What is an absentee funeral service for a deceased person in a church? Funeral service for the deceased in church: how long, how it happens, what is needed

The Church as the body of Christ, as the totality of the living and the dead in Christ, can, by the grace given to it from God, pray for the departed, make a bloodless sacrifice for them (remove particles from the prosphora at the proskomedia of the liturgy), and accompany them to last path a special order of prayers - funeral services, serve memorial services, litias, evening funeral services (parastases).

On the third day after death, the deceased Orthodox Christian is awarded a church funeral service and burial. A funeral service is a funeral service performed once over the body of the deceased. The significance of this service is so great that in ancient times it was classified as a church sacrament and given special mystical significance. And, indeed, in addition to the usual funeral prayers, a prayer of permission is read over the deceased (necessarily by the priest), in which the oaths that were on him are forgiven to the deceased, as well as the sins that he repented of in confession or forgot to repent out of ignorance, and the deceased is released in peace. afterlife. The text of this prayer is immediately included in right hand the deceased by his relatives or friends. If the prayer is not read by the priest over the deceased, but is simply placed by the relatives in the hand of the deceased, then it has no power and does not play any role.

Who is deprived of a church funeral service?

Persons who deliberately take their own lives are deprived of a church funeral service. One should distinguish from them people who took their own lives due to negligence (accidental fall from a height, drowning in water, poisoning with stale food, death at work, etc.), who are not recognized as suicides. This also includes suicide committed in a state of acute attack of mental illness or under the influence of large doses of alcohol (the so-called “pathological intoxication”).

IN Orthodox Church It is customary to classify as suicide those persons who died “as a result of robbery,” that is, who committed a bandit act (murder, armed robbery) and died from their wounds and mutilations. Victims of gang attacks certainly do not belong here.

In order to perform a funeral service for a person who committed suicide in an insane state, his relatives should first contact the Diocesan Administration and seek written permission from the ruling bishop, submitting a petition to him and attaching to it a medical report on the cause of death of their loved one.

In doubtful cases and in the absence of written permission from the bishop, a priest may refuse to perform a funeral service, especially if relatives deliberately try to hide the real reason death of the deceased. When registering a funeral service in doubtful cases, a representative church council can familiarize yourself with the “Death Certificate” issued by the Civil Registry Office.

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church Note)

Those who have health are remembered christian names, and about repose - 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

Funeral service for babies

A special funeral service is performed for infants who died following Holy Baptism as for immaculate, sinless ones, in which the Holy Church does not pray for the remission of the sins of the dead, but only asks that they be honored with the Kingdom of Heaven.

For dead infants who have not received Holy Baptism, no funeral service is performed, since they have not been cleansed of their ancestral sin. About the future fate of infants who died without Baptism, Saint Gregory the Theologian says that “they will not be glorified or punished by the Righteous Judge, like those who, although not sealed, are not evil, and have suffered more loss than they have done. For not everyone who is not worthy of punishment is worthy of honor, just as not everyone who is not worthy of honor is worthy of punishment.”

Funeral service in absentia

There are cases of tragic death when it is impossible to find the body of a person (who drowned in a shipwreck, died in war or as a result of a plane crash, in a terrorist attack, etc.) or when a person goes missing and his relatives find out about his death many years later. In such cases, a tradition arose to perform the so-called funeral service in absentia. But it is permissible only in cases of extreme need and real necessity, and not due to laziness and carelessness of the relatives of the deceased and not because “it’s easier that way.”

IN recent years Unfortunately, a completely unacceptable practice has developed when the relatives of the deceased come to the temple, “order” an absentee funeral service and immediately leave to go about their business. A few days later (at best) they appear “behind the country,” that is, when their loved one has already been buried by a priest in complete solitude, when, except for an unknown priest, not a single soul related to the deceased even thought of praying for his repose. Such an attitude towards the deceased shows the callousness of the soul of his relatives and complete indifference to the afterlife fate of the deceased. These qualities cannot be inherent in a Christian, and therefore such an attitude towards church prayer for the deceased is reprehensible.

If, for some objective reason, the body of your deceased relative was not brought to the church to perform a funeral service for him, you need to come to the church and ask the priest to perform the funeral service in absentia. To do this, you need to find out exactly when and at what time this funeral service will take place, so that you can attend it and fervently pray for your deceased.

The everlasting psalter

The indefatigable Psalter is read not only about health, but also about peace. Since ancient times, ordering 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 clearly feel the support. And one more the most important moment, but far from the least important,
There is eternal remembrance on the Indestructible 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.

A few words about the “countryman”

In the Funeral Rite there is no indication of the consecration of the ground, with which the priest sprinkles the “relics” of the deceased in a cross shape before closing the lid of the coffin, while uttering the words: (Ps. 23:1).

But our contemporaries began to attach magical meaning to this symbolic action. The attitude towards this land has turned into a dense superstition, expressed in the fact that people far from the Church see the whole meaning of a Christian funeral only in receiving the treasured “land”. But the main thing is to perform the rite of church burial, so that the prayers of the Church will grant him mercy from God, before Whom he is about to appear. But the earth itself does not bring any benefit to the soul of the deceased.

IN modern practice(for the sake of consoling the mourner) a tradition has developed when, during an absentee funeral service, the priest blesses the earth three times, saying the same words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulfillment thereof, the world, and all that dwell on it.”(Ps. 23:1). However, we repeat, there is no indication of such an action in Church Charter. At the end of the funeral service in absentia, this earth can be poured in a cross shape onto the grave of the deceased, if there is one: For you are the earth, and to the earth you will return(Genesis 3:19).

If a Christian was cremated, then the earth can be poured into an urn with the ashes of the deceased and thus symbolically interred. However, this is not at all necessary.

