Number of entries: 168

Hello, father! Please tell me, I see that they bring food to the church (flour, butter, sugar, cookies), I also really want to bring it, but I’m embarrassed because I don’t really know why people bring it (some people say if you dream of a dead person and ask eat, you need to bring sweets to church or give them to children), and then what they do with them, some say, they give them to orphanages or use them for the needs of the church. Please tell us what can be brought to church, maybe this should be done on certain calendar days? Why do they do this? Thank you! And forgive me, father, I wrote to you under a false name, again out of embarrassment, in fact my name is Alexandra.

Alexandra

Alexandra, we should not be ashamed of our Orthodox faith. “Whoever is ashamed of Me, I will also be ashamed in the Kingdom of My Heavenly Father,” said Christ. We bring food to the church for the canon to commemorate our deceased relatives, and these foods are eaten at the common meal in the church, and thereby commemorate your deceased. You can bring to the canon any products (with the exception of meat) that you like, depending on your income. You can bring expensive products, but it’s not necessary; the main thing is to bring what you can afford to buy or maybe some homemade preparations, but everything should be fresh and not expired.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Photinia

Photinia, of course, homemade preparations can also be brought to church for a memorial service, people often do this, and I think it’s good. Only you are not allowed to bring meat to church, and during Lent, of course, you need to bring lean foods. As for the baptism of your nephew, you need to find out everything completely. Ask your brother, who is 9 years old, then try to find his godmother or church where he could have been baptized. If you can’t find out anything, then you need to go to the nearest church and talk to the priest, he will tell you what needs to be done.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Hello! Please tell me if I can submit custom notes about deceased relatives when I know that they were baptized, but I don’t know whether they went to church. And for living relatives who have been baptized but not churchgoers? Thank you.

Natalia

Natalia, we must pray for our relatives. If they were baptized in the Orthodox Church, and even if they were non-believers, in life we ​​must pray for them, this is our duty, and then as God will manage, the main thing is that they are baptized. Our prayer, our Christianly correct life can beg a person out of hell. There is such a saint, blessed Ksenia of Petersburg, her husband died without repentance, but she begged him. In the same way, we must hope for the mercy of God. God is omnipotent and can have mercy on any person, but we need to ask God for this and pray earnestly for the departed and for ourselves.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Why does the church have such a principled position on funeral services for suicides? It seems to me that this is not entirely fair. For example, how can the parents of a teenager who committed suicide believe in God if the church refuses them even a funeral service? If Orthodoxy considers itself a religion of good, it must fight for the soul of every Orthodox person.

Nikita

Nikita, but before, most likely, such questions were not asked, people believed in God, and did not complain about the Church, they themselves understood that the situation in this case was bad. And now you don’t know how to bring our wild people to Christ, especially if they have such grief in their family. So the Church condescends, seeing all this. It descends almost to the impossible. And if there is at least the slightest possibility of justifying this act, if there is at least some small clue to say that the person did not want to, but this is how it turned out, and did it in a state of passion or illness, then the Church is in a hurry to sing the funeral service, hoping for God’s endless condescension towards the deceased and so that his relatives would truly be comforted.

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, father! Please tell me whether it is possible to order prayers for health and remembrance of the departed via the Internet, the site seems to be Orthodox, there is no fixed price there, as much as anyone deems necessary, but it’s somehow strange to me. Sorry if I asked incorrectly. Thanks for the answer!

Anastasia

As far as I know, this practice has not yet been approved by the hierarchy, but in the future I do not rule out that it will become widespread.

Deacon Ilia Kokin

Hello, father. Tell me, the magpie about repose and a customized commemoration for a year, six months - are they the same thing? In the monastery, when I ordered, they said that it’s the same thing, they take out a piece in the same way, and in the city church the woman behind the candle shop explained that magpie involves taking out a piece, and commemoration for a year is just reading the names, and that up to a year is better order magpies.

Irina

Hello Irina! Sorokoust, commemoration for six months and for a year differ only in duration in time. In all cases, this is a commemoration during the Liturgy at the proskomedia. But perhaps your temple has a different practice, it’s better to check.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

Hello, father. In relation to which deceased person is the word “ever remembered” applied? I heard such a prefix in the monastery, but in the parish is it possible to remember someone in this way?

Nikolay

Nicholas, after death, within 40 days, a person is considered newly deceased, after forty days we simply remember him as the servant of God such and such. On the day of death, on the birthday of the deceased, we remember him in prayer as an ever-remembered person throughout our entire life, as long as we remember him, or as long as we live. The word “ever remembered” means remembered on this day (on this day his memory).

