How are Russian funerals now. Removal of the body and funeral procession

Sooner or later everyone comes to the end of life. The souls of people go to the court of God, go through ordeals and then, by the definition of the omniscient God, they get what they deserve.
Bodily death, which became the law for all people after the fall of the forefathers of Adam and Eve, frightens with its uncertainty. People die in different ways - some in carelessness and carelessness, not thinking about what awaits them beyond the grave, others - consciously, with a sense of the greatness of the approaching moment, use the means that the Orthodox Church offers the dying: she guides her children to the afterlife The sacraments of Repentance, Communion and Unction, and in moments of separation of the soul from the body, he performs a canon for the exodus of the soul (departure prayer).

At the moment of death, a person experiences a feeling of languor. When leaving the body, the soul meets the Guardian Angel, given to it in Baptism, and evil spirits - demons. The appearance of demons is so terrible that at their sight the soul is restless and trembling.

According to the Church, the human body is the temple of the soul, sanctified by the grace of the Sacraments. The image of the burial of the dead, given in the Gospel, has been preserved since the Old Testament times in the Orthodox rite and is expressed in washing the body, dressing it, and placing it in a coffin.

Washing the body with water represents the future resurrection and standing before God in purity and purity.

The body of a Christian is dressed in new clean clothes of light shades. The deceased must certainly have pectoral cross. The washed and clothed body is placed on the prepared table, face up, towards the east. The mouth of the deceased must be closed, hands folded crosswise (right hand over left) as a sign of faith in the Crucified Christ. The icon of the Savior or the Crucifixion is placed in the hands.

The forehead of the deceased is decorated with a chaplet, which symbolizes the crown of the Kingdom of Heaven. The body is covered with a sheet or a special burial shroud depicting the Crucifixion - as evidence of the faith of the Church that the deceased is under the protection of Christ.

The coffin is usually placed in the middle of the room in front of the icons. Candles are lit around him. If possible, they put four candlesticks: one at the head, the other at the feet, and two on both sides of the coffin.

It is impossible to put any objects, money, food in the coffin, since such customs are remnants of paganism.

You can follow the listed rules only if the body was not given to the morgue. According to existing Russian standards, without giving the deceased for an autopsy, it is impossible to obtain death certificates. With this Orthodox people you have to put up with it, but every effort should be made to have time to prepare the body properly after issuing it from the morgue.

It is very good to order all the days preceding the burial for the deceased funeral services in one or more temples. At a time when the body lies lifeless and dead, the soul goes through terrible trials - ordeals, and therefore has a great need for the help of the Church. Memorial services facilitate the transition to another life.

Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy (Church note)

Those who have Christian names are commemorated about health, and only those baptized in Orthodox Church.

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

The body of the deceased is carried by his relatives and friends, dressed in mourning clothes. Since ancient times, Christians who participated in the funeral procession carried lighted candles.
The body of the deceased is placed in the middle of the temple with his face open and turned to the east, and lamps are placed near the coffin.
After reading the Gospel, the priest reads aloud a permissive prayer, asking for permission for the sins that the deceased forgot to confess due to weakness of memory. However, this prayer does not absolve sins that are consciously hidden.

For a more visual confirmation of those close to the deceased in his forgiveness and reconciliation with the Church, the priest puts a scroll with a permissive prayer in his right hand. (Here it is necessary to refute the popular superstition that this prayer, called "roadway", serves the deceased as an indispensable pass to the Kingdom of Heaven. The fate of each person is in the hands of God, and nothing material has an impact on God).

Return from the burial of Christ (Nikolai Ge, 1859)

After the permissive prayer, the last kiss of the deceased begins as a sign of our unity in love for him, which does not cease beyond the grave. It is performed by singing touching songs:
“Seeing me lying mute and lifeless, weep for me, all brethren, and relatives, and acquaintances. Yesterday I talked with you, and suddenly the terrible hour of death overtook me; but come, all who love me, and kiss me with the last kiss. I no longer I will live with you or talk about something; I go to the Judge, where there is no partiality; there the slave and the lord stand together, the king and the warrior, the rich and the poor in equal dignity; each of his deeds will be glorified or ashamed. But I ask and implore everyone: unceasingly pray for me to Christ God, that I may not be raised up for my sins into a place of torment, but that I may dwell in the light of life.

When saying goodbye to the deceased, you need to kiss the icon lying in the coffin and the rim on the forehead. At the same time, one must mentally or aloud ask forgiveness from the person lying in the coffin for all the wrongs that were admitted to him during his lifetime, and forgive him for what he himself was guilty of.

