The funeral service in the church. What is the funeral service for the deceased in the church (for the Orthodox deceased after the funeral of the deceased, how long does the prayer last)

Someone close to us died ... Sooner or later we all face the mysterious phenomenon of death. And every decent person, to the best of his strength and capabilities, tries to give the deceased his last duty, to carry him out with dignity on the path of the whole earth. We take care of making a coffin, organizing a funeral, arranging a memorial meal.
Only now, sometimes we do not realize that the deceased himself does not need a coffin or a commemoration. A naked person leaves the mother's womb, naked returns to the womb of the earth. And only one thing he needs from the pass, and he needs it extremely. This is prayer.
Funeral rite (correct order of burial)- a special prayer order performed in the church when escorting the departed to another world.
Due to the large number of chants, the burial rite is often called the funeral service.
The Orthodox Church recognizes the afterlife, and therefore believes that a person does not die, but puts him to sleep. Only the body becomes deceased, the soul continues to live. In the first 40 days, her further path is determined. This is helped by the prayers that are sung during the funeral service. The priest calls on relatives not by despair and despondency, but by good deeds and turning to God save a person's soul. In the order of Christian burial, the Church expresses the veneration befitting the body of a deceased person.
With her parting songs, the Church wants to more strongly imprint in the hearts of the living the remembrance of the terrible day of death, and not arouse in us a bleak sorrow. The funeral service is a great and invaluable help needed for a loved one.
You can save on anything, but not on the funeral service! It must be done on the third day of death, not earlier (in this case, the day of death is the first, even if the person died a few minutes before midnight). The funeral service is best done in church. This service is the last farewell of a person to the temple. After all, this is the place where every Orthodox Christian goes in his earthly life to pray and meet with the Lord. The temple is the house of God, but also a home for every Orthodox. Also, the deceased can be buried in the cemetery. As a last resort, you can sing in absentia.
It is good to order long-term commemorations in the church - for forty days (forty days), six months or a year. In monasteries, eternal (while the monastery is standing) commemoration of the dead are accepted.
According to the traditions of the holy fathers and according to the spiritual practice of the Holy Church, the soul of the deceased has no rest without a funeral service, therefore performing the funeral service is very important for her. The whole Church, represented by priests and worshipers, asks the Lord, by His great mercy, to forgive all the sins of the deceased and to give him a place of rest in the abodes of paradise. In a prayer of permission, the priest not only asks for the forgiveness of the soul of the deceased, but also prays to the Lord for the removal of any curse that gravitates over the soul of a person who is being given over to the earth.
The Gospel describes the rite of burial of the Lord Jesus Christ, which consisted of washing His Most Pure Body, putting on special clothes and being placed in a tomb. The same actions are supposed to be performed on Christians at the present time. There must be a cross on the deceased!
The coffin with the body of the deceased is installed in the middle of the church. The deceased lies with his head to the west, and his face is turned to the east, towards the iconostasis. And this is not accidental, as it were, he will be at his last service, surrounded by family and friends.
All those present should remember that the funeral service is not only a sacred rite performed by a priest, but also a common prayer of all the loved ones of the deceased that the Lord would forgive him all voluntary and involuntary sins and accept his soul in peace. Therefore, those praying are not facing the tomb, but facing east, towards the iconostasis. The candles they hold in their hands are a symbol of their fervent prayer for the deceased, directed upward to God. The candles must be held in the left hand in order to make the sign of the cross with the right.

Who is deprived of a church funeral

Those who have deliberately deprived themselves of their lives are deprived of the church funeral service. From them should be distinguished people who took their lives through negligence (accidental fall from a height, drowning in water, poisoning with stale food, violation of industrial safety, etc.), who are not considered 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 the Orthodox Church, it is customary to classify as suicides those who died "in robbery", that is, who committed a gangster act (murder, armed robbery) and who died from their wounds and mutilations. Funeral services are performed over the victims of the robbery.

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

The priest, in doubtful cases, and in the absence of the written permission of the bishop, may refuse to perform the funeral service, especially if the relatives deliberately try 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 familiarize himself with the death certificate issued by the registry office. If it is not known for sure whether the deceased was baptized, the funeral service is also possible only with the permission of the ruling bishop.

What you need to have with you for the funeral service:
Death certificate
Shroud (veil)
Corolla
Permissive prayer sheet
Small cross and icon

How to conduct a funeral service in our temple

The funeral service must be agreed upon a few days before the burial day. Come to the temple for an appointment from 10.00 to 18.00 hours. You must have with you Death certificate or imprisonment from the morgue. The funeral service is performed on the day of burial.

