On commemoration according to the charter of the Orthodox Church. On the commemoration of the dead according to the charter of the Orthodox Church

Reminder for note submitters

About commemoration

1) The commemoration at the proskomedia is the most important and significant commemoration. Commemoration takes place on the liturgical prosphora and on the prosphora served on the altar by the faithful. At this time, notes and commemoration books with the names of the living and deceased Christians are read. The clergyman takes out a particle of prosphora, saying: "Remember, Lord, (the name of the person being commemorated is indicated)."

The particles taken out of the prosphora are placed on a diskos, next to the Lamb (the central part of a special lamb prosphora intended for communion). This is the first, invisible and inaudible by those praying in the temple, the commemoration of those whose names are written in the submitted notes. Saint righteous John Kronstadtsky writes about the particles taken out of the prosphora and laid on the paten: “On the proskomedia, it is figuratively represented gathered around the Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world, the whole Church, heavenly and earthly ... What a close connection exists between the Lord and His saints, between Him and those who piously live on earth and those who died in faith and piety; remember what a close relationship there is between us and the saints and the dead in Christ, and love everyone as members of the Lord and your own members. Mother of God and all the saints, and all of us, Orthodox Christians, when the divine, universal, pre-heavenly, universal Liturgy is celebrated! My God! What a delightful, life-giving fellowship!” After all the communicants partake of the Holy Mysteries, the deacon puts into the Chalice (Holy Chalice) the particles reclining on the paten about the saints, the living and the dead. This is done so that the saints, in the closest union with God, rejoice in heaven, while the living and the dead, whose names are indicated in the notes, having been washed by the Most Pure Blood of God's Son, receive the remission of sins and eternal life. This is also evidenced by the words uttered at the same time by the clergyman: Particles taken out of the prosphora for the living and the dead, reclining near the most pure Body of the Lord, being brought into the Chalice, drunk with Divine blood, are filled with shrines and spiritual gifts and send them down to the one whose name is exalted .

2) Church commemoration is performed only for those who were baptized in the Orthodox faith. Memorial services for suicides, as well as for those who are not baptized in the Orthodox faith, are not performed. Moreover, these persons cannot be commemorated at the liturgy. The unbaptized and non-Orthodox are not commemorated because otherwise the particles taken out for them would be a “foreign element” in the Body of Christ. In addition, such a commemoration violates the God-given freedom of the individual, it is, as it were, a forced reckoning of a person to the Church, as the mystical Body of Christ, without him, the person, for that goodwill and consent.

3) Priests take out on the proskomedia particles from the proskomedia prosphora about the health and repose of the hierarchs and primates of the Church, as well as for the members of the parish included in the synodic of the community. The names from your notes and commemorative books are usually commemorated on the prosphora you ordered.

4) It is customary to order at least one prosphora for proskomedia. There is an opinion that for proskomidia it is necessary to order two prosphora, one for health and one for rest. This is a pious custom, but if you order only one prosphora, then do not sin in the least. Each prosphora is two-part, as a sign of the two natures of Christ, divine and human; the priest takes out particles from each prosphora for both health and repose. There is also a false opinion that the more you order prosphora, the better. From the above, it can be seen that the number of ordered prosphora does not affect the quality of the commemoration.

5) Please write your notes in legible handwriting, preferably in large, block letters.

6) The names of the bishops, priests and monastics are indicated first, and their dignity is indicated - for example, “about the health” of Bishop Tikhon, hegumen Alipius, Priest Yaroslav, monk Philotheus, nun Taisia, novice Dionysius, then write your name, your relatives and friends. The same applies to the notes “about the repose” - for example, Metropolitan John, Archpriest Michael, Alexandra, John, Anthony, Elijah, etc. All names must be given in church writing (for example, George, not Yuri) and in full (for example, Alexander, Nikolai, but not Sasha, Kolya. All kinds of Fridas, Werners and Valdemars are unacceptable. Communist "Vilena", etc. are not Orthodox names that can be given at baptism).

7) It is possible to write down the names of the patriarch, our first hierarch and the ruling bishop in commemoration books and notes, but in any case they are commemorated at the beginning of the proskomedia, on special proskomedia prosphora, so this can be refrained from. Of course, this does not apply to our guests from other dioceses who wish to commemorate their hierarchies.

8) Try to keep track of the number of names in your memorials, it should not be too large. It is advisable to commemorate your relatives and only those people whom you know or knew personally. Please refrain from entering into your commemoration books the names of ascetics of piety who have not yet been glorified by the Church and are not personally known to you, about whom you have read in books or heard about. It will be better for your soul to pray for them in private prayer.

9. In health notes, there is no need to write “suffering”, “embittered”, “needy”, “lost”, etc. The Lord knows all our needs and circumstances. The very concept of "health" includes not only the physical, but also the spiritual health of a person. The Church prays for the health and salvation of her children, and it is spiritual, and not physical health, that is the prerequisite for salvation.

10) If you do not know the full Christian name of a person and are not sure whether he was baptized, refrain from entering his name in the memorial until the facts are clarified. In the meantime, remember them in your private prayers.

11) Since during Great Lent there is no proskomidia at the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, accordingly, in this case it makes no sense to submit notes for the proskomidia.

12) Please submit notes and commemorations, if possible, in advance, preferably the night before, after the vigil. Remember that the reception of notes on the day of the liturgy ends after the small entrance, and even this is already a big deviation from the Rule, which prescribes to end the proskomedia before the beginning of the liturgy, at the sixth hour. This allowance is made out of condescension to human infirmities and taking into account the circumstances of our life in the diaspora, which do not always allow us to come to the temple, as it should be, before the beginning of the liturgy. (It should be specially noted that in the monasteries of our diocese, proskomidia on weekdays is performed during the reading of kathismata at midnight office and matins. Therefore, pilgrims who came to the monastery church at the beginning of the service should submit their notes at this time, and not wait for the hours .)

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church note)

Those who have Christian names are remembered for health, and only those baptized in the Orthodox Church are remembered for repose.

Notes can be submitted to the liturgy:

At the proskomedia - the first part of the liturgy, when for each name indicated in the note, particles are taken out of special prosphora, which are subsequently lowered into the Blood of Christ with a prayer for the forgiveness of sins

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. Great tonsure

Commemoration at a special ektinya

1) A new practice has come into use in Russia - to order a commemoration of health and repose for a special litany, as well as for a proskomedia. A special litany can indeed contain petitions for repose and for God's help to Christians. However, the Russian Church Abroad adheres to the traditional practice of commemorating Christians at a special litany only on special occasions.

