Death in Holy Week. Clinical death or another life? Is it possible to bury at Easter

Great Sunday is one of the biggest and most joyful Orthodox holidays. On this day, people celebrate the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ to heaven in the Kingdom of God, the victory of life over death. But death can come regardless of Orthodox holidays, and even on such days people can die. How is the funeral ceremony carried out if a person dies on Easter week? Is it worth taking death during this period as a sign that the soul of the deceased will immediately go to heaven without the Last Judgment?

For people, this day has a different meaning. Some go to church, read prayers for health and congratulate everyone on the Resurrection of our Savior. But others do not believe in God at all, therefore they treat Easter as an interesting holiday, when housewives arrange magnificent feasts, bake Easter cakes and paint eggs, which children then break one against the other during a fun game.

Usually people come up with various signs and create all sorts of legends. All this would be nice if some superstitions did not prevent people from living a normal life. So, one of the topics discussed is. What happens to the soul of the deceased?

The Bible does not say anything about the fact that those who die on Easter will definitely go to heaven.

Of course, for many believers, death does not mean receiving the grace of God. This is not salvation - to die on this day, but confirmation that for a righteous, honest life and repentance, a person was worthy of receiving high favor. But for those who did not believe in God during their lifetime, even after death this day does not matter.

Funeral ceremony for the deceased on Easter

Death can come any day, regardless of us. And no one is immune from this on Orthodox holidays. But what about the burial and funeral service of the deceased on the day of Great Sunday or during Bright Week. Are the dead buried on Easter or not? A few points need to be clarified here. What caused death:

• murder;
• tragic death of a person;
• suicide;
• death due to illness.

The burial and funeral of suicides is surrounded by a mass of superstitions. Their funerals differ significantly from the usual rituals. And it has nothing to do with death on Easter. According to church rules, they cannot be buried before burial. And at the same time, suicides can be buried only on the third day after death. But since not everyone has the opportunity to keep the body of the deceased for so many days, it can be buried earlier. Also noteworthy are cases where a person was killed, but his killers staged his death as a suicide. Then the priests bury the deceased, but in case of an error, suffering for the sins of suicide will fall on relatives and his offspring.

But the natural death or death of a person will not affect the funeral ceremony in any way. Another question, is it possible to do this at Easter? There is an opinion that it is impossible to bury the dead on the day of the Great Resurrection and on Bright Week. But after all, both life and death go on as usual, regardless of Orthodox holidays.

If such a misfortune happened, then it is worth going to the priest and consulting. Maybe you need to wait one day and with a calm soul to spend the entire mourning ceremony, along with the funeral service after Easter. After all, priests are often busy on this day with festive services. You also need to take into account the fact that many cemeteries are closed on Easter. Therefore, it simply will not work to bury the deceased, or many issues will need to be resolved in order to complete the burial. But after Easter, it is easier to hold the whole ceremony and arrange a memorial meal.

Or on Easter they are buried and buried according to a special Easter rite. These rules were first recorded in the Treasury of 1624. At the coffin of the deceased on Paschal week, there may be a longer service, the reading of the Paschal prayer service with the omission of the Gospel and the recitation of the 3rd, 6th and 9th odes of the canon of litanies for the dead. The singing of “God rest with the saints” and “You Himself alone” should be left as the only difference between the Paschal burial. The service of a full memorial service is postponed until Radonitsa - the day of commemoration of the dead. Burial on the Bright Week of Pascha is performed with thanksgiving and joy, as indicated in the Great Ribbon (sheet 18).

Sometimes signs interfere with people in everyday life. There is no need to postpone the funeral because of superstition, you need to consult with the priest. The priest will explain when to carry out the burial, and he will definitely conduct a mourning ceremony on Easter week, but only according to a special Easter rite.

Lent is a time of deep sorrow. It is especially difficult to survive it if a loved one dies. Relatives in such cases are completely lost, because the event happened on special days, and you need to do everything right and with dignity. The Church clearly regulates how and if a person died in Lent. But among the people there are various superstitions and signs in this regard.