If a person’s grave is missing or is located very far from the place of residence of relatives and it is not possible to get to it, then there is no need to take the land after the funeral service in absentia.

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.

Funeral service in the morgue

In recent years, some funeral agencies have included a funeral service in a morgue in their range of “services”. This practice must be treated with great caution.

If for some reason good reasons It is not possible to perform the funeral service for the deceased in the temple of God; then, as an exception, it is allowed to perform the funeral service for the deceased at home. And only if this turns out to be impossible, then it is necessary to find out where and in what conditions the funeral service is held in the morgue: is there a specially designated ritual room for this, in which there are at least icons, a funeral table (eve), and candlesticks. Go into this room, make sure it has the appropriate furnishings.

Then be sure to find out the name and surname of the priest who usually performs funeral services for the dead in this morgue: persistently inquire in which temple he serves, and then be sure to contact that temple to make sure whether the priest named to you is really a full-time cleric of this temple, and not a mummer an impostor or a priest prohibited from serving.

If you have any doubts, negotiate with the morgue administration and invite a priest you know from the church of which you are a parishioner.

But still, make every effort to perform the funeral service for your dear deceased in church.

About cremation

"Completely unacceptable for Orthodox Christian condone the development of sinful pagan tradition burning the bodies of the dead. Let's remember the words Holy Scripture: And he said to Adam: ...by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the land from which you were taken.(Gen. 3, 17, 19). It is worthy to bury the body of the deceased with the appropriate funeral services performed in the temple of God, this is the first Christian duty of the relatives of the deceased, for the fulfillment of which everyone will give an answer to Last Judgment God's. Therefore, burning the body of the deceased is a grave sin - a desecration of the temple of God: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him: for the temple of God is holy; and this temple is you(1 Cor. 3:16-17).”

However, it is fundamentally wrong to believe that cremated people will not be resurrected at the Judgment of God! “The Lord Jesus Christ, speaking about the last Last Judgment, which will determine the fate of man in Eternity, points to the return to life of all people who have ever died: When the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory; and all nations will be gathered before Him(Matt. 25, 31–32). All nations- these are all the people who have ever lived on earth: believers, atheists, righteous people, sinners, those who lived before the birth of Christ, and our contemporaries - absolutely everyone.

Christ said directly: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living(Matthew 22:32). This means that the essence (human life) once created by God cannot be destroyed, and the image of God, the bearer of which is every person, is also the image of Divine immortality.

The dogma of the General Resurrection is the main doctrine of Christianity. In the Creed, finally adopted on II Ecumenical Council, this dogma is expressed in the words: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.”

Therefore, it must be said that cremation is a sin for those who decide on it; however, it cannot harm the soul of the deceased. And the Church does not refuse funeral services for those deceased who will subsequently be cremated, or who have already been cremated.

The Church as the body of Christ, as the totality of the living and the dead in Christ, can, by the grace given to it from God, pray for the departed, make a bloodless sacrifice for them (remove particles from the prosphora at the proskomedia of the liturgy), and accompany them on their final journey with a special rite of prayer - the funeral service. , serve memorial services, litias, evening funeral services (parastases).

On the third day after death, the deceased Orthodox Christian is awarded a church funeral service and burial. A funeral service is a funeral service performed once over the body of the deceased. The significance of this service is so great that in ancient times it was classified as a church sacrament and given special mystical significance. And, indeed, in addition to the usual funeral prayers, a prayer of permission is read over the deceased (necessarily by the priest), in which the oaths that were on him are forgiven to the deceased, as well as the sins that he repented of in confession or forgot to repent out of ignorance, and the deceased is released in peace. afterlife. The text of this prayer is immediately placed in the right hand of the deceased by his relatives or friends. If the prayer is not read by the priest over the deceased, but is simply placed by the relatives in the hand of the deceased, then it has no power and does not play any role.

Who is deprived of a church funeral service?

In the Orthodox Church, it is customary to classify as suicide those persons who died “as a result of robbery,” that is, who committed a bandit act (murder, armed robbery) and died from their wounds and mutilations. Victims of gang attacks certainly do not belong here.

In doubtful cases and in the absence of written permission from the bishop, a priest may refuse to perform a funeral service, especially if relatives deliberately attempt to hide the true cause of death of the deceased. When registering a funeral service in doubtful cases, a representative of the church council can review the “Death Certificate” issued by the Civil Registry Office.

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:

Funeral service for babies

Funeral service in absentia

There are cases of tragic death when it is impossible to find the body of a person (who drowned in a shipwreck, died in war or as a result of a plane crash, in a terrorist attack, etc.) or when a person goes missing and his relatives find out about his death many years later. In such cases, a tradition arose to perform the so-called absentee funeral service. But it is permissible only in cases of extreme need and real necessity, and not due to laziness and carelessness of the relatives of the deceased and not because “it’s easier that way.”

In recent years, unfortunately, a completely unacceptable practice has developed when the relatives of the deceased come to the church, “order” an absentee funeral service and immediately leave to go about their business. A few days later (at best) they appear “behind the country,” that is, when their loved one has already been buried by a priest in complete solitude, when, except for an unknown priest, not a single soul related to the deceased even thought of praying for his repose. Such an attitude towards the deceased shows the callousness of the soul of his relatives and complete indifference to the afterlife fate of the deceased. These qualities cannot be inherent in a Christian, and therefore, such an attitude towards church prayer for the deceased is reprehensible.

The everlasting psalter

It is also good to order the Indestructible Psalter for yourself, you will clearly feel the support. And one more important point, but far from the least important,
There is eternal remembrance on the Indestructible 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.