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Good afternoon, dear editors! In which church in Moscow can you submit a note about someone who has passed into eternal life without holy baptism? Is it possible at all?

Galina

No, Galina, alas, a note about an unbaptized person cannot be submitted: the Church prays only for Its members, for people who have dedicated their lives to God and received Holy Baptism in the Name of the Holy Trinity. But you can pray for such a person at home, and light candles in church, trusting in God’s mercy towards every God-created soul.”

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, fathers! It’s written on my calendar: March 9 is the day of special remembrance of the dead, if I understand correctly. How can you remember a loved one in a special way? Thank you.

Lyudmila

Lyudmila, yes, indeed, March 9 is Mother’s Meat Saturday, the day when, before the feat of Great Lent, the entire church people commemorates all those who have died from time immemorial. On this day, a memorial service is served in churches, which it is advisable to attend, and at home you can arrange a small memorial meal: cook kutya or prepare pancakes, bake bread or make some other treat, and, having consecrated it in the temple, remember the deceased at home. It is also customary to leave some food items in the church so that the church clergy can remember your departed ones.

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello! My grandmother died on February 28th, 9 days falls on March 8th. Our priest said that the memorial dinner could be held on March 9, since it would be a memorial Saturday. But this will already be 10 days from the date of death. Is it possible?

Vasilenko Larisa

Larisa, perhaps your father is right, but I would slightly clarify his advice: so that your conscience is not embarrassed, come to the service on March 8, pray for your grandmother at the litany, which will be celebrated at the end of the morning service, and submit a note of repose for the Saturday Liturgy . On Saturday it is also very advisable to be at the service, and after it you can have a memorial meal at home - on Saturday the fast is weakened, and besides, many people have a day off, which is convenient.

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, father! Uncle died on March 3 (Sunday), funeral on March 7. And they decided to organize a memorial 9 days on March 10 (Sunday). But it’s not 9 days yet or is that not prohibited? Can you tell me what funeral service to order? What else can I do? My uncle was a deeply religious man. Thank you.

Natalia

Hello, Natalia! The funeral meal can be moved to a day convenient for you. The main thing for the dead is our prayer. Order a magpie for repose, a memorial service and a Psalter for the deceased. And, of course, if the uncle was baptized, a funeral service in church is necessary.

Priest Vladimir Shlykov

With respect to you, I ask for an answer: for my aunt, 40 days after death fall on Sunday, the priest who performed the funeral service for her told us before the burial that it is impossible to do 40 days on Sunday, only on Saturday, that turns out to be 39 days, but in the church they told us, that the commemoration of 40 days is done day after day. What should we do, why is there one faith and two different opinions?

Valentina

Valentine, if the 40th day falls during Lent, then the rules regarding this day change and, indeed, the commemoration takes place on Saturday. If not, then day after day.

Hegumen Nikon (Golovko)

Hello, father! I have a question about good deeds in the name of the departed, or is this correctly called - on behalf of the departed? I want to do something useful in place of the deceased, how can I do it, what should I say? I am doing this alms in the name of God’s servant? So? Thank you for your attention to my problem.

Julia

Julia, the deceased cannot help themselves. All their hope is in our and church prayer, good deeds in their memory. You just do good deeds, and the Lord knows that this is for the deceased. There is no need for any specific forms; pray for the deceased yourself. Speak as your heart tells you, also order a church commemoration.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Hello, father! Tell me, I constantly dream about dead relatives, neighbors, friends. I go to church, light candles for them for the repose of their souls, pray, but they keep coming and coming. How can I get rid of this? And is it necessary? This worries me.

Julia

Julia, there’s nothing scary about the fact that you often dream about the dead, don’t worry. This has nothing to do with death. The deceased cannot pray for themselves, and they cannot help themselves in any way, therefore, when we dream of the deceased, we regard this as their request to pray for them. Maybe there is no one but you to remember and pray for them. Praying for the dead is a good thing. If you dream, pray for them. You will pray, and they will stop dreaming about you. Do not worry.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

His wife's brother died (tragically), before which he decided to accept holy baptism, but did not have time. They say that you can have a funeral service for the unbaptized and subsequently commemorate them in church for their repose. How to do it?

Eugene

Dear Evgeniy, you were incorrectly informed. There is a special rite of prayerful consolation for relatives of suicides (http://www.patriarchia.ru/db/text/1586949.html). But about the suicides themselves, as well as about people who died unbaptized, the Church does not offer conciliar prayers. You yourself can pray at home for the repose of an unbaptized relative with the prayer of St. Leo of Optina: Seek, O Lord, the lost soul of Thy servant (name): if it is possible, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin, but Thy holy will be done.