2) For the repose, you can order a commemoration at a special ektinya only for the newly deceased and only at the funeral liturgy. (A servant of God is considered newly reposed, from the first to the fortieth day after death). On Sundays, feasts, forefeasts and afterfeasts, on the day of the memory of a saint or a feast, when a polyeleos or doxology service is served, the remembrance of the dead "for the sake of" is not performed.

3) Health is commemorated at a special litany by traveling or seriously ill members of the parish, and also when they want to pray for the successful completion of a good deed, for example, studying for students, etc.

4) Remember that the litany is not a prayer in itself, it is a call to those praying in the temple to pray for this or that case, deed, person. Therefore, when ordering a commemoration “for the sake of it”, you ask the members of the community to pray for this or that person who is in a situation.

5) It would be natural, when ordering a commemoration for a special, to submit a feasible donation.

6) It is necessary to write on the note “A special litany” and indicate the case for which you are asking for the community’s prayers (newly deceased / oh, seriously ill / her, traveling / her). 10. When submitting a note for a special litany, be sure to note to the recipient that this note is "for a special one."

memorial service

1) Naturally, only the dead are commemorated at the memorial service. See the rules for drawing up a note in the “proskomidia” section under paragraphs 5-10. This note should be inscribed with the word "requiem".

2) Due to the inconvenience of using the commemorative at the memorial service, please write separate notes on the sheets for the memorial service. If a funeral liturgy is served, then it would be highly desirable to prepare notes for the memorial service in advance, and submit a commemoration to the Altar. These notes can be left at the candle box, by the beginning of the requiem they will be placed on the lectern to the priest.

3) You can put your donations on a special plate, which is placed next to the lectern or koliva table.

4) It is customary to bring kolivo (kutya) to the memorial service. Kolivo is boiled wheat with honey, nuts and fruits. It symbolizes our faith in the universal resurrection (a grain falling into the ground decays, but new life is born from it - a spikelet), a wish for the deceased to receive communion of sweetness Heavenly Kingdom, (kolivo should be sweet) and serves as a consolation to those who remember. It is not advisable to bring other products to the temple for a memorial service, except for koliva, this contradicts Orthodox tradition. However, if you wish, you can donate food for a common meal after the liturgy. On days strictly defined by the Charter, the composition of the funeral liturgy includes (at the end) a special rite of consecration of the koliva.

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. Desert fathers and blameless wives

Sorokoust is a commemoration of the newly deceased deceased during the first forty days after death. The sorokoust about the living is something new, strange and having no basis either in the Church Charter or in Church Tradition. The practice of ordering a magpie for the living has taken root in the modern Orthodox Church in Russia. Our Church Abroad strictly adheres to the Church Charter in this matter, making magpies only for the newly deceased. “The Magpies,” writes St. Simeon of Thessalonica, - are performed in remembrance of the Ascension of the Lord, which happened on the fortieth day after the Resurrection, - and with the aim that he (the deceased), having risen from the tomb, ascended to the meeting (that is, to meet. - Red.). Judges, was caught up in a cloud, and so it has always been with the Lord.” Read more about magpie below, in extracts from the work of Bishop. Afanasy Sakhorov "Commemoration of the dead according to the charter of the Orthodox Church." Sorokousts are performed in those churches where the Divine Liturgy is served every day. In our diocese, these are monastic churches. Please remember that by submitting memorial notes, you do not get rid of the obligation to pray for your loved ones.

Donations to the altar

You can donate wine to the altar for the celebration of the Eucharist, or for a drink. Wine for the Eucharist must have certain qualities, so do not buy wine yourself, but give the headman the money to buy it. In addition, you can donate oil for lamps and wax candles to the altar. Below we bring to the attention of the reader a few extracts from the works of a connoisseur of divine services and a most zealous executor of the Rule of the Orthodox Church, St. Athanasius (Sakharov) - a confessor of Christ, who spent about 20 years in prisons and camps. Saint Athanasius wrote his liturgical notes in the middle of the last century, but their relevance in our time has not only not decreased, but even increased.

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. evening call, evening Bell

On the Importance of Keeping the Church Charter

Outlining the church rules of commemoration, I affirm with all decisiveness that only obedience to the Holy Church, submission to Her statutes can give genuine relief from sorrow, consolation in grief and complete satisfaction of the need to pray for loved ones. I know that with regard to my statements in the proposed article, they will say to me: “It may be true what you say. It may be that much in the modern church liturgical practice of commemorating the dead is a departure from the Church Charter. But we are already accustomed to this, and a deviation from the established, albeit anti-statutory, orders can cause embarrassment not only among the laity, but also among the clergy, and may even threaten a new split. Unfortunately, this is largely true. And our main misfortune is that we have fewer and fewer connoisseurs of the Rule, such as there were in pre-Petrine Russia, not only among the clergy, but also among the laity. Now they consider statutory not that which really corresponds to the letter and spirit of the Church Charter, but that which is accustomed to, as to the established one. But does it follow from this that we must put up with all this, that the fear of Chekhov’s “man in a case”, “no matter what happens” should be put above the need to take urgent measures against the lawless violation and distortion of church liturgical regulations and that we should abandon attempts to return to lawful ecclesiastical channel that modern ecclesiastical liturgical practice has deviated far from it? Of course not! Unfortunately, the unauthorized experiments of the sad memory of the Renovationists slowed down and extremely complicated the necessary, urgent task of streamlining our worship. Therefore, now it must be started with extreme caution and prudence. A long and thorough preparation is needed, both among the laity and among the clergy. Much preliminary explanatory work is needed. As in everything, according to the teaching of the holy fathers, “measure and rule” should be observed, the Holy Church is guided by the same principle of measure and rule, establishing a certain order and order of prayers for the living and the dead, giving guidance to a harmonious, consistent system of commemoration. Public prayer, church services cannot be built and performed to please the moods and desires of individual pilgrims. If you do what pleases one, you must please the other. There are many pilgrims, and what a variety of demands for worship can be made by them at the same time! You will never satisfy everyone. The orders of the Church and the rules of prayer were not created by chance and not somehow. All of them, everything that is contained in the Typicon and liturgical books, in the majority is the fruit of sometimes whole-life prayer deeds of the best sons of the Church, great saints of God, vigilant prayer books, for whom prayer was everything in life, who inflamed with a desire for the heavenly, the cruelty of the desert preferred sweets over the whole world and having withdrawn completely from men, and having become inhabitants of the wilderness, the universe was confirmed by their prayers. This is how our Church Rules were drawn up, which our old Russian scribes, not without reason, called "a book inspired by God." Our Typikon are milestones on the path of prayer, showing us the trodden paths that lead directly to the goal, the paths trodden and trampled by the saints and our pious ancestors. Why deviate to other paths, why look for new ones, when along these, as already known, it is safer, easier, faster, with less difficulty, you can enter into the work of all previous generations, reap what has already been sown by others, by the way, for us. In worship, in the Rule of the Orthodox Church, there is nothing accidental, everything is strictly thought out in it. The rearrangement of one part of the service in place of another, the introduction of inappropriate additions, the omission of even small details - this also violates the overall harmony of the service, like a false note in a play, like an unnecessary line or blot accidentally drawn in a picture, like a window or cornice arranged out of place in a slim building. From what has been said, it follows how important obedience to the Church Rule is for the Orthodox in the matter of prayer and worship. It is important and necessary to fulfill the smallest details of the rites and services of the Church exactly as they are set forth in the Rule, for only then will the divine service have the exact meaning that the Holy Church gives it. In particular, it is important and necessary to do the work of commemoration of the dead exactly as the Holy Church commands in the Church's Rule, for holy obedience to Her, and not as each of us likes or wants. With its rules on the commemoration of the dead, as well as in general with all its institutions, whether they relate to worship or discipline, the Holy Church offers a test of the obedience of her children, the sincerity of their love for the Lord and the unselfishness of love for their neighbors. It is, as it were, a kind of tree of the knowledge of good and evil, given to educate and strengthen the will of Orthodox Christians. Do not forget your duty to pray for the departed, commemorate them more often, but only in those times and in those forms that are given by the Holy Church and do not transgress the prescribed limits. The commemoration of the living and the dead at the proskomedia and after the consecration of the Gifts, although unspoken, in its meaning, strength and effectiveness cannot be compared with any other prayer commemoration: for healthy prayers, memorial services for the dead, or any other pious deeds in memory of the living and dead. It cannot be compared with a public commemoration at the same liturgy at the great and august litanies (which is allowed locally) and at the special litany for the dead.

