The Russian people, having adopted Orthodoxy, have not completely outlived pagan customs. They manifest themselves most visibly in the burial rite, the secrets and many fears of which no one has been able to recognize. Death is not the end, death is the beginning. We mourn for our dead with a feeling of deprivation, but with the hope of uniting with them in eternity.

The Holy Fathers and teachers of the Church always warned against prejudices and superstitions, which sometimes deceived ancient Christians. It can clearly be said that superstitions, following all sorts of signs and customs, observing the absurd external forms of some rituals, including funeral ones, are explained by a lack of knowledge about them. Superstition, or vain faith - faith based on nothing, is unworthy of true Christians.

The Orthodox Church teaches us, when we remember death, not to think about it unambiguously - either as a triumph or as a sorrow. The image that God gives us in the Bible and Gospels is more complex. There is tragedy in death, death is monstrous, death should not exist. Death is a consequence of our loss of God. However, there is another side to death: no matter how narrow its gates, it is the only hope of avoiding the vicious circle of infinity at a distance from God. Death is not the end, death is the beginning. This door opens and admits us into the vastness of eternity, which would have been forever closed to us if death had not freed us from the slavery of the earth.

We cannot help but grieve when those we love leave us when they die. We will mourn our dead because a loved one has left us, but we will mourn him in a Christian way. We cry over the deceased because a person is not called to die - a person is called to eternal life. Death entered life through human falling away from God, therefore death as such is a tragedy. On the other hand, it is liberation. If it were necessary to live without ever dying, in the limitations of earthly life that we know, there would be an inescapable nightmare... There are a number of places in the service for the deceased, where he seems to say: don’t cry for me...

We mourn for our dead with a feeling of deprivation, but with the hope of uniting with them in eternity.

Therefore, the splendor of the funeral, the popular accompaniment of the coffin, the care for the burial that spares no expense, and the arrangement of rich monuments somewhat console the living, but do not help the dead. Vain prejudices and fabrications, such as those given above, do not help, but undoubtedly harm.

The Russian people, having adopted Orthodoxy, have not completely outlived pagan customs. They manifest themselves most visibly in the burial rite, the secrets and many fears of which no one has been able to recognize. There are many unwritten and sometimes strange rituals, which, nevertheless, are passed down from generation to generation and are performed almost with greater zeal than church prayer rituals. In the 20th century, when the Church was in a disadvantaged position in society, these pagan superstitions became widespread. They are performed without thinking about the meaning, even by people who consider themselves atheists.

For example, there is a non-Orthodox pagan custom when an ax is placed under the coffin of the deceased, coins are thrown into the coffin, into the grave. Or, when a dead person is carried out, tables and chairs in the house are overturned. It is not necessary. All this is connected with pagan customs. Mourning for the deceased is also a non-church tradition.

Among undeveloped peoples, it was believed that if a person is buried without an arm or a leg, then in the next world he will remain crippled. This pagan superstition formed the basis of the misconception among some Christians who feared that on Judgment Day their loved one would rise from the dead without a limb and remain disabled for eternity. But if the limb separated from the body, the delusional believed, was buried along with the corpse, then the problem would be resolved, and the person would be resurrected in his full form. The severed members were carefully stored so that when the time came, they could be placed in a coffin. Even teeth that had fallen out or been pulled out were preserved, sometimes for many years, and placed in the grave with their former owners. These beliefs often caused deaths when amputation was delayed until it was too late.

The custom of hanging mirrors in the house of the deceased is also associated with the tradition of folk origin and has nothing to do with Orthodox rite burial of the deceased. The explanations for this custom are ridiculously naive. Mirrors are closed so that the soul of the deceased, when it sees itself, is not afraid. Another interpretation: so that the deceased does not frighten relatives. It is also believed that through the mirror the soul can go into the dark world of the “looking glass”, where the devil reigns and demons rule.

It must be said that different prejudices associated with burial, is a problem not only of our time, when entire generations grow up in unbelief and ignorance of God. And in pre-revolutionary times, there were plenty of various kinds of superstitions associated with death and burial rites.

Let's name some customs and beliefs that Orthodox Christians should not perform and take into account:

- put money, things and food in the coffin;

- placing a pancake on the face of the deceased, and then eating it, believing that this eliminates the sins of the deceased;

- believe that a person who returns to the house after removing the body and before returning from the cemetery will certainly die;

- at the wake, place a glass of vodka and bread “for the deceased”;

- save this “funeral glass” until the fortieth day;

- pour vodka into the grave mound;

- say: “May you rest in peace”;

- believe that the soul of the deceased can take the form of a bird or a bee;

- believe that if the deceased is not inveterate, then his soul remains on earth as a ghost;

- to believe that a person who accidentally stands between the coffin and the altar during the funeral service will certainly die soon;

- believe that burial soil, which is given at an absentee funeral service, cannot be kept at home for more than one day;

- believe that cremation can cause illness in the children or grandchildren of the person being cremated;

— to believe that the bodies of those burned in a fire will not be resurrected on Judgment Day.

Cremation

Cremation is a special topic. Nowadays, society is actively discussing this custom, unconventional for Orthodoxy, of burning (cremating) the bodies of the dead. There are also a lot of speculations and superstitions around it.

This new custom for Russia, which is becoming popular due to its relative cheapness, came to us from the pagan East. Eastern religious teachings contain the idea of ​​reincarnation (reincarnation), according to which the soul comes to earth many times, changing its bodily shells. That's why paganism sees in the body not the temple of the soul, but its prison. The term of stay in another prison has ended - you need to burn it and scatter the ashes to the wind.

The Orthodox Church allows cremation only under circumstances of force majeure– lack of space in cemeteries or extreme scarcity of funds for burial. All funeral prayers, including funeral services, are performed over the cremated person without changes. Before burning the body, the icon or crucifix must be removed from the coffin, but the aureole and the sheet with the prayer of permission must be left.

There is a fear among Christians that burning will inevitably condemn the deceased to hellish torment (parallels are drawn between the fire of a crematorium and the fire of Gehenna). On this score, back in the second century, Christian apologist Minucius Felix said: “We are not afraid ... of any damage in any method of burial, but we adhere to the old and better custom of interring the body.” In the book of the monk Mitrofan “How our dead live and how we will live after death” we read: “No matter how our body is destroyed, its elements are not destroyed; and for the omnipotence of God it is possible from the existing elements to resurrect the body, whether it be burned or eaten by beasts. The elements, having heard the voice of the Creator, will gather to fulfill their purpose of forming the human body; will gather in exactly the same way as the fish heard the voice of the Son of God and immediately gathered in the net, lowered into the sea by the holy apostles at the command of Jesus Christ. This is a great mystery."

It should be noted that cremation, from the point of view Orthodox Church, – the action is not edifying; it instills despair in the soul rather than hope for resurrection. The posthumous fate of each deceased is in the hands of God and does not depend on the method of burial.

Funeral service in absentia

IN Lately Many superstitions have developed around the rite of funeral service in absentia. This question deserves special attention. In this regard, the following needs to be clarified. The practice of performing a funeral service “in absentia” can only be justified if It is not possible to deliver the deceased to the temple of God.

Previously, the funeral service in absentia was allowed by the Church only in cases where the body of the deceased was unavailable for burial (fires, floods, wars and other emergency circumstances).

Now this phenomenon has become widespread: firstly, due to the lack of churches in many cities and villages; secondly, due to the high