FAQ

Is it possible to service a funeral service for a person who did not have time to be baptized, to repent?
The church doesn’t only serve unbaptized people and suicides. If the baptized person did not have time to confess and receive communion, this does not prevent the rite of burial being performed on him.
Can a funeral service be held in a morgue?
If, for any valid reason, it is not possible to organize a funeral service for the deceased in a church or at home, then a funeral service for the deceased in the morgue is allowed. You need to clarify this question in advance with the priest in the temple.
What is a correspondence funeral service?
The correspondence funeral service is performed in those cases when, due to a tragic death, it is impossible to find a person's body. 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 should the family and friends of the missing person do if it is not known whether he is alive or not?
- If a person disappeared not so long ago, it is necessary to order St. the Martyr John the Warrior and the Archangel Gabriel. They help to find missing people, as well as missing things and other property.
Can wreaths be placed on the grave?
- Wreaths made of artificial flowers, such as paper, cannot be placed on. Better to put one live flower on the grave than many artificial ones. After all, a living flower is a symbol of the universal Resurrection, and a paper flower is death, a symbol of the fact that the deceased will never be resurrected. The paper wreaths were wound by atheists.
What is more important on the day of remembrance of loved ones: to visit a cemetery or to celebrate mass in a church?
- On the day of commemoration of the deceased, first of all, you need to submit a note to the proskomedia in the church, order a memorial service. If possible, visit the cemetery. You can organize a memorial meal, but do it with deanery, keeping in mind the purpose of this meeting - the commemoration in prayers of a deceased relative. If the meal turns into a party with an abundant drinking of alcoholic beverages, then there is nothing good either for the soul of the deceased or for those gathered, since the meaning of the "memorial meal" is lost.

Some practical tips

If your relative dies at home, hurry to straighten his body so that it lies straight. If he died while sitting in a chair or half-sitting on the bed, place him on a flat surface - on a bed or on a large table.
When death comes to a Christian's home, willy-nilly, a person is forced to face not only its spiritual side, but also with inevitable organizational concerns. It is necessary to collect documents that are supposed to be drawn up according to civil laws. If the deceased has not reached old age, you will have to call the local police officer, who will draw up an act stating that no signs of violent death were found on the body of the deceased. It will be necessary to collect the necessary medical certificates: call an ambulance, which will attest to death, or contact the district clinic for a certificate of death, which will indicate its cause. At the district registry office you will need to obtain a death certificate for your relative. You will need these documents for the further organization of the funeral.
If your deceased relative was a pensioner or a veteran, contact the social security department: they should provide organizational assistance or provide financial compensation for the funeral.
Call and come to the nearest church, ask the priest about what time the funeral service is performed and at what time you can bring the deceased. The funeral service will last about an hour or a little more. Based on this, plan the time of using the transport when talking with the ritual agent.

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 the Holy Scriptures: And he said to Adam: ... in the sweat of your brow you will eat bread, until you return to the land from which you were taken (Genesis 3, 17, 19). It is worthy to commit the body of the deceased to the earth with the corresponding funeral services performed in the temple of God, is the first Christian duty of the relatives of the deceased, for the fulfillment of which everyone will answer at the Last Judgment of God. Therefore, the burning of 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) "

How to behave in a cemetery

Cemeteries are sacred places where the bodies of the dead rest until the next resurrection. The grave is the place of the future resurrection, therefore it is necessary to keep it clean and orderly. When visiting your deceased relative on a regular basis, clean up the grave.
Arriving at the cemetery, you can light a candle or an icon lamp, pray for the deceased. It is very good to invite a priest to the grave at least once a year to serve a requiem for the deceased. If this is not possible, perform the litiya with the so-called “lay rite,” in which all priestly exclamations are omitted. You can also pray for the repose of the deceased in your own words or read the Psalter.
Before visiting the cemetery, it is very good to pray at the Divine Liturgy, take communion on this day and order a panikhida in the event that you could not invite a priest to the cemetery.
If you invite a priest for a panikhida or litiya, you can bring some kutia with you to honor the memory of the deceased. But in no case should you leave it on the grave "for the birds" or for any other purpose.
There is no need to arrange funeral feasts on the grave of the deceased: apart from kutia, one should not eat or drink at all at the cemetery, pour vodka on the grave mound or leave a glass of vodka with black bread on the grave - this folly only insults the memory of the deceased, as it is a relic of paganism and an act, reprehensible to a Christian.
There is also no need to leave food on the grave - it is better to give it into the hands of the beggars or bring it to the temple as a sign of remembrance of your deceased relative.

