A consistent combination of prayers and chants, clearly established procedures Orthodox Church actions, is an obligatory divine service or funeral service for the deceased. It can be carried out both within the Holy Temple and in the room where the deceased lived, in the cemetery.
All who received the Sacrament of Baptism during their lifetime, from infancy to adulthood, have the right to conduct the burial rite. The unbaptized are deprived of such an opportunity.
When and who can not be buried
The Orthodox Church is loyal to all believing Christians without exception. The rite of burial is performed on murderers, persons committing unlawful acts, leading a sinful lifestyle. When a deceased person is not buried, and for what reason:
- suicides;
- unbaptized;
- representatives of other faiths.
As for people who committed suicide not of their own free will, but against the background of mental illness, the funeral service is held. Victims of proven accidents can also count on the rite of burial of the Orthodox Church.
It is also possible to conduct a funeral service in absentia, without the presence of the body of the deceased at the service or after the funeral. Missing people, whose death is proven, but the bodies are missing, are buried by representatives of the church.
What to do if an unbaptized person dies
An adult who did not belong to Christian denomination, did not attend church and refused to perform the Sacrament of Baptism, cannot be buried according to the rules of Orthodoxy. A deceased person cannot be baptized, since this choice must be made consciously and of one's own free will.
There is the "Order of the Burial of the Non-Orthodox Deceased", which was published by the Moscow Patriarchate back in 1984. But in practice it is not applied and is rejected by the representatives of the Orthodox Church, as a service inconsistent with the faith.
The family of the deceased unbaptized is offered to turn to the Holy Martyr Uar at home, re-read the corresponding canon, it is allowed to light candles for the repose of the soul of the deceased. Ordering a funeral service, knowing in advance that the deceased did not belong to the Orthodox Church, is considered a great sin.
It is forbidden to establish a symbol of the Christian faith in the form of a cross. Such an act is equated with blasphemy on the part of relatives and friends of the deceased.
Why it is impossible to bury unbaptized babies
In case of intrauterine death of the fetus, spontaneous abortion, miscarriage, death of the baby Orthodox rank burial or divine service by the funeral service is not performed. In this case, the child is equated with other categories of people who do not belong to Orthodox faith and do not belong to a church.
Question about funeral unbaptized babies still remains open. There is no consensus on this matter among the ministers of the church. The only way out is to hold the sacrament of baptism of children with a threat to life within the hospital. Upon death in the womb, the rite is not performed on the unborn fetus.
It is forbidden to order a liturgy, memorial service, prayers from the ministers of the church. It is impossible to put a cross on the grave of an unbaptized person, since it has nothing to do with the Orthodox faith. Such an act is sinful for the parents. What to do if an unbaptized baby dies:
- independently at home it is allowed to read prayers for the repose of the soul of the deceased child;
- turn to the Holy Martyr Uar;
- put candles in the church for the repose of the soul.
Without exception, all infants who die prematurely are considered sinless. Therefore, the only consolation left for parents is to turn to God with sincere prayers.
The Orthodox Church does not pray for the dead unbaptized, non-Orthodox, heretics and suicides.
Unfortunately, very often people come to church and with tears in their eyes ask if it is possible to remember the dead unbaptized relatives. And some (out of ignorance) even ask: “Is it possible to baptize the deceased?” - which sounds almost blasphemous. There is no need to baptize the dead.
As for the unbaptized, the Church does not pray for them, since these people, even during their lifetime, deprived themselves of the opportunity to receive an Orthodox Church commemoration, did not enter the saving fence of the Church.
According to the Charter of the Church, it is also impossible to make Orthodox rites burial and church commemoration and people who were baptized, but who renounced the faith and departed from the faith (heretics), who during their lifetime treated the Church with mockery and enmity. Or, being considered Orthodox, they were fond of mystical Eastern religions, distorted and interpreted the Gospel at their own discretion, looking for hidden meaning in it for the initiates.
