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Dignified funeral- the last concern of relatives about the body of the deceased. An in-person or absentee funeral service is the care of loved ones for the souls of the deceased.

Why is the ceremony necessary?

The funeral rite (or burial rite) is a special ritual that is performed in the temple. Because of large quantity chants, this rite was called the funeral service.

The Orthodox Church believes in afterworld. Only the human body dies. The soul continues to live, going to another dimension, where it will have to answer for everything it did during the life of the body. During life, a person commits many sinful acts, sometimes unconscious or involuntary. The task of the church is to special prayers lead the soul into better world, help her find peace.

To do this, the deceased must have a funeral service.

The clergy insist on the need for the ceremony. At the same time, every person should remember during his lifetime that the funeral service is not able to completely rid him of all sins. According to the priests, a righteous person for whom there is no one to pray for after death will go to heaven. The soul of a person who does not keep the commandments of God may lose eternal peace even after the burial ceremony.

A funeral service should not be confused with a memorial service. In the 20th century In the USSR, such a concept as a civil memorial service appeared. According to the holy fathers, this is a meaningless set of words, a phrase, each element of which excludes the other. A memorial service is a funeral prayer for the deceased, which can be read both before and after burial. Funeral service general rule carried out on the day of the funeral before taking the body to the cemetery.

What is required from the relatives of the deceased?

Regardless of whether the funeral service will be held in person or in absentia, relatives must independently take care of the soul of their loved one even before the ceremony takes place in the church. After the news of death has arrived to the family, they must begin to read the Psalter (Psalter). This must be done continuously day and night, without stopping. Because the emotional condition relatives do not always allow them to devote time to prayers for the dead; you can invite an experienced person, not necessarily a priest, to read the Psalter. Our ancestors invited healers, who often served as clergy in remote villages. There should be several readers so that they have the opportunity to relax.

Mandatory condition: only a baptized Orthodox Christian has the right to pray according to the Psalter for the dead.

When is the funeral service held in absentia?

The Church insists that the funeral service be held on time (before the burial) and in person (before the coffin of the deceased person). However, it is not always possible to meet this requirement:

If a warrior’s relatives receive a sad telegram, they need to make sure that the deceased is buried in absentia. Usually fallen soldiers are buried hastily in a mass grave. The circumstances under which funerals are held do not allow for dignity for each deceased. Sometimes a priest is present at the burial and reads a prayer for all the soldiers. But in most cases, funerals take place without the participation of clergy.
Those killed in a major plane crash or shipwreck are required to have a funeral service in absentia. Passengers from crashed planes and sunken ships usually do not survive. There should be no rush to hold an absentee funeral service for the missing. It is recommended to pray for such a person as if he were alive. A well-known proverb says that with God everyone is alive. If a relative has died, prayers for him will contribute to the salvation of the soul. If he is still alive, turning to God will help the missing person find his way home. There are cases when people lose their memory, fall into slavery, etc. This prevents them from reuniting with relatives who consider them dead.
The burial ceremony is carried out after the funeral if the funeral service was not held in a timely manner. In the years Soviet power the church was persecuted. Carrying out church ceremonies was under strict ban. As a result, many people were not buried in a Christian manner. In such cases, the church allows the funeral to take place, despite the fact that more than one year has passed since the person’s death.
If there is no church in the locality, it is permissible to perform the funeral service in absentia. Transporting the coffin may take more than a day. It is not advisable to transport the deceased over long distances. It is acceptable to invite a clergyman to your home, but this is also not always possible for a number of reasons. Lack of money to transport the coffin or to invite a priest to your home is another reason to refuse an in-person funeral service. Relatives should remember that it is unacceptable to deceive a clergyman. Sometimes the relatives of the deceased do not want to take the coffin to church because of a desire to save money, justifying their actions with imaginary poverty.

How is the ceremony going?

When conducting an absentee ritual, bringing the funeral service’s coffin into the temple is not required. In all other respects, the ceremony resembles a ritual that is performed in person. Funeral services for the deceased can be held almost any day.

The ritual is avoided on Christmas Day and the first day of Easter.

When performing a correspondence ritual, the priest prays in front of the tetrapod. This is the name of a special candlestick on which candles are lit in memory of the deceased. The ceremony begins with the singing of verses from 17 kathismas. Then funeral troparia are sung, in which they ask God to accept the soul of the deceased, forgive her all her sins and allow her to be in heaven with the righteous. Next, you should remember the person at the funeral litany. After this, the irmos of the funeral canon and the funeral sedalene are sung.

After the choir finishes singing the funeral stichera, the clergyman reads passages from the New Testament, which mention that after death a person will face another life and God's judgment. This is followed again by troparia and stichera. At the end of the funeral service, the clergyman reads a special litany, in which he remembers the deceased and proclaims his eternal memory.