A few words about the “countryman”

In modern practice (for the sake of consoling the mourner), a tradition has developed when, during the funeral service in absentia, the priest blesses the earth three times, saying the same words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulfillment thereof, the world, and all that dwell on it.”(Ps. 23:1). However, we repeat, there are no indications for such an action in the Church Charter. At the end of the funeral service in absentia, this earth can be poured in a cross shape onto the grave of the deceased, if there is one: For you are the earth, and to the earth you will return(Genesis 3:19).

If a Christian was cremated, then the earth can be poured into an urn with the ashes of the deceased and thus symbolically interred. However, this is not at all necessary.

Sorokoust about repose

Funeral service in the morgue

In recent years, some funeral agencies have included a funeral service in a morgue in their range of “services”. This practice must be treated with great caution.

If for some good reason it is not possible to perform the funeral service for the deceased in the temple of God, then, as an exception, it is allowed to perform the funeral service for the deceased at home. And only if this turns out to be impossible, then it is necessary to find out where and in what conditions the funeral service is held in the morgue: is there a specially designated ritual room for this, in which there are at least icons, a funeral table (eve), and candlesticks. Go into this room, make sure it has the appropriate furnishings.

If you have any doubts, negotiate with the morgue administration and invite a priest you know from the church of which you are a parishioner.

But still, make every effort to perform the funeral service for your dear deceased in church.

About cremation

“It is completely unacceptable for an Orthodox Christian to condone the development of the sinful pagan tradition of burning the bodies of the dead. Let us remember the words of Holy Scripture: And he said to Adam: ...by the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground from which you were taken.(Gen. 3, 17, 19). It is worthy to bury the body of the deceased with the appropriate funeral services performed in the temple of God, this is the first Christian duty of the relatives of the deceased, for the fulfillment of which everyone will give an answer at the Last Judgment of God. Therefore, burning the body of the deceased is a grave sin - a desecration of the temple of God: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God lives in you? If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will punish him: for the temple of God is holy; and this temple is you(1 Cor. 3:16-17).”

The dogma of the General Resurrection is the main doctrine of Christianity. In the Creed, finally adopted at the Second Ecumenical Council, this dogma is expressed in the words: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead.”

When a person’s soul leaves for another world, it is difficult for loved ones, even if they are members of the Church, to survive the loss. At such moments, you want to do something for the deceased, help him go through the difficult path of ordeal and meet the Lord. Can this be done if the person is already dead?

In the Gospel of Luke we find words of consolation: “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. For with Him all are alive.”

God created us for heavenly bliss and immortality, but man rejected priceless gift Gentlemen. The Fall that Adam and Eve committed doomed all of humanity to decay and death. The Holy Apostle Paul said that along with sin, death entered the world. A person is stricken with death, like a disease. But the Lord is merciful. To save humanity, He sent His Only Begotten Son into the world - our Lord Jesus Christ. Having endured suffering and death for the sins of mankind, the Savior entered into a new union of man with God, opening the path to Heaven for us through the symbol of victory over death - the Cross of the Lord.

We have hope for eternal life with God, and death for the Orthodox is only the beginning of a new path. “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” said the Apostle Paul.

Funeral service in church, types of funeral services

There are six types of funeral services:

infants - for Christians under 7 years of age;
worldly people;
monastic - for monks (including hieromonks);
priestly - for persons in the priestly rank, as well as bishops;
episcopal - according to the will of such (Holy Synod of December 13, 1963);
on the first week of Easter.

The essence of the funeral service

The rite of the Christian rite of burial of the dead is inextricably linked with the thought of a future meeting with Christ. A person’s body is the temple of his soul, and earthly life is only the door to a future life, eternal life. A deceased person is called “deceased” because at the time of the Second Coming of Christ, the souls of people will be reunited with their bodies. The human body is covered with a shroud as a sign of fulfilling the vow of purity and purity of life that the person gave to the Lord during the Sacrament of Baptism. The body of the deceased is covered with a shroud, as a sign that he lived under the protection of the Church.

A cross is placed in the right hand of the deceased - a symbol of eternal life, an icon of the Savior is placed on the chest, and a paper aureole with the image of Christ, the Mother of God and John the Baptist is placed on the forehead. The crown is a foreshadowing of the Heavenly Crown, which is given to all who have been faithful to God.

When praying for the repose of the deceased, loved ones read the Psalter over the coffin. When the body is transferred to the temple, the funeral service is performed over the deceased. In the temple, the coffin with the body stands in the middle of the church with its feet towards the altar. Candles are lit on four sides of the coffin.

At the grave of a Christian, a Cross is placed at the feet of the deceased. Relatives and friends of the deceased remember him over a joint meal.

On what day after death is the funeral service held?

The burial of a person takes place on the third day after death. Funeral service Orthodox custom also occurs on the third day from the moment of death.

The first day is considered to be the day of death itself (that is, if a person died on Wednesday, then it is customary to bury him on Friday).

The funeral service is performed according to a special rite during the days of Bright Easter Week: instead of sad funeral prayers, joyful solemn chants of Holy Easter are sung.

On the Day of Light Christ's Resurrection and on the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the deceased are not brought into the church and funeral services are not performed, moving it to the next day.

How the funeral service is conducted

The funeral service consists of chants that reflect a person’s earthly path. For breaking the commandment of the Lord, a person is expelled from paradise and returns to the land from which he was taken. Nevertheless, man remains the image and likeness of the Creator, therefore the Church prays to forgive man his sins and accept him into the Kingdom of Heaven. The Holy Church prays for the departed, giving them hope for posthumous forgiveness of sins.

To perform a funeral service you need:

know the will of the deceased himself (often people on their deathbed ask that their soul be sung by a certain priest in a particular church or ask not to have a funeral service for them, in which case the issue of a person’s free will comes to the fore. The Church does not perform a funeral service for those who themselves did not want it) ;
make sure that the deceased was baptized;
obtain a death certificate from the civil registry office;
prepare all documents about the deceased;
provide all documents at the church, agree on the date, time and place of the funeral service;
Everything needed for a funeral service can usually be purchased in advance at the church store.

