Commemoration of the Departed

For Christians, the parting of the soul from the body is a painful but necessary stage in our progress from this life to eternal life with God. The Church honors the mortal remains of each of its members, burying them in the earth to await the second coming of Christ, and prays that God may forgive their sins, have mercy on them, and welcome them into His kingdom.

Why pray for the dead?

At every Divine Liturgy, we say, "I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." That is why we say of those who have died that they have "departed" (gone away from us") or that they have "fallen asleep", echoing the words of our Lord, who said of his friend Lazarus, when he was about to raise him from the tomb after four days: “our friend, Lazarus, is asleep ” (John 11:11).

In the Byzantine tradition, our attitude toward death is expressed in the following ancient prayer:

O God of spirits and of all flesh, you trampled death and broke the power of the devil and granted life to your world. Now grant rest, O Lord, to the soul of your servant (Name) in a place of light, joy, and peace where there is no pain, sorrow, nor mourning. As a good and loving God, forgive every sin committed by them in word, deed, or thought, since there is no one who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin; your justice is eternal justice; and your word is truth. For you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life, and the repose of your departed servant (Name), and we give glory to you, together with your eternal Father, and your all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and forever.

We know that all of those who are "in Christ", who are baptized into the Lord's death and raised to new life, will live again. But we also know that they, like us, will have to give an account for their deeds. So we ask God to forgive them and grant their souls a place of "life, joy, and peace" until we are all gathered together into the eternal life of the "world to come." In doing so, we can be of assistance and comfort not just to those who have died, but also the family and friends whom they have left behind.

Our attitude toward death and Resurrection is expressed in the symbols of the services with which we accompany the Christian who has died:

In doing these things, we commemorate those who have died - that is, we remember them together with one another, and with God.

Over time, prayers for the dead were also included in other liturgical services. For example, in the Divine Liturgy the celebrating priests remember those who have died, particularly the bishop who ordained them (if he has died); and the evening prayer of Compline includes special prayers for the departed. Saturday (the day our Lord spend in the tomb) is a general day of remembrance, and the hymns of Vespers on Friday night include remembrance of those who have died in Christ.

Five Saturdays (called All Souls Saturdays) are set aside for a general commemoration of the departed:

The remainder of this article describes the liturgical prayers for the departed Christian, as practiced by the Slavic churches that employ the Byzantine Rite.

At the time of death

According to our tradition, as soon as a Christian has died, a priest is summoned. He incenses the body of the newly-departed one and prays a short service, the First Panachida:

"Blessed is our God...."
introductory prayers (the so-called "Trisagion prayers": Holy God; Most Holy Trinity; etc)
Troparia for the dead ("With the souls of the just brought to perfection...)
Litany for the Deceased
Dismissal

The prayer at the end of the Litany of Supplication is the principal prayer for the dead in the Byzantine tradition:

O God of spirits and of all flesh, you trampled death and broke the power of the devil and granted life to your world. Now grant rest, O Lord, to the soul of your servant (Name) in a place of light, joy, and peace where there is no pain, sorrow, nor mourning. As a good and loving God, forgive every sin committed by them in word, deed, or thought, since there is no one who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin; your justice is eternal justice; and your word is truth. For you, O Christ our God, are the resurrection, the life, and the repose of your departed servant (Name), and we give glory to you, together with your eternal Father, and your all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and forever.

The liturgical books assume that the burial of a Christian who has died will take place shortly afterwards, generally on the second or third day (counting the day of death as the first day). This was a practical necessity in cultures which did not practice embalming, and made sense when most relatives lived nearby. (Later in this article, we will discuss how the services are used today.)

The family and friends kept watch over the body of the one who has died, often reading or chanting the 150 psalms of the Psalter, together with prayers for the dead. In ancient times, this took the form of an all-night vigil, or pannychis, similar to those celebrated on the eves of major saints. Family and friends would gather to comfort one another and pray for the one who has died.

In the morning, the priest would go to the home of the departed, incense the body, and celebrate a Panachida. Then the body was taken to the church for the burial service.

