Orthodox funerals are accompanied by a number of sacred actions. The high pace of life and legislative acts limit the traditions that have developed over the centuries. Today, the procedure for conducting a funeral is greatly simplified, but believers honor religious canons.
Stages of a funeral ceremony in Orthodoxy
For a servant of the Church, it does not matter whether the deceased will be washed by a righteous elderly woman or an employee of the morgue. Defending the Vespers at the tomb is also not an obligatory ritual.
Funeral rites that must be observed by believers:
- Reading prayers. Relatives and friends, turning to God, contribute to easing the wanderings of the soul of the deceased and ask for the mercy of the Lord for him. In churches Sorokoust is ordered, prayers are performed for the deceased.
- Ritual paraphernalia. Mandatory attributes of a funeral in Orthodoxy is a prayer, which is put into the hands of the deceased, a halo on the forehead. Also, the presence of a pectoral cross and an icon is required.
- The funeral service of the deceased. The church goes to meet people - funerals are allowed in the church, at home, as well as in absentia. Funeral agencies help to organize the funeral process as convenient as possible for the relatives of the deceased (https://elz.by/otpevanie- pokoynogo).
- Escorting the coffin with the body to the churchyard. At the grave, the clergyman reads prayers and blesses it.
Farewell ceremony
Farewell to the deceased is performed in the temple or at the grave. The mourners linger at the coffin for a couple of minutes to say goodbye to the deceased, kiss the icon and cross themselves. Usually this is done only by relatives and friends of the deceased, so as not to delay the procedure. At the end of the farewell, the lid is closed, fixing it with latches or nails.
Orthodox funeral traditions
The customs of the funeral ceremony in Orthodoxy differ depending on the area. It so happened that this ritual absorbed some rituals that came from paganism.
Let's talk about the most characteristic of them:
- Stools, on which the coffin was placed, during the burial ceremony, they are turned upside down so that no one can sit on them and leave after the deceased.
- As soon as the coffin is taken out, nails are hammered into the threshold so that the deceased cannot disturb people, living in his former dwelling.
- After the removal of the body, the road from the threshold is swept, coniferous branches are thrown after the funeral procession. This is necessary so that the deceased cannot remember the way to his former home.
- For 40 days after the death, a lit church candle is placed in front of the photo of the deceased and they pray. At the memorial meal, a glass of vodka, covered with a piece of bread and salt, is placed in front of the photo of the deceased.
- On the 40th day, the photo and dishes are removed. The tablecloth is shaken well at a crossroads or outside the settlement so that the dead person does not disturb the living.
Servants of the Orthodox Church do not classify the rituals described above as strict funeral rules, but do not impose a ban on them. The list of traditions may vary when organizing a funeral in Dzerzhinsk, the capital and other regions of the country. If such actions help the relatives of the deceased to calm down, then they need to be done.