Is it possible to have a funeral service in the morgue?

If there is a chapel at the morgue that belongs to the Russian Orthodox Church, then the person’s funeral service can be performed there. Unfortunately, it often happens that a priest who does not have canonical status performs a funeral service for a person at a morgue. Before the funeral service, it is better to clarify whether the chapel at the morgue belongs to a particular diocese of the Church.

The funeral service usually follows a certain canon.

After reading the Initial Prayers, the burial of the layman begins with Psalm 90: “He who lives in help will dwell in the blood of the heavenly God...”.

After it, the entire 17th kathisma is read or sung: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by Thy justification...” with choruses. Psalm 119 is divided into three articles (parts), for each verse of the first article the refrain: “Alleluia”, for each verse of the second article the refrain: “Have mercy on Thy servant (or Thy handmaid)”, for each verse of the third article the refrain: “Alleluia”, between the articles, the priest pronounces a funeral litany (“Have mercy on us. God, according to the greatness of Your mercy...”). When singing Immaculate, those present at the funeral service stand with lit candles.

After the 17th kathisma (Psalm 118), the troparia of the fifth tone are sung: “Blessed art thou, O Lord, teach me by Thy justification...”

After the troparions of the fifth tone, the priest pronounces the funeral litany.

After which sedalin for the repose is sung.

Then the 50th Psalm is read.

After reading Psalm 50, the funeral canon in tone 6 is sung; after each Irmos there are four troparions, the refrain to the first troparion: “Wonderful is God in His saints, the God of Israel,” to the second troparion: Rest, O Lord, to the soul of Thy departed servant (or the soul of Thy departed servant or Thy servant), to the third troparion: “Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” to the fourth “And now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen". After the third song of the canon, the priest pronounces the funeral litany and the sedalion is sung:

and the Theotokos Sedalna is sung.

After the sixth song of the canon, the priest pronounces the funeral litany and the funeral kontakion is sung:

and funeral ikos:

After the canon, the priest pronounces the funeral litany.

Then the eight funeral stichera of John of Damascus are sung. Each stichera is sung in a different voice of the Osmoglasnik, starting with the first and ending with the eighth voice.

After the funeral stichera come the Blessed.

Prokeimenon: “Blessed is the path, you walk today, O soul, for a resting place has been prepared for you.” Verse: “To You, Lord, I will cry, O my God, do not keep silent from me.”

The Apostle is read, 270 conceived (1 Thess. 4:13–17).

The corresponding passage from the Gospel of John is also read, beginning 16 (John 5:24–30).

After reading the Gospel, the litany of repose is pronounced: “Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray to You about this, hear and have mercy...”.

After which the farewell to the deceased begins. The stichera of the second tone are sung, similar to “When from the tree”:

While singing the stichera, relatives and friends give the last kiss to the deceased - they come up to the coffin one by one and kiss the “corolla” lying on the forehead of the deceased and the icon in his hands, before the coffin with the deceased is closed and buried.

Then the Trisagion and Our Father are read

Troparions are sung in 4 voices:

The litany of repose is pronounced, after which the priest says:

The choir sings three times: “ Eternal memory." After which the priest reads a farewell prayer.

With singing " Holy God…” the coffin with the body of the deceased is taken out of the temple. Before closing the coffin and placing it in the grave, the priest commits the body of the deceased to the earth - sprinkles earth in a cross shape on the body of the deceased, saying the words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulfillment of it, the universe and all who live on it.” Then the priest reads the Permissive Prayer. The coffin is closed with a lid, which is nailed or closed with other locks. After this, when the litiya is sung, the coffin with the body of the deceased is lowered into the grave, with its feet to the east, and while the troparions are chanted: “From the spirits of the righteous who have died, give rest to the soul of Thy servant, O Savior, keeping it in a blessed life,” the grave is covered with earth. A Cross is placed in the place under which the deceased’s feet are located.

Who can't have a funeral service

The Russian Orthodox Church does not perform funeral services for:

unbaptized (if people themselves did not want to become members of the Church during their lifetime, you can always pray for them privately);
Gentiles;
God-fighters;
those who renounced Christ;
suicides (the exception is taking one’s own life during a mental illness, but this must be proven and permission to perform a funeral service obtained from the ruling bishop);
until recently there was no funeral service and unbaptized babies, but recently a special rank was prepared.

Is it possible to sing the funeral service in absentia?

You can also perform funeral services for the deceased in absentia. Funeral services in absentia are carried out in cases where:

The deceased is buried in a hurry, for example, in a war situation, in a mass grave.
When people died during an emergency, during major disaster or a crash.
After the funeral, if the funeral service was not performed at the right time.
In the absence of access to a church of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Does a funeral service provide a “guarantee of entry” into heaven?

A funeral service does not guarantee that a person will certainly go to heaven. There can be no guarantees in faith, but this is exactly what can be done on earth for a person who has already gone to another world. And hope for God’s mercy does not fade away with the death of a person.

The living can continue to pray for the deceased after the funeral service. Funeral meal brings together at the table everyone who knew and loved the person in common prayer. One of the main dishes of the funeral table is kutia made from wheat or rice grains. Like grain, man is placed in the ground and decays in order to be born again to eternal life. Honey and sweets in kutya symbolize the sweetness of heavenly bliss.