Previously, such people were excommunicated from the Church, proclaimed anathema (remember L.N. Tolstoy and his religion of “non-resistance to evil”). Today, this is done very rarely, because such baptized people do not even go to church, and in fact they have already excommunicated themselves from the Church themselves.
It would be strange to make prayers on an equal footing with the faithful children of the Church and for people of non-Orthodox faith, who do not recognize our Orthodox Church as the true Church and even openly hostile to her and oppose her.
Since at all times, during the service of the Orthodox Church, the souls of only the departed Orthodox Christians were commemorated, therefore, in the decrees of the Church, it is not written about non-remembrance of the Gentiles, since they have never been commemorated anywhere.
The holy apostles and fathers of the Church could not even imagine that it would ever occur to any of the members of the Orthodox Church to look for in their rules the prohibition of church prayer for the departed Gentiles.
The Church prayerfully calls them to repentance while still alive, following ancient tradition pray for the conversion of the lost - heretics, pagans and all unbelievers.
But since those who died as non-Orthodox are already deprived of the opportunity to unite with the Church, it seems impossible to pray for them.
Church canons very definitely and strictly forbid praying with non-Orthodox people in any prayer and in any place (Apostle canon 10, canon 2 of Antiochus Council). On the other hand, there is no prohibition to pray for the non-Orthodox still living on earth, which is what the apostle Paul calls for: “So, first of all, I ask you to make prayers, petitions, intercessions, thanksgiving for all people, for kings and for all those in authority” (1 Tim 2. 1-2).
"There is no reason to commemorate church prayers, neither apostates and excommunicated, nor non-Orthodox and Old Believers, because they do not belong to the Church, ”the clergyman’s Handbook says.
Unbaptized people, like heretics, are dead members cut off from the whole body of the Church, and therefore it is useless to take care of a dead member, it is useless to pray for it. One can only regret a severed and rotten finger, but it is no longer possible to cure it.
The unbaptized and apostates, whose souls departed to another world in rejection of God, are likened to a rotten grain thrown into the ground along with a healthy grain.
And such a grain, unlike grains not damaged by rot, will not be helped by either abundant irrigation or exposure to the life-giving sun. Similarly, the prayers of loved ones will not help the souls who have extinguished the Spirit of Christ in themselves.
You can often hear reproaches that the Church, they say, acts cruelly towards the dead unbaptized, because among them there are very good and kind people.
So what prevented this good people become members of the Church? After all, this requires only faith in the Savior and does not require any inhuman efforts.
You just need to read the Gospel - the word of God and accept it with your heart, and not with your mind, as some kind of beautiful fairy tale. "Your faith has saved you!" - Jesus Christ says in it exactly to such a person who finally believed in him.
Unbaptized people will always have "good reasons." One was afraid of losing his position, the other was afraid of his position, the third was afraid of suffering in the service.
After all, before it was forbidden to believe. Entire generations had their own "religion" - the party, atheism, and the spark of Faith never ignited in them until their very death. Still others are still afraid of baptism or they have no time.
But at the heart of all these reasons is one - unbelief in God. And this unbelief, that is, the denial of God, these souls carry away with them into afterlife where they no longer acquire new qualities. One can only imagine what the beginning of a new afterlife is like for them: surprise, despair, remorse and pangs of conscience, a feeling of irretrievably lost time on earth.
Therefore, prayer for an unbeliever is even dangerous for the soul of the one who prays. At its core, an unbeliever is a person who opposes the Church.
“You ask whether the church commemoration of those who opposed the Holy Church will be accepted. I answer: if you are talking about those who oppose the Catholic Church, and those who died in their opposition and unrepentance, then believe me that the church commemoration of such will not only be pleasant, but it will be contrary to both God and the Holy Church, and the priest who dared to make a commemoration for such, sins mortally,” says St. Paisiy Velichkovsky.
If the deceased was Orthodox Christian and even in earthly life turned to God with a prayer request for mercy and forgiveness, then the one who prays for him with the same prayers inclines God's mercy and forgiveness to him.
And if the soul passed into another world in a mood hostile to the Church? And after all, the unwillingness to be baptized cannot be explained only by indifference, since Christ Himself told us: "He who is not with Me is against Me."