Sorokoust about repose

This type of commemoration of the dead can be ordered at any hour - there are no restrictions on this either. During Great Lent, when a full liturgy is performed much less frequently, in a number of churches commemoration is practiced this way - in the altar, during the entire fast, all the names in the notes are read and, if they serve the liturgy, then they take out the particles. It is only necessary to remember that people baptized in the Orthodox faith can participate in these commemorations, as well as in the notes submitted for the proskomedia, it is allowed to enter the names of only the baptized deceased.

Sorokoust

The main meaning of the forty-mouth commemoration is that the deceased be commemorated during the celebration of forty liturgies, even if this commemoration is limited only to a secret commemoration at the proskomedia and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts. Sorokoust - this means forty liturgies. But it is rare when the funeral magpie is performed exactly. Usually it ends on the fortieth day after death. The number of forty days also includes the very day of death, on which there is rarely the first funeral liturgy. Thus, on the 40th day, most often there is only the 39th liturgy. Meanwhile, the church charter prescribes to celebrate the liturgy not until the 40th day after death, but until the fulfillment of forty days of offering, which means - until the fulfillment of 40 liturgies. Therefore, if the commemoration at the liturgy did not begin on the very day of death, or if it was not performed continuously from day to day, then it should continue after the fortieth day until the full number of 40 liturgies is performed, even if they had to be celebrated a long time after the fortieth day. , as it can be about the one who died in Great Lent, whose forty-mouth commemoration begins only on Antipascha Monday. In memory of the departed, we usually burn abundant lamps on the so-called eve, in front of the image of the Lord crucified on the cross on it. The cross is the banner of our salvation, the banner of victory over sin, over evil, over death. The cross overshadows the Orthodox Christian throughout his life. Assigned to him at baptism, he accompanies him to death, he descends with him to the grave. The cross also crowns the burial mound of an Orthodox Christian. Therefore, during the funeral service, the cross is used as a kind of “holiday”, “holiday icon”, and in front of it, as always on holidays before the festive icon, many lamps are lit. These lamps burn not only in front of the cross and the Crucified on it, but, as it were, in front of the very graves of those who are commemorated, just as during burial, in addition to lamps in front of the cross and icons, special lamps are supplied around the coffin, before the body of the deceased.

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov. Vision to the youth Bartholomew

Memorial Service after the Liturgy

We have established a custom according to which, in most cases, a memorial service is performed directly after the dismissal of the liturgy. This custom has no basis in the Charter. The Typicon does not provide for the possibility of performing any other divine services immediately after the Liturgy. The Liturgy is the completion of the entire circle of the daily Divine Liturgy. All other services prepare the faithful to participate or be present at the celebration of the sacrament of the Charist.

The mood of a Christian, starting with the evening service and passing through the night and morning services, gradually rises. At the liturgy, with “Your from Yours” and “Holy to the Holy”, it reaches its highest degree. Here the joy of a Christian is higher than any festive joy, here triumph is higher than any festive celebration. This is the daily Christian Easter. There can be no greater consolation, greater joy and triumph for a Christian. That is why, almost immediately after the celebration of the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, the entire circle of daily services ends, and even the final service of the 9th hour is not performed here, but refers to the evening. The Church wants the faithful to go out to their homes, thanking God, in an Easter mood, so that they start the meal with him, go to their work with him. After co-presence and contemplation of the great Sacrament, turning at least to the friends of our Savior (Jn 15:12) is already lowering the mood, replacing Paschal joy with simply festive joy. And to perform lengthy prayers for the departed immediately after the Liturgy is even less consistent with the significance of the Liturgy and only shows that we do not adequately understand, do not underestimate the significance of this divine service and the great Sacrament performed on it, as our Divine Pascha. The statute of the church suggests that all prayers that can be on a given day should be completed before the liturgy or postponed until the end of vespers. After the whole daily circle of services, the worshipers need to rest, to be refreshed with a meal. At the end of the liturgy, there can only be a rite over the kutia in honor of the holiday or in memory of the departed. But, firstly, this is a very short prayer, and secondly, it is already, as it were, the beginning of the meal, part of the meal. Ancient Russia performed many different prayers after Vespers, and after Matins, and before the Liturgy, many religious processions and so-called actions. But all this ended before the liturgy. Even the so-called royal prayers on the days of namesakes and births were performed the day before after Vespers. The celebration of a panikhida before the liturgy would be practically useful in the sense that then it would be relatively easy to unload the liturgy from reading a multitude of commemorations at the liturgical litany for the dead. All commemoratives would be read aloud at the memorial service before the liturgy, while at the liturgical litany one could confine oneself to the general formula and those few names for which a given day is really a memorial day, about which there is an offering on a special occasion. The performance of a memorial service after the liturgy as an addition to public worship is inappropriate and in time. The very name "requiem" in translation from Greek means an all-night service. Therefore, it can be after Vespers, just as the All-Night Vigil should be after Small Vespers. It may be at the time intended for matins or close to it, since the memorial service is an abbreviated matins in its structure. But how to perform a memorial service - the "all-night" service at lunchtime, close to noon, around which the liturgy, "mass", the pre-dinner service should end?