Above the coffin is proclaimed "Eternal Memory". The priest cruciformly ground the body of the deceased with the words: "The Lord's land and its fulfillment, the universe and all who live on it."

The ceremony of committing the earth can be performed both in the temple and in the cemetery. After that, the coffin is closed with a lid and it is not allowed to open it again under any pretext.

Those who deliberately took their own lives are deprived of the church funeral service. From them it is necessary to distinguish people who have taken their own lives by negligence, who are not recognized as suicides.
In the Orthodox Church, it is customary to refer to suicides those who died during robbery and died from their wounds and injuries.
Cremation, that is, the burning of the bodies of the deceased Orthodox Christians, has never been a tradition. Now, however, the cremation of the Orthodox has become commonplace, but undesirable.

Some priests do this. All requiems and funerals are performed in the same way, except for burial and prayer with a halo. The latter are not invested in the coffin, but remain with relatives. The priest performs a symbolic commemoration of the earth, sprinkling the earth on clear sheet paper. The earth is wrapped in the same paper and, together with a prayer and a whisk, is kept by relatives. During cremation, no shrines should be left in the coffin.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus Carrying the Body of Christ
(Ivanov A.A., 1850s)

When the ashes are buried in the grave, the earth wrapped in paper, the prayer and the whisk in one package are placed there, so that everything is put to decay along with the ashes. Leaving the ashes outside the earth is contrary to all the traditions of the Orthodox Church and the meaning of burial.

The funeral rite is a reflection not only of the everyday side of its bearers, but also of the archaic worldview. The funeral rite, once, probably, no less complex in structure than the wedding rite, now appears in a greatly reduced form. This is also evidenced by conversations with informants recorded at the end of the eighties (for example, with Fedorova M.N., a native of the village of Dorozhnovo, Okulovsky district, who at the time of recording lived in the village of Kulotino in the same district, or with Vlasova A. Ya., a native of the village Gary, Starorussky district, who lived at the time of recording in the village of Dubki of the named district).

A glass of water was placed in the head of the dying person so that the soul would wash and go.

Previously, relatives came to say goodbye as soon as a person dies, or even to a dying person.

As soon as a person dies, they open the doors, everyone goes out on the porch to see off the soul - the deceased lies in the house, and the soul leaves, they see her off on the street. When the soul is escorted, the eldest woman in the house laments (“howls in a voice”). They began to lament even before washing.

They lamented as soon as a person dies, even before they were washed, they went out into the street, stood facing in the direction where they would be taken to bury, and lamented: “Goodbye, go with God.”

Burial of Christ (approaching guards visible in the background)
Lorenzo Lotto, 1516

The study of the hymn showed that the Russian village of the Soviet era retained the improvisational culture of performance, when the folklore text is, as it were, created anew every time on the basis of the established tradition. The genre of lamentations is central to the rite, despite the destructive changes that have occurred to it, it still performs its everyday function. Prichet continues to preserve cultural memory, but artistic merit, a number of obligatory moments disappear (for example, detailed commenting on what is happening at the funeral). The genre is getting more and more clichéd. This is due, first of all, to the loss of a direct relationship to the semantic side of pagan symbolism. It was not possible to identify the entire cycle of lamentations of the funeral rite, which (as, for example, in a wedding) would accompany the entire rite, thematically delimiting certain stages of it. Apparently, we are dealing with a clear fading of folklore memory. It is difficult to say at what stage historical development a similar reduction began. But there is no doubt that the cultural policy of the state, on the one hand, and the intensive transformation of Russia from an agrarian country into an industrial and, consequently, urban one, had a strong effect here. Nevertheless, the archaic aspects of the consciousness of the village man in the funeral rite have been preserved quite well. For example, it is known that death in the Russian folklore tradition has always been perceived as an enemy. This was preserved in the texts recorded at the turn of the 70s - mid-80s. In lamentations, death is called a "villain", a "murderer", who does not make concessions, does not heed prayers and requests. The archive materials contain records that talk about different kind signs associated with the arrival of death in a house or family. For example, a cuckoo, sitting on an outbuilding, foreshadowed death; a bird knocking on a window; a dog howling downwards ("a dog's howl - to eternal rest"); a horse walking towards people who are seeing off the deceased, and so on. To make sure of the death of a person, a mirror was brought to his lips, if it did not fog up, then the person died. In order not to be afraid of the deceased, who could in any way remind himself of himself (for example, often dream or even come to the house; appear in some other form, for example, in zoomorphic, most often - birds), one had to hold on to the stove, look into it or into the cellar, and on the fortieth day hang the horse's bridle on the wall.

