The Shepherd, October 2007
Adapted from
“THE HOUSE OF GOD
& THE CHURCH SERVICES”
By the Priest N. R. Antonov
Continuation
§ 146. The Burial of the Dead. When a person is approaching death, the Holy Church has special prayers and services to direct him on his way into eternal life. As he / she approaches death, the compunctionate canon for departure addressed to Jesus Christ and His All-immaculate Mother is read over the sick one. In this canon, which is read as though it were spoken by the person who is dying, in his behalf, it speaks of his repentance concerning his sins, of his fear of God’s wrath, and it beseeches that, through the prayer of the All-Pure Mother, he might be granted mercy and that he might be granted rest in the Heavenly Kingdom. When a Christian dies, his body is washed and dressed in a long white robe. [If he has been baptized as an adult, as often happens nowadays, he is dressed in his baptismal robe, or if he has made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and bathed in the Jordan, he is dressed in the robe he wore then - ed.]. The robe is white to signify the purity which should distinguish the soul of a true Christian. Sometimes he is clothed in clothes that denote his calling in life, especially is this the case if he is a member of the monastic order or a clergyman. In the Russian practice, a “crown” - actually a strip of paper or material, on which there are depictions of the Saviour, His Mother and the Forerunner, and the text of the Trisagion - is placed across his forehead. This signifies that the departed desires to be granted a heavenly crown, in that while on earth he struggled for Christ’s righteousness. On the chest, an icon of the Saviour is placed to signify that he died in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ. The body is placed in a coffin and the face is covered. Then the reading of the Psalter begins to comfort those who are mourning and to inspire them to pray for the departed at a time when he most especially needs prayers. Properly the burial takes place on the third day - [in contemporary western society, this usually proves impossible or is made so by the funeral directors, who seem nonetheless be able to bury Muslims on the day that they die! - ed.] Before the body is taken from the home or the place where it has been prepared to the church, a short liti is chanted - this is a very short service of about five minutes duration, which includes the Trisagion to Our Father, four chanted verses, and the litany for the departed such as we often use on weekdays during the Divine Liturgy. We are praying for the soul’s rest in the Heavenly Kingdom. As the body is borne out, we chant the angelic song, “Holy God,” to signify our desire that the departed may dwell where the angels abide, so that with them he may ever hymn the Creator of the universe. Those attending this departure carry lighted candles, to denote that they are praying that the dead may depart to the Eternal Light, Jesus Christ. On arrival at the church, the coffin is placed in the centre of the nave, so that the departed faces the sanctuary. Four candles are placed, at the head and foot of the casket and on either side. During the celebration of the Divine Liturgy, the Bloodless Sacrifice is offered for the forgiveness of sins of the one who has departed this life. It is usually after the Liturgy that the funeral service itself begins.
… to be continued in the next issue
with the rest of “The Burial of the Dead”
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