Memorial
The death of a loved one always causes sorrow, but we must remember that in Christ everyone is alive. The grave is not an end, it is a door through which the human spirit passes, because “the spirit will return to God who gave it”. Therefore, we pray fervently to the Lord of all mercy to accept the soul of the deceased.
The funeral service is performed by a priest in the church. When the coffin is placed in the grave, a mourning prayer, the Trisagion, is read. Then, at the request of the relatives, the home is consecrated with holy water.
What to prepare:
1. Bread
2. Boiled wheat
3. Bottle of red wine and a glass
4. Set of candles
5. Photo of the deceased (if in the temple) and flowers
6. Offerings (lenten, if the day is fasting)
What to do:
1. Let's get acquainted with the Orthodox meaning of the rite
How to pray:
Prayer for the departed
O God of spirits and of all flesh, Who hast trampled down death and overthrown the Devil, and given life to Thy world, do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the souls of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, where all sickness, sighing, and sorrow have fled away. Pardon every transgression which they have committed, whether by word or deed or thought. For Thou art a good God and lovest mankind; because there is no man who lives yet does not sin, for Thou only art without sin, Thy righteousness is to all eternity, and Thy word is truth.
For Thou are the Resurrection, the Life, and the Repose of Thy servants who have fallen asleep, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever unto ages of ages. Amen.