The dead sleeps, remaining a man (the dead - calm person), however, if the deceased's eyes were open, they were closed and copper nickels were placed over the eyelids. It is quite possible that this was due to a kind of ransom from death, because it was believed that the deceased was looking for one of the living people or even animals left in the house, wanting to take them with him. In such cases, they usually said: "He looks - he will watch someone." Coins (pyataks) were then left in the coffin. It is interesting that the ransom in this rite also manifested itself in a different way, for example, if the body of a drowned person could not be found for a long time, then there was a custom to throw silver money into the water in order to redeem it from the water.

The body of the deceased was laid on a bench, his hands and feet were tied, as it was believed that "evil spirits" could twist them, bringing pain to the deceased person. After two hours, the body was washed (for two hours the deceased "rested"). Any person could wash the deceased, but preference was given to an outsider. The idea, preserved in the memory of informants, that this ritual was supposed to be performed by old maids, dates back to the last century. In the Okulovsky district, a ditty was recorded:

Don't go, girlfriend, get married
For these robbers
Better buy by the tub,
We will wash the dead.
(Recorded from M. N. Fedorova in 1988)

The custom has been preserved to pay for washing with something from the things of the deceased. Washed the deceased from the pot, warm water with soap, then the pot was then thrown into the river along with water, a custom in which, undoubtedly, a pagan attitude is visible. There was another option, when the water remaining after the procedure was poured into a place where no one walks, and nothing is planted, since this water is "dead" - it could destroy, kill the earth. In the Starorussky district, it was believed that for washing the deceased, sins were forgiven: "If you wash forty people, you will remove forty sins." The deceased was dressed by the same person who washed. They dressed in everything new so that “there” he “looked good” (according to Vlasova A. Ya.), because the deceased went to live “eternally”. Mortal clothing was not only bequeathed, but also prepared in advance, thus fulfilling the last wish of a person. Sewing clothes is also a ritual: when it was sewn, the knots did not make and did not tear them off, like threads. They sewed in one seam, with a needle forward, the seams were not turned inside out, the buttons were not sewn on. N.V. Andreeva from the Okulovsky district noted that in the past they most often sewed a jacket and a skirt. With a high degree of certainty, we can say that this is a later custom, perhaps dating back to the Soviet era, since according to ethnographers, it is known that a shirt was a common "mortal" clothing for both men and women. Those items with which the deceased did not part during his lifetime were also placed in the coffin. The coffin was made from spruce or pine boards. It was impossible, for example, to make a "domovina" from aspen, since it was believed that the aspen was a cursed tree, because, according to legend, Judas hanged himself on it, and from this it trembles. The shavings left from the manufacture were placed at the bottom of the coffin or, in some cases, in a pillow on which the head of the deceased was located. It was impossible to burn wood chips and shavings, because, as they believed in the Okulovsky district, the deceased would be hot from this. The coffin - domina was always made in accordance with the growth of the deceased. It was believed that the deceased would take someone away if the coffin was larger (Okulovsky district, Fedorova M.N.). The house with the body was placed so that the deceased was facing the icon, that is, the red corner (Okulovsky district), but in the Starorussky district it is noted as the most common option when the deceased lies with his head in the red corner, and with his feet towards the door.

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 often, 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 those baptized in Orthodox faith people, as in the notes submitted to the proskomedia, are allowed to enter the names of only the baptized deceased.

Outside the window of the room in which the deceased was located, they hung a linen towel or a piece of white cloth. On the forehead of the deceased they put "wreaths" or "forgiveness letters", which contained a prayer for the remission of sins. A handkerchief was given in the right hand, and a handkerchief in the left. In the Starorussky district, it was believed that it was needed in order to wipe off sweat during the Last Judgment, as well as to wipe away tears if a person who had passed into the world of his ancestors would cry when meeting with loved ones in the “other world”. These meetings took place, according to the respondents, for forty days. The informants of the Okulovsky district interestingly interpreted the function of the pectoral cross, which was supplied to the deceased. So, M. N. Fedorova said that it serves as a "pass" and that before entering the gates of another world, it was necessary to show the cross, while the deceased had to buy a new cross. This custom differed from that adopted in the Starorussky district, where the deceased was buried with the same cross that a person wore during his lifetime. The funeral took place on the third day. Spruce branches were scattered from the house to the road, along which the procession moved, so that the other person leaving for the world would “walk” along the “clean road”, since the spruce was considered a clean tree in these places. When they returned from the cemetery, the branches were removed and then burned, probably destroying the traces of the deceased in this way so that he would not return and take away any of the surviving relatives.