The funeral ceremony in absentia has its own distinctive features. If the coffin with the body has not yet been buried, the priest gives the relatives a crown, soil and a prayer of permission. The crown is placed on the forehead of the deceased. The prayer of permission is placed in his hand. The earth must be poured into the coffin in a cross shape, but not on the body itself, but on the blanket with which it is covered. The deceased must wear pectoral cross, which was received at baptism. If a person is already buried, earth is poured onto his grave.

If the location of the body is unknown, there is no need for funeral attributes.

The Church allows funeral services in absentia, no matter how much time has passed after death. However, relatives should strive to order the rite as early as possible. It is believed that the soul does not immediately go to another world. She remains on earth for some time. This time should be used to ask God for forgiveness for the sins committed by this person.

Features of the ceremony

The priest participating in the ritual wears white robes. Relatives and friends of the deceased are advised to do the same. The Church views the physical death of a person as birth in another world. The deceased leaves imperfect reality to move to a better dimension and meet his Creator. This is why clergy dress in white for funeral services as well as baptismal ceremonies. Thus, it is emphasized that in a person’s life there are 2 important events- joining the church and transition to another world.

Wearing black at a funeral service is considered a secular rather than a church tradition.

Candles in the hands of the deceased's relatives symbolize light and joy. The soul of the deceased goes through the darkness of death to see the light of new life. Candles should remind the relatives of the deceased that the person dear to them did not cease to exist, but was reborn for a new existence. Physical death should not cause feelings of grief.

Often relatives make a big mistake: they order a service and leave the temple. A few days later they return to take the earth, a whisk and a prayer of permission. The Church does not approve of such behavior. The point of such rituals as a wake or funeral service is not to hold a beautiful, magnificent ceremony and look righteous in the eyes of other Christians.

Any funeral ritual is intended to help the soul that has recently separated from the body overcome obstacles on the path to the Creator. Relatives must be present in the church for funeral services in person and in absentia and not leave the ceremony unless absolutely necessary. During the ceremony you should pray for loved one. This can be done not only using specialized literature, but also in your own words. Any sincere prayer will be accepted by God.

Who will be denied the ceremony?

The refusal rules for an absentee funeral service are the same as for an in-person ritual:

It is forbidden to perform funeral services for suicides. The sin of suicide is considered one of the most serious. It is extremely difficult to pray him away. Relatives and friends of a man who took his own life with my own hands, can offer prayers for the one who has stumbled. There is a possibility that thanks to the prayers of caring people, the Almighty will forgive his slave. However, the church will receive a categorical refusal. In some cases, exceptions are possible. People who committed a sin in a state are not recognized as suicide alcohol intoxication or under the influence of psychoactive substances. The person sinned not of his own free will, but in an altered state of consciousness, without realizing what he was doing. Mentally ill people who are not responsible for their actions are not considered suicides. To obtain permission to perform a funeral service for a mentally ill person, relatives need to contact the diocese. Causing death by negligence (death due to failure to comply with safety precautions, poisoning with substandard products, etc.) is also not considered suicide.
The burial rite is not performed for the unbaptized. If the deceased was kind person, believed in God, but did not undergo the sacrament of baptism; it is prohibited to conduct a funeral service for him. The deceased did not belong to the church, the clergy have no right to intercede on his behalf. The relatives of such a person are allowed to pray for him at home.
If there is a will prohibiting the ceremony, the deceased will not have a funeral service. Respect for religion should not be forced. True Faith comes from the soul. If the deceased, for whatever reason, did not want to be inveterate and bequeathed to his relatives in writing or in words not to carry out a ritual that was unpleasant to him, this should not be done. Guided by the natural impulse to help a loved one, relatives may not fulfill the last will of the deceased. According to theologians, it is impossible to conduct a funeral service against the will of the deceased. The soul will not only not enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but will also suffer because the relatives refused to fulfill the last request. A person who refuses a funeral service is not necessarily an atheist or an opponent of religion. Perhaps the deceased simply chose a different form of worship of God for himself and does not want to be escorted into another world according to the Christian rite.
The Church refuses to perform a funeral service for someone who during his lifetime was her persecutor, openly blasphemed, oppressed clergy, and publicly ridiculed religion. No priest will conduct a funeral ceremony for a person who has renounced God. Caring for the sinful soul falls on the shoulders of the family, which with its prayers can influence the further fate of the blasphemous relative.
Funeral services are often denied to bandits who died during a robbery. If the criminal was caught and managed to repent of his crime, the church is obliged to perform a funeral service for him. All people have the right to forgiveness, regardless of the severity of their sins. The priest should not act as a judge. He is destined to be a lawyer.