Popular superstitions

Great Lent intensifies feelings and thoughts. A person is increasingly thinking about the soul and his actions. And so often ordinary situations seem like great trials. And death is perceived especially sharply and with deep sorrow. The very time of Lent is the preparation of a person for the afterlife, for life after death. It is recommended to confess, take communion and take unction, so that sins can be forgiven.

In the old days, it was believed that the Lord calls to Himself most often during Great Lent. There was even such a saying: "The snow will melt, and people will leave for water." Modern ritual and funeral agencies also note a large increase in visitors and buyers in March-April.

If a person is baptized, a believer, and communed and confessed, thus preparing for the afterlife, then his death at any time will be easier, and his soul will find peace and its quiet abode.

From the point of view of the salvation of the soul, it was considered especially graceful to die on Easter or on Easter week.

The opinion of the Orthodox Church

The clergy refute the special significance of death and burial during Lent. During this period, commemorations on the 9th, 40th days and the anniversary of death are not satisfied, but are transferred to Saturday or Sunday of the current week. The only exception is Palm Sunday, when there are no commemorations.

In the church during Lent, the Orthodox order memorial services every Wednesday and Friday. Saturday and Sunday are the days for attending masses for the repose of the souls of the dead. They do not accept orders for magpies during Lent.

In order to pray for the deceased, there are special memorial Saturdays during Lent. For the entire period of Lent there are three of them:

• Saturday of the 2nd week;
• Saturday of the 3rd week;
• Saturday of the 4th week of Great Lent.

There is no specific date for them. They move around the calendar according to Lent and Easter.

Also, before Christ's Resurrection, a Great Panikhida is served, which is attended by those who want to atone for the sins of their deceased relatives.

Easter week is a special week for remembering the dead. This is the time of universal joy, when the dead see Christ. During this period, memorial services and masses are not served.

It must be remembered that in the church you can only pray for those baptized in the Orthodox faith. Alms are given for suicides, non-Christians and unbaptized.

How to hold a commemoration in the Post

On commemoration days, proskomedia are ordered and liturgies are served after the service. It is only necessary to submit notes on the repose of deceased relatives.

The table for treats should also be lean. They commemorate the dead with a prayer before lunch or dinner.

At the very beginning, kutya is served - porridge made from grains. Also on the table should be lean pancakes. In addition, there should be soup, vegetable and cold snacks. The meaning of the meal is remembrance and mourning. Alcohol is not allowed. Pouring a glass of vodka to the deceased, covering it with bread and placing it next to a photograph is not blessed by the Orthodox Church.

The earthly Church helps the soul of the deceased on the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. through the prayer of loved ones and relatives, he prepares an appropriate fate for the deceased: the more fervent and sincere the prayer, the better it will be for him in heaven. If a person died during Great Lent, then nothing good or bad happened to his soul. Much more important is how a person lived, how he prayed, and whether he did good deeds.

During the Bright Week, funeral services are not performed in churches. However, priests continue to commemorate the dead at the proskomedia, people who died these days are buried according to a special Easter rite, and, of course, no one can forbid you to pray in private for your deceased loved ones.

According to the explanation of some (see Cer. Vest. 1891, 27), regarding the celebration of requiems during Bright Week, the Charter says that during this week they cannot be performed “in the vestibule of the temple”, and does not at all prohibit their performance (outside the temple). The funeral service (and the performance of memorial services at the same time) also happens in the temple (without the performance of funeral liturgies). There are no funeral services on Bright Week, but you can take prosphora and commemorate the dead at the proskomedia (see Tser. Vest. 1895, 47).

The victory over death, gained by the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ, displaces the sadness of temporary separation from relatives, and therefore we, according to Metropolitan Anthony of Surozh, “with faith, hope and Paschal confidence, stand at the tomb of the departed.” It is on Radonitsa that there is a custom of remembering the Resurrection of Christ on the graves of the dead, where colored eggs, Easter cakes, and sweets are brought. Part of the prepared food is distributed to those in need as a reminder of the soul. The commemoration of the dead reflects the belief that even after death they do not cease to be members of the Church, founded on earth by the Lord Jesus Christ, who "is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living."