How can one, praying for an unbaptized or apostate, allow oneself to come into some contact with his God-fighting mood, with which his soul was infected?
How to take into your soul all those ridicule, blasphemy, crazy speeches and thoughts that filled their souls? Doesn't this mean consciously exposing one's soul to the danger of being infected by the same moods?
This is what those who reproach the Church with unmercifulness should think about.
If a person, due to the weakness of the flesh, had sins, but spent his life in true repentance, in an effort to get rid of them from himself, then this desire and repentance, becoming a state of his soul, are transferred to the afterlife after the death of a person and become fertile ground for the perception of the prayers of the living .
Unbelief, hardness of heart, impenitence, a mocking or hostile attitude towards the Church is nothing but the most serious mortal sin - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The Gospel says that everything can be forgiven a person, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiven.
The afterlife of souls who were enlightened by the true faith, but departed from it or did not accept it, is slightly revealed from the life of St. Macarius of Egypt.
Passing through the desert, the monk found a human skull, which turned out to be the skull of a pagan priest, and spoke to him. Talking about hellish torment, the skull said: “We, who did not know God, are given at least some mercy; but those who have known God and denied Him, and did not do His will, are inferior to us.”
The Orthodox Church does not pray for people who have violated the sixth commandment of the Law of God - suicides.
The criminality of the sin of suicide lies in the fact that a person who dares to do this rises against God himself, against his Providence and his own purpose, arbitrarily ends his life, which belongs not only to him, but also to God and the people around him.
Life is given to man for moral perfection, and not for its abuse. In fact, suicide is a fallen cross, and suicides are people who refused to bear this life's cross.
The obligatory worship or funeral of the deceased consists in a consistent combination of prayers with hymns, which are clearly stipulated in the orders of the Orthodox Church. They can be held both in the Holy Temple, and in the house where the deceased lived or in the cemetery, immediately before the burial.
All people who received the Sacrament of Baptism during their lifetime, whether it happened in infancy or in adulthood, have the right to have a burial rite. If a person is not worthy to be baptized, then he is deprived of such a right.
Who and when can not be buried
The Orthodox Church is loyal to every believing Christian, and there are no exceptions. It is not forbidden to perform the rite of burial over the Orthodox who have committed a murder, leading an immoral lifestyle, or who have been seen committing misconduct. But there are categories of people to whom the church refuses a funeral service.
These include:
- People who cut their lifeline by suicide.
- People who did not know the Sacrament of Baptism.
- People who adhere to the teachings of other faiths.
For a person who committed suicide in a state of exacerbation of mental illness, a funeral service is held. If the death of a person occurred as a result of an accident, then he is also given the rite of burial in accordance with the canons of the Orthodox Church.
Church rules allow holding and absentee funeral. This is possible either in the case when the funeral has already passed, and also if the body of the deceased cannot be present at the service. We are talking about missing people, whose death they could prove, but it was not possible to find the body for some reason.
The rules of the burial of Orthodoxy cannot be applied to an adult who denied his belonging to the Christian faith, refused to attend church and did not consider it necessary to conduct the Sacrament of Baptism. People who have already left our mortal world are not allowed to be baptized, since this choice must be made consciously and in the presence of good will.
As early as 1984, the Moscow Patriarchate published the "Order of the Burial of a Non-Orthodox Deceased". However, he did not find practical application since the official representatives of the Orthodox Church decided that this service was inconsistent with the canons of the faith.
Relatives of the deceased, who was not baptized during his lifetime, are invited to pray at home to the martyr Huar, re-reading the corresponding canon. For the repose of the soul of the deceased, you can put candles. A person who orders a funeral, being aware that the deceased was not honored to belong to the Orthodox Church, commits a very big sin. On the grave of the deceased, the unbaptized are not allowed to install a symbol of the Christian faith in the form of a cross. If the relatives nevertheless did this, then their act is considered blasphemous.