Archpriest Andrey Efanov

Hello! I would like to ask Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev) a question. Father Victorin, it has been said here more than once that when living relatives greatly grieve for their departed relatives, it was said that one must understand that they are better off there than here, and you said: “another life, life in the Kingdom of Heaven, is much better, than here on earth, and if a person visits there at least once, he will not want to return back to this world full of evil.” If baptized small children die, they go to heaven. Let's leave, okay, little baptized children, if they somehow end up in heaven - this should probably be a consolation for loved ones. What should you do if an adult loved one has left, and you pray, but how do you know where he ended up? After all, as I understand it, on the 40th day everything was already decided where he should be - in heaven or in hell. And the fact that the deceased relative is better off there than here and should seem to calm down and stop shedding tears, as has been said here many times... After all, how could it be better if he ended up in hell? After all, we don’t know where exactly? And then, yes, heaven is good, understandable, but how can it be good, for example, for a mother without her child, in whom she doted on her, even if she ended up in heaven, but without her child. Father, I am confused in these questions, help me figure it out. Thank you.

Lyudmila

Lyudmila, we were talking about babies. Baptized babies, if for some reason they die, always go to heaven. About an adult, when he dies, we cannot say specifically where he will go, to heaven or to hell. We can say affirmatively that a person has gone to heaven only if we clearly see that he leads a holy lifestyle, or if the person is completely atheist and an obvious sinner and does not repent of his sins, then we can say that the person perishes for the Kingdom of Heaven, and then presumably because only God decides. We orient ourselves based on the Commandments of God. After 40 days there is a private judgment - this is a preliminary place and this can be changed by our prayers to God and that is why we always pray for our departed ones. The final decision will be at the Last Judgment, when nothing can be corrected, the verdict will be final. As it is written in the Holy Scriptures, there a person will not ask about anything. If a mother has entered the Kingdom of Heaven, then she will be able to pray for her child. A mother's prayer reaches from the bottom of the sea. I think if they have such strong love during life, then they will be together after death. God is love. God loves man and does everything for our salvation. Everything depends on ourselves; if we want to be saved together with our children and do everything for this, then, of course, God will not leave us and will have mercy.

Hieromonk Victorin (Aseev)

Often in Orthodox churches you can see various food products on the table near the tetrapod (candlestick for commemorating the dead). This is because Believers bring various foods to the temple to commemorate deceased loved ones.

The main Orthodox principle of honoring the memory of the deceased is to offer prayer “for the forgiveness of sins” and to give peace to the soul, as well as the desire for good deeds in memory of those who have completed their earthly journey. Almsgiving, expressed in the offering of food to the temple, is not just evidence of the memory of the deceased, but shows a person’s love for the deceased. Usually, grocery bags contain notes on which are written the names of those who need to be remembered for their repose. This is done so that the clergy and other ministers of the parish offer funeral prayers during the meal in memory of the deceased.

It is worth remembering that a certain practice has developed in the Church, according to which not all food products can be brought to the temple on certain days of the church liturgical year. It is not necessary to bring meat for commemoration, since in the Church it is not customary to bring the product of a slaughtered animal into the house of God.

Before giving alms, you need to familiarize yourself with the Orthodox calendar and check whether there is a fast at the moment. If a period of fasting continues in the Church (or calendar Wednesday and Friday fall), then fast food is not brought to the church. On such fast days, it is necessary to place on the funeral table foods blessed by the Holy Church as food for the period of saving abstinence. For example, vegetables, cereals, fish (if there is no Lent or Dormition), seafood. This practice is very logical, because clergy will not eat fasting food on days of fasting to commemorate the deceased.

When the church calendar provides If there is no fasting, then it is permissible to bring dairy products, eggs, cheeses, etc. (with the exception of meat) to the funeral table.

On Radonitsa (9th day after Easter), eggs, Easter cakes and Easter cakes are most often used as commemoration products. However, there is no specific church decree about this, so each person, to the best of his ability, decides for himself what kind of alms to perform. The main thing in this matter is pure thoughts, good nature and love for others, accompanied by fervent prayer for them.

Demetrio13

Every Christian believer experiences a deep inner need to pray not only for himself personally, but also for his family and friends. And this prayer can be both for living people and for those who have already died. Orthodoxy teaches that the human soul is alive, and after the physical death of the body it does not disappear, but goes to God to await the decision of its fate in Eternity. And in this waiting, the prayers of still living loved ones can greatly help the soul of a deceased person. In order to turn to the Lord about the deceased, there are special funeral services - memorial services.