Before going to the cemetery, you should visit the temple, order a memorial service, write a note “for repose”, pray for the dead. The now widespread custom of visiting cemeteries on the very day of Easter contradicts the charter of the Church: during the first Easter week, the remembrance of the dead is not performed at all. If a person dies on Easter, then he is buried according to a special Easter rite. Easter is a time of special and exceptional joy, a celebration of victory over death and over all sorrow and sorrow.

Wake on Easter week in 2018 can be celebrated after April 15

The first commemoration of the dead and the first memorial service is performed on the second week, after Fomin Sunday, on Tuesday - Radonitsa (from the word joy - after all, the celebration of Easter continues). On this day, a memorial service is served and believers visit the cemetery to pray for the departed, so that Easter joy is passed on to them.

Is it possible to go to the cemetery after Easter and clean up the graves until memorial days?

After the Wednesday of Bright Week, you can already go to the cemetery to clean the graves of your loved ones after the winter before the Radonitsa holiday. In the event of the death of a person, and death on Easter is traditionally considered a sign of God's mercy, then the funeral service is performed according to the Easter rite, which includes many Easter hymns.

You can commemorate at home, you can also submit notes, but a public commemoration on Easter days in the form of a memorial service is not held. If the anniversary of death falls during Easter and Bright Week, the commemoration is postponed for the period starting from Radonitsa.

Remembering the dead, it's better to do everything right - in the Gospel

Surely everyone knows where an old woman lives nearby, for whom a loaf of white bread is already a delicacy, because she is not able to buy it for herself. Widows, orphans, the disabled live somewhere... To go to them that day, bring them something to eat, clean their houses - these works of mercy will bring much more benefit to ourselves and the souls of our deceased relatives than actually a hike to the cemetery.

After all, you can pray for the dead anywhere, at any convenient time - and especially in the temple of God. But to do a good deed and ask them to pray for the repose of God's servant name - this is the best celebration of Radonitsa.

So, the meaning of the meal is almsgiving, our trip to the cemetery is for prayer. And it turns out that such “campaigns” have turned into a meaningless tradition, when not everyone understands its meaning and purpose. What is it all for? Well others go and we go. God forbid to be worse than someone!

A trip to the cemetery on Easter days does not make sense. The Church sets its own time for everything: a time to commemorate the dead, and a time to rejoice in victory over death.

Paschal week is a victory over death, and even the church charter says that if the third, ninth or fortieth day of the repose of the deceased falls on Paschal week, the commemoration is transferred.

Prayer, almsgiving, abstinence from pagan customs - this is the main thing.

During Holy Week, Easter, and then the whole Light of the seventh, the departed voices, but not in-mi-na-yut-sya. Continues in-mi-no-ve-nie on Li-tour-gii: for pro-sko-mi-di-her, for su-gu-boy ek-te-nii (“about all the former ones”), as well as in secret prayers after for-to-stop-no-ka, so yes, on Pas-hu they pray for the dead.

But sa-ma Pas-ha of the Lord is a holiday of victory over death, yes-ro-ro-by-Christ of life eternal to all people. And on such bright days, mi-no-ve-niyu of the dead comes with a special from-te-nok.

Ob-rya-do-voe in-mi-but-ve-nie na-chi-na-et-sya after Fo-mi-noy week

Po-not-del-nick Ra-do-ni-tsy (follow-du-yu-sed-mi-ts after Svet-loy) - this is the first day, when, in fact, com-ver-sha-is-sya rya-to-voe for-soothing in-mi-no-ve-nie.

From my own antiquity, describe-sa-on-tra-di-tion, when, after Easter celebrations, we went to the cemetery. But for what? First of all, for mo-lit-you.

In our days, going to the cemetery - rather, a kind of water for “ma-ev-ki”, “peak-no-ka on the side of the road”, as well as for meeting with distant relatives-no-ka-mi, you see them once a year. Well, and in-water in-beauti-co-va-sya before one-but-sel-cha-na-mi, to be “like everyone else”, or even “better than everyone”.