Why the funeral of unbaptized babies is unacceptable
If the fetus died inside the mother's womb, a miscarriage occurred, or the pregnancy ended spontaneously, then it is not supposed to serve a funeral service or an Orthodox burial rite. In such cases, the child becomes on a par with people who do not belong to the Orthodox faith and who do not belong to the church.
However, the question of the possibility of the funeral of infants who have not passed the rite of baptism cannot be considered definitively resolved. The opinions of the clergy on this issue differ. Only a real opportunity The solution to this problem today is to conduct the sacrament of baptism within the hospital, regardless of the threat to the life of the child.
If death occurred in the womb, then the unborn fetus cannot become the object of the ceremony. Orders for panikhidas, liturgies and prayers from church ministers are also excluded. You can’t put a cross on the grave of a deceased baby, because he has not yet been converted to the Orthodox faith.
Parents should do the following in this case:
- At home, independently offer a prayer for the repose of the soul of a deceased child.
- Turn to the holy martyr Uar for help.
- In the temple, light a candle for the repose of the soul.
Every infant whose life is cut short is certainly sinless. This means that parents have the opportunity to find solace in turning to God with sincere prayers.
To the question of the funeral. If a person was not baptized and was not a believer, is it necessary to bury him dead? given by the author Hear the best answer is just a human burial.
You can, of course, observe all those rituals that relatives consider obligatory and important for themselves. Well, for example, put in a coffin, dress and cover as it should be, cross your arms over your chest, etc. These are all Christian traditions already. You can also put a church cover with a halo and handwriting, even leave a cross with an icon. But all this is not necessary for him, but for relatives.
You can’t sing the funeral service, and there’s no point in it. We can do anything with a corpse, it cannot resist, but it is no longer a person, but a corpse. Therefore, "do not ride." "a slave is not a pilgrim" If a person did not want during his lifetime, then you should not force his will after death. It will be respect for his choice and for him as a person.
After all, a funeral is just a ritual. Let it be important, but only a rite.
Answer from European[active]
As for me, a man died and died. Observed a purely hygienic rite. They buried the body. And that's all. Gathered company remembered, and that's it. He will already be up to the lantern. And besides, if he did not believe in God, then to hell with him. This is a person's choice. He definitely doesn't care anymore. Better don't be stupid. And best of all, bury the corpse and plant a tree.
Answer from Lydia...[guru]
If a person rejected God during his lifetime, then after death a funeral service will no longer help him.
Answer from Alexander K[guru]
When a person dies due to his death or an accidental one, it is necessary to perform a funeral service. This is done so that the sins would remain with the body in the earth and it would be easier for the soul to live in the next world.
And if a suicide, then they shouldn’t be buried like that, the soul is sinful, because God gave the body and only God can take the soul from the body.
It is necessary to baptize in some kind of faith. Otherwise, if no one who is not baptized will be buried and there will be no angel, the angel will be for any child from birth. But there simply is no faith, the child in life will suffer not baptized and demons will devour him
Answer from OgnenniyStrannik[guru]
an atheist is a person who just doesn’t believe in anything and I doubt that there are such people on earth, even in the devil himself, but a person believes in something or someone, you ask in advance how he wants to be buried, it will be his will and commandment
Answer from Yury Tuev[guru]
Necessary. Calm your soul.
Answer from Mikhail Timakov[guru]
Why sing? Think about how he would take it if he saw it? I, an atheist, would take it as an insult to be called "God's servant."
So just get together with your friends and remember this person - how good and kind he was (I hope he was).
Answer from .
[guru]
Nobody can be buried at all, this is a rite of tearing the essence and sealing its part in the ground. It is best to cremate without an autopsy. The fewer people involved in the funeral, the better. No flowers and no music. Quiet, calm, intimate and without any rituals - this is what the deceased needs.