Transfer of the body of Christ to the tomb
(Antonio Chiseri, 1883) - historical realism of the 19th century.

Preserved quite a lot of various signs associated with the administration of the funeral rite. Often these signs were in the nature of a talisman. So, for example, they dug a grave on the day of the funeral early in the morning, and the place was chosen better, because they believed that if the deceased did not like the place, then he would take one more of his relatives within forty days. And if there is still a dead person, then "we must expect a third" (according to M. N. Fedorova from the Okulovsky district). The collapse of the grave walls also indicated that a new hole would soon have to be dug. In general, the custom has been preserved in everything to please the dead. The custom was also preserved in the surveyed areas not to sweep the floors while the deceased was in the house, because, according to a sign, it was possible to "sweep" one of the living relatives. In addition, mirrors were hung in the house with a dark cloth so that evil spirits would not spoil the deceased. The coffin with the body was carried to the cemetery on towels, it was considered "more respectful" to carry it than to carry it. They finally said goodbye to the deceased at the cemetery, while kissing on the forehead or on the icon that lay on his chest. The tears of the parting man should not fall on the deceased, as he would then lie wet and offended. In such cases, they usually said: "Step back, step back, don't shed tears there." And all those present wished that the earth was rest in peace. Before the coffin was lowered into the grave, relatives threw a penny there (probably silver), which meant that they bought themselves a place next to the deceased, and everyone else threw copper, while saying: "Here's your share - do not ask for more ". It was believed that the deceased needed the money in order to pay for transportation across a river or lake to the next world. It is known that the image of a river and a crossing is a traditional image not only for Russian, but also for world culture.

Funeral items and things of the deceased also had their own fate. After the fortieth day, relatives could distribute the personal belongings of the deceased to any people, not necessarily close relatives. And those objects and things that were involved in the funeral rite (for example, towels on which the coffin was carried) were either lowered into the grave and covered with earth, or burned to avoid the bad influence of the deceased on living people. Everything was done in such a way that nothing disturbed the soul of the deceased and somehow kept it in the world of living people. Much was done to ensure that the deceased would not return for someone, would not "see someone". As mentioned above, it was believed that the open eyes of the deceased are a sign that they are looking for a new victim.

According to tradition, while the ceremony was taking place at the cemetery, preparations were made for the wake in the house of the deceased. One of the relatives usually stayed at home and prepared a memorial meal, washed the floor. The commemoration took place not only immediately after the funeral, but also on the ninth and fortieth day, then a year later. Deceased relatives were commemorated in Saturdays- days established by Christian tradition. V memorial days people always visited the graves of relatives, bringing food and wine with them in order to invite the deceased to a ritual meal. Thus, the custom was preserved, which remained from the ancient funeral rite, which provided for both coaxing the souls of the dead and demonstrating the power of life. In the modern funeral rite, the contours of the old, still pagan rite are visible, but it is also noticeable that the magical content of the ritual action has largely been erased.

Different religious traditions establish their own specific requirements for the burial of the dead. In Islam, for example, the body must find peace before the next sunset - and this ritual seems intuitive to us: together with the fading luminary, the soul leaves the body. In Orthodoxy, the norm is different: they are buried on the 3rd day after death. Why did this custom arise?

Special dates after the death of a person: 3, 9, 40 days

The first 3 days the soul of the deceased stays in the family circle, the next 6 days it learns afterworld, from the 9th day, the spirit of the deceased goes to ordeals, where he passes through a host of his own sins.

This period is considered the most difficult and difficult in the afterlife of the soul, because in order to be cleansed, it has to go through its life again, this time face to face with what the conscience spoke about. When, in the end, the ordeals are passed, the soul, bowing, appears before the angels and God: it is there that she will be "rewarded according to her deserts."