Commemoration of the Dead in Great Lent

On the commemoration of those who died in Great Lent, the Church Charter gives such an indication. “It is fitting to know that if our brother were to depart to the Lord in these holy days in the middle of the week, there would not be his third even until five in the evening, then his memorial service was performed: likewise on Saturday his liturgy. On the coming Sabbath, there will be nine of him, if it happens, if not. And his days of four cost will come when the number of his days is fulfilled. The offerings and his memory begin from New Week, even until the fulfillment of forty days.

Thus, the commemoration of the 3rd and 9th days after death should be performed on the two Saturdays closest to the day of death, regardless of whether these Saturdays are the third or ninth days. Although the general commemoration of the dead during the weekdays of Great Lent is performed almost daily at the so-called ordinary litias, a deliberate commemoration with the celebration of a full liturgy can only take place on the first four Saturdays. Therefore, the statutory instruction on commemoration in Great Lent only coincides with these four days to commemorate the 3rd and 9th days of those who died in Great Lent. On one of these Saturdays, a commemoration of the 40th day of those who died before the start of the fast can be made. In relation to this order, all other deliberate commemorations should be performed, for example, on the occasion of name days, anniversaries - they should be transferred to the next weekdays, when there may be a funeral liturgy, and on the most memorable days should be limited only to the commemoration that is then allowed, i.e., a commemoration at the proskomidia, when there is a full liturgy, or at the litia, when it is performed. The forty-mouth commemoration of those who died in Great Lent begins on Monday of St. Thomas Week and continues until 40 liturgies are completed. The commemoration of the departed on the weekdays of Great Lent is impossible because there cannot be a full liturgy on these days. But there is another reason that prevents the celebration of the Liturgy these days. With us, according to the good old tradition, which has its basis in the Church Charter, the commemoration of the dead is always accompanied by the arrangement of a memorial meal, more or less full and plentiful. It has already been noted that, from the point of view of the Rule, the meal is a continuation of the divine service, the completion of the daytime and evening divine services. Therefore, as in general, any meal of an Orthodox Christian, and a memorial meal in particular, must be in strict accordance with this. In Great Lent, our charter on some days completely cancels the meal or allows only dry eating. Eating oil, except for Saturdays and Sundays, he only allows in rare cases during holidays not lower than polyeleos and does not allow at all even with polyeleos on the 1st and 7th weeks and on Wednesdays and Fridays of all other weeks. The Church Charter, which forbids the consecration of churches on the weekdays of Great Lent, motivates this, among other things, by the fact that on the weekdays of Lent there cannot be a festive meal befitting the celebration of the consecration. Moreover, it should not be delivered on weekdays of Great Lent full memorial meal. The good deed of commemoration of the departed should not be combined with a violation of the Church's Rule, and the organizers of the commemoration should not take upon themselves the sin of seducers. And just as the celebration of the consecration of the temple is postponed until another time, by the way, and so that there is no weakening of the fast on the weekly days of Fortecost, so the commemoration of the dead should be transferred to “yin day”, one of those when it can be performed without violating not only the rules of the Church concerning Lenten worship, but also without violating the rules of Lenten fasting.

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Archpriest Hermogen Shimansky

Death and burial do not end the relationship of Christian love that linked the living with the dead during earthly life. The continuation of these relations is expressed and carried out in the prayerful commemoration of the dead (departed).

The basis and confirmation of the necessity and reality of the prayer connection of the living with the dead are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living; with Him all are alive (Luke 20:28). The dead do not cease to live beyond the grave and have communion with the living in God.

Another basis for commemorating the departed is the faith of the Church in the inexhaustible and saving power of prayer, if we ask the Son of God according to the will (John 5:14-15). And the Holy Scriptures indicate that prayer for the dead is the undoubted will of God, for Christ died and rose again to possess the living and the dead, and He Himself descended into hell to deliver the souls who were waiting in faith for His coming (1 Pet. 3, 19 ).

On this basis, the Church lifts up unceasing prayers for our departed fathers and brothers at every divine service, and especially at the liturgy.

The antiquity of the rite of commemoration of the dead

The custom of remembering the dead is found already in the Old Testament church (Numbers 20:29; Deut. 34:9; 1 Sam. 31:13; 2 Mac. 7:38-46; 12:45).

In the Christian Church, this custom is ancient, as ancient as the very basis on which the remembrance of the dead is performed.

In the ancient liturgies (James and Mark) that have come down to us, there are prayers for the dead. The Apostolic Ordinances mention the commemoration of the dead with particular clarity. Here we find both prayers for the departed during the celebration of the Eucharist, and indications of the days on which it is especially appropriate to commemorate the departed, namely: the third, ninth, fortieth and annual in the same meaning that the Church assimilates to them at the present time. Fathers and teachers of the Church of later times (Tertullian, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, Athanasius the Great, Gregory the Theologian, Augustine, John of Damascus, etc.), explaining the meaning of commemoration of the dead and pointing out that its true meaning is in prayers, the performance of the bloodless Sacrifice and almsgiving, often testify that the commemoration of the dead is an apostolic institution and that it is observed throughout the Church.

Commemoration of the newly deceased

For the commemoration of the NEWLY DONE, the Church appoints the first forty days from the day of death, finding in this number, according to the instructions of Holy Scripture, a sufficient period for cleansing from sins and propitiating God (Gen. 7, 12; Lev. 12 ch.; Numbers 14, 31- 34; compare Matt 4:2).