If we are talking about tra-pe-ze, as about the most ancient church establishment, then its meaning is in the mi-lo-stay. As it is said in the Gospels: “When you de-la-eat lunch or dinner, do not call your friends, nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor your fellow gods, so that they don’t call you once, and you don’t receive praise. But, when you de-la-eat a feast, call on the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, that they cannot repay you, for you will be rewarded in the resurrection of the righteous ”().

Such people were called to pray for the departed. For example, the mother of the blessed Av-gu-sti-na, according to local custom, with the ra-do-stu va-ri-la ka-shu and feed-mi-la with her beggars, doing mi-lo-sta-nu for the good of the souls of the dead.

The meaning is, in a way, in a cemetery, - this, first of all, is a prayer

Even more important - come to the church on this day for the service and pray for the departed. Yes, in the small parish temples of the divine service, everything is the same, but they co-ver-sha-yut-sya - even if it’s not Li-tour-gyi, but only pa-no-hee-dy. And when you come to Ra-do-ni-tsu to the cemetery (Tuesday, the second swarm of sed-mi-tsy after Easter), to the graves of your loved ones, you should not do something that offends their memory, and Sa-mo-th God.

For example, now the tra-di-qi-on-nym "at-ri-bu-tom" in-mi-no-ve-niya has become a dis-pi-va-nie on the mo-gi-lah of al-ko-gol-nyh on-pit-kov. This is non-sense, there should not be such a thing. At-stav-le-ryu-mok, you-le-va-vod-ki in mo-gi-lu, by and large, is a clear repudiation of the gospel norms. After all, it is said that the Kingdom of God is not food and drink (). In-lu-cha-et-sya, na-mi ru-ko-vo-dit ti-pic-noe language-che-stav-le-tion that for some reason you should eat and drink.

On the other hand, without-from-kaz-but “sra-ba-you-va-et” is clearly an indecent understanding that if we drink here, eat and ve-se-lim-sya, it means, and in a way-no-ku “there” ho-ro-sho. How not to look, languages, and only.

But the main thing on Ra-do-ni-tsu is to sing, that is, to pray for the best, and not to fill up and get drunk. While drunk, we witness how we dislike our dead.

For the sake of the departed, it’s better to do everything right-vil-but - in Evangelical-sky

For sure, everyone knows where the old-ru-ha lives, for some boo-han-ka white-lo-go-bread is already la-com-stvo, because she is not in the state of his se-be-to-drink. Somewhere there live widows, si-ro-you, in-va-li-dy ... Go to them on this day, give them something to eat, take away from them at home - these de la mi-lo-ser-diya bring-not-days to us ourselves, and the souls of our deceased relatives go-times to more benefit, rather than own-but tour-walk to the treasure-be-sche.

After all, you can pray for the dead in any place, at any convenient time - and especially in the temple of God. But to do a good deed and ask, so that you could pray for the appropriation of the servant of God's name of the rivers - this is my best pro-ve-de-nie Ra-do-ni-tsy.

So, the meaning of the meal is mi-lo-stay, our trip to the cemetery is for prayer. And in our country it’s like, that such “on-the-go-dy” turned into a meaningless tradition, when not everyone doesn’t understand its meaning and pre-knowing. For what is this all? Well, others go, and we go. God forbid to be worse than someone else!

Going to the cemetery of names, but on Easter days, it doesn’t make sense. The Church, for everything, sets its own time: it’s time to remember the dead, and the time to ra-do-wat-sya over death.

Pas-chal-naya sat-mi-tsa is a be-yes over death, and even in the church charter it says, that if on the pas-chal-ny sat-mi-tsu you-pa-yes-et is the third, de-vy-th or so-ro-ko-day of re-stav-le-of the deceased, by-mi-on-re-re- but-sit-sya.

Mo-lit-va, mi-lo-sty-nya, restraint from the language of customs - this is the main thing.