What is a memorial service

This is the name given to a special funeral service, at which, in church prayer, forgiveness of the sins of a deceased person and his repose in the Kingdom of God is asked. Such services are held not only in the temple; the priest can serve in the cemetery during or after the funeral, and at home with the relatives of the deceased. But most often, such a commemoration is ordered in the church, and the rite itself takes place after the Liturgy.

A memorial service is a special funeral service

The significance of such a commemoration for the soul of the deceased is very great. Since only the body dies, but the soul is eternally alive, it awaits the decision of its fate and goes through ordeals. According to the Tradition of our church, at the ordeal the soul is responsible for all the sins committed in life, and each person accumulates a lot of them. And it is precisely the prayer of loving people that greatly facilitates this passage, even to the point of saving even practically hopeless souls.

Most often, memorial services are ordered before the funeral of the deceased, and then on the 3rd, 9th, 40th day. In addition, important dates of commemoration are the anniversary of death, as well as the date of birth, the name day of the deceased.

Important! Throughout the entire church year, if there is an opportunity and spiritual need for relatives, you can order a memorial service in the church after the end of the Liturgy.

It is highly advisable not only to write a note with the names of the relatives being remembered, but also to personally attend the service. Church prayer then has special power when it is combined with a personal petition from a loved one about the fate of the deceased. In addition, such prayerful commemoration will also bring great spiritual benefit and consolation to living relatives in their grief from the loss of a loved one.

Rules for serving a memorial service

In order for a memorial service to be served for your deceased loved one, you need to go to the temple, to the candle shop. There you can write a list of names of deceased relatives on a special form or an ordinary piece of paper. As a rule, you can indicate up to 10 names in one note, but you can only have one - if you want to specifically pray for this particular person.

Food products for a memorial service are brought as a gift to the priest.

When submitting notes for commemoration, it is customary to bring some food to a special memorial service table (eve). People believe that this is food for the dead, so that they do not starve in the next world. Of course, such superstitions have nothing to do with Orthodoxy - the dead have absolutely no need for the ordinary food that fed their body during life. The best “food” for a person who has passed into another world is the prayer of neighbors and alms.

Food and food are sacrificed as a gift to the temple and the priest who performs the service. After reading all the prayers, all donations are sanctified and in many churches they are distributed to the poor and needy. Therefore, it is also advisable to follow this tradition and bring food to the funeral table as alms. It is advisable to bring lean foods with a long shelf life - sunflower oil, Cahors, cereals, cookies, etc. Meat dishes are not brought to the funeral table.

Advice! Notes for a memorial service can only include the names of people baptized in Orthodoxy. It is unacceptable to order this service for dead heretics, outright persecutors of the Church, and suicides.

This is a very important point that is often not taken into account. Many grief-stricken relatives think that if they hide from the priest the fact of their deceased’s excommunication from the Church and God and a memorial service is served, then they will be able to ease the fate of the sinful soul. In fact, if a person deliberately persecuted the Lord during his lifetime, then what significance will posthumous prayers for him have? Such doing is not only senseless, but also sinful.

During the funeral service, relatives and all those present often stand with lit candles, which symbolize faith in a bright and pure future life, like a flame. At the end of the prayer, the candles are extinguished as a sign that the earthly human life of each of us will also sooner or later go out.

Ecumenical memorial services

In order for the funeral prayer to cover all “Christians who have died from time immemorial,” i.e. For all those who have ever died in the Orthodox faith, special days of general remembrance of the dead have been established. They are called “universal parental Saturdays.” The concept of “parental Saturday” does not mean at all that one can commemorate only deceased parents, but all relatives, the entire clan that lived before us and professed Orthodoxy.