Relatives of drug addicts and alcoholics need to remember that a person who died from a harmful addiction may be inveterate by the church. Despite the fact that these people certainly violated God's will, caused a lot of trouble to their loved ones, it is impossible to leave their souls without prayers. Drug addiction and alcoholism should be considered serious diseases that not everyone can cope with. Even if the family was in a quarrel with their close relative, the deceased should be forgiven, prayed for and ordered for the deceased.

No one is immune from harmful hobbies.

No one church ceremony cannot guarantee the deceased a pass to heaven and forgiveness of all sins. This is worth remembering during your lifetime. Even theologians admit that it is not the rituals themselves that matter, but the meaning that a person puts into them. The sincere prayer of a loved one can give the deceased much more than a funeral service, a beautiful monument or funeral dinner in an expensive restaurant.

The man died. What to do?

What is a funeral service? Very important information for those who are seeing off on their last earthly journey dear person

What is a funeral service?

A funeral service is a prayer service established by the Church for parting words and seeing off people to another world. Funeral service is a popular name that was given to this rite because more than half of the prayers in it are sung. Correct name funeral service - “a deathly succession.” The performance of this ceremony indicates that the deceased belonged to Orthodox community, and now people have gathered to accompany him on his last earthly journey. If the deceased was a member Orthodox Church, if he was engaged in his spiritual life, if he confessed and received communion (at least sometimes), if he, at least minimally, participated in the life of the community - the Church can admonish him.

What is the difference between rites and rites?

Burial is a rite, but a funeral service is more than just a rite. A ritual is only an external, symbolic expression of the essence of belief. With the help of ritual, a person tries to clothe the invisible in the visible in order to make it more understandable. But behind the form there is always something more. The word “rite” itself comes from the word “to rite”, i.e. "bring it into proper shape." For example, Russian clergy dress up during ceremonies in accordance with church rules, in various vestments. Among the Greeks, or among any other peoples, these vestments may differ in form, but the essence of the ritual in which they take part will not change. Or, for example, a priest, when conducting the Sacrament of Wedding, raises his hands with the words “crown them with glory and honor” - this is the ceremonial, ritual side. If, by mistake or weakness, he does not raise his hands, but lowers them, then nothing will change. That is, the external form of the ceremony may accidentally change, but the essence, which is called a sacrament, will remain the same. The same can be said about other rituals, which may differ from each other in form, but will have absolutely identical content.

Is there a difference between a funeral service and a memorial service?

Memorial service is funeral prayer about the deceased. It can be performed both before the funeral service and after. The rite, which is called the funeral service, is performed over the deceased once, on the day of his burial.

Can a memorial service be civil?

There is no civil funeral service. " Civil funeral service" is a meaningless, absurd pile-up of words. This is roughly the same as “civilian military.” The question arises, is he civilian or military? After all, there are no civilian soldiers. In godless years, the word “memorial service” was stolen from church dictionary and adapted for civilian needs.

In fact, it would be more logical to call such an event a social farewell ceremony. Or a social farewell ceremony for the deceased.

What is lithium?

Litiya is the final part of the memorial service. This service is a very short prayer. By the way, lithium for a loved one can be performed at a grave or at home not only by a clergyman, but also by a simple layman.

Is a funeral service a “pass to heaven”?

This is simply an ugly, wild, offensive, almost magical perception of the funeral service. People who perceive this rite in this way do not understand what is happening at all. As we have already said, during the funeral service, all those present must collectively pray that the soul will pass the tests that it inevitably faces after death. Having left the body, the soul begins to suffer from its own imperfections and passions. That is why the Church calls on believers to fight passions, to change themselves in better side. Prayers said during the funeral service greatly help the soul and console it. But in no case should we think that with the help of the funeral service we can determine the state of this soul in Eternity, much less conduct a trial over it! This is a false understanding of the meaning of the funeral service. This is a daring imposition of your desires and ideas on God. God takes into account our love, expressed in our prayers (including funeral services), alms, and mercy. But it is He who administers the Judgment, not us. And, the most important thing to understand is that a funeral service is not automatic forgiveness of sins! The funeral service frees the deceased from the sins that burdened him, which he repented of or which he could not remember in confession, after which his soul is reconciled with God and his neighbors, and then released into the afterlife.

Who can be denied a funeral service?

A priest can refuse to perform a funeral service when he knows for certain that the newly deceased person blasphemed God during his lifetime or asked in his will not to perform a funeral service for him.

Is it possible to perform funeral services for drunkards, drug addicts and bandits?

Nowadays the Church considers drunkards and drug addicts to be vicious people. But you can have a funeral service for vicious people.

Is it possible to perform funeral services for suicides?