Su-shche-stvu-et tra-di-tion - invite to mo-gi-ly the priest-puppy-no-ka

In the villages, as usual, no one is in a hurry, the priest co-verifies the general pa-no-khi-du, and maybe go to each mo-gi-loch-ke, sing “With holy peace” or serve litia. In cities, this is more difficult. Huge treasure-houses, and relatives-no-kov for-often come-for-thousand-thousand-che to the priest-no-ka. How to be?

In this question, one more nem-lo-important nu-ance is hidden in-mi-no-ve-niya of the dead. If we have already come to the cemetery, the main thing is that the heart should be turned to God, and in it it sounds-cha-la prayer. But there should not be a vain-glory-of-the-ho-la-niya, so that, exactly, “to my mo-gi-loch-ke” a ba-tyush-ka came, it’s my-th kind-relatives-no-serve.

God does not consider the meters of the priesthood to be close to the grave of the deceased, and even more so, God does not sympathize with our vanity. If you want to have a name like chi-she-go-kind or close to someone-lo-ve-ka-lo-not-se-but in prayers, for this there is Li-tur-gy, special days in-mi-no-ve-nia, there is also a personal reading of the Psalm-you-ri - all this is a great consolation for the souls of the dead shih.

Recall the history of the Ki-e-in-the-Pe-cher-Lav-ra, when, on the Easter greeting, the pre-good Di-o-no-this saints-fathers, in the caves in-chi-va-yu-shchi, from-ve-ti-li “Vo-is-ti-well, Resurrection!”. Why would we, coming with a prayer to the cemetery, not say to our deceased “Christ Vos-kre-se!” This is a real-but spiritual joy, something we de-lim with peace of mind.

To the question about "coffins", "red mountains", "black weeks"

These days are not related to the ka-te-go-rii of the general-church-of-statutory on-m-nal days, but the custom-tea has such a wide-ro-some race-pro-country that it has become practically all-local. His si-la-ve-li-ka is over-measure-but, and his meaning in the “native-consciousness” in a swarm surpasses all the usual ro-di-tel-sky sub-bo-you.

This day, Ra-to-ni-tsa becomes-but-it-sya is less and less church. On-against: more and more on-half-nya-et-sya languages-che-ski-mi and just pro-ti-in-church-kov-us-mi-cha-i-mi and nya-ti-i-mi. For the majority, Ra-do-ni-tsa is a little-under-understandable ri-tu-al: no one really knows what it means, but practically everyone goes to the treasure-house.

In na-ro-de, his name is “coffin-ka-mi”, “red mountain-koy”, and s-mu Ra-do-ni-tsu “black week”. There are a lot of regional features, ben-no-stays, as well as the names of the mi-nal days - “hedgehog according to custom”.

Unconscious customs

In sociology, 20-25 years is a co-le-tion. The Soviet time “you-bi-lo” from the church tradition is three whole generations. Defined-de-len-knowledge could be re-given from ba-bush-ki to granddaughter, but after three generations - this is little-ve-ro-yat-but. The right-to-glorious traditions disappeared, but something on the nose remained. And when they co-ver-sha-ut-sya in-mi-na-nia, the pain-shin-stvo of the modern-men-ni-kov can hardly be clearly answered, for what this or that de-la-et-sya.

Here, for example, remember those custom-tea in the village, when they carry a coffin and stay on the cross-roads. For what? The fact is that earlier, during the carrying of the coffin with the deceased, from home to the temple for from-pe-va-niya, on each cross, there was a litia, chi-ta-moose Evangel-ge-lie for repose (in many places of Ukraine, this good custom-tea is preserved -nil-sya). This is very good-ro-sho, very teaching-tel-but, everything is se-lo willy-no-unwittingly, but mo-lit-sya ...

And in the conscience of the majority of people, only a fragment of the custom of tea remained: they carry it anyway, they stayed on the re-cross, but for something - sky-to-mo. And there are so many.