The difference between a funeral service and an “ordinary” prayer for the deceased

Prayer for the departed carries the same mission as the funeral service, but in the case of the funeral service, the entire Church prays for the soul of a person, giving people hope for posthumous forgiveness of sins. On special days commemorations begin on the third, ninth and fortieth days after the death of a person. On the third day, remembering the resurrection of Christ, the Church asks the Lord to resurrect a person for eternal life. On the ninth day, the Church asks for the deceased to be numbered among the saints of God. On the fortieth day, a prayer is made that Jesus, having ascended to Heaven, will ascend into the Kingdom of Heaven. At the request of relatives, a person can be remembered in prayer for forty days after his death. This commemoration is called forty-one.

Death is not the end of a person, but only the transition of his soul to eternal life. With general resurrection of the dead will come to life from the sound of the archangel's trumpet.

Funeral service and burial of the deceased.

From the very first times of its existence, the Holy Church pays special attention to the burial of the dead in Orthodox faith. The Church looks at the body as a temple of the soul consecrated by the grace of the sacrament; for the present life, as for the time of preparation for the future life; and to death, as to a dream, upon awakening from which eternal life will come.

Preparing the deceased for burial.

Body of the deceased washed with water, since it must appear before God in purity and integrity. After washing the body of the deceased puts on new clean clothes, this symbolizes the belief in the future renewal of the body after the resurrection.

For a deceased layman, in addition to ordinary clothes, a shroud is laid- a white cover reminiscent of the white baptismal robe. Then washed and clothed the body is placed in a coffin; first, the body and coffin are sprinkled with holy water. In the coffin, the deceased is placed face up, directed towards the sky, with eyes closed and lips closed in the likeness of someone sleeping and silent, with hands folded crosswise on the chest, as a testimony of faith in the crucified Jesus Christ. Chelo deceased decorated with a whisk, as a reminder of the crown that the Apostle Paul desired and which is observed by all who loved the appearance of Christ for performing the feat and observing the faith. All the body is covered with a sacred veil, as a testimony to the faith of the church that the deceased is under the protection of Christ. An icon is placed in the hands of the deceased(or cross), as a sign of faith in Christ. After the funeral service, this icon is taken by the relatives of the deceased for prayer memory about the deceased. At the grave candles are lit, which are used, in addition, every time when praying for the deceased and at burial. lamp in in this case reminds of the transition of the deceased from the dark life of the earth to the true light.

Reading the psalter for the departed.

In the Orthodox Church of Christ There is a pious custom of reading the psalter over the body of the deceased continuously before his burial and in his memory after the burial. Reading psalms for the dead is one of those pious institutions of the Church of Christ, which takes care of its children from birth to death and does not abandon them after death.

The psalms should be read “with tenderness and contrition of heart, intelligently, with attention, and not struggling, as one understands the verb with the mind.” That's why one should be careful in choosing the persons to whom one wishes to entrust sacred reading . Of course, anyone who is capable of this and knows this matter can take on this reading; but anyway it's best to invite to perform this sacred rite over the deceased those persons appointed to this service by the Church.

Memorial services and funeral litias.

Before burialand after him about the dead memorial services and litias are served. Under the funeral service of course church service, in its composition, representing a reduction in the rank of burial. The first funeral service is sung in the house of the deceased until he is buried.

Funeral lithium (intensified public prayer) - is supposed to be performed before taking the deceased out of the house to church, and is also served while the deceased is still lying in the house.

Burial.

Burial means both the funeral service and the committing of the body of the deceased to the earth. As soon as a person has died, it is necessary to notify the priest about this. Anyone guilty of burying a Christian without a Christian rite, if this did not present any particular difficulty, is subject to punishment (previously, this was punishable by arrest for up to three months). In general, burial should not take place without a funeral service, with the exception of certain cases: before the funeral service, a medical examination is necessary to establish the cause of death if a person committed suicide, as well as if a person was killed in a robbery (robber).

Funeral place.

The funeral service can only take place in the church. It is allowed to bring the bodies of the deceased into the church only for funeral services and they should not be kept in the church for more than a day, and then only if absolutely necessary. Funeral services for the deceased in homes and especially at a close distance from the church and cemetery - strictly prohibited, since the funeral service should be performed only in the church, with the exception of cases of death from particularly contagious diseases. The deceased, after the funeral service, must be buried immediately. Priests are obliged to escort the body of the dead from their homes to the grave. When escorting the deceased, the priest must walk in front of the coffin. Throughout the burial ceremony, the verse “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us” should be sung.

Remembrance of the dead.

The custom of remembering the dead is already found in the Old Testament Church. In the Christian Church, this custom is as ancient as the very basis on which the remembrance of the dead is performed. Church commemoration is performed only for those who are awarded burial according to the rites of the Orthodox Church. Memorial services for suicides are not held. No commemoration is performed on unbaptized infants.

For remembrancethe newly deceased are appointed by the Church first forty days from the date of death, finding in this number, according to the instructions of the Holy Scriptures, a sufficient period for cleansing from sins and propitiating God. Of these forty days, days are especially dedicated to prayer for the departed - third, in memory of the Savior resurrected on this day, ninth- By pious desire Church, so that the spirit of the deceased is numbered among the nine ranks of angels, and fortieth- according to the Old Testament example of the mourning of Moses by the Israelites for forty days and the proximity of this day to the day of the Ascension of the Lord. The annual day of death, birth and name day is dedicated to the remembrance of the deceased, since, according to the teachings of the church, the deceased is alive and immortal in spirit and will one day be completely renewed when the Lord raises his body.

Does the deceased need vodka?

At the cemetery, as well as at funerals It is strictly forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages. The reason for this is that the newly deceased is very strongly need our prayer help, since he appears before the face of God himself, our creator. It is necessary that we pray to God to mercifully judge the deceased for his sins. Only after death does a person realize his mistakes in life, sees his sins, sees how he came to God and how he should have come to Him, and therefore a person experiences strong pangs of conscience.