Of these forty days, the following days are especially dedicated to prayer for the departed:

the third- in remembrance of the Savior resurrected on the third day, Who by His Resurrection completed the victory over sin and its consequence - death, delivered the human race from "hellish torment", opened the doors of immortality and heavenly life, sanctified the future universal resurrection with His Resurrection;

ninth- according to the pious desire of the Church, that the spirit of the deceased be numbered among the nine orders of angels;

twentieth dayas half a forty-day prayer for the dead;

fortieth- according to the Old Testament example of mourning for Moses by the Israelites for forty days and as this day approaches the day of the Ascension of the Lord. Therefore, Christians pray that the deceased, having risen with Christ, be caught up in the clouds of heaven, stand before the righteous Judge and be always with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:17).

By commemoration on the fortieth day, the Holy Church wants to suggest that just as Moses, through a forty-day fast, approached God to perceive the law, how Elijah reached the mountain of God during the forty-day journey, and how our Savior defeated the devil with a forty-day fast, so he died with the forty-day prayers of the Church offered up for him is affirmed in the grace of God, overcomes hostile forces and reaches the Throne of God, where the souls of the righteous dwell.

In the Orthodox Church, it is customary for forty days after death to commemorate the deceased at the liturgy (the so-called "magpie") - to commemorate at the proskomedia and before the consecrated Holy Gifts, according to the faith of the Church about the great benefit of praying for him when offering a bloodless Sacrifice (see . prayer at the end of the liturgy: "Wash away, Lord, the sins of those who are remembered here by Thy Honorable Blood, by the prayers of Thy saints").

Finally, the annual day of death, birth and name day is dedicated to the remembrance of the deceased, with the aim that the deceased is alive and immortal in spirit and will someday be completely renewed when the Lord raises up his very body.

memorial service

Panikhida is one of the types of church commemoration of the dead. According to its composition, the memorial service is an abbreviation of the burial rite. The word memorial service means an all-night service, or vigil (Greek pas - all, nis - night, ado - I sing; another Greek word is pannihis - an all-night vigil). The name of this church service a memorial service is explained from the historical connection with the all-night vigil, as indicated by its close similarity, like the entire burial rite, with part of the all-night vigil - matins.

In the ancient Christian Church, due to persecution, the prayer meetings of the faithful and the burial of the dead took place at night. The divine service that accompanied the burial was in the proper sense an all-night service. Christians gathered on the tombs of the martyrs and spent the night in vigils, glorifying the martyrs and offering prayers for the dead, who died in faith and piety. With the separation of the funeral service from the all-night service, which occurred after the pacification of the Church, equivalent names were preserved in the Orthodox Church for both.

Great memorial service , or complete, is also called parastas and differs from the usually performed memorial service in that it sings immaculate (divided into 2 articles) and the full canon.

Memorial services are sung over the deceased, not yet buried, and then on the 3rd, 9th, 40th day after the death of the deceased and on other days (death anniversary, birthday, name day, etc.).

Funeral liturgies and memorial services, as well as burial, are not performed in the church on the first day of Pascha and on the day of the Nativity of Christ until Vespers. The commemoration of the dead at the liturgy on the feast of Easter, the Nativity of Christ and other major holidays, as well as on Sundays, can only be performed at the proskomedia and after the consecration of the Holy Gifts - during the singing “It is worthy to eat”; it is not supposed to pronounce a special funeral litany “for the sake of the festive celebration” on these days (Typicon, ch. 59; 169 Ave. Nomocanon at the Trebnik). But if an early liturgy for the repose is served on Sundays, then at such a liturgy a litany for the dead is pronounced, and the memorial Apostle, Gospel, prokeimenon and sacrament are also attached.

On the first week of Lent, on Passion and Paschal weeks (as well as on the weekly days of Lent), requiems are not performed in the church. The commemoration of the dead is attributed to the Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent. If on the seven days of Great Lent the 3rd or 9th day after death happens, then a memorial service for the newly deceased is served on the funeral Saturday closest to these days. Only on the 40th day, on which day it falls, is a memorial service performed in the temple. "Sorokoust" does not happen in Great Lent and Easter, but begins from the Sunday of St. Thomas and continues until the execution of 40 days.

Chin of the usual memorial service next:

After the usual beginning, the 90th psalm is read (instead of the sixth psalm), after which the great litany for the repose is pronounced. Then instead of God the Lord - "Alleluia" and troparia "Deep Wisdom".

After the troparia, at the memorial service (and at the parastas - after the Immaculate), troparia for the Immaculate are sung: “You will find the source of life with the holy faces” with the refrain: “Blessed be Thou, Lord.”

Then a small funeral litany is pronounced, the sedan "Peace, our Savior" is sung, the 50th psalm is read and the canon is sung to the 6th tone "For Israel has walked on dry land" or the 8th tone - "The water has passed." Instead of reading the troparia, for each song, the refrain is sung by the clergy and repeated in chorus: “Rest (or: Rest), Lord, the souls of the departed Thy servant”, then: “Glory” (clergymen) and “And now” (choir).

The canon is divided and ends with small litanies for the dead (after the 3rd, 6th and 9th odes). After the 3rd song, a sedalen is sung, and after the 6th, a kontakion is sung: “With the saints, rest in peace” and ikos: “Thou art the only Immortal.”

After the canon, the memorial service (also the parastas) ends with a litany: the Trisagion is read according to the Our Father, the troparia is sung: “From the spirits of the righteous who have died” and the litany is pronounced: “Have mercy on us, O God”, after which there is a dismissal with a cross and a censer, and “Eternal memory".

A small incense (tetrapod and people) at a funeral service occurs when singing troparia on the immaculate “Blessed be Thou, Lord”, kontakion “Let the saints rest” and at the end of singing “Eternal Memory”.

Ecumenical requiems, or ecumenical parent Saturdays

In addition to commemorating each deceased individually, the Church, on the same basis, creates a commemoration on certain days of the year of all fathers and brothers who have passed away from the age of faith, who have been honored with a Christian death, as well as those who, having been caught sudden death, were not instructed in afterlife the prayers of the Church. The requiems performed at the same time, indicated by the Charter of the Ecumenical Church, are called ecumenical, and the days on which the commemoration is performed are called Ecumenical Parental Saturdays. In the circle of the liturgical year, such days of common commemoration are: Meat-Feast and Trinity Saturdays and Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Great Lent.

