after him all those present [in which one can find similarities with the rite of kissing the world before anaphora in the liturgy]. After everyone kisses him, the hierarch pours oil on the deceased [i.e. blessed oil] and, having made a sacred prayer for everyone [i.e. a kind of similarity to our funeral Litany of Petition], they place the body in revered peace along with other sacred bodies of equal rank” (Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite. On the Church Hierarchy. Chapter 7, II). This is how the sacrament of burial was perceived during the time of Emperor Justinian. Before this, even the sacrament of marriage pales in its solemnity.

Another saint, of an even later time, who lived in the 7th century, Maximus the Confessor, in his “Interpretations” on the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius, speaks of the pouring of oil on the body of the deceased as follows: “Remember that at the sacred birth of God - before the most divine baptism - the first communion with the sacred gift from

It is applied to the person being perfected after completely taking off his previous clothes as anointing with oil.
Nowadays, in the same way, at the end of everything, oil is poured onto the deceased. But if then [during pre-baptismal repentance and at baptism] anointing with oil called the perfected person to sacred competitions, now the pouring out of oil reveals the deceased to have labored in his sacred competitions and completed them" ( St. Maxim the Confessor.
Interpretations. St. Petersburg, 2002. P. 731 ).

We may also be interested in the burial order from Schimatology of the 11th century. First they read Psalm 119, then there were various readings, then they were anointed with holy oil, as after baptism, then there was a farewell greeting through the “last kiss” of the deceased and a procession with the singing of the Trisagion to the grave, where the paremia of Holy Saturday was read, which likened the burial of a Christian burial of Christ. Schematology of the 12th century already had three types of funeral rites: for monks, laymen and children.

Saint Simeon of Thessalonica - and this is already the end of the 14th - beginning of the 15th century - also attached special importance to the sacrament of burial. He wrote: “He who is now being buried will rise again in the same way as our Savior rose from the dead. Therefore, even after being placed in the tomb [as a sign of this power of God’s Spirit], oil is poured over it in a cross shape, as the apostles commanded and as Dionysius [the Areopagite] writes about this. It is [even] better to anoint the deceased when preparing for burial, for [if] water and oil are used in baptism, then in the image of this it is necessary to perform washing and anointing on those who have fallen asleep in faith and piety” ( St. Simeon of Thessalonica

.
Explanation of Orthodox worship, rituals and sacraments. M., 2010. P. 478). Washing the deceased and anointing him with oil in the image of his baptism into the Death and Resurrection of Christ is a sign that “he was awarded divine mercy and the bright joy of the divine Light” (ibid., p. 479). At the same time, it is also said about the subsequent celebration of the Eucharist, because “the most sacred sacrifice is the most beneficial for the dead” (ibid., p. 480). It is even said about the performance of special funeral sacrifices and commemorations: “Let every faithful remember that if he loves his neighbor who has already died, then [he] will bring him great benefits through
making a sacrifice for him: he will be the culprit of a great joy, giving alms to the poor, ransoming captives and doing other things that appease God. Especially if he diligently makes bloodless sacrifices for him [i.e. Eucharist]. The particle taken out during a terrible sacrifice, and the remembrance of the departed over it, unites the latter with God and gives him the opportunity to invisibly be a partaker of God and have communion with Him” (ibid., p. 485)[4].

Therefore St. John Chrysostom categorically did not allow wearing black clothes as a sign of mourning for the dead. And now, during funeral services for the dead, they are covered with a white cloth - with a

van, who replaced the white clothes in which they customarily clothed the dead in the ancient Christian Church. This universal custom goes back to the burial of Christ, whose body was wrapped in a clean shroud, clean linen (see Luke 23:53). And the bodies of the holy martyrs were also dressed in clean linen clothes. And priests at funeral services and burials always still dress in white clothes, as at baptism, and black clothes are forbidden to everyone as mourning clothes, as an anti-testimony of Christ’s victory over Death.