Answer from Natasha zhurkina[guru]
if unbeliever - just bury. My people told me themselves - we don’t want church rites. Keep in memory, condolences
Answer from Ivan Ivanov[expert]
For it is said: sing songs, funerals and drink. Psalm 10
Answer from Alexander[guru]
You can sing, but it is not necessary. The fact that he was not a believer is purely his business. The fact that one is not baptized is not a reason not to be buried. The main thing in the morgue is to take a certificate that the body is embalmed and ready for religious rites, they will not let you in without it. For the church (temple) is a public place.
And what city? Need an agent's help?
Answer from Stranger[guru]
if it be his will before death
Answer from *Evgeniy*[guru]
I don't think it's worth it. If he did not believe in him during his lifetime, then he is unlikely to believe in him during his death.
It is better to ask the Church.
Answer from Knownname[guru]
Yes, you yourself were joking .... Why the heck is an unbeliever buried then ???
Answer from Batterian[guru]
You don't have to sing.
Burial according to civil rites.
In the early 90s of the last century, churches began to open, and the people ran en masse to bury their dead relatives. But people did not know whether their ancestors were baptized or not.
Here a hitch arose: is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? Let's look at this topic in more detail.
What is baptism?
Before dealing with the question of the funeral service, let's find out: what is the sacrament of baptism and why is it needed?
Baptism is a spiritual birth. We have already been born with the body. And baptism allows you to be born spiritually. At baptism, each of us is given a guardian angel.
Do not think that baptism is a pass to Paradise. Baptism is becoming a member of the Church of Christ. A baptized person is a sheep of God.
But what about the unbaptized?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? The church answers this question unequivocally - no, it is impossible.
A new question is brewing: "Why not?" The fact is that such a person did not receive a spiritual birth. That is, he has a body and a soul. But the grace of the Holy Spirit did not touch him. There is no connection with God. An unbaptized person is not a "sheep" of God.
Why can't you sing?
It would seem that above we have analyzed the question of why it is impossible to bury unbaptized people. No, not completely.
The funeral is not just a beautiful ceremony. Candles flicker, the priest walks around the coffin with a censer and sings something. The smell of incense is in the air, the relatives of the deceased are crying, saying goodbye to him forever.
When a priest “sings something,” that “something” turns out to be prayers. The priest reads special prayers. And there is in one of them the line "with the saints rest in peace." That is, the priest and relatives ask the Lord to accept the deceased into His Paradise abodes.
Is it possible to ask this fate for someone who was not a member of the church? Who didn't know God? The answer to this question will most accurately be given by the priest. But the funeral of an unbaptized person is hardly permissible.
What if it's a baby?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person if we are talking about a baby? Suppose the baby was born very weak. They just didn't get to baptize. He is sinless, he did not have time to do anything wrong.
Alas, even babies who have no sin are not buried in the church.
About suicides
Does the unbaptized equate to suicide? Unambiguously answer this question father. We can say that if a baptized person commits suicide, then he has a direct road to hell.
Why? Because he forgot about God. The Lord gives life and He takes it away. And the suicide took over the function of the Lord.
How are suicides buried?
In the old days, people who took their own lives were buried behind the cemetery fence. Now this rule has long been forgotten. Suicides are buried in cemeteries. But they don't put a cross on the grave. This is a desecration of the sacred.
Can a monument be erected? Yes, you can. Only without the image of the cross, angels and other things, one way or another connected with the church and God.
And if the suicide was sick?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person, we learned. No. Is it possible to bury a sick suicide?
If we are talking about a mental illness in which a person did not know what he was doing, the church allows the funeral of those. If a person, being sick physically, but in a firm mind, committed suicide, then it is impossible to bury him.
The funeral of the unbaptized
How to bury an unbaptized person? A funeral service is not held for him. So, they bury him in the same way as a suicide. Without a cross on the grave.
They say goodbye in the morgue or in the cemetery. Accordingly, they do not bring to the church. And the priest is not invited to the morgue. Now you can sing the funeral service in the morgue, as many people know.
What is a funeral in absentia?
The funeral service in absentia is carried out without the presence of the human body in the temple. It is allowed by the church to bury a baptized person even after his funeral. But only in exceptional cases: relatives know that a person has died, but his body has not been found. Or death was such that the body was practically destroyed (hit by a train, blown up).