The Church does not perform funeral services for suicides. The only exceptions are those cases where the suicide was mentally ill. Then the Church can perform the funeral service for the deceased, but first his relatives will need to obtain special permission from the diocesan administration.

Why do priests refuse to perform funeral services for non-believers?

Nothing changes after the funeral service for a person who did not confess God during his lifetime. And, even more so, if he positioned himself as an atheist or agnostic, laughed at faith and believers, and maybe even was their persecutor. What can change for such a person? He never repented, did not confess, did not strive for God, did not desire Him. Just imagine what happens to a person’s soul, which is forcibly pushed towards God, while it itself is rejected from Him, does not recognize Him, is tormented by this, suffering even more! Imagine that you are forcibly pushing into the president’s office a person who does not want to know about the existence of the head of state. But you do not take his opinion into account, and force your relative to communicate with the president, trying to force him to discuss important issues with him... Can you imagine the consequences of such a “disservice”? What if this is not the president, but God, whose power is millions of times greater than the power of any president?

You should not force communication on the soul of a loved one that he did not want during his lifetime. You should not make yourself a ruler equal to God.

What can loved ones do for the souls of relatives who died as unbelievers?

For the sake of the sinful soul of a loved one, we can give alms, perform deeds of mercy, fast, pray, and thereby reconcile the soul of a departed loved one with God. At the same time, we must remember that the president does not wait for each of us, but God accepts everyone who turns to Him. So, there is no reason to despair. On the contrary, we still have time to do the necessary things that can help the souls of deceased relatives and friends.

What should be done during the funeral service?

Be in love! Prayer for the deceased should come not only from the lips, but also from the heart loving person. He must also prove his love not only in word, but also in deed. Love is determined by the degree of sacrifice of a person. How to prove your love? Work for the soul of someone who can no longer work for it himself. Anyone can read the Psalter about the newly departed. You need to read kathisma a day, and not just read mechanically, but try to understand what you read about - that’s the first thing. The second is an Akathist for the one who died, which has a unique content. It should also be read after reading the Psalter, for forty days. And in some cases, if there is such an opportunity, you can read the Psalter and Akathist together. For example, the Psalter in the morning, and the Akathist in the evening. And, of course, you need to read these wonderful prayers not while lying on the couch, but seriously, with an understanding of Who you are reading them before. And, of course, if possible, it is necessary to do alms, deeds of mercy for the deceased. It is this, and not the soul-wrenching demonstrative and non-demonstrative manifestations of grief, that is the real indicator of love for the deceased.

Should you take your children with you to funerals and memorial services?

A child must see that our nature is passionate, perishable and mortal. And in the funeral service for the deceased, we should see another lesson, for ourselves and for our children! This great lesson lies in the fact that the newly deceased shows by his example what will happen to us. And this gives all people present at the funeral the opportunity to once again think about the frailty of their existence, about the true meaning of life, about the vector of their development.

It’s terrible that now they are hiding death from children. First, they get scared because they feel that something important is being hidden from them. When adults mumble something like “grandfather is no more, and you don’t need to see this,” and they themselves cry, for a child the concept of “death” becomes horror. And, of course, he does not perceive it as part of life or birth into Eternity. He begins to perceive death as a catastrophe. But he will have to face it many times in his life, and not only with someone else’s, but also with preparation for own death. And those false ideas that his parents imposed on him in childhood, when they hid the deceased from him, will have a very bad effect on his mental state.

How much does a funeral service cost?

In fact, there shouldn’t be any tariffs in the church. Approximate donation amounts yes, for the convenience of those who want to donate. The hierarchy constantly calls for the eradication of this post-Soviet tradition.

Where can the funeral service take place?

The funeral service must take place in the church. In exceptional cases, this ceremony is performed directly at the graves (previously this was allowed during military operations or epidemics). But now, thank God, there is no war! Sometimes the funeral service can be performed at home. But, if a believer is already buried, what prevents relatives from bringing his body to the temple - the house of God? After all, it is pleasant and gratifying for the soul to be there! By the way, since ancient times, according to tradition, the deceased was not only buried in the temple, but also left there for three days. And during this time, right up to the funeral, they read the Psalter for the deceased.

How is the funeral service going?

It is customary for Orthodox Christians to bury them in a coffin, which remains open until the end of the funeral service (if there are no special obstacles to this). The funeral service and burial are usually performed on the third day. The first day is considered to be the day of death itself. That is, if a person died on Tuesday before midnight, then it is customary to bury him on Thursday, and if on Saturday, then on Monday.