A memorial service can be performed not only in a church, but also in a cemetery

In the church year, the following days are allocated for the service of ecumenical memorial services:

• Meat Saturday. It falls at the end of the meat-eating week, followed by Maslenitsa, and then Lent. This is the first universal memorial Saturday, when the Church during the service remembers that every person faces the Last Judgment before God. And in order to ease the afterlife of Christians who have already died before this day, this large funeral service is served.
• Trinity Saturday. Before the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, when the entire Church celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit, it is customary to remember the dead as a sign that they are also awaiting the salvation of their souls. In the prayers of this day, we ask that the gifts of the Holy Spirit descend not only on the living, but also on the deceased brothers and sisters in the faith.
• Parental Saturdays of Great Lent. They are celebrated on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th week of the Holy Pentecost. The time of Great Lent is the most mournful and repentant period of the entire church year, when a person needs to put aside all worldly affairs and try as much as possible to devote his thoughts to God and serving his neighbors. Of course, these days we cannot forget about our deceased relatives, who are in great need of prayer support.
• Radonitsa, or Antipascha. This is the so-called Easter for the dead, when the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ is spread to those who have already left this world. After his death on the Cross, Christ descended into hell and granted salvation to the righteous who had already died. Therefore, the news of the Bright Resurrection of Christ brings the joy of eternal life not only to people who are still living, but also to dead Christians. Since there are no memorial services on Bright Week immediately after Easter, on Radonitsa all faithful Christians rush to remember their deceased relatives.

What is a memorial service for the dead?

About church candles

The simplest, but most effective type of sacrifice for the deceased is a candle, which is placed for his repose “on the eve.”

Kanun is a quadrangular table with a marble or metal board on which cells for candles are located. On the eve stands the Crucifixion with the Savior and the upcoming Most Holy Theotokos and the Apostle John the Theologian.

When we light a candle for the repose, we must offer prayers to the Lord for the departed whom we want to remember: “Remember, Lord, the souls of Your departed servants (their names), and forgive them all their free sins and involuntary, and grant them the Kingdom of Heaven.”

It is useful to donate to the church in memory of the deceased, give alms to the poor with a request to pray for the deceased.

What can you bring to church?
in memory of the departed

Donating to the church is not just about money. Ancient Christians brought bread and wine to the graves of their dead. This was not done in order to appease God or satisfy the souls of the departed, as the pagans slandered - the bread and wine were intended for clergy and the poor, who were called upon to pray for the departed.

This pious custom has survived to our times. Kutia, bread, cereals, pancakes, fruits, candies, flour, and Cahors are brought to the memorial tables that stand near the eves. What was brought to the temple must be left on the table: while eating what was brought, the clergy commemorate those for whom the sacrifice was made (for this, a note with the name of the deceased can be placed in what was brought). During fasting, you should not bring meat. On the days of the meat-eater, you cannot bring meat food to the funeral table in the temple.

What is church commemoration

Remembrance is a prayerful mention of the names of the living and the dead in the Orthodox Church during the Liturgy, at a prayer service, at a memorial service, based on faith in the power and effectiveness of this remembrance before God for the eternal good and salvation of those commemorated. The commemoration is done either by the clergy himself (according to memorials, diptychs), or according to the notes “On health” and “On repose”. If we want our deceased to be remembered by name, we should submit a note “On Repose.”

The notes contain the names of only those who were baptized in the Orthodox Church. The names of unbaptized people, suicides, atheists, apostates, and heretics cannot be written in notes.

Why are names written on notes?
"On Repose"

Names are not written to remind the Lord God of our departed ones. The Lord knows from eternity everyone who lived, who lives, and who will live on earth. The names in the notes remind us ourselves for whom we should pray, in whose memory we should do good deeds. Communicating with the living, we constantly remember them; We remember the deceased only in the first time after death. Gradually, the feeling of grief, the severity of separation weakens, and we forget our deceased. The deceased need more frequent reminders - and therefore the names of the deceased during Divine services are proclaimed much more often than the names of the living.

How to start a memorial

Already in the ancient Church, commemoration was carried out according to the so-called diptychs, which were two connected tablets (at first they were covered on the inside with wax, the inscriptions were made with a special twig-style, and then they began to make them from parchment or paper). The names of the living were written on one side of the table, and the names of the deceased on the other. Commemoration by diptychs (memorials) was considered a great honor. Only Christians of an impeccable lifestyle were included in these church memorials - first bishops, then priests, and then laity. Every Christian family had its own home memorial.

This division into two types of diptychs has survived to this day - and now in the church there are general, or church, diptychs (the so-called synodics), and private, home memorials. Synodics are held in monasteries and churches, the names of people for whom eternal commemoration is performed or ordered for a certain time are entered in them; Parishioners present their commemorations for commemoration. The simplest memorial is a note that is written before each service.

Since apostolic times, the reading of memorials has been an indispensable part of the most important of the daily services - the Liturgy. The reading of memorials is combined with the offering of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, by the power of which a petition is raised to the Lord to wash away the sins of those commemorated.