Saturday . Dedicating the Meat-Feast Week to the remembrance of the last Last Judgment of Christ, the Church, in view of this Judgment, has established intercession not only for her living members, but also for all those who have died from time immemorial, who have lived in piety, of all genera, ranks and conditions, especially for those who died a sudden death. and pray to the Lord for mercy on them. The solemn all-church commemoration of the departed on this Saturday (as well as on Trinity Saturday) brings great benefit and help to our dead fathers and brothers, and at the same time serves as an expression of the fullness of the Church life that we live. For salvation is possible only in the Church - a society of believers, whose members are not only the living, but also all those who died after their death. In God, everyone is alive. And if we take a look at all the ages and how many people lived and how many among them were believers in Christ and died with faith and hope for the mercy of God, then we will see that the dead make up a larger part of the Church than we who are living today. Communion with them through prayer, prayerful commemoration of them is an expression of our unity with them, and at the same time the common unity of all in the Lord in the Church of Christ.

Trinity parent Saturday . The commemoration of all dead Christians was established on the Saturday before Pentecost due to the fact that the event of the descent of the Holy Spirit concluded the economy of the salvation of people, but the departed also participate in this salvation. Therefore, the Church, sending up prayers on Pentecost for the revitalization of all living by the Holy Spirit, asks on the very day of the feast that for the departed the grace of the All-Holy and All-sanctifying Spirit the Comforter, which they were honored during their lifetime, would be a source of eternal bliss, since “by the Holy Spirit every soul lives." Therefore, on the eve of the holiday, the Church devotes the entire Saturday to commemoration of the dead and prayer for them. Saint Basil the Great, who left the prayers of supplication read at Vespers on the day of Pentecost, says in them that the Lord, most of all, on this day deigns to accept prayers for the dead and even for "those who are held in hell."

Parental Saturdays of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th weeks of Holy Lent .

On Holy Forty Day - the days of fasting, spiritual exploits, the exploits of repentance and doing good to others, the Church affirms the faithful in the closest union of Christian love and peace, not only with the living, but also with the dead, obliging them to make prayerful salutary commemorations on the indicated days for those who have departed from real life. In addition, the Saturdays of these weeks are appointed by the Church for commemoration also for the reason that the usual daily commemorations are not performed on the weekly days of Fortecost (litanies for the dead, litias and memorial services and commemoration of the newly deceased on the third, 9th and 20th days after death and forty-mouthed), since there is no daily full liturgy, with the celebration of which the commemoration of the dead is associated. But in order not to deprive the dead of the saving intercession of the Church during the days of Fortecost, Saturdays are singled out in the indicated weeks.

On all the above parental Saturdays, the service is performed according to a special charter and is placed in the Lenten and Colored Triods.

Days of Remembrance of the Dead in the Russian Orthodox Church

In addition to the Saturdays mentioned above, dedicated to the commemoration of the dead by the entire Orthodox Church since ancient times, in the Russian Church some more days are dedicated to the same purpose, namely: a) Radonitsa, b) August 29 - the Beheading of John the Baptist and c) Demetrius Saturday.

Radonitsa- this is the day of the general commemoration of the dead, which takes place on Monday or Tuesday after St. Thomas Week (resurrection). The Typicon does not indicate special prayers for the dead on this day, and a commemoration is performed on this day according to the pious custom of the Russian Church. After an ordinary evening service (or after the liturgy), a full memorial service is served with Easter hymns. At the liturgy, the prokeimenon, the Apostle and the Gospel of the dead join. According to the accepted custom on Radonitsa, requiems are served in the cemetery at the graves.

The basis for the commemoration of the dead, performed on Radonitsa, is, on the one hand, the remembrance of the descent of Jesus Christ into hell and the victory over death, connected with St. Thomas Sunday, on the other hand, the permission of the Church Charter to perform the usual daily commemoration of the dead after Passion and Bright Weeks, starting with Fomin Monday. On this day, believers come to the graves of their neighbors with the joyful news of the Resurrection of Christ. Hence the very day of commemoration is called Radonitsa (or Radunitsa).

Days of commemoration of Orthodox soldiers , "for faith and the Fatherland in battle laid down their lives." The commemoration of the soldiers killed for the Fatherland takes place: August 29 and Dimitriev Saturday.

The commemoration of the killed soldiers is performed on this day by the very connection with the event remembered on this day. The Forerunner of the Lord suffered for the truth, like a good warrior of the Heavenly Fatherland; His intercession is entrusted by the Holy Church and its children - warriors who fought for truth and goodness, and laid down their lives for their Fatherland. (The commemoration was established in 1769 during the war with Turkey and Poland.) A special funeral service is not indicated in the Charter. Usually, after the liturgy, a memorial service is performed.

Dimitrievskaya Saturday - before the 26th day of October - soldiers who were killed on the battlefield and other dead are also commemorated. Saturday is named so from the memorial day of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessalonica (October 26), remembered after it. The establishment of the commemoration on this Saturday belongs to Dimitry Donskoy, who, having made a commemoration of the soldiers who fell in it after the Battle of Kulikovo (September 8, 1380), on the advice and blessing of St. Sergius of Radonezh, established this commemoration every year on Saturday before October 26th. Subsequently, along with the soldiers, they began to commemorate other dead. The service on Demetrius Saturday is performed according to the order of Meat-Feast Saturday. But, unlike the meat-fare Saturday, on Dimitri's Saturday the Church Charter does not cancel the service to the ordinary saint.

The entire service should be performed according to the Oktoech and the Menaion, guided by the 13th chapter of the Typicon - “If the rector comes and deigns to sing alleluia on Saturday.” (At Matins, instead of “God is the Lord” - “Alleluia” and the troparia “Apostles, Martyrs”, - they are also at Vespers. After the 16th kathisma - Immaculate, etc., - as in meat-fare Saturday. Canons: Menaion, the temple and the 1st Oktoech. According to the 6th ode - litanies for the dead, kontakion and ikos. Then the usual end of the daily Matins. At the liturgy: prokeimenon, Apostle, Gospel and partaker of the day and for the repose.)

In the event that Dimitri's Saturday coincides with a vigil or a polyeleic holiday, the commemoration is transferred to another next Saturday, where there is no such holiday.