Second Coming and Last Judgment

Retribution awaits everyone - both the dead and the living, but only at the time of the Second Coming and the Last Judgment; until that moment the soul is prescribed where it will wait doomsday. The decision is influenced by the actions committed in due time to the earth, the level spiritual development the very soul and finally the strength prayer words relatives and the Church. For this reason, on the 9th and 40th days, all believers who knew the deceased closely are advised to offer prayers for him with all spiritual zeal. It is also customary to commemorate the deceased in the temple by ordering personalized notes. On the 3rd, 9th and 40th days from the date of death, funeral masses and litias should be held.

According to one of the Church Fathers, St. Basil the Great - the human soul continues to exist on earth for three days after death, no longer in the body, but with the body. Here is another answer to the question of why they are buried on the 3rd day after death: if the ritual is observed correctly, and the repose occurs in a timely manner, the first separation phase ends. The body goes down into the earth, and the soul flies up, accompanied by a guardian angel, to the Kingdom of Heaven (note that this is not Hell or Paradise yet).

Considering that human spiritual substance can still experience anything, it becomes obvious additional reason not to hurry with the funeral: the contemplation of how its former material container is buried in the earth will cause unspeakable sorrow to the soul, undermining its strength.

The Power of Prayers

To clarify a possible ambiguity: the soul breaks ties with the body of the deceased immediately, as soon as the coffin is nailed up in the temple. The ordeals that she begins to go through from the 9th day onwards are 20 judgments that test her lifetime righteousness and piety. But in no case should you think that, since the soul has let go of the body, it has no connection with this world! Our prayers are what help her immensely. So, earlier, Orthodox believers held a magpie for the repose for 40 days in a row: the Psalter was read for the deceased, relatives in churches attended liturgies, where they took prosphora for the deceased. The highest among the myriad of prayers is the one that is said by the clergyman who performs the Sacrament of Proskomidia: in honor of the deceased, he tears off a small part of the prosphora, while pronouncing the name of the believer. The benefits of participating in such practices of commemoration in Orthodoxy are considered mutual: the greater the number of churches where the soul of the deceased was commemorated, the more it will help her - just as it will help the soul that filed the memorial petition (or participates in it).

Are there any other reasons why they are buried on the 3rd day after death - in addition to those that we have already considered? Yes, there are at least two more interconnected, moreover, having a pronounced New Testament biblical background. Firstly, the belief that the soul continues to remain in the world of the living for another 3 days is based on the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus Christ: after all, when he was crucified, he was reborn to life just after this time interval! Secondly, the 3rd day after death is exceptional, since it is he who is identified with the Holy Trinity: the trinity of God the Father, God the Son (Christ) and the Holy Spirit. Such a belief, however, has a rather subtle theological background: the point is not simply in the equality of the number of days and 3 Divine hypostases, but in the fact that, having risen on the 3rd day, Jesus Christ fully revealed the Trinity in the earthly world as a trinity - the Holy Spirit emanating from God the Father revived him, they seemed to coexist all together, as something whole, at the moment of resurrection. This is also worth remembering.

Tretina

3rd day, counted from the death of a person, in Orthodox tradition called Tretina. Dahl's dictionary even brought us a folk saying about the dates associated with the farewell of the deceased: "tretiny, nineties, forties and anniversaries of the commemoration." In order not to make a mistake with the numbers, you should remember it firmly: they bury not 3 days later, but on the 3rd day themselves. In other words, not at an interval of 3 days, but at an interval of 2 days, so that the 3rd becomes the day of the funeral.

A simple example: a person who died on the 16th should not be buried on the 19th, but on the 18th. On this day, the most massive and religiously significant farewell rituals are arranged, releasing the soul of the deceased on its journey: in Tretina, in addition to the funeral itself, the deceased is buried (usually done right before lowering into the ground), and they also organize a commemoration, at which they pay honors to him.

We have already touched on the religious dogmas that determine why they are buried on the 3rd day after death. It is precisely on the basis of them that Orthodox figures and parish priests are in solidarity that it is undesirable to bury them earlier. Of course, relatives who do not follow this custom will not fall at all grave sin, but the soul of the deceased will really experience suffering, so they will have to pray for it much more diligently and order a commemoration and Proskomidia from the 9th to the 40th days. At the same time, bury after the 3rd day - on the 5th, 6th, etc. considered acceptable. The soul of the deceased has parted with the material receptacle, and no longer harbors sadness over its former physicality. So after the 3rd with a funeral, you can not rush headlong, but, nevertheless, in a good way it is worth interposing the body to the ground before the 40th day.

Psychological motives

Concluding the review, you can briefly leave the space of purely religious explanations, and touch on the humanistic-secular side of what is happening.