Wine is a symbol of joy. Of course, a person’s transition to eternal life, on the one hand, should be perceived by us as joy, since a person met his Creator and will remain with Him in paradise forever, but if a person did not live according to the commandments, sinned, led an immoral lifestyle, what are his chances? such a person will go to heaven, but if he goes to hell, what then? How then can we have fun? When a person begins to drink alcohol at a cemetery or at a funeral service, the person clearly has no time for prayer, his blood is already hot, the person ceases to control himself and instead of praying for the deceased so that the Lord will have mercy on him, the person begins to say swear words and commit immoral acts. actions that burden the meeting of the deceased with God.

About the earth.

One more point should be mentioned when burying the deceased. If the funeral service was performed in a church in absentia, without the body of the deceased, then, according to tradition, the relatives of the deceased are given land, which the relatives throw into the grave during burial. What kind of land is this? This is an ordinary handful of earth that the priest should throw into the grave, but since the funeral service was performed in absentia and the priest is not present at the funeral at the time of burial, then on his behalf one of his closest relatives (a man) must pour this earth into the grave, and he must pour it out first. When people throw their handful of earth into the grave, the following words must be uttered: “You are earth and you will go back to earth.” This land has no mystical etc. properties, this is an ordinary handful of earth. You can also bring it home, there is nothing wrong with that. If the funeral service is performed in person, over the body of the deceased, then the earth is not needed; as a rule, the priest accompanies the deceased to the cemetery, where the funeral litany is served over the body of the deceased for the last time, and also during burial the priest himself throws his handful of earth into the grave.

It often comes to our families unexpectedly, but unfortunately inevitably... We asked priest Mikhail Mikhailov to answer the most common questions about death, what a funeral service is, how to behave correctly at a funeral service and in a cemetery.

-Father, was man created mortal?

– God did not create death. God created man immortal. But Adam was given one commandment, the transgression of which meant falling away, renouncing God and Eternal Life. The Greek theologian Metropolitan Hierotheos (Vlahos) writes: “The sin that resulted in death was the fall of Adam in the paradise of sweetness. God, having given man the commandment not to eat from the forbidden fruit, at the same time informed him: “On the day that you eat from it, you will die” (Genesis 2:17). And indeed, after committing this sin, death entered human nature; first spiritual death, which consists in excommunication human soul from God, and then bodily death—separation of the soul from the body.” Adam fell away from God spiritually, and after that physical death followed.

But Christ, the Son of God, came to save man from sin and save man from death. Before the Resurrection of Christ, the gates of Paradise were closed and everyone, even the righteous, went to hell. Therefore, on the icon of the Resurrection of Christ we see people with halos on their heads. Christ opened the gates of Eternal Life for us and from that moment death is birth for eternal life.

– How should a person prepare for his death and when should he start preparing?

– A Christian needs to remember that he is mortal, that the Lord can take us at any moment, completely unexpectedly for us. The Lord says: “What I find you in, that is what I judge,” and the Holy Fathers remind: “Remember the hour of death and you will never sin.”

Every evening we read the prayer “Lord, will this coffin really be my bed?”, this means that when we go to sleep, we must remember that we may not wake up. Therefore, you need to repent of your sins before God every day and hour, you need to regularly confess, take communion, and live in such a way as to be ready to appear at the Judgment of God and trust in His mercy.

– What should loved ones do? Do they need to remind their unchurched elderly loved ones to prepare for death?

I think it is definitely necessary, with love. After all, then we will “bite our elbows” for not guiding a person on the path of salvation, for not giving him communion. How many cases does any priest know when relatives come to the temple at the very last moment and ask to come to the dying person, but often it is too late...

For example, we recently gave communion to a 100-year-old man who had never received communion in his entire life. A man lived 100 years and never took communion! Thank God, he was conscious and it was possible to counsel him.

There was a case with a priest friend, they invited him home to dying grandmother, she was unconscious. You cannot give communion to an unconscious person, so Father Sergius loudly asked her: “Shall we take communion?” - and for a moment she came to her senses and answered: “Yes!” O. Sergius gave her communion, and literally half an hour later she fell asleep.

There is no need to wait until the last minute. Everyone has heard the saying “memento mori” - remember death. We must always remember death. As we come into this world, so we will leave. We prepare young people to become parents, but older people need to be reminded of death. We are getting ready for bed after the day's worries. So is our life: we woke up - we were born, we enjoy life, then responsibility, worries - life passes, towards the end we get tired, we want to rest, we prepare for the transition to another world.

“Won’t our neighbors be offended that we remind them of this?” After all, now especially in the West, and little by little in our country, the topic of death is becoming almost taboo, everyone is trying to avoid it...

“They will most likely be offended when that death hour comes and they realize how much they have missed.” In my personal practice there was such a case: the chairman of one collective farm, having received communion for the first time before his death, was simply surprised why he had not received communion before, now he was dying, but how had he ever managed without the Church before...

A person in the face of death becomes completely different. We have not yet experienced this, but everyone will experience it, the attitude towards the past life changes in the face of death, the whole life passes in an instant before a person’s eyes. It would be good if we were granted a quiet Christian death, but there are so many tragic deaths. Therefore, one must always be prepared for death.

– Is it necessary to hide a serious diagnosis from loved ones? Should we console them by saying that there is nothing wrong with their health, or should we try to prepare them for the transition to Eternal Life?

– Now medicine has moved away from not talking about such a diagnosis; in any case, a person needs to be prepared somehow.

This year on Bright Week funeral service for r. B. Galina. A young woman, she was seriously ill. I married her and her husband. She knew about the disease, she knew that the disease was incurable, and she told me that this disease made her look at life completely differently. She and her husband are believers from believing families, it was easier for her.