Monument at the grave

From deep pre-Christian antiquity, it is customary to mark the burial place with a hill above it. The Christian Church, having adopted this custom, decorates the grave mound with the victorious sign of our salvation - the Holy Life-giving Cross, inscribed on the tombstone or placed over the tombstone, overshadowing the resting place of the one who was crucified with Christ.
The cross on the grave is placed at the feet of the deceased so that the Crucifix is turned to the face of the deceased. The cross over the grave of an Orthodox Christian is a silent preacher of blessed immortality and resurrection; set in the earth and rising to heaven, it signifies the faith of Christians that the body of the deceased is here in the earth, and the soul is in heaven, that under the cross is hidden a seed that will grow for eternal life in the Kingdom of God (see: John. 12, 24).
A simple, modest cross made of metal or wood is more befitting the grave of an Orthodox Christian than expensive monuments and tombstones made of granite and marble.
If for some reason you do not have the opportunity to erect a cross on the grave of the deceased, then the cross must be engraved on the tombstone.

The document was approved by the decision of the Holy Synod of May 5, 2015 (journal No. 30).

Funeral service and burial according to Christian tradition
Cycle of TV programs "Law of God"... Part 1. About faith and Christian life

19.11.2013

As part of the discussion of the draft document "On the Christian Burial of the Dead", questions arose about the funeral service at home. How common is this practice now? What is the difference - to service the deceased in a church or at home? When is a home funeral service acceptable? Our survey contains the opinions of priests from Moscow, Blagoveshchensk, Stavropol, Saransk and Gubkin.

Hegumen Siluan (Tumanov), cleric of the Feodorovsky Cathedral (Saransk):

- In this issue, as in many others, the theory comes into conflict with the established practice. Whether it is permissible or not, in many regions, for example, in Mordovia and the Nizhny Novgorod region, the vast majority of funeral services today are performed at home. This practice was strengthened in the Soviet years, when there were few churches and the secular authorities prevented the funeral service.

On the one hand, the texts of the funeral service do not speak of the obligatory stay of the deceased in the temple. They remind the relatives gathered at the grave about the worthy life of the deceased, the promises of Christ and the general resurrection, on the other hand, burial as the sacrament of a person's transition into eternal life is more appropriate to be performed in the presence of the entire community, in the church that the deceased regularly visited for prayer.

Personally, I am a supporter of the funeral service in the temple - it is wiser and more natural for a Christian to be funeral in the temple, in which he prayed during his lifetime.

Archpriest Vladimir Vigilyansky, rector of the Church of the Holy Martyr Tatiana at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov:

- In the entire history of my ministry in the church of the Martyr Tatiana, I have never had a case that I had a funeral service at home. There were cases when funerals had to be performed in "ritual halls" at hospital morgues, several times in cemetery chapels. Most often this was due to organizational and material difficulties faced by relatives (for example, due to traffic jams in Moscow, as well as due to the fact that there are no parking lots for hearses near the temple). We had to delve into these details of our life and meet the requests of parishioners.

Formally, unfortunately, there are no prohibitions on funeral services either in these halls, or in the chapel, or even at home. However, it is better to perform this service in the temple of God - in Moscow, for example, there are many temples with parking lots and not far from cemeteries. This issue, of course, needs to be clarified in the discussed draft document on the funeral service.

Archpriest Dimitry Karpenko, rector of the church of St. James, the brother of God (Gubkin):

- Funeral services at home happen quite often, and there are a number of reasons for this. One of them is that people simply do not have enough funds to bring the body of the deceased to the temple, or there is no such opportunity, for example, if a person died in a village where there is no temple, and take him somewhere far away for one reason or another Priests often encounter this, although, of course, in more or less large settlements in city cemeteries there are temples or chapels, where funeral services for most of the dead are usually performed.

Of course, ideally, the funeral service should be performed in the temple and, preferably, in that particular parishioner of which the deceased person was.

The funeral service at home may also be due to the fact that people specifically do not want to waste time (although there are funds). This stems from a lack of churchliness. When permanent parishioners die, the question never arises of where exactly a person should be buried: only in a church.

Since we do not have criteria by which we could deny people a church burial (for example, a deceased person never went to church, did not confess, did not receive communion, but in fact of baptism is formally a member of the Church), we cannot deny people and in a home funeral service. Moreover, for the relatives of the deceased, sometimes the funeral service becomes the first church service at which they are present.

I repeat, it is better to perform the funeral service in the church, but here it will be necessary, and we cannot miss such an opportunity: it is very important for the priest to feel the situation, to find the right words when communicating with the relatives of the deceased, in order, together with words of condolences, to try to dispose people to the need for them the church life themselves.

Priest Svyatoslav Shevchenko, cleric of the Annunciation Cathedral (Blagoveshchensk):

- For all the time that I was a city priest, I had to perform a funeral service at home only twice: once - at the invitation of the Armenian diaspora, and the second - in a large Gypsy family. That is, today, in large cities, they practically do not see off the deceased at home. In my opinion, this is relevant only for rural areas, where home funeral services are either part of village traditions, or there is simply no church nearby.

In the city, however, this rite is performed mainly in ritual halls at morgues or in temples. Often, ritual halls become the last refuge of the deceased due to the unchurchedness of relatives. And this is a kind of act of the Church's condescension to the weakness of her compatriots who are under the influence of the secular world. And the priests, following the example of the ancient apostles, go beyond the church fence to preach the word of God by the body of the deceased.