The custom of burying on the 3rd day is not always carried out in practice due to faith. Whether a believer or not, his attachment to the departed is based on primary emotions that bring all people on earth together. The death of someone who was dear to you is a heavy blow, a strange mixture of grief and stupor: relatives and friends cannot recover. The deceased will no longer be in touch, will not be available, will not answer anything and will not appear with his own eyes: such simple things, but it is so hard to come to terms with them. People simply need at least some amount of time for the event of death to be fully realized - and after that, they also need to find the strength in themselves to ask for the deceased. Here we are given a hint by the etymology of the word "commemoration" - to remember, to remember: memory. People arrange a farewell with the memory of someone.

You might be interested:

As much as we would not like it, but people are destined to die. Therefore, the chores with the funeral sooner or later affect everyone. It is important to know how to prepare for this day, and most importantly, when to send the deceased on his last journey.

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Today's editorial "So simple!" will tell you why it is customary to bury the deceased on the 3rd day after death. And also about the other days that must be taken into account from the point of view of Christianity.

©DepositPhotos

When people are buried

By Orthodox canons accepted bury the dead on the third day after death. Why the third day? Christ died on Friday and rose again on Sunday. Hence 3 days. Further, according to Christian teaching, until the third day the soul is on earth, but from the 3rd to the 9th day it is shown the afterlife.

©DepositPhotos

According to the holy fathers, for 3 days the soul of the deceased is near his body. If we bury the body, she has nowhere to go. During this period, the relationship between the body and the soul is still preserved, which in no case should be broken off. The soul in the last three days should be at home, among loved ones.

But from the 9th day, the most difficult period begins for the soul of the deceased. She goes through ordeals, where she knows all her sins. In the period from the 9th to the 40th day, relatives are advised to pray for the deceased. On the 40th day, the soul appears before Last Judgment, where it is determined where it will go. Preferably on the 3rd, 9th and 40th days order a memorial service.

After the death of a person and until the 9th day, the relatives of the deceased must refrain from fun. Even if a wedding or christening is planned during this period, it is better to postpone them.

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Any person at least once in his life is faced with the need to organize the funeral of someone from each of us. Each of us must be ready to take on such a difficult mission as burying a person. Procedure and general scheme registration of all required documents especially for you in our article.

What to do if a person dies?

In the event of a death of a person, first of all, it is necessary to call doctors. The procedure for the necessary actions when a person dies due to natural causes is as follows: first, try to personally assess the condition of the alleged deceased, and then you should call a doctor from the clinic to establish the fact of death. Any ambulance team also has the authority to die and issue relevant certificates. Attention: if you have even the slightest hope that the person is still alive, when calling doctors, call the reason "the patient is unconscious." In this case, the ambulance will arrive faster, most likely, experienced specialists will be sent to the call, capable of carrying out

Having ascertained medical death, doctors give relatives the appropriate document. Also, doctors are required to organize the delivery of the body to the morgue and call the police. Accordingly, the answer to the question: “What to do immediately after the death of a person?” - such: first of all, call a doctor.

Obtaining a death certificate

Depending on the circumstances under which the person died, the doctor who established the fact of death sends the body to the mortuary for storage until burial or forensic medical examination. Pathological examination is mandatory if the cause of death is murder or bodily injury. In cases of natural death, an autopsy is usually not ordered or discussed with the next of kin of the deceased. The death certificate is issued the next day after the fact of death is established. To obtain it, you must contact the registry office at the place of registration of the deceased with his passport and medical certificate.

But what to do if death occurred under unusual or criminal circumstances, how to bury a person? The course of action in such a situation may change somewhat. Relatives will be able to receive a body for burial and a death certificate only with permission from the prosecutor's office. This document is issued after the cause of death has been established and all necessary studies have been carried out.

Funeral agents and services

Very often, almost simultaneously with the doctors called to acknowledge the fact of death, funeral workers arrive. Such ritual agents are often called "black" and openly scolded for high prices and excessive intrusiveness. It's hard to keep cool right after death loved one but still try to be as calm as possible. You don't have to agree to an agency employee's suggestions just because they've already knocked on your door. Moreover, you can simply not start negotiations with a specialist whom you did not call.

Do I need the help of specialized agencies in organizing a funeral? This is an individual question. Firms operating in this area can really take on all the mournful chores. Only their services will have to be paid separately. If you want to avoid unnecessary expenses and you have enough strength to do everything yourself, you can do without cooperation with funeral companies. We hope that the instructions for the first actions when a person died, and the tips for organizing a funeral, collected in our article, will help you with this.