When is the funeral?
The rite of burial of Christians takes place on the third day after death. So, if a person died on Monday, then they bury him and bury him on Wednesday.
Is it permissible to sing on Tuesday and bury on Wednesday? Alas, it is not customary to bury the funeral on the second day. Although this question can be clarified with the priest. Perhaps, in some exceptional cases, this is allowed.
Funeral - a pass to Paradise?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person, we now know. It is forbidden. But even for a baptized person, this sacrament is not a guarantee of heavenly cloisters.
Judge for yourself: a person has lived his whole life without knowing God. I didn’t go to church, I didn’t go to the sacraments of confession and communion. "Legally" was considered God's, but in fact he lived on his own. Where is the "rest with the saints" here.
Although, as they say, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. We do not know what the person was like in life. Maybe he lived gospel commandments, without knowing it. And it is possible that God took him to Himself posthumously.
How to help the soul of the deceased?
Here we make a reservation: the unbaptized deceased. If a note can be submitted for a baptized person and a magpie can be ordered, then a deceased who has not received the sacrament of baptism cannot be commemorated in the church.
And what about relatives who understand what the fate of their relative is, but do not know how to alleviate it?
- Give charity for the deceased.
- Do good deeds in his name. Help the needy not only financially, but also morally. Live not for yourself, but for others.
- Pray for the unbaptized deceased in home prayer.
How to pray at home?
Let us warn you right away: it is forbidden to read the Psalter for the unbaptized. By by and large, it is not read for every baptized. It's too strong a thing.
Those who read morning prayers, know: at the end there is a prayer for health and repose. In it, one can commemorate unbaptized relatives.
And yet - no one ruled out the prayer of Uaru. As well as the canon to him. There is only one "but": in churches and chapels, this canon is not read for the unbaptized. It can only be read at home.
What is the prayer to the martyr Huar?
The text of the prayer is given in the article. It is very short, you can copy it on paper, or print it out:
Oh, holy martyr Uare! We inflame the Lord Christ with zeal, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and you suffered zealously for Him, and now the Church honors you, as if glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven. Accept our petition and with your prayers free us from eternal torment. Amen.
Who is Saint War?
The future martyr came from a pious family. Saint Ouar lived in Egypt during the reign of Diocletian. Uar was a very courageous man, he served in the imperial army. But nothing of this prevented the future martyr from reverently treating the exploits of Christians.
In those days, seven ascetics of Christ were in prison. And Saint Ouar visited them, knowing that people were suffering for Christ. Shortly before the trial, one of the righteous died. And then Uar stood in his place to accept martyrdom.
The young warrior revealed himself to the emperor. He was very surprised. It is not known whether he tried to persuade Ouar to renounce the faith. Only information about his anger has come down to us, when the martyr said that no one and nothing could influence his decision.
It was then that the cup of the emperor's wrath poured out on the young man. He was tied to a rack and beaten with wide leather straps. The torture did not break the fortitude of the spirit of Saint Ouar. He was calm, which angered the tormentors even more. They tied the martyr, threw him to the ground and cut open the womb. The insides fell out. The tormentors tied Uar to a pillar, near which he gave his soul to God five hours later.
But earlier...
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? No, it's not allowed. For him, you can pray to Saint Ouar at home.
If you came to the church, and they tell you there, then you can order a prayer service to the holy martyr, submit notes about an unbaptized relative and light candles for him, run away from this church.
Previously, dishonest abbots took advantage of the gullibility of people and accepted such notes and prayers, assuring that they were equated with prayer, as for a baptized person. This is a lie. For profit, nothing more. No bishop will allow this.
Conclusion
You can help your deceased unbaptized relative. But not through church commemoration. Give alms for the salvation of his soul, do good deeds, pray to St. Huar in prayer at home.
Why a person did not want to come to God during his lifetime is his secret. He made his choice. No matter how monstrous this choice may seem to us. We can help, God accepts even a little. It is only a pity that our loved ones do not want to know God while they are alive.