It is difficult for me to understand the clergy who refuse Christian burial to baptized Orthodox Christians, who were rare guests in the church. I am sure that there is a large share of our priestly guilt in this, that after the Sacrament of Baptism, we were unable, either by word or by personal example, to convince people to love God and His Church.

Priest Evgeny Shishkin, cleric of the St.Andrew bishop's courtyard (Stavropol):

- The practice of a funeral service at home is permissible and justified when there is no temple in the village or when bringing the body of the deceased to the temple is associated with significant inconveniences. A classic example of such a situation is the period of persecution of the Church. In fact, the funeral service at home was entrenched in Russian parish practice precisely in the Soviet period, when many believers tried not to attract the attention of outsiders to their participation in the life of the Church.

At present, the custom of performing a funeral service at home, as a rule, persists by inertia, and for the most part in cities. However, if the arrival of a priest for burial in a remote farm, where all the services are already performed “at home,” looks quite appropriate, then in a large city the need for such a practice is not at all obvious. Rather, it is dictated by considerations of comfort and consumer psychology: the funeral service is perceived as a kind of “church service”, which will be much more convenient to receive “with home delivery”. However, the funeral service is not a service provided by a priest, but a joint prayer of those who see off a loved one on their last journey. That is why it must take place in the temple.

Notice what an amazing unity in prayer occurs when the whole community gathers at the grave of church people, deeply religious parishioners, whom everyone knew and loved during their lifetime. If the deceased was a regular parishioner of some temple, it is better to serve him in the funeral service in the church where he himself always prayed; for the rest of the cases, most major cities have cemetery temples. A funeral service at home should be performed in the presence of any special circumstances, as an exception.

Prepared by Olga Bogdanova
specially for the portal "Arrivals"

During the funeral service, the clergyman and those praying ask God to forgive the sins of the deceased person. Most often, this follow-up takes place before the burial of the deceased (until the third day). However, there are times when, for various reasons, relatives do not have time to sing a service to a person before the latter is sent off to the place of rest. In such a situation, it makes sense to resort to a funeral service called correspondence.

The correspondence funeral service is most often performed in the church. The sequence of the correspondence funeral service is identical to a similar rite performed immediately before the coffin of the deceased. Any day can be considered the time of the correspondence funeral service (when the liturgy is held in the church, the correspondence funeral service is carried out at the end of the service and prayer services).

Follow-up of the correspondence funeral service

During the funeral service in absentia, the priest prays in front of the tetrapod - a special candlestick set aside for candles in memory of the dead. The beginning of the funeral service is standard: selected verses of the 17th kathisma are sung, followed by special funeral troparia, during which the forgiveness of sins to the deceased is asked for and the granting of the latter the opportunity to be in paradise with the saints. After that, the clergyman (he may be a deacon) commemorates the deceased at the funeral ectinia; The funeral sedal is sung in chorus, after which the irmos of the funeral canon are sung with choruses about the granting of peace to the deceased.

At the end of the canon and the funeral stichera, excerpts from the New Testament are read, in which people are announced about the reality of life after death, and also narrates about God's judgment that takes place after a person ends the days of earthly life.

After reading the Holy Scriptures, the choir sings the funeral stichera and troparia. At the end of the correspondence funeral service, the priest (deacon) pronounces an augmented litany with commemoration of the name of the deceased and proclaims eternal memory to the deceased person.

A distinctive feature of the correspondence funeral service is that, upon completion of the rite, the priest gives the relatives the land, which will need to be poured crosswise onto the grave of the deceased. In the order of the usual funeral service, the earth is sprinkled directly into the coffin on the bedspread.

Time for a correspondence funeral service

The correspondence funeral service can be performed at any time after death, but you should try to resort to this rite as early as possible. There is a practice that the absentee funeral service is carried out up to forty days from the moment of death, because church tradition says that it is on the fortieth day that the soul goes to a private judgment to God.

Donation amount for commemoration

REMEMBER OF HEALTH or RESTORATION (Remembrance at services)
Simple note (Proskomidia) - (12 names) 150 rubles.
Memorial service - (12 names) 150 rubles.
Prayer - (12 names) 150 rubles

Six months - (for 1 name) 700 rubles.
For a year - (for 1 name) 1500 rubles.

For Great Lent - (up to 12 names) - 500 rubles.

REMINDER OF HEALTH or RELIATION ON THE PSALTER (The Psalter is read in the afternoon between services)
Sorokoust (40 days) - (for 1 name) 350 rubles.
Six months - (for 1 name) 700 rubles.
For a year - (for 1 name) 1500 rubles.
Long-term remembrance (5 years) - (for 1 name) - 5000 rubles.