You can buy a memorial in the temple. Like the ancient diptych, it consists of two parts - a list of names of the living and a list of names of the deceased. The memorial is convenient not only for church prayer (it is served instead of a note), but also for home prayer - here you can indicate the days of the angels of those for whom you are praying, and other memorable dates. The names of all the living and deceased are written down in the memorial - and thus the memorial becomes a kind of family book.

In some families, the names of revered ascetics of piety who have not yet been canonized by the Church are included in memorials.

Should you be upset if you think
that your note was not read?

Serving remembrances of the deceased is an expression of our love for them. But true love does not lie in just offering remembrance, ordering a prayer service or memorial service and then calming down or even leaving the temple. Those who have given remembrance must themselves, if possible simultaneously with the clergy, prayerfully remember their loved ones both during the proskomedia, and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts, and in other cases of public or secret commemoration of the living and the dead.

“The commemoration of relatives,” writes Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), “is heard equally by God both from the altar and from the place where you stand.” Remembrance during Divine services is equally useful and fruitful, whether the priest pronounces the names, whether those serving at the altar read the commemorations, or whether the pilgrims themselves silently commemorate their dead, each standing in his own place. All prayers, even those said secretly in church during Divine services, are ascended to the Throne of God through the officiating primate.

During the services of general memorial services, especially on parental Saturdays, when the number of those commemorated increases, the clergy sometimes do not have the physical opportunity to read all the commemorations at least once and are forced to limit themselves to reading only a few names in each commemoration. The duty of the pilgrims themselves is to share and make up for the work of the clergy. Every pilgrim can, during every litany, during every exclamation, during a memorial service or funeral matins, remember his loved ones, read his memorial.

As you know, during the services of the holy righteous John of Kronstadt, so many notes were given that if you were to read them all, especially aloud, it would take much more time than the rest of the service. Therefore, usually the holy righteous John of Kronstadt only placed his hand on the whole pile of notes, mentally remembering all those written in, and all those praying were sure that the commemoration was done as it should. This, according to the faith of those praying, always happens in the Church of God, when for some reason the memorials submitted by pilgrims cannot be read by the clergy themselves. The Omniscient knows all names. The knower of the heart sees the love of the living for the dead, knows their zeal and disposition to pray for the deceased, and accepts the general prayer of the Church for those who offered and for their sake, as a commemoration of each individual.

What does our remembrance mean?
“On repose” in notes about the deceased

The prayer “For the repose” of the dead, as well as the petition for the health of the living, means a prayer for the salvation of the souls of those whose names are pronounced. The prudent thief asked from the cross: “Remember me, Lord, when You come into Your Kingdom!” In response to this request for remembrance, the Lord Jesus proclaims: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42.43). Consequently, to be remembered by the Lord is the same as “to be in paradise”; it means to have existence in eternal memory, in other words, to gain Eternal Life.

While taking out particles in memory of all the dead, the priest also takes out particles for everyone whose names are mentioned in the submitted memorials or notes “On the repose”. These removed particles do not have a sanctifying or cleansing effect, and they are not given to believers for communion. After all the communicants have partaken of the Holy Mysteries, the deacon will lower these particles into the chalice - so that the deceased, whose names are indicated in notes or memorials, having been washed by the Most Pure Blood of the Son of God, receive Eternal Life. This is also evidenced by the words of the prayer pronounced at the same time: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those remembered here, with Your Honest Blood.”

The commemoration of the dead also occurs in the second part of the Liturgy, after the reading of the Gospel, when, during the litany for the dead, the deacon calls on those present to pray for the repose of the souls of the servants of God, whom he calls by name, so that God would forgive them every sin, voluntary and involuntary, and to place their souls where the righteous rest.

At this time, each of the worshipers remembers all the deceased close to his heart and mentally says three times in response to every appeal of the deacon: “Lord, have mercy,” praying diligently both for his own and for all deceased Christians.

“We ask for the mercy of God,” exclaims the deacon, “for the Kingdom of Heaven and the remission of their sins from Christ the Immortal King and our God.”

Those praying in the temple cry out along with the choir: “Give, Lord.”

At this time, the clergyman prays in the altar before the Throne of the Lord, so that He who trampled death and gave life would rest the souls of His departed servants in a brighter place, in a greener place, and forgive them all their sins, “for He is the only one besides sin, His righteousness is righteousness forever and ever.” His word is truth." The priest ends this prayer with the exclamation: “For You are the resurrection and the life,” to which the choir responds in the affirmative: “Amen.”

The priest offers another prayer for the departed after the consecration of the Holy Gifts. The priest prays for all the departed, propitiating God during the sacrifice, and asks all those who have died, in the hope of the Resurrection of the Eternal Life, to rest in the depths of Eternal Bliss.