The body of the deceased in the coffin is covered with a special white cover (shroud) - as a sign that the deceased, who belonged to the Orthodox Church and united with Christ in her holy Sacraments, is under the protection of Christ, under the patronage of the Church - she will pray for his soul until the end of time . This cover is decorated with inscriptions with texts of prayers and excerpts from Holy Scripture, depicting the banner of the cross and angels. Relatives ask for forgiveness for involuntary insults, kiss the icon on the chest of the deceased and the aureole on the forehead. In the case where the funeral service takes place at closed coffin, kiss the cross on the coffin lid.

At the end of the funeral service, after reading the Apostle and the Gospel, the priest reads a prayer of permission. After reading the prayer of permission, farewell to the deceased occurs. Relatives and friends of the deceased walk around the coffin with a bow.

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

A paper whisk is a symbol of a crown, a symbolic designation of the fact that the deceased has gone into Eternal Life as a warrior who has won a victory on the battlefield. The chaplet reminds us that the exploits of a Christian on earth in the fight against all suffering, temptations, seductions and passions are over, and now he expects a reward for them in the Kingdom of Heaven.

On what days are funeral services not held?

On the first day of Easter and on the Feast of the Nativity of Christ, the deceased are not brought into the church and funeral services are not performed.

Is there an absentee funeral service?

Previously, there was no such thing as an “absentia funeral service.” The exceptions were wars, natural disasters and other circumstances in which people died, but their bodies could not be found. And in some cases there were bodies, but they had to be buried in mass graves without identification. It was then that the deceased was buried in absentia. Nowadays, “absentia funeral services” occur unjustifiably often. And this speaks only about one thing - about the attitude of his relatives towards the deceased, who are too lazy to take the deceased to the temple, or, at worst, bring the priest to the burial place or home. If a person loves his loved one and wants to bury him in a Christian way, then this must be done according to the traditional rules of the Church.

What should the relatives of the deceased do if they do not know whether he was buried?

The funeral service itself does not determine the fate of a person in another existence, and is not a pass to heaven. So, if relatives do not know whether their loved one is in death, let them sincerely pray and do works of mercy for him.

Is it possible to have a funeral service for a newly deceased person together with other deceased people?

Of course you can. First world war priests buried thousands of fallen soldiers at the mass grave! Was this an inferior rite? Or maybe it should have been divided according to the number of people serving the funeral? The Lord always hears our prayers. And, therefore, the most important thing in the funeral service is the mood and zeal with which we pray for the deceased.

Can a soul go to Heaven without a funeral service?

In the first centuries of Christianity, this order did not exist at all. And it was precisely in those times that a huge number of ascetics of the faith, holy people, and fathers of the Church lived. As you can see, the absence of a funeral service did not affect their glorification by God. And remember the martyrs for Christ’s sake! The first Christians were killed by entire families and communities, thrown to the lions to be torn to pieces. After all, there weren’t even any bodies left there! And then there was no time for funeral services. Let's remember the new martyrs of the last century, who were shot in the hundreds. Who performed the funeral service for them all? Despite the fact that no rites were held, they were canonized. But this, of course, does not mean that the funeral service is not obligatory. We are all far from saints, and the prayers offered in church will certainly help our sinful souls.

Why do the vestments of priests contrast so sharply with the mourning clothes of the mourning loved ones of the deceased?

In white festive vestments, priests both baptize and perform funeral services. This has great symbolic meaning. If baptism is birth in Christ, then funeral service is the birth of the soul in Eternal Life. Both of these events are major milestones in a person's life and major holidays. White clothes priests emphasizes the significance of these events.

What do the candles held in the hands of people present at the funeral mean?

Symbols of triumph over death are contained not only in the robes of the priest. At funeral services, people always hold lit candles in their hands. Why? Because light is a symbol of joy, light is also a symbol of life, victory over darkness, light is an expression bright love to the deceased and warm prayer for him. And, of course, candles remind us of those candles that we hold on Easter night, testifying to the Resurrection of Christ...

In one of his sermons, Metropolitan Sourozhsky Anthony said the following about candles:

"At the funeral Orthodox people stand with lit candles. What does it mean? Light is always a sign of joy, but joy can be different. She can be jubilant, and there can be joy amidst tears. I said that in death we experience separation and too often we forget that separation befalls us, but the deceased experiences a meeting: a meeting face to face with the Living God. And so, standing with lit candles, with a heart bursting with grief, with eyes full of tears, we still remember that the most solemn, the most majestic thing that can happen to a person is taking place: a meeting with the Living God. And in this we accompany him; we express his joy by standing before him and before God with lighted candles.

But these candles tell another story. Light is a sign of life, it is a sign of victory over darkness, over darkness. When we stand with these candles, we seem to silently say to God: this man lit up in the world, in the twilight of the earth, like a torch; he shone for us, brought truth, brought love; his presence dispersed some of that earthly darkness in which we so often do not find our way. He showed us the way. We are gathered here not only because the person we loved died, but precisely because he lived, and we bear witness to his life with this light.”