REQUIREMENTS
Funeral service (in absentia) 500 rubles.
Baptism 1000 rub. (+ certificate, books, candles)
Wedding ceremony 3000 rubles. (+ icons, candles)
Consecration of vehicles 1000 rubles.

EXCURSION
One-hour tour of the monastery - 150 rubles / person (up to 10 people = 1500 rubles)

Why not suicide funeral service?

In the funeral ceremony, believers ask God for the forgiveness of the sins of the deceased. The priest reads a prayer of absolution, which forgives the departed sins. Living people hope in the mercy of God and hope that the Lord will receive his child. However, suicides are not allowed in the Church.
In the funeral service, Orthodox believers ask God to grant paradise to the deceased. Every member of the Church of Christ must necessarily be sung. But in the canonical practice of the Church, the funeral service for suicides is prohibited, regardless of whether the person was a Christian or not. This is due to the fact that a suicide of his own free will commits the sin of killing his personality. It is known from the Holy Scriptures that murderers do not inherit the kingdom of heaven. In addition to the case when a person was able to repent. The suicide has no chance of repentance. Therefore, the one who commits this atrocity with the sin of murder goes to eternity.

The Orthodox faith determines that there is no sense in the funeral service for suicides in a measure of general understanding of the essence of future life. Achieving paradise is not only a goal or a reward for a person. The kingdom of heaven is a consequence of human life. Death is the transition of a person from one state to another, and the vector of life of people on earth goes to eternity.

The main reason for suicide is the person's belief that his life has become unbearable and turned into hell. If a person thinks that he lives in hell and dies of his own accord, then the idea of hell follows him into another world. It turns out that the Church does not violate human freedom. If he committed suicide, if all life is hell and the person does not turn to God, but, on the contrary, violates the divine plan for himself, then the Church can no longer help. The man himself made a choice.

However, there may be reasons for the suicide funeral service. For example, when there is a medical certificate of a mental disorder of personality, when a person, due to a similar illness, injured himself to death. In this case, the funeral service may be performed with the permission of the diocesan bishop. But these cases are not so common.

In contact with

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

On the third day after death, the deceased Orthodox Christian is rewarded with a church funeral service and burial. A funeral service is a funeral service performed once on the body of the deceased. The significance of this divine service is so great that in ancient times it was attributed to the Church Sacraments and attached special mystical significance. And, indeed, in addition to the usual funeral prayers, a prayer of absolution is read over the deceased (necessarily by a priest), in which the oaths that were on him are forgiven to the deceased, as well as the sins of which he repented in confession or forgot to repent out of ignorance, and the deceased is released in peace. afterlife. The text of this prayer is immediately embedded in the right hand of the deceased by his family or friends. If a prayer is not read by a priest over the deceased, but simply put by 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

Those who have deliberately deprived themselves of their lives are deprived of the church funeral service. They should be distinguished from people who took their lives by 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 the Orthodox Church, it is customary to classify as suicides those who died "in robbery", that is, who committed a gangster act (murder, armed robbery) and who died from their wounds and mutilations. The victims of a bandit attack are certainly not included here.

In doubtful cases and in the absence of the written permission of the bishop, the priest may refuse to perform the funeral service, especially if the relatives deliberately try to hide the true cause of the deceased's death. When registering a funeral service in doubtful cases, a representative of the church council can familiarize himself with the "Death certificate" issued by the registry office.

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church note)

Those who have Christian names are remembered for health, and only those who are baptized in the Orthodox Church are remembered for repose.

At the liturgy, you can submit notes:

On the proskomedia - the first part of the liturgy, when for each name indicated in the note, particles are removed from special prosphora, which are subsequently lowered into the Blood of Christ with a prayer for the forgiveness of sins

Funeral service for babies

For infants who died by Holy Baptism, a special funeral service is performed as for the blameless, sinless, in which the Holy Church does not pray for the remission of the sins of the dead, but only asks to grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.

A funeral service is not performed over deceased infants who have not been honored with Holy Baptism, 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 did. For not everyone who is not worthy of punishment is already worthy of honor, just as not everyone who is not worthy of honor is already worthy of punishment. ”

Correspondence funeral service

There are cases of tragic death when it is impossible to find the body of a person (drowned in a shipwreck, died in a 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 his death many years later. In such cases, a tradition arose to perform the so-called correspondence funeral service. But it is permissible only in case of extreme need and real necessity, and not out of laziness and negligence of the relatives of the deceased, and not because "it's easier this way."

In recent years, unfortunately, a completely unacceptable practice has developed, when the relatives of the deceased come to church, "order" an absentee funeral service and immediately go about their business. In a few days (at best) they are "beyond the land", that is, when their loved one is already celebrated as a priest in complete solitude, when, except for the unfamiliar priest, no soul related to the deceased even thought to pray for his repose. Such an attitude towards the deceased shows the callousness of the soul of his relatives and complete indifference to the fate of the deceased after death. These qualities cannot be inherent in a Christian, and therefore, such an attitude towards church prayer for the deceased is reprehensible.