Further. Yes, and in not very ve-ru-y-ing families in Soviet times, there was a portrait in a way-no-go, near someone-ro-go there was a candle. Ho-tya according to the lo-gi-ke of things - a candle-cha for-zh-ga-las before the icon. And such examples of mass ...

Yes, my-lo-stay-nya turned into some strange ri-tu-al once-da-i-niya can-fet: children on Ra-do-ni-tsu go through the treasure-bi-schu with ku-lech-ka-mi, and they go-ra-mi warehouse-di-ru-yut con-fe-you, pe-che-nye, fruit-you. At the same time, the generous “po-yes-those-whether” is not for-du-we-va-yut-sya at all: what is it for? The idea is good-ro-shay, it's mi-lo-sta-nya! But by and large, this turns into a fun.

What about the Bu-Tyl-ki, Co-Bi-Ra-th: Tru-ni-n-mi-ka-la-mi-la-l-mi-l-ms-pi-nin-vani-leny on the Mo-Gil-Ta-Ta-altable hundred grams ... is it, we are owned-and-right-and-th-th-th-th-th-th-it-seni?

What do people think...

Imagine how many years must pass for people who read these lines to agree with what was said here, and teach this to children.

But in the rejection of the language traditions, for many, a terrible and very painful question is hidden: “What do people think, what will they say?”

... One of my relatives died. Immediately, there were dis-quests, is it necessary to za-ve-shi-vat zer-ka-la? - No, it doesn't make sense; zer-ka-la is not for-ve-si-whether. And what about forks in the quality of a hundred-of-a-boo-ditch cannot be put on the table for a mi-nal meal? - Can-but, in-lo-ji-whether on a hundred forks. And that's it, no problem!

So, we ourselves do a lot of pro-qi-ru-e, without-doubt-but with the environment with the environment and repeating other people's mistakes. Everyone says: to go to the treasure-house, - let's go and we. Everyone says, to-stand-up a glass-ku, - we’ll stop. Everyone says, we-give-give con-fe-you, - one-yes-dim and we ...

You do not need to become a “be-one-one-one”-do not pour on the sou-oh-u-e-e-out water on the m-game, do not desecrate a pas-Mo-mi-mi-ka-mi and ob-gorge, to the mi-Lo-Lo-old-sisted, no one to the background of the non-waist-mi-mi-mi-ms?

So, on-true, it’s better to step, rather than arrange pas-hal-nye de-bo-shi.

Why is the priest at the cemetery?

Mo-lit-you over the coffin, on the mo-gi-le of the deceased co-verged always. So this day, the Church is not one iota away from the fact that de la elk 10-15 centuries ago.

In this, by the way, there may be a mis-si-o-ner sense. One-but de-lo, when si-dit is right-mo-ta-ki com-pash-ka people, you-pi-va-yu-shchih around-le mo-gi-ly, and another - when the priest who came at mo-gi-ly about-from-no-sit sacred words-va, about-from-no-sit sacred dogs-no-pe -tion. For many, this is a living pro-po-after all. Without a priest-no-ka, there is a next-to-va-nie-not-understand-but-mu ri-tu-a-lu, and so someone is mo-lit-sya, albeit unconsciously-know-but, but someone is thinking about the Eternal.

The presence of a priest-no-ka in the cemetery also has a certain dis-ci-pl-nar-ny effect, when you will be ashamed to swear, and you will sing a voice, and sing a song - all-ta-ki ba-tyush-ka next to the house. So, are there sacred-but-serve-te-la-mo-ha-et-o-o-o-ra-live-vat this for-often wild environment.

From the old antiquity of christi-sti-ane in the after-pas-chal-days come-ho-di-li for special prayers on the graves of the departed christi-an. And today it’s important that everything go from the customs of Ra-before-no-tsy to the nasal, pagan, so that everything that goes on in the cemeteries these days should be out of christian love for something, and not out of a desire to do “like people” or from simple vanity.

The more there will be us, the glorious ones, the greater the likelihood that, sooner or later, the hoards will turn into sacred places of a hundred prayers, and not pre-exaltation and increase.

Bishop Fila-ret (Zve-rev)