What is it like for a non-believer on the threshold of Eternity? Therefore, you need to somehow quietly prepare a person, no matter what the diagnosis.

– So, telling a person that everything will be fine, that he will definitely get better, is wrong?

– It’s not wrong, you can give hope, but you need to explain that the Lord gives us everything.

I know people terminally ill with cancer who, by the will of God, recovered. The Lord judges. And we need to prepare a person to accept the will of God; the Lord still gives us some time. It is very difficult for loved ones and difficult for the sick themselves in their last minutes. It is our task to ease their fate, their pain. Being close to a dying person is not easy and not everyone has the strength. Those close to the dying person sometimes become irritated, angry, almost beat the patient, and after death they cry, reproaching themselves for wasted time, for their rudeness. The Lord gives us the opportunity, but we do not use this time to prepare. It is important to lead people to the very understanding of death as a natural transition - from this life to Eternal Life. We all wear clothes, but they wear out over time. We throw away a worn-out item and are not sad. So is our body, the shell - it deteriorates. But we will joyfully put on the new clothes that the Lord will give us, and move to His abode. It's like waiting to meet your parents. She is always happy.

In addition, people often feel sad about themselves: “They left me...”! I remember one funeral service. The mortal woman mourned and was killed at the tomb of her deceased husband. Then they asked her some abstract question, she immediately changed her behavior and calmly answered, like an actor playing a role, then she returned to the coffin and began to lament with redoubled force!

– That is, it is important to distinguish when we are sad about the fate of deceased loved ones, and when we simply feel sorry for ourselves, that we feel bad without them?

– Of course, it’s hard to lose loved ones, parents, or children. But you need to look at everything sensibly. If the Lord takes the baby, then it’s necessary. After all, how often people complain about fate, we often hear from people: “The son (or daughter) drinks, behaves indecently, beats his parents! It would be better if he died in childhood!” If the Lord takes even the most loved one- this is all done according to His will.

– In the 19th century. the books talked a lot about how mothers begged for sick children, and then could not raise them and keep them from sin and spiritual destruction and asked God to take the child, if it was His will, before it was completely too late...

– Of course, let’s take the old days: in the village they gave birth to 20 children and half died, but there was no particular sorrow, people were sad, but they understood that this was normal. Those who survived became strong and healthy. Everything in life is providential and early death can physically cut off a person’s path to sin.

Very often the death of our loved ones can serve as a lesson to us, especially death young man. I remember such an incident. When I served in Lefortovo, they once brought a young, unbaptized man to the church, and he crashed his car. A lot of young people came, they filled the whole yard, they stood there, demanding that the funeral service be performed, and they almost threw their fists at the priest. And the elderly priest began to explain to them that a funeral service cannot be performed for an unbaptized person and very wisely answered them: “Look, he is unbaptized, but how many of you are baptized here? He is an example for you, so that you think, get baptized, then they bring you to the threshold of the church and what will happen? You demand that a funeral service be held for an unbeliever, but why? Because your soul demands it. You understand that you need to take it to church.” Then some of those young people were baptized. It turns out that the death of their close friend prompted them to be baptized and made them think about the eternal.

– Father, as an intensive care doctor and a priest, can you say that a person who has confessed and received communion, ready for death, departs differently from an unrepentant sinner?

Over the 17 years of my ministry, and before that, as a physician, I saw only 2-3 people who refused Communion before death. Usually, when people saw a cross, they had a completely different attitude towards medical worker. One day we came to our hospital at a very in serious condition I got a patient - the leader of the Pentecostal community choir, and when I was already leaving the intensive care unit, she took my hand and asked me to pray for her. Pentecostals do not remember the dead, but she, seeing the cross, asked. The death of the person receiving communion is different, calm, even in serious illness, he accepts everything as if from the hands of God. Before death, a person sees a different world, hidden from us, and looks at everything differently, the values are completely different. And he can’t think about anything else. For example, a toothache - you want to climb the wall, you don’t need beautiful clothes or TV series, the temperature is under forty - what kind of music, cinema, condemn someone just to get well, your only hope is in God and doctors. Of course, many wonderful things happen.

One mother suffered from cancer, but there was almost no pain, she humbly endured everything. The Lord destined for her to live another year; her husband, a priest, gave her communion every day. She knew about her serious illness, but she humbly accepted everything and her death was quiet and calm.

– Do you know such cases when dark forces didn’t allow a person to take communion?

- Yes, of course, one dying man, to whom I was called, spewed curses and spat, and I did not dare to give him communion. But just before his death, when the agony began, he began to call the priest, but it was too late. No matter what forces take a person, he still goes to God’s judgment.

– Do such formal things as the price of the coffin, material, etc. matter? or is it simply important that there be on the coffin orthodox cross?

– The price doesn’t matter. On Mount Athos, for example, people are buried not in a coffin, but wrapped in a sheet. And some princes of this world are buried in the most luxurious coffins. So what? After all, it is said: “the slave and the ruler stand together, the king and the warrior, the rich and the poor in equal dignity” (stichera at the funeral service). Of course, one should not neglect beauty. Everything should be simple, but dignified. I would also like to note that in Rus' there was no concept of “coffin”, they said “domovina” - a solid house, not pretentious but solid.

Usually, before the end, a person is not able to take care of himself, so the duty of every believer is to do everything so that the transition to another world works out for the dying person in a Christian way. Those close to the dying person should show him all their love and warm sympathy, forgiving and forgetting mutual grievances and quarrels. Not concealing the imminent death, but helping in preparation for the great transition to the afterlife is the main duty of relatives.

It is imperative to invite a priest to the dying person; it is good if the person confesses and receives communion before his death. But you need to try to do this in advance - do not put it off until the last moment, because at the very last moment it may be too late: a few minutes of delay - and the person will be unconscious.