If, nevertheless, for some objective reason, the body of your deceased relative was not brought to the temple for the funeral service over 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 will be performed, so that you can attend it and pray fervently for your deceased.

The indefatigable psalter

The indefatigable Psalter is read not only about health, but also about repose. Since ancient times, ordering a commemoration at the Unsleeping Psalter has been considered a great charity for a deceased soul ..

It is also good to order the Unsleeping Psalter for yourself, support will be vividly felt. And one more important point, but far from the least important,
There is eternal remembrance on the Unsleeping Psalter. It seems expensive, but the result is more than a million times the money spent. If there is still no such opportunity, then you can order for a shorter period. And it's good to read it yourself.

A few words about the "land"

In the Rite of the funeral service, there is no indication of the consecration of the earth, which the priest sprinkles on the “relics” of the deceased in a cross-like manner before closing the lid of the coffin, while pronouncing the words: (Psalm 23: 1).

But our contemporaries began to attach magical significance 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 the Christian funeral service only in receiving the coveted “land”. But the main thing is to perform a church burial rite so that the prayers of the Church would seek mercy for him from God, before whom he is about to appear. And the earth itself does not bring any benefit to the soul of the deceased.

In modern practice (for the sake of consoling the bereaved), a tradition has developed when, during the correspondence funeral service, the priest blesses the earth three times, uttering all the same words: "The Lord's earth, and its fulfillment, the universe and all that dwell on it"(Psalm 23: 1). However, we repeat, there is no indication of such an action in the Church Rite. At the end of the correspondence funeral service, this land can be poured crosswise onto the grave of the deceased, if there is one: as thou art the earth, and send me back to the earth(Genesis 3:19).

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

If the grave of a person is absent or is 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 absentee funeral service.

Forty-mouth about repose

This type of commemoration of the departed can be ordered at any hour - there are no restrictions in this either. During Great Lent, when the full Liturgy is performed much less often, in a number of churches they practice commemoration in this way - in the altar during the entire Lent they read all the names in the notes and, if they serve the Liturgy, then take out the particles. It is only necessary to remember that people baptized in the Orthodox faith can participate in these commemorations, as in the notes submitted to the proskomedia, it is allowed to enter the names of only the baptized deceased.

Funeral service in the morgue

In recent years, some funeral agencies have included morgue funeral services as part of their range of "services". This practice must be taken very carefully.

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

Then be sure to find out the name and surname of the priest who usually funerals for the dead in this morgue: ask persistently in which church he serves, and then be sure to contact that church to make sure whether the priest named to you is really a staff cleric of this temple, and not a mummer an impostor or priest forbidden in the ministry.

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

But still - do your best to service 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's remember the words of Holy Scripture: And he said to Adam: ... in the sweat of your face you will eat bread, until you return to the land from which you were taken(Genesis 3, 17, 19). It is worthy to commit the body of the deceased to the earth with the corresponding funeral services performed in the temple of God, is the first Christian duty of the relatives of the deceased, for the fulfillment of which everyone will answer at the Last Judgment of God. Therefore, the burning of 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 dwells 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 of the last Last Judgment, which will determine the fate of a person 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 gather before him(Matt. 25, 31-32). All nations- these are all people who have ever lived on earth: believers, and atheists, and the righteous, and sinners, and those who lived before the Nativity of Christ, and our contemporaries - absolutely everything.

Christ spoke directly: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living(Matthew 22:32). This means that once created by God, the essence (human life) 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 Symbol of Faith, finally adopted at the Second Ecumenical Council, this dogma is expressed in the words: "I tea the resurrection of the dead."

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

Sacraments are special actions of God performed in the Orthodox Church, through which God imparts to people the Grace of the Holy Spirit. The ceremonial outer side of the Sacrament is performed by the priest in unity with the people of Christ through the consecration of wine, bread, oil, peace, water, and other natural substances necessary for the Sacraments of the Church. But the Church does not limit the circle of her concern for the world and the people of God only by the celebration of the seven Church Sacraments.

Time and place of the rite of burial

The rite of burial in our church is performed every day, except Sunday. At your request (circumstances vary), the time of the funeral service can be rescheduled.
To perform the rite of burial with due decency, one should come to the church and turn to the church shop a day or two before the time of the funeral.
To comply with the proper conditions, it is advisable to have a death certificate with you.
In the church shop you can buy everything you need to perform the burial order: a shroud, candles, a whisk, a small cross for the deceased, and more.
The funeral service lasts 30-50 minutes, depending on the number of parting relatives and friends.
Other questions can be resolved in the church shop.