Based on an interview with Archimandrite Augustine (Pidanov), full version which you can

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 God of the dead, but alive. For with Him all are alive.”

God created us for heavenly bliss and immortality, but man rejected the priceless gift of the Lord. 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 between man and 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 service

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. The human body is the temple of his soul, and earthly life- just a door to 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.

IN right hand the deceased is enclosed with a cross - a symbol 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).

According to a special rite, the funeral service is performed on 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 they ask not to have a funeral service for them, in which case the question 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 church shop.

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 are You, O Lord, teach me by Your 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 the singing of “Holy God...” the coffin with the body of the deceased is carried 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 (with the exception of taking one's own life during mental illness, but this must be proven and permission to perform the funeral service obtained from the ruling bishop);
Until recently, funeral services were not performed for unbaptized infants, but recently a special rite was prepared.

Is it possible to sing the funeral service in absentia?

You can also perform funeral services for the deceased in absentia. A funeral service in absentia is 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, a major disaster or crash.
After the funeral, if the funeral service was not performed at the right time.
If there is no church of the Russian Orthodox Church available.

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. The funeral meal brings together everyone who knew and loved the person at the table in joint 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 canonized 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.

The sacraments are special acts of God performed in the Orthodox Church, through which God communicates to people the Grace of the Holy Spirit. The ritual outer side of the Sacrament is performed by the priest in unity with the people of Christ through the consecration of wine, bread, oil, myrrh, water, and other natural substances necessary for the Sacraments of the Church. But the Church does not limit its circle of care for the world and the people of God only to the performance of the seven Church Sacraments.

Time and place of the burial ceremony

The funeral ceremony in our church is performed every day except Sunday. At your request (circumstances vary), the time of the funeral service can be postponed.
To perform the burial ceremony with due decency, you should come to the church and go to the church shop a day or two before the time of the funeral.
To comply with the necessary conditions, it is advisable to have a death certificate with you.
In the church shop you can purchase everything you need to perform the burial ceremony: a shroud, candles, a whisk, a small cross for the deceased and more.
The funeral service takes place within 30-50 minutes, depending on the number of relatives and loved ones saying goodbye.
Other issues can be resolved in the church shop.

The action of Christ's grace must extend from “one end of the earth to the other.”", in any house and room where Christians live, from an infant soul to a very old man, in sickness and in good health. Moreover, the Church goes much further in the sanctification of “soul and body.” She follows the coffin of her children until a tombstone cross is installed on the grave. Therefore the Church has a huge amount various services, prayer services and prayers for all occasions of life and death. Put together, they occupy three thick book volumes. There are molebens or prayers for the consecration of a car, bell, airplane, tombstone cross, military banner and church banners, icons, salt, medicine, steamship and meat dishes (sausages and other things) for Easter. The Church encircles the earth, air, water and even outer space with the sanctifying action of grace, performing religious processions on planes, ships, cars, sending icons and Epiphany water with the astronauts. But what is absolutely special in all this protective holy diversity is the touching rite of Burial.

The Rite of Burial is a mysterious rite performed by clergy in a church, cemetery or any other worthy place, consisting of church chants, incense, reading the Gospel, a prayer of permission over the deceased and a blessing for burial within the cemetery.

Catechetical definition of the rite of burial

The Rite of Burial is a prayer rite established by the Church for farewell and farewell Orthodox man to the afterlife. Funeral service is a popular name that was given to this rite because more than half of the prayers in it are sung. The correct name for the funeral service is “death service.” The holding of this ceremony indicates that the deceased belonged to the Orthodox community, and now people have gathered to accompany him on his last earthly journey.

The funeral service is performed for the deceased only once. This is his significant difference from other funeral services that may be sent multiple times (e.g., memorial services, lithiums). There are several ranks of burial: Episcopal, priestly, for the laity. Absolutely in a special way stand “Rite of funeral service for Easter” and “Rite of infant burial”. There are no mournful chants in them, only joyful hope for God's promises, for example, “The rite of infant burial” ends with the words “And we depart for everything, praising God.”

THE FUNERAL SERVICE IS PERFORMED ONLY ONCE AND ONLY FOR CHRISTIANS BAPTIZED IN ORTHODOXY

The funeral service must be arranged with the priest. in advance(a day or two) before the day of burial.

In a candle shop you need to purchase a shroud (bedspread), a whisk, a sheet with a prayer of permission and a small cross in advance.

During the funeral service, relatives and friends stand with lit candles. In this rite can take part representatives of other religious denominations. Continue reading →

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Funeral service. questions

When is it necessary to negotiate with a priest about a funeral service?