Organization of the burial

Find the strength in yourself to notify all your closest ones about the death of a person as soon as possible. You should promptly contact relatives from other cities or who are on business trips. The organization of the funeral begins with the choice of the method of burial and the acquisition of a plot in the cemetery / place in the columbarium. This should be done as soon as the day and time of the issuance of the body becomes known. The issue of conducting a variety of funeral rites should be delicately discussed with the next of kin of the deceased. If you plan to organize a funeral according to Christian traditions, you can contact the church directly or a specific priest with the question: “How to bury a person?”

The order of actions on the day of farewell is better to paint for yourself on paper. In advance, it is necessary to prepare clothes for the deceased and take them to the morgue. There, if desired, you can order mummification and make-up services. A coffin and the necessary ritual accessories are purchased separately, you should also take care of organizing the transportation of the deceased and ordering transport for the funeral. According to old traditions, the deceased should spend the night in his house or church. Today, many people refuse to perform such rites and, having taken the deceased from the morgue, they are taken to the funeral service in the temple or immediately to the cemetery / crematorium.

Do I need to organize a memorial service?

Planning a farewell to the deceased should be based on the characteristics of the current situation and the traditions familiar to your family. Try on early stages funeral arrangements decide how many people will accompany the deceased on his last journey. In such a situation, it is not customary to persistently invite or forbid someone to come. The relatives of the deceased and acquaintances are informed about the date and time of the funeral. It is also appropriate to notify colleagues at work. In our country, it is customary to arrange a wake. This is a dinner organized at the deceased's home or café/restaurant immediately after burial. During the meal, the deceased is commemorated in every possible way and a number of rituals are performed. It is not accepted to refuse completely. In the company of several close relatives, it would be more appropriate to arrange a symbolic commemoration. For example, just have lunch together, without organizing a magnificent many-hour feast and performing only the most important ceremonies.

How to bury a person: the procedure in Moscow for receiving social benefits

Immediately after the death of a close relative, few people think about the financial side of the issue. And yet, within six months after these events, the person who organized the funeral must apply for this payment. This payment is made by the employing organization for employed persons, pension fund for pensioners or authorities social protection for the unemployed and minors. If a soldier or law enforcement officer dies, relatives will not have to think about how to bury a person at all. The procedure in this case changes, and the organization of the funeral should begin with an appeal to the department where the deceased served / was employed. To receive compensation for burial in the event of the death of civilians, you should contact the appropriate organization with the collected package of documents. You can apply for an allowance with a death certificate, a work book and an applicant's passport in your hands.

Funerals are an event that awaits every person living on earth. It is generally accepted that death is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new, afterlife.

Stages of the funeral

And from how she lived usual life the further place of residence of the soul of the deceased will depend. The existing ritual of Russian funerals has developed over many centuries and even millennia. This ritual consists of several stages.

Stage one - wires

During the farewell, relatives collected things and dressed the deceased in them. The ablution of the departed should be carried out by people who are not related to him by family ties. In Russia, it was customary to bury people in their archery clothes. As a rule, wedding dresses were considered as such. If the deceased did not live to see this event, then he was dressed as if for a wedding.

You can put new clothes on the deceased, but in no case should you use the things of one of the relatives for this. Previously, it was customary for three days before the funeral to read the psalter and the corresponding prayers over the deceased. This could be done by both relatives and people specially invited for this.

The funeral rites of Russians also provide for such a tradition: after the death of a person, they put a glass of water in front of the images and cover it with a piece of bread, and at the commemoration they cover a glass of vodka with bread. They do this for the soul, which, according to legends, can stay in its former home for about a month and a half. Also, in the house where the deceased is located, candles are lit at his head. One lit candle should be placed on the table, and an icon lamp should be lit in front of the faces of saints (icons).

Stage two - removal of the body

Removal of the body

The time for the removal of the body for the funeral is set by agreement with the clergyman who will conduct the funeral. As a rule, it is appointed between twelve o'clock and until the time when the sun is on the horizon. After his entry, the removal of the deceased is prohibited.

So that the deceased does not return to the house and does not take one of those living in it with him, he must be taken out with his feet forward, trying not to touch the walls or the door. For the same purpose, a ritual called "replacement of place" is performed. To do this, in the place where the coffin stood, they put chairs and sit down. Then they were turned upside down for a day. In Siberia, after the removal of the body, a stone was placed under the corner of the house, which is located to the left of the door, so that the rest of the family would not rush after the deceased.

