Orthodox funeral rites
Orthodox right belief or right worship sees seat of episcopal or religious authority Brainpower Read More cantor a person who accompanies the priest in chanting hymns pertaining to the liturgical service funeral service The proper name given to the Orthodox church service conducted for the dead panachida rubric for the funeral service, contains rubrics for the vigil church service interment icon holy pictures, usually of christ, the mother of god and the saints, found covering the walls, iconostasis, and special shrines around the church iconostasis a solid screen, covered w/ icons, at the front of the church, dividing the sanctuary from the body of the building solea open area before the altar in an orthodox church taper a wax candle lit in the narthex of the orthodox church, signifying prayers and petitions being offered up to god trisagion
- short services of blessings, funeral home the evening the funeral service, the day of
the funeral service before leaving the funeral home for the church and at the cemetery, following the funeral service parastasis "the watch" or "all night vigil" over the body theotokos "mother of god"; preferred term for Mary in roman catholic and orthodox communities after 431 christotokos "mother of christ"; preferred term for mary in most eastern orthodox communities orthodox church greek orthodox russian orthodox american orthodox
eastern orthodox orthodox catholic church history early chrisitans looked to establish regional churches as guides of faith/worship
different regional churches were seen as ='s and share theological concepts/practices
leaders of these churches acted as ='s and saw the jerusalem church as the first among the ='s
- main SEES of early Christianity
- jerusalem - israel
- rome - italy
- antioch - syria
- alexandria - egypt
- constantinople - turkey
history funeral rites first division occurred between antioch church and the alexandria church
issues concerned the dual nature of christ (human and divine) and the proper view of mary (christotokos vs. theotokos) division second division occurred between the alexandria church delegates sliding w/ the greek writings of cyril, over latin delegates from the west coptic churches gave rise to egyptian or coptic churches
today church of alexandria is the mother church for egypt and all of africa
3rd division occurred over controversy concerning the use of icons and the origin of the holy spirit
greek speaking eastern church of constantinople and the lating speaking romance catholic church finally parted ways constantinople/byzantine communities are the most recognizable orthodox churches today
these churches grew throughout eastern and southern europe
orthodox churches have large #'s of worshippers in greece, hungary, romania, belarus, albania and russia orthodox(es) american orthodox communities came directly from russian orthodox churches
russian community began in alaska, before the purchase of the territory by the US and orignally called the russian orthodox greek catholic church or NA orthodox church
independent, flexible and self governing church
governed by a council of bishops known as SYNOD
today these churches agree on doctrinal matters/allow members to participate in communion at any orthodox church Orthodox church* *holds that they teach and practice the proper means of glorifying god
funeral rites are fairly consistent across orthodox churches
parts of church:
narthex nave sanctuary/altar solea iconostasis narthex entryway nave worship areas is the main church sanctuary or altar makes up the area in which the solea and iconstasis are located parts of orthodox church aisles form the shape of a cross dome is strategically placed where the arms of the cross meet size of dome varies between churches byzantine churches also have smaller domes in 2 or 4 corners of church building narthex part of church first stop for an orthodox christian upon entering is the candle room or narthex where he/she will "sacrifice" a candle to the icon depicting the saint of the day/season
it symbolizes christ the light of the world who was sacrificed for our sins parts of church nave main or central portion of the cathedral is known as the nave from latin word "navis" which means ark/ship
center of attention as people sit the altar which is separated from the nave by a wall ornamented w/ icons (iconostasis) iconostasis part of church reminds the orthodox congregation of the partition which separates heaven (the altar) and earth (the nave) theotokos/christotokos first icon panel to the left of the altar will always depict theotokos/christotokos or god- bearer (the virgin mary w/ christ child)
second icon panel on left will vary from orthodox church to church for it depicts the patron saint of the church arrangement icons - the iconstasis will contain three doors
center or royal doors open into the altar and only members of the ordained clergy are allowed to pass through these doors orthodox altars unless physically impossible for the building, always faces the east, facing/rising sun which represents christ the light of the world altar elevated from the floor of the nave by a set of steps altar/solea altar is typically surrounded by a slightly less raised area known as the solea notification of clergy if imminent death, family will call the local priest if possible to the home so the person receives the holy communion
a chance for a final confession
church doesn't require funeral directors to notify the clergy at time of death but it is a good idea to know local orthodox church priests and preference for death notification transfer of remains (orthodox) no religious restrictions surrounds the transfer of remains
civil law determines the transfer of remains
communities usually refer to the deceased as "fallen asleep in the lord" Preparation of remains Embalming is accepted for funeral services
There are typically 3-4 days of ceremonies (public viewing, anointing of the body), so more often than not, embalming is necessary Dressing and Casketing European custom is to shroud the body in a winding sheet or cerecloth
In the US, the deceased is usually dressed in clothes chosen by the family and placed in a casket the family has chosen
Usually the casket is plain with minimal decorations Pre Service Consideration visitation or all-night vigil is Parastasis and begins with the Trisagion Parastasis visitation or all-night vigil is