The funeral service must be agreed upon in the church several days (no later than a day) before the day of burial. You must have a death certificate with you. In a candle shop you need to purchase in advance a funeral shroud (veil), a whisk, a sheet with a prayer of permission and a small cross.

Is funeral service performed for unbaptized infants?

Funeral services are not performed for unbaptized infants.

Who is deprived of a church burial?

Those who have not been baptized, as well as persons who have deliberately taken their own lives, are deprived of Christian burial. 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”).

How to perform a funeral service for a person who committed suicide while insane?

In order to perform a funeral service for a person who has committed suicide in an insane state, his relatives should first contact the Diocesan Administration and seek written permission from the ruling bishop by submitting a petition to him.

What is an absentee funeral service? How is it accomplished?

An absentee funeral service is performed in cases where, due to a tragic death, 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 relatives find out about him death many years later. If for some objective reason a funeral service was not performed over the body of your deceased relative, you can ask the priest to perform it in absentia.

What are some superstitions associated with burial?

There are many unwritten, and sometimes quite strange customs, which, nevertheless, are passed on from generation to generation and are performed almost with greater zeal than church traditions. In the 20th century, when the thread of church tradition was broken, these pagan superstitions became widespread. They are performed without thinking about the meaning, even by people who consider themselves atheists. Let's name some customs and beliefs that Orthodox Christians should not perform and take into account:

Hanging mirrors and glass in a house where there is a deceased person;
- close the vents and windows (so that the soul of the deceased does not fly away);
- place a container of water under the coffin (in which the soul is washed);
- place an ax under the coffin;
- put money, things and food in the coffin;
sins of the deceased)
- consider that the closest relatives of the deceased cannot participate in carrying the coffin (on the contrary, it is close relatives who must carry the coffin. In some regions of Russia, children consider it their sacred duty to express their love for their deceased parents in this way);
- believe that a person who returns to the house after removing the body and before returning from the cemetery will certainly die;
- consider that you cannot look out of the window at the funeral procession (otherwise you will die);
- at a wake, place a glass of vodka and bread “for the deceased”;
- “wash” the floor after removing the coffin (so that the deceased does not return);
- turn over chairs and tables after removing the body;
- pour vodka into the grave mound;
- say: “May you rest in peace”;
- throw money into the grave;
- scatter bread crumbs over the grave;
- give notes in church for suicides on Spiritual Day;
- believe that the soul of the deceased can take the form of a bird or a bee;
- believe that if the deceased is not inveterate, then his soul remains on earth as a ghost;
- believe that a person who accidentally stands between the coffin and the altar during the funeral service will certainly die soon;
- believe that burial soil, which is given at an absentee funeral service, cannot be kept at home for more than one day;
- believe that cremation can cause illness in the children or grandchildren of the person being cremated.

All these customs and signs are dictated by the superstitious fear of death. It is undoubtedly a fallacy to believe that a person's life and death can depend on an overturned chair. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church always warned against prejudices and superstitions, which sometimes deceived ancient Christians. It can clearly be said that superstitions, following signs and customs, and observing the absurd external forms of some rituals, including funeral ones, are explained by a lack of knowledge about them. Superstition, or vain faith - faith based on nothing, is unworthy of true Christians.

Where to store the land after the funeral service in absentia? Is it possible to bring it into the house?

During the funeral service in absentia, the priest blesses the earth three times, saying the words: “The earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness, the universe and all who live on it” (Ps. 23:1). However, in the Funeral Rite there is no indication of such a consecration of the land. The practice of “consecrating the ground” arose in connection with the emergence of absentee burial (see above); since the priest does not always have the opportunity to be present at the cemetery and perform this action directly at the grave. This land is given after the funeral service so that the relative, instead of the priest, can pour it onto the grave and thus bury him. But since the deceased and buried person is already consecrated to the earth (buried), then sprinkling with earth is a symbolic action and does not have any sacred meaning.

Unfortunately, this symbolic action exaggerated importance is often attached, sometimes greater than the funeral service itself. The attitude towards consecrated ground has turned into a superstition, expressed in the fact that the whole meaning of Christian burial comes down to receiving “land”, while the main thing is to say prayers that seek mercy for the deceased from God, before Whom he is about to appear. It is necessary to maintain a healthy attitude towards this ritual action.

After the funeral service in absentia, the soil must be poured onto the grave in a cross shape. If the deceased was cremated, then the earth can be poured into an urn with the ashes of the deceased.

How to treat the grave of an Orthodox Christian?

Cemeteries are sacred place, where the bodies of the dead rest until the future resurrection. From deep Christian antiquity, there is a custom of marking the place of burial with the victorious sign of our salvation - the Holy Cross, inscribed on a tombstone or placed over a tombstone. We must ensure that the cross on the grave is not askew, that it is always painted, clean and well-groomed.