In moments of separation of the soul from the body, the Canon of prayer to the Most Holy Theotokos is read on behalf of a person separated from his soul and unable to speak. It is read from the perspective of “a man separated from his soul and unable to speak.” The lips of the dying man are silent, but the Church, on his behalf, depicts all the weakness of a sinner ready to leave the world, and entrusts him to the Most Pure Virgin, whose help is called upon in the verses of the departure canon. This canon ends with the priest’s prayer for the release of the dying soul from all bonds, for liberation from all oaths, for the forgiveness of sins and repose in the abodes of saints.

If a person suffers for a long time and seriously and cannot die, then another canon is read over him for the outcome of the soul, called the Canon, which is for the separation of the soul from the body, whenever a person suffers for a long time. Both canons on the outcome of the soul, in the absence of a priest, can and should be read at the bedside of a dying person by a layman, omitting the prayers intended to be read only by the priest.

- Funeral service. How to arrange everything correctly? Is it possible to have a funeral service in the morgue?

– His Holiness Patriarch Alexy said that the morgue is not a place for funeral services; it is better to perform the funeral service in a church at a hospital, in a church in a cemetery, or in any other church. Before performing the funeral service for the deceased in the morgue, make sure that the funeral service will not be conducted by a false priest and that he has permission to perform the funeral service. The fact is that there are many impostors who, posing as priests of the Russian Orthodox Church, perform “funeral services” in morgues and cemeteries in the Moscow region.

– What are the days of special remembrance of the dead?

Until the 40th day, the deceased is called newly deceased. Commemoration of the newly deceased in the first time after death is important and necessary, especially because it makes it easier for the soul of the deceased to make such a difficult transition from temporary to eternal life and helps to go through the so-called ordeals. Special days commemorations of the newly deceased - the third, ninth and fortieth (in this case, the day of death is considered the first). Commemoration on these days dates back to ancient times. In the Apostolic Decrees it is written: “Complete the thirds of those who have fallen asleep in psalms, in readings and prayers for the sake of the Risen One on the third day, and the tithes in remembrance of those who have fallen asleep here, and the fortieths according to the ancient model, for this is how the people of Israel mourned Moses, and the anniversary of the memory of the deceased. ” There is also a custom to remember the deceased on every death anniversary, birthday and Angel Day. These days, the closest relatives gather to remember the deceased with prayer over a joint meal. In the church they submit a note for the Liturgy or order a memorial service and consecrate the kolivo. There are certain days throughout the year that are primarily dedicated to prayers for the dead.

These are the so-called parenting days:

1.Universal meat-eating parent's Saturday. It happens a week before Lent. This Saturday got its name from the day following it - “Meat Week,” i.e., the day on which meat is last allowed to be eaten.

2. 2nd week of Lent.

3. Parental universal Saturday 3rd week of Lent

4. Parental universal Saturday 4th week of Lent

5. Radonitsa– Tuesday of the second week after Easter. This day is named Radonitsa to commemorate the joy of the living and the dead about the Resurrection of Christ.

6.May 9- a day of remembrance for all those who died and tragically died during the Great Patriotic War.

7. Trinity Ecumenical Parents' Saturday- Saturday before the Holy Trinity Day. Currently, there is an incorrect custom to consider the holiday of the Trinity itself as a parent's day.

8.On the day of the Beheading of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John(September 11, new style) The church commemorates Orthodox warriors, for Faith and Fatherland, killed on the battlefield. This commemoration was established in 1769 during the war with the Turks and Poles by decree of Empress Catherine II.

9.Dimitrev parents' Saturday– Saturday a week before the feast of the memory of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (November 8, new style), Heavenly Patron Blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy. Having won the victory on the Kulikovo field, Prince Dimitri performed a name commemoration of the soldiers who fell on the battlefield on the eve of his Angel Day. Since then, the Church commemorates on this day, called by the people Demetrius Saturday, not only the soldiers who died for the Fatherland, but also all deceased Orthodox Christians.

On parental days, Orthodox Christians visit the temple, where funeral services are performed. On these days, it is customary to bring sacrifices to the funeral table (eve) - various products (with the exception of meat). Food is also brought to the funeral table on other days when the funeral service is celebrated, i.e. This is alms for the dead. On spring and summer parenting days (Radonitsa and Trinity Saturday), it is customary to visit the cemetery after church: to straighten the graves of deceased relatives and pray next to their buried bodies.

– How to behave correctly in a cemetery?

There is no need to drink or leave food at the cemetery, unless you feed the birds. But if you bring and leave food, this is paganism; the deceased will not come out to eat. And you cannot leave blessed Easter eggs - dogs and birds will get them and this will be a desecration of the shrine. To commemorate the deceased, it is better to give food to the poor so that they can pray.

– What customs associated with burial are sinful and superstitious?

It is probably impossible to list all the superstitions - there are so many of them - covering mirrors, a glass of vodka with bread “for the soul’s remembrance”, the prohibition of sitting on the stools on which the coffin stood, pouring vodka on the grave, and so on. You don't need to follow them, you don't need to believe in them. You always need to remember - the Lord takes a person when He Himself wills, a person is at the Judgment of God, so the main thing is our prayer for a person. Our prayer is also church prayer.

– Do you need to tell your loved ones not to attach importance to superstitions?

– I think you can say, with love. Explain that the main thing is to pray for the deceased. For example, I recently spoke and they listened to me.

– Shouldn’t there be a photograph of the deceased on the grave cross?

- No, under no circumstances. Sometimes they are placed below on the tablet but not on the cross itself.

- Father, what about cremation? Is it possible to cremate a deceased person?

If there is nowhere to bury it, there is no money or it must be transported very far, in other words, if there is no other way out.