Saint Athanasius the Great, when asked what the souls of the departed feel when they are remembered, answered: “They partake of a certain benefit from a bloodless sacrifice and charity that is done in memory of them, they partake in the way that the owner of the living and the dead himself knows and commands. Our Lord and God."

Saint Simeon of Thessalonica writes: “Let it be known to every believer that if he loves a relative who has departed from here, then he can obtain great benefits for him if he makes sacrifices for him: giving to the poor, redeeming the captives and performing other deeds of mercy with which God is pleased, he becomes an intercessor for the sublime bliss of the deceased. In particular, one should try to make a bloodless sacrifice for him. because the particle removed in remembrance of the deceased and united with the blood of this sacrifice unites the person remembered with God, invisibly makes him a partaker of the all-cleansing blood of the Redeemer and makes him a fellow member of Christ. Therefore, not only those who benefit from this sacrifice, that is, the brethren who died in peace and repentance, are consoled and saved, but also the sacred Divine souls of the saints find in them and for them a new greatest joy; uniting and communicating with Christ through this Most Sacred Sacrifice, they again triumph in His victory over sin, and more purely and brightly and sincerely partake of His gifts, and implore Him for them. That is why Christ established this sacrifice, and that is why he gave it up for the sanctification and salvation of all, so that they would be one with Him, as He Himself prayed for it. Therefore, the saints constantly pray both for those who remember the dead, and for those who, remembering them, at the same time make a sacred sacrifice in honor and memory of the saints - and thus for all and for all of us they are intercessors and prayer books, asking for mercy so that everyone can achieve a similar fellowship with Christ. From here it is clear that we must remember our departed brethren as diligently as possible so that they, triumphant in Christ, may be granted the grace to be intercessors for us before Him, so that we too may be saved by the prayers of His saints.”

What you need to know about the memorial service

In addition to the daily commemoration of the deceased at daily services, the Church has established a number of funeral commemorations. Among them, the first place is occupied by the funeral service.

Memorial service - funeral service, service for the dead. The essence of the memorial service is the prayerful remembrance of our departed fathers and brothers, who, although they died faithful to Christ, did not completely renounce the weaknesses of fallen human nature and took their weaknesses and infirmities with them to the grave.

When performing a requiem mass, the Holy Church focuses our attention on how the souls of the departed ascend from the earth to the Judgment to the Face of God and how with fear and trembling they stand at this Judgment and confess their deeds before the Lord.

“Rest in peace” is sung during the funeral service. The physical death of a person does not mean complete peace for the deceased. His soul may suffer, not find peace, it may be tormented by unrepentant sins and remorse. Therefore, we, the living, pray for the departed, asking God to give them peace and relief. The Church does not anticipate from the Lord the all-justice of the mystery of His Judgment over the souls of our deceased loved ones; it proclaims the fundamental law of this Court - Divine mercy - and encourages us to pray for the departed, giving complete freedom to our hearts to express themselves in prayerful sighs, to pour out in tears and petitions.

During the requiem and funeral service, all worshipers stand with lit candles, in commemoration of the fact that the soul of the deceased has passed from earth to the Kingdom of Heaven - into the Never-Evening Divine Light. According to established custom, candles are extinguished at the end of the canon, before singing “From the spirits of the righteous...”.

The symbolic meaning of kutia

When burying the dead and remembering them, kolivo, or kutia, is brought to the temple. that is, boiled wheat seasoned with honey. Wheat means that the deceased will truly rise again from the grave: so wheat, thrown into the ground, first decays, and then grows and bears fruit. Therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ - our Resurrection - said: “Truly, truly, I say to you: unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; and if he dies, he will bear much fruit” (John 12:24). Honey consumed in kutia means that after the resurrection, the Orthodox and righteous will not have a bitter and regrettable life, but a sweet, favorable and blissful life in the Kingdom of Heaven.

When is it necessary to commemorate
about the deceased

The newly deceased is commemorated on the third, ninth and fortieth day after death, and the deceased - every year on the day of death (these days are called memorial days). Saint Simeon of Thessaloniki explains this custom this way: “Trinities (that is, commemoration on the third day after the death of the deceased) are performed because the Holy Trinity bestowed the remembered existence of the deceased, which even after repose will appear in its best form, having changed into a state better than what it was in beginning. Devyatiny (commemoration on the ninth day) are performed so that the spirit of the deceased... unites with the holy spirits of angels, so that through the intercession of these spirits, united in three faces, the Trinitarian God is propitiated and begged for the union of the human soul with the spirits of all saints. The Sorokousts are performed in remembrance of the Ascension of the Lord, which happened on the fortieth day after the Resurrection - and for this purpose, so that he (the deceased), rising from the grave, ascended to meet the Judge, being caught up in the clouds, and so would always be with the Lord.