The action of the grace of Christ must extend from the "end of the earth to the end”, In any house and room where Christians live, from an infant soul to an overage old man, in illness and good health. Moreover, the Church in the sanctification of "soul and body" goes much further. She follows the coffin of her children until the grave cross is installed on the grave. Therefore, the Church has a huge number of different services, prayers and prayers for all occasions of life and death. Taken together, they occupy three thick book volumes. There are molebens or prayers for the consecration of a car, a bell, an airplane, a gravestone cross, a military banner and church banners, icons, salt, medicines, a steamer and meat brushes (sausages and other things) for Easter. The Church encircles the earth, air, water and even outer space with a blessed grace-filled action, making religious processions on airplanes, ships, cars, sending icons and Epiphany water with astronauts into space. But the touching rite of Burial occupies a very special one in all this patronizing holy diversity.

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

Catechetical definition of the order of burial

The Rite of Burial is a prayer order established by the Church for the parting words and sending off an Orthodox person to the afterlife. The funeral service is the popular name that was given to this rite because more than half of the prayers are sung in it. The correct name for the funeral service is "deathly follow-up." Carrying out this rite testifies to the fact that the deceased belonged to the Orthodox community, and now people gathered in order to lead him on the last earthly journey.

The funeral service is performed on the deceased only once. This is its essential difference from other funeral services, which can be sent multiple times (for example, memorial services, litias). There are several grades of burial: Bishops, priestly, for the laity. The "Rite of the Funeral Service for Easter" and the "Rite of Infant Burial" stand in a very special way. There are no mournful chants in them, only a joyful hope for God's promises, for example, "The Rite of Infant Burial" ends with the words "And we depart for all glorifying God."

THE SERVING IS FULFILLED ONLY ONCE AND ONLY ABOVE CHRISTIANS BAPTIZED IN ORTHODOX

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

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

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

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The funeral service. questions

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

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

Is there a funeral service for unbaptized babies?

A funeral service is not performed for unbaptized infants.

Who is deprived of a church burial?

Unbaptized persons are deprived of their Christian burial, as well as those who have deliberately deprived themselves of their lives. They should be distinguished from people who took their lives through 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 service a funeral service for a person who committed suicide in an insane state?

What is a correspondence funeral service? How is it done?

Correspondence funeral service is performed in cases where, due to a tragic death, it is impossible to find the body of a person (drowned in a shipwreck, died in a war or as a result of a plane crash, in a terrorist act, etc.) or when a person goes missing and relatives find out about him death after many years. 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 superstitions exist related to burial?

There are many unwritten, and sometimes rather strange customs, which, nevertheless, are passed down from generation to generation and are performed with almost greater zeal than church traditions. In the twentieth century, when the thread of church tradition was interrupted, these pagan superstitions became ubiquitous. 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 follow and take into account:

Hanging mirrors and glass in the house where there is a deceased;
- close the vents and windows (so that the soul of the deceased does not fly away);
- put a container of water under the coffin (in which the soul is washed);
- put 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 should not participate in the transfer of the coffin (on the contrary, it is the close relatives who must carry the coffin. In some regions of Russia, children consider it their sacred duty to express their love for deceased parents in this way);
- to believe that a person who returns to the house after taking out 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);
- to put a glass of vodka and bread for the deceased at the commemoration;
- "wash" the floor after removing the coffin (so that the deceased does not return);
- overturn chairs and tables after taking out the body;
- pouring vodka into the grave mound;
- to say: "May the earth rest in peace to you";
- to throw money into the grave;
- scatter bread crumbs over the grave;
- to submit notes for suicides in the temple on Spirits' day;
- to believe that the soul of the deceased can take the form of a bird or a bee;
- to believe that if the deceased is not buried, then his soul remains on the earth as a ghost;
- to believe that a person who accidentally got up during the funeral service between the coffin and the altar will certainly die soon;
- to believe that the burial ground, which is given at the correspondence funeral service, cannot be kept at home for more than one day;
- to believe that cremation can cause illnesses for the children or grandchildren of the person being cremated.

All these customs and signs are dictated by a superstitious fear of death. It is undoubtedly a delusion to believe that a person's life and death can depend on an inverted chair. The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church have always warned against prejudices and superstitions, which sometimes even the ancient Christians were deceived by. It can be clearly said that superstition, adherence to signs and customs, observance of ridiculous external forms of some rituals, including funeral ones, are explained by a lack of knowledge about them. Superstition, or vain faith, is a faith that is not founded on anything and is unworthy of true Christians.

Where to keep the land after the correspondence funeral service? Can I bring it into the house?

During the correspondence funeral service, the priest blesses the earth three times, pronouncing the words: "The Lord's earth, and the fulfillment of it, the universe and all that dwell on it" (Ps. 23: 1). However, in the Rite of the funeral service there is no indication of such a consecration of the earth. The practice of "sanctifying the earth" arose in connection with the appearance of a correspondence 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. For this, this land is given after the funeral service, so that a relative instead of a priest would pour it on the grave and thus bury it in the ground. But since a deceased and buried person has already been interred (buried), then sprinkling with earth is a symbolic action and does not have any sacred meaning.