How to behave in a cemetery?

The grave must be kept clean. When visiting a deceased relative, you can light a candle at his grave. If possible, read the canon or akathist about the repose or just be silent and remember the deceased. There is no need to eat or drink in the cemetery. It is unacceptable to pour vodka on a grave mound. The custom of leaving a glass of vodka and a piece of bread at the grave (“for the deceased”) is of pagan origin and should not be observed by Christians. There is no need to leave food on the grave; it is better to give it to the beggar or the hungry.

How to remember the dead?

“We will try, as much as possible, to help the departed, instead of tears, instead of sobs, instead of magnificent tombs - with our prayers, alms and offerings for them, so that in this way both they and we will receive the promised benefits,” says St. John Chrysostom. Prayer for the departed is the greatest and most important thing we can do for those who have passed on to another world.

How to hold a funeral meal?

The meaning of the word “remember” is to remember the good qualities that the deceased possessed and to pray for the forgiveness of his sins. The custom of remembering the dead at meals has been known since for a long time. Traditionally, a memorial meal is held after a funeral, as well as on memorial days (see below). It should begin with prayer, for example, with the rite of litia performed by a layman, the 90th Psalm or the Lord’s Prayer.

The first dish of the funeral meal is kutia (kolivo). These are boiled grains of wheat (rice) with honey (raisins, dried apricots). Grains serve as a symbol of resurrection, and honey - the sweetness that the righteous enjoy in the Kingdom of God. There is a special rite for consecrating the kutya; if it is not possible to ask a priest about this, sprinkle the kutya with holy water yourself. Traditional funeral dishes In Rus', pancakes and jelly are considered. Then other dishes are served, with the obligatory observance of the requirements of fasting if the funeral takes place on Wednesday, Friday or multi-day fast. During Lent, funerals can only be held on Saturday or Sunday.

You should abstain from alcohol during the funeral. “Wine makes glad the heart of a man” (Ps. 103:15), and a wake is not a reason for fun. It is known what the consequences of heavy drinking by guests at a funeral meal can be. Instead of remembering the virtues of the deceased, guests begin to engage in extraneous conversations, argue, and even sort things out. Even if the deceased loved to drink, you should not imitate him in not the best habits.

A Christian invited to the funeral of a loved one by an unbelieving family should not decline the invitation. Since love is higher than fasting; in this you need to be guided by the words of the Savior: “Eat what is offered to you” (Luke 10:8), but observe reasonable moderation in food and conversation.

What are the days of the Ecumenical Remembrance of the Dead?

On certain days of the year, the Church commemorates all Orthodox Christians who have died since the ages. IN church calendar These days do not have a constant number, but are associated with the moving Lenten-Easter cycle:
1. Meatless parent's Saturday- 8 days before Lent, before Sunday called “The Week of the Last Judgment”;
2. Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Lent;
3. Trinity Parents' Saturday before the Feast of the Holy Trinity.
On the evening before parental Saturdays, parastases are held in churches - funeral services, and after the Liturgy there are memorial services with repeated commemoration of the names of the deceased indicated in the funeral notes.
The Russian Orthodox Church, in addition, established several more days of special prayer for the departed:
4. Radonitsa (Radunitsa) - Tuesday, 8th day after Easter;
5. Dimitrievskaya parental Saturday - the Saturday closest to November 8, the day of remembrance of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki. Initially, on this day the Church prayed for the soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo Field; later it acquired the status of a universal memorial day.
Finally, the solution Bishops' Council Russian Orthodox Church 1994 Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War(May 9) became the day of special annual commemoration of the deceased soldiers “who laid down their lives for the faith, the Fatherland and the people,” and all those who died painfully during the Great Patriotic War.

When is there no remembrance of the dead?

Memorial services, funeral services in absentia and any funeral prayers, except for the commemoration of notes on Proskomedia, are not performed in all churches from Thursday Holy Week (the last week before Easter) until Antipascha (the first Sunday after Easter). In-person funeral services are allowed on these days, except for Easter itself. The rite of the Easter funeral service is very different from the usual one, since it contains many joyful Easter chants. On the Nativity of Christ and other twelve holidays, the funeral prayer is canceled by the Charter, but can be performed at the discretion of the rector of the temple.

Submit a church note (commemoration)

Brothers and sisters, now you can order requirements from the list offered to you right here on the website

Nowadays, the development of information technology makes it possible to submit memorial donations remotely. On the website of the Holy Resurrection Church (old) in Vichug, such an opportunity also appeared - submitting notes via the Internet. The process of submitting a note takes just a few minutes...

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