Cit. by: Hermogenes Shimansky. Liturgy: Sacraments and Rites

Bookmarks

Chapter I. Prayer about the deceased and obedience of the Holy Church Chapter II.o SATURDAYS OF THE SMALL LENTS “ALLELUIA” ON FRIDAY OF THE EVENING DIMITRIEVSKAYA SATURDAY RADONITSA OF THE THURSDAY OF THE SEVENTH WEEK ON EASTER FUNERAL FUNERALS FOR ALL LEFT WITHOUT A CHURCH BURIAL THIRD, NINTH, FORTY DAYS. Godina Ordinary Saturdays everyday afternoon days of pretreatments and beggar of the two-month holidays Holidays with the Glooms of the Comment and Field of the Nativity of Christ and the Epiphany Edition of the Great Holidays Holidays on June 24 and 29 and on August 29, the holiday of the Sunday Day "Eternal Memory" per week Orthodoxy blessing colive On holidays Nine deliberate days Holy Trinity Holiday Holy Trinity His Holy Easter Easter Banching Days of St. Series and Some days of other posts, great heels are improperly immaculate on Sunday morning, it is impossible to be improperly on Saturday's Saturdays and Pentecosts Immaculate on Saturdays AT THE PANIKHIDA THE PRINCESS ARE IMMAINTED AT THE BURNERY THE PRIESTS ARE IMMAINTED AT THE BURNINGS Methods in the grave of church vestments. Refinished wages. Refinuous worst Early liturgi SERVING LITURGIES ON THE WEEKDAY DAYS OF MINOR LENTS TROPARIUM AND KONTAKES ON THE HOURS Chapter III. Deliberately sudden follow-ups on the outcome of the soul of the Chin on the separation of the soul from the body follow the end of the soul from the body the name of the deceased newly promoted position of the body in the coffin of the clock all-distance vigil The consecutive canon's burial sequences of the stimit's "Kaya Lowesty Sweetness" Prayer farewell legend of the Earth Subscribe to the deadly priest followed by the initial monks of Chin of the Infant Pominal Meanse THE FUNERAL litanies IPOPHONIC SINGING CANON AT THE PANIKHIDA CHUNK OF THE CANON OF PRIVATE PANIKHIDA CANON FOR THE DEAD MANY AND FOR THE ONE-DIED IRMOS CANON AT THE PANIKHIDA CHORUS ON THE CANON PANIKHIDA APPEAL TO THE MARTYRS SEDALENTS ACCORDING TO THE 3rd SONG OF THE CANON AT THE PANIKHIDA “Blessings” A and Svained the Spirit of the Lord "Fancy Publishing Educational Employment Release of the Holy Names on the Outdoor Release" In Blessed Assumption "and" Eternal Memory "Subscribe to Panhid on Saturday Meat Supplies and Pentecosts Chin Remembering Orthodox Warships" Easter Panir "Easter visits to the graves of clergymen Christ ORDER OVER KUTIA IN MEMORY OF THE DEAD SERVICES FOR THE NEO-ORTHOD BY ORTHODOX PRIESTS PERFORMING FURTHER PRAYERS FOR THE NEO-ORTHOUS Chapter IV. Commemoration of the dead home prayer Canons for the dead reading of the psaltir for the dead reading of the Holy Gospel in memory of the deceased remembrance on the home prayer of the uninstalled Canon Reverend Pairing the Grand Delicate for the deliverance of the flour without repentance of the dead prayer for suicides Chapter V. Reading a lot MATINS AND VESpers READING OF MEMORIES AT THE LITURGICAL FUTURE LITENA LITENA AT THE LITURGY ON THE DAY OF BURIAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SERVING MEMORIES READING OF MEMORIES BY THE PIVORS THEMSELVES THE CHARTER LIMITS THE READING OF MEMORIES FOR THE LITURGY OFFERING FOR THE DEAD PAYMENT FOR THE DEAD VI. Worship in Cemetery Churches Conclusion

The ranks of the church and the rules of prayer were not created by chance and not somehow. All of them, all that is contained in the Typicon and liturgical books, for the most part, is the fruit of the sometimes whole-life prayer deeds of the best sons of the Church, the great saints of God, vigilant prayer books, for whom prayer was everything in life, who, inflamed with a desire for something heavenly, the cruelty of the desert preferred sweets over the whole world and having withdrawn completely from men, and having become inhabitants of the wilderness, the universe was approved by their prayers, and which always sing holy prayers to them, the accomplices were the Angels, who, while praying, forgot about food, about sleep, about the surrounding enemies and tormentors, who ended their worship and prayer rule in the catacombs that were covered up, in the temples set on fire from all sides, on the way to the place of execution, during the most torment, bowing under the sword their heads, or torn to pieces by wild beasts, sometimes mixing their blood with the blood of their Lord at the still unfinished Liturgy. These holy workers of prayer learned by experience how it is easier and more direct to attain the most salutary and sweetest fruits of prayer. And the Church accepted and preserved both those sacred words in which they poured out their souls to God, and that structure and order of prayer and divine services, which they experienced and tested, which they composed for themselves, and sometimes recommended to their brethren and spiritual children. From the richness of the prayerful experience of her best sons thus collected, guided by the Spirit of God, the Holy Church chose the best, the most necessary, systematized, corrected the incomplete, led to harmonious unity and gave guidance to her obedient children, who accepted everything with love, not like an unbearable yoke, but as a good and light burden received from a beloved and loving Mother. This is how our Church Rules were drawn up, which our old Russian scribes, not without reason, called "THE BOOK INSPIRED". Our Typikon are milestones on the path of prayer, showing us the trodden paths that lead directly to the goal, the paths trodden and trampled by the saints and our pious ancestors. Why deviate to other paths, why look for new ones, when along these, as already known, it is safer, easier, faster, with less difficulty, you can enter into the work of all previous generations, reap what has already been sown by others, by the way, for us.

In worship, in the Rule of the Orthodox Church, there is nothing accidental, everything is strictly thought out in it. And all even the smallest details have their own, often very deep meaning, give individual ranks and sequences their own color, give them a special tenderness and touching. As in a slender, stylish building, every detail is in its place, as in a good piece of music all sounds are combined into one harmonious harmony, both in a beautiful picture and lines, and colors, and shadows are arranged in such a way that all together only delight the viewer, and in our majestic, wondrous, beautiful worship. The rearrangement of one part of the service in place of another, the introduction of inappropriate additions, the omission of even small details - this also violates the overall harmony of the service, like a false note in a play, like an unnecessary line or blot accidentally drawn in a picture, like a window or cornice arranged out of place in slender building.