The removal of the body is also characterized by the presence of a moral and ethical aspect, which is determined by a pronounced emotional state, both of the relatives and friends of the deceased, and in the sympathy of other persons present at the funeral. If relatives did not cry at the funeral, society condemned them, believing that they did not love the departed enough. There were also exceptions to the rules. So, mothers did not have the right to cry for their dead children, because it was believed that it harmed their souls in the next world.

Stage three - funeral procession

The funeral procession is accompanied by the sobs of relatives and relatives of the deceased, as well as their lamentations. The process was headed by a man who carried an icon or a crucifix in a towel. After him came a couple of people who carried the lid of the coffin. Then the clergy, followed by 6-8 people carrying a coffin on their shoulders. Closed the procession relatives, friends and acquaintances. Because of the superstitions that came from pagan times, they tried to carry the coffin, like the lid, with gloves, on a special canvas. The deceased was brought to the cemetery or brought on a sleigh. The latter could then be burned or turned upside down for forty days.

If people met on the way of the funeral procession, then it was necessary to carry out the ritual “first meeting”. It symbolized the meeting of the living and the dead worlds. The counter was given a piece of bread, which was wrapped in a towel. In return, he had to pray for the soul of the deceased.

The procession can stop only near the church and the cemetery, near the places that played an important role in the life of the deceased person or near the crosses, which the people call “the dead”. The longer the coffin is carried, the more respected the deceased was during his lifetime.

Stage four - memorial service

memorial service

This ritual is carried out in accordance with church canons. It is carried out before the burial of the deceased. It can be held in a church or in the home of the deceased. Invited persons who have a spiritual dignity read prayers and psalms, which are designed to calm the soul of the departed and adapt it to another world.

In such songs, the path of a person and his ordeal is figuratively shown from the moment of birth and up to death. They also talk about God's providence and justice, about the great love of God for humanity.

Stage five - burial

The burial rite is performed before the sun leaves the horizon. It is believed that it takes the soul with it to the other world. It is believed that the relatives of the deceased should not bury the coffin. Such a belief is associated with the fact that relatives are afraid that the deceased would not take someone else from the family with them.

Saying goodbye, the relatives of the deceased kiss him on the forehead (on the whisk), and express their regret by crying and lamenting. After everyone wishes to say goodbye, the priest says special prayers, then the coffin is nailed up and lowered into a previously dug hole. Another element of farewell is such a ritual as throwing a handful of earth on the lid of the coffin. At the same time, it is necessary to pronounce such words as "the earth rest in peace."

Sometimes, small money is thrown into the grave so that the deceased can buy back his grave, or for ransom when crossing the river that separates our world from the world of the dead.

Stage six - remembrance

Remembrance

After the grave is completely filled up, as a rule, wreaths are placed on it, with fresh flowers in their center. Since, according to customs, a permanent obelisk can only be erected after the first anniversary of death, a temporary monument or cross is erected on the grave. They attach a plate with information about the name and surname of the deceased, as well as the dates of his birth and death.

Funeral rites prescribe that at the end of the burial ceremony, the relatives of the deceased organize a dinner for the diggers. These should be a modest table, on which there must be kutia, pancakes, vodka and other treats. Leftover food must be left on the grave for birds to eat. The latter were associated with the souls of people who had died earlier.

After that, friends, acquaintances and relatives go to the house of the deceased, where a table has already been set for remembrance. At the end of the meal, sweets (cookies and sweets) are distributed to those who came.

Rite of Remembrance in Ancient Russia

Several centuries ago in Russia there were two types of commemoration of the deceased: secret and explicit. In the first case, relatives laid out alms on neighbors' windowsills and porches for forty days. It could be eggs, bread, matches, cloth, towels. Having accepted such alms, the neighbors had to pray for the soul of the departed. It was also believed that they take on some of the sins of the deceased.

With a clear commemoration, relatives of the deceased ordered his funeral in the church. After it, at the gates of the church, it was customary to distribute pies and other sweets to children and the poor.

So that the soul does not go to hell, relatives sacrificed cash to the church bell, which in the future, with its ringing, could call the sinner out of hell. Or it was possible to donate a rooster to the neighbors so that he would sing daily for the sins of the deceased.

Also, sometimes at the end of the commemoration, women who provided special assistance in organizing them are handed out handkerchiefs that must be kept.