Then the relatives commemorate the deceased every year, showing by this that he lives with them in soul, that he is immortal, that he will be renewed when the Creator desires and erects his body... Therefore, on all these days it is necessary to commemorate everyone and with all possible care, in particular, it is necessary to combine these commemorations with the offering of the Most Terrible and Life-Giving Sacrifice, which was given for this purpose: because through petitions, prayers, consecrated sacrifices and charity to the poor, not only those who have sinned, but those who have departed in repentance, remission of sins, weakness and a change in torment, but also those who lived righteously and achieved a good and God-loving death, as Chrysostom thinks in his interpretation of the Acts, are given greater purification, higher degrees of approach to God, special boldness at the Judgment of Christ and predominantly the bright areas of the saints of God.”

The anniversary of the deceased, the day of his memory, is for those who remember it a kind of holiday, albeit of a sad nature. According to pious custom, along with those performing the commemoration, their living relatives and friends will take part in it and then they will remember the deceased with a kutia, and perhaps even a fuller meal.

Of course, commemoration can be performed in memory of the deceased at any other time, at the request of the person praying.

In addition to private commemoration, there is also a general church commemoration, at which all the fathers and brethren who have passed away from time immemorial are remembered. These Ecumenical memorial services (parental Saturdays) are celebrated on Meat Saturdays, Trinity Saturday, Demetrius Saturday, the 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent, as well as on Radonitsa and August 29 and are dedicated to the remembrance of all brothers in faith and those who were caught sudden death and were not guided into the afterlife by the prayers of the Church. On April 26 (May 9), a commemoration is held for the deceased soldiers who laid down their lives on the battlefield for the Faith and Fatherland.

In the Orthodox Church candles for the repose of the dead It is customary to place it in front of the Lord's crucifixion (usually on the left in the temple), with which the Savior delivered the human race from eternal death, and with His Resurrection gave humanity eternal life. Or on a special eve table. Kanun is a quadrangular table with a marble or metal board on which cells for candles are located. On the eve stands the Crucifixion with the Savior and the upcoming Most Holy Theotokos and the Apostle John the Theologian.

The candle flame symbolizes a prayerful appeal to God and all the saints. No matter how the candle is tilted, its fire always burns towards the top, so a believer should turn all his thoughts and feelings to God.

There are some rules on how to correctly place a candle in front of an icon for repose. Before approaching the Lord's crucifix, you must cross yourself twice.

If there is no icon of the Lord’s crucifixion, then place a candle near any icon. The main thing is not to formally light the candles one after another, but in your thoughts remember each person for whom you are lighting a candle.

How to light a candle for repose correctly:

1. Approaching the icon of the crucifixion of the Lord (if there is one in the Temple), we cross ourselves 2 times.
2. Light a candle from a lamp (make sure that the wax does not drip) or from other people’s candles.

3. Place the candle in a free place and secure it so that it does not fall and come into contact with another candle next to it.

4. When lighting a candle for the repose, we say the following words “Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your departed servant (name)”. Or “Remember, Lord, your deceased servant (name) and forgive his sins, voluntary and involuntary, and grant him the Kingdom of Heaven.”

5. If you have prayed slowly, crossed yourself and bowed, you can also say another one, or carefully move away to a place convenient for you.

If you mistakenly placed the Crucifixion in front of the icon of a living person out of ignorance, then it’s nothing serious, the main thing in your thoughts was that you wished the person health. According to the word of Holy Scripture, “Everyone is alive with God” .
But you cannot deliberately light candles for the dead of the living, and at the same time wishing for bad things, as you will be punished. God see everything. Because the grace of God, filling the “temples of the Living God,” cannot serve spiritual abomination and uncleanness.

Rules of behavior in the temple, part 1

The commemoration of the dead is performed by the Orthodox Church several times a year. These are Ecumenical Memorial Services or Parental Saturdays - the Saturday before Maslenitsa, the second-fourth Saturday of Great Lent, before the Holy Trinity, before the day of remembrance of Demetrius of Thessaloniki, the day of the Beheading of John the Baptist and the second week after Easter on Monday or Tuesday. Believers come to the graves of their relatives to share the great joy of the Bright Resurrection of Christ with the dead.