The Burial Service (Funeral)

In the Byzantine Rite, the funeral service for a Christian bears a great similarity to the Matins service on Great and Holy Saturday, commemorating the Sabbath during which our Lord's body rested in the tomb, awaiting his Resurrection. In this way, the Church shows her basic attitude about death: the Christian's body honorably awaits the Resurrection, as we offer prayers for soul of the one awaiting judgment and the hope of eternal life. The Christian life is death to sin and life with Christ, and this is evident also in the way the Church approaches death.

The body is taken into the church to the singing of the ancient processional hymn, "Holy God". In the presence of the body of the departed, those present sing the burial or funeral service. (See this outline of the funeral service, which also contains a comparison to Matins of Holy Saturday). At the end of the service, the body is taken to the cemetery for burial, where a short graveside service is sung.

The Divine Liturgy

According to our Slavonic liturgical books, the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated as part of the burial service; instead, is celebrated with special petitions and hymns for the departed on the third day (counting the day of death as the first), then again on the 9th and 40th days, and on the annual anniversary of the Christian's death. Each of these Divine Liturgies may also be followed by a Panachida for all those being remembered on that day.

In our day, the Divine Liturgy is often added to the end of the funeral service, but a separate Divine Liturgy for the departed (one or several) may also be celebrated.

The Memorial Services, or Parastas

Of course, on the anniversary of the death of a loved one, there may be a desire to celebrate an additional memorial service for the dead; this is especially the case for the five All Souls Saturdays, on which all our departed loved ones are remembered.

For this purpose, the Byzantine Rite provides a memorial service, called the Parastas ("standing service") or Great Panachida ("all-night service"). This service was originally celebrated as an extended night-time vigil for the dead, and is quite similar to the burial or funeral service (comparison chart):

This short concluding memorial service is exactly the same as the Panachida described above, which is called Short Panachida to distinguish it from the "full Panachida" of which it is simply the conclusion.

In the liturgical books and chant books, the Parastas is listed after the funeral service, since as a memorial for the dead, it continues to be celebrated long after their burial has taken place.

Current Practice for the Funeral and Memorial Services

Over time, it became possible (and sometimes necessary) to delay the burial of a deceased Christian beyond the day after their death. Furthermore, the body did not usually stay in the family home, but was taken to a funeral home instead. As a result, the sequence of services changed:

  1. The Panachida immediately after death was usually omitted (though it could easily be restored if a priest is available).
  2. On the day before the burial takes place, the Parastas (Great Panachida) is celebrated in the evening.
  3. On the morning of the burial, the Panachida is celebrated once more in the home or funeral home.
  4. Then the body is taken to church for the funeral (possibly combined with the Divine Liturgy).
  5. The body is borne in procession to the cemetery for a graveside service and burial.

Because there is significant overlap between the Parastas and Funeral services, each service was sometimes abbreviated, with parts omitted that had already been celebrated or would be celebrated the next day. This tended to hide the similarities and differences between the two services. Also, new practices such as cremation have had an effect on the funeral services.

The Parastas and (Small) Panachida continue to be celebrated as memorial services, usually after the Divine Liturgy. The Panachida can be found in our Divine Liturgies book on pages 432-440, immediately after the Divine Liturgy propers "for the faithful departed."

A Parastas, or a Divine Liturgy with Panachida, is celebrated on the five All Souls Saturdays. At these services, the names of all those being commemorated is read as part of the prayers; this list, called hramoty, may be kept by each family for its own departed members, or by the parish all together.

The Funeral Service for a Child

The funeral services for a baptized child who dies before the "age of reason" is much simpler than that for a youth or adult, since the services do not assume that the one who has died has committed serious sins. Instead, the prayers lament their death, and ask for consolation for their family and friends.

Funeral Services during Bright Week

Similarly, funeral services celebrated during Bright Week (the week after Pascha) omit much of the mournful character of an ordinary funeral; a pious tradition states that those who die during Bright Week go straight to heaven. Instead, Paschal hymns and the Paschal Canon are sung. The same applies to the memorial service (Parastas) when celebrated during Bright Week.

Funeral Services for a Priest

Funeral services for a priest are more elaborate, because during life they have borne greater responsibilities, and will be judged accordingly. Instead of the Psalter, the Holy Gospel is read during the nights from the priest's death until his burial. A priest's funeral services take place over several days, and culminate in the burial service, with the body clothed in new vestments for burial.

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