In rough, clumsy work, even large inaccuracies are imperceptible. In fine work, in work of art, in the exact mechanism, an inaccuracy and 1 millimeter catches the eye (of course, to those who understand), violates the beauty, can stop the mechanism. Our divine service is a highly artistic work, a complex mechanism of fine workmanship. And one "Lord have mercy" omitted or added, for church people is the same as for an artist one dash is not in place, that in a complex precise mechanism there is an error of 1 mm. And if sometimes we do not understand the meaning of this or that detail of worship, this does not mean that it does not exist at all. It only means that we are not yet able to understand it, we do not know it. You have to find it and try to figure it out for yourself.

In order to learn to understand the meaning of the statutory prescriptions, one must carefully delve into the Church Rule, one must carefully read and study the Typicon, study the Rule in practice, and study the history of worship. But even this is not enough: one must force oneself, accustom oneself, as far as possible, to fulfill the Charter to the smallest detail. Gotta love him. Then the meaning of many incomprehensible things will be revealed.

From what has been said, it follows how important obedience to the Church Rule is for the Orthodox in the matter of prayer and worship. It is important and necessary that even the smallest details of the rites and services of the Church be performed exactly as they are set forth in the Rule, for only then will the divine service have exactly the meaning that the Holy Church gives it. In particular, it is important and necessary to do the work of commemoration of the dead exactly as the Holy Church commands in the Church's Rule, for holy obedience to Her, and not as each of us likes or wants.

They often say: “Why these embarrassments? Why on this day it is impossible to commemorate the dead, or can they be commemorated, but not in the way I want, not in my opinion? I love my deceased relatives and friends and feel the need to commemorate my loved ones today. What bad if I fulfill this need of love, even if with some violation of the statutory rules? Love is above all. Not a person for the Sabbath, but the Sabbath for the person! "

But it is unreasonable and unreasonable to justify one's self-imposedness by referring to Christian love. The apostle teaches that love does not rage and Christian freedom should not be cause for dissolution. And can there be any benefit to the souls of the dead or the living from violating the sacred rules inspired by the Church by the Divine Spirit? The Holy Church loves her children, the living and the dead, more than we love the closest and dearest people to us. And she strongly urges us to love our brethren. But everything should be in moderation. There must be a measure of love. What love is greater than parental love? But the excessive, unreasonable love of parents for children often only spoils the latter, and instead of good, brings the greatest harm.

They also say: Sundays and feast days sometimes give way to part of their hymns in favor of the celebrated saints. It can be thought that both the Lord and the saints will not be angry if they are, as it were, somewhat ousted through the introduction of certain prayers for the dead into the festive divine service.

But the fact of the matter is that this objection is already provided for in our Rules. The Holy Church, with wise prudence having drawn up the rules for combining the services of the feasts of the Lord, the Theotokos and saints, with the same wise prudence also developed a coherent system of commemoration of the dead, in which it precisely determined when, where, how and who can be pressed in favor of the glorified saints or the unglorified departed. So, for example, on ecumenical Sabbaths for the sake of the departed, She supplanted almost completely menaean memories. Having pressed the departed in other cases, She did this because she knows well, and convinces us to believe her, that the departed will not be angry when, in accordance with the Church Charter, they are pressed out in favor of the holiday, they will not be angry at the absence of a public prayer for them, even on especially significant days for them, but with love they will rejoice and be comforted by our love and obedience to their beloved and Our Mother.

By canceling and even forbidding, on certain days, intensified prayers for the dead, focusing exclusively and undividedly all the attention of believers on the festive event, the Holy Church thereby shows her concern that their festive joy be complete, perfect, unclouded by anything. “Inappropriate and alien,” says St. Gregory of Nyssa, “besides not bringing any benefit, constitutes a violation of order and decency, not only in speeches that have the subject of service to God and piety, but also in those that relate to external and worldly wisdom. For is there really such an unreasonable and ridiculous rhetorician who, being called to the bright celebration of marriage, will leave a decent and brilliant speech sympathetic to the joy of the holiday and begin to plaintively sing deplorable songs and fill the bridal chambers with sad stories about the misfortunes described in tragedies ... If, however, in mundane In speeches, order and knowledge of the matter are good, then they are much more decent when it comes to great and heavenly things.

With its rules on the commemoration of the dead, as well as with all its institutions in general, whether they relate to worship or discipline, the Holy Church offers a test of the obedience of her children, the sincerity of their love for the Lord and the unselfishness of love for their neighbors. It is, as it were, a kind of tree of the knowledge of good and evil, given to educate and strengthen the will of Orthodox Christians. Do not forget your duty to pray for the departed, commemorate them more often, but only in those times and in those forms that are given by the Holy Church and do not transgress the prescribed limits.

And who, both on Sundays and on great holidays, does not want to leave intensified prayers for the departed and confine himself only to what is permitted by the Church, who says that he cannot do this for reasons strong love to the departed, he shows by his self-will and justification that he not only does not want to obey the Holy Church, but even dares to judge Her, considering Her statutes not sufficiently filled with the spirit of Christian love. Shouldn’t we say on this occasion in the words of Metropolitan Philaret: “Thinking like that would mean thinking too little about the Church and too much about yourself.” For the manifestation of natural, but within the lawful limits of Christian love for the departed, the Holy Church always (as will be shown later) leaves enough freedom and space for both public worship and private prayer. She herself will not omit a single case when and where it is possible, without violating the order of worship and prayer established by Her, to offer up prayers for the departed. But whoever, contrary to the church charter, demands, for example, the proclamation aloud of all the pilgrims of the names of the deceased, and of funeral prayers not permitted by the Church on a given day, thus detaining the attention of those praying around the deceased, contrary to the intention of the Church, distracting him from the main subject of the festive memories, he shows by this that he obviously loves his dead more than the Lord, forgets or does not consider His words important: “Whoever loves father or mother…son or daughter more than Me is worthy to bear Me”. And this will no longer be Christian love. It will only be a search for your si . It will be only self-pleasing, selfishness, wanting to do it in its own way, as he likes, as he wants, regardless of whether it will be gratifying or only cause grief to the supposedly beloved deceased. Will they not be saddened by the thought that their brothers who are left on earth love them more than the Lord, putting their desires above obedience to the Church. The deceased, as having been released from the bonds of the flesh and bodily limitations, understand better than the living the meaning, meaning and value of the rules and charters given by the Church. And if, as we believe, the deeds and deeds of the living find one or another response in the hearts of the departed, then undoubtedly they are pleased with the manifestation of only true Christian love, only that which is alien to selfishness, which is done as obedience to the Holy Church. Nevertheless, self-will in the behavior of the living causes only sadness to the departed.