During a burial, a procession with candles was always important, as in the “procession” after baptism. And now during the funeral service it is necessary to stand in prayer and then go to the burial place.

In this vein, one can even note a kind of Bright Week, in the image of what is celebrated on Easter, with the celebration of the Eucharist every day during the week in memory of the deceased, and even the real “Lenten Day”, i.e. the funeral “sorokoust” (forty-day celebration of the Eucharist with the remembrance of the deceased), thereby organizing a holiday for his sake and, as it were, a new wedding feast.

As a result, we can again find and note the moments inherent in the sacrament of the Eucharist: the dismissal of the catechumens, the kissing of the world, then even the epiclesis; as well as signs that brought burial closer to the sacrament of baptism: the anointing and washing of the deceased, his dressing in white robes and the procession, the white vestments of the clergy and, of course, the fact that the funeral service is performed once.

As the famous learned liturgist of the late twentieth century wrote. O. Michael Arrantz: “What else does a deceased Christian do when moving from one world to another [from one cosmos to another, from one space to another, etc.] but knock at the door of his own eternal Home? And the earthly church, that small part of the Church that still wanders on earth, tries with its prayers, and especially with its Eucharist, to [spiritually] help the departed brother to complete this difficult step of a decisive transition - under the department and control of Himself .

divine High Priest and Shepherd Jesus Christ, Lord of the living and the dead...” (
Arranz M.
On the repose of the soul. Prayers for the departed // Selected works on liturgics. Vol. 2: Sacraments of the Byzantine tradition. P. 602-603). And then he continues, saying that even funeral prayers with their natural shade of sadness and sadness (after all, death is still “the last enemy of God,” who, at least for a moment, triumphs and separates people from Him and from each other) do not extinguish the main a tone of joy and thanksgiving, “derived from the confidence that the one who has departed from this world already stands among the blessed, called to the wedding Table of the Lamb (see Rev. 21:9).” But then Fr. Mikhail admits: “It is not surprising that from modern funeral successions, loaded with medieval sad and reproachful canons and stichera of monastic origin, with rare exceptions, ancient prayers for the dead have disappeared” (ibid., p. 641).

In the Orthodox tradition, the rite of burial had the character of a generally recognized sacrament until the 12th century. Then, during a period of spiritual decline and under the influence of Latin scholasticism, it was forgotten. Until now, the Catholic “Catechism” says that “Christian burial does not teach the deceased either sacraments or sacramentals (sacramental actions), for it is already “on the other side” of the economy of the sacraments” (Catechism of the Catholic Church. 1684: 396). There is some truth to this, however, both Catholic theologians and liturgists admit that “a serious change in the rite [of burial] was indicated by a transition from the Paschal sound to the fear of Judgment, which overshadowed the gospel [i.e. Gospel]. Only the motive of repentance began to sound and the eschatological character of the Eucharist ceased to be perceived” ( Kunzler M.

Liturgy of the Church. Book 2. M., 2001. P. 296). And only the Second Vatican Council decided to rework the burial rite so that it more clearly expressed the “Easter character of Christian death” (ibid., p. 297).

By the way, in Protestant communities, the funeral service most often consists of only the reading of the Gospel (see ibid., p. 299).

Remembering departed Christians, the Orthodox Church asks to count them among the saints (“Rest with the saints”) and proclaims “Eternal memory” to them. Prof. Karl Christian Felmy, now deacon Vasily, says that in this prayer the believers experience eschatology ( Felmy K.H.

Introduction to Modern Orthodox Theology. M., 2014. P. 333). “In the eternal memory of God,” he writes, “the salvation expected in the future has already taken place, and this gives Orthodox eschatology a color of joy, although joy is associated with awe before the holiness of God” (ibid., p. 334). And this joy leads to hope for the salvation of all. It is this hope that the Church expresses with a general “Amen” in the sacrament of burial.