Unfortunately, this symbolic action is often given an exaggerated meaning, sometimes more than the rite of the funeral service itself. The attitude towards the consecrated ground has turned into superstition, which is expressed in the fact that the whole meaning of Christian burial is reduced only to obtaining "earth", 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 sound attitude towards this ritual action.

After the correspondence funeral service, the earth should be poured crosswise onto the grave. If the deceased was cremated, then the earth can be poured into the urn with the ashes of the deceased.

What is the attitude to the grave of an Orthodox Christian?

Cemeteries are a sacred place where the bodies of the dead rest until the next resurrection. From deep Christian antiquity there is a custom to mark the place of burial with the victorious sign of our salvation - the Holy Cross, inscribed on the tombstone or placed over the tombstone. It is necessary to ensure that the cross on the grave does not look askew, 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 shut up, remember the deceased. 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 on 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 commemorate the departed?

“Let us try, as much as possible, to help the departed, instead of tears, instead of sobbing, instead of lush tombs — with our prayers, alms and offerings for them, so that in this way both them and us receive the promised blessings,” says St. John Chrysostom. Prayer for the departed is the greatest and most important thing that we can do for those who have passed away.

How to hold a memorial 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 commemorating the dead at a meal has been known for a long time. Traditionally, a memorial meal is held after the funeral, as well as on memorable days (see below). It should begin with a prayer, for example, with the rite of the litia performed by a layman, the 90th psalm or the prayer "Our Father".

The first dish of the memorial meal is kutia (kolivo). These are boiled grains of wheat (rice) with honey (raisins, dried apricots). Grains serve as a symbol of the resurrection, and honey is a sweetness enjoyed by the righteous in the Kingdom of God. There is a special rite of consecration of kutya, if there is no way to ask the priest about it, sprinkle the kutya with holy water yourself. Pancakes and jelly are considered traditional memorial dishes in Russia. Then other dishes are served, with the indispensable observance of the requirements of the fast, if the commemoration is on Wednesday, Friday or during a multi-day fast. During Great Lent, commemoration can only be organized on Saturday or Sunday.

You should refrain from alcohol during the commemoration. “Wine makes the heart of a man happy” (Psalm 103, 15), and commemoration is not a reason for merriment. It is known what the abundant use of alcohol by guests at the memorial meal can lead to. Instead of recalling the merits of the deceased, guests begin to engage in extraneous conversations, argue, and even sort things out. Even if the deceased loved to drink, one should not imitate him in not the best habits.

It is better for a Christian invited to a commemoration of a loved one to an unbelieving family not to decline invitations. Since love is above fasting; in this it is necessary to be guided by the words of the Savior: “Eat what you are offered” (Luke 10, 8), but observe a reasonable measure in food and conversations.

What are the days of the Ecumenical remembrance of the departed?

On certain days of the year, the Church commemorates all of the departed Orthodox Christians from the century. In the church calendar, these days do not have a constant number, but are associated with the passing Great Passover cycle:
1. Meatless parental Saturday - 8 days before Great Lent, before Sunday, called "The Week of the Last Judgment";
2. Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent;
3. Trinity parental Saturday before the holiday of the Holy Trinity.
In the evening on the eve of parental Saturdays, parastases are performed in churches - funeral services, and after the Liturgy there are requiems with repeated commemoration of the names of the deceased indicated in the memorial notes.
The Russian Orthodox Church, in addition, established several more days of intense prayer for the departed:
4. Radonitsa (Radunitsa) - Tuesday, 8th day after Easter;
5. Demetrius parental Saturday - Saturday closest to November 8, the day of memory of the great martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki. Initially, on this day, the Church performed a prayer for the soldiers who fell on the Kulikovo field, later it acquired the status of a universal memorial day.
Finally, by the decision of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1994, Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War (May 9) became a day of special annual commemoration of the deceased soldiers "for the faith, the Fatherland and the people who laid down their lives," and all who died in suffering during the Great Patriotic War.

When is there no remembrance for the departed?

Memorial services, funeral services in absentia and any funeral prayers, except for the commemoration of notes on the Proskomedia, are not performed in all churches from the Thursday of Holy Week (the last week before Easter) to Antipascha (the first Sunday after Easter). Full-time funeral service on these days is allowed, except for the Easter holiday itself. The rite of the Easter funeral service is very different from the ordinary one, since it contains many joyous Easter hymns. On Nativity of Christ and other feast days of the twelve, the funeral prayer is abolished by the Charter, but it can be performed at the discretion of the rector of the church.

Submit a church note (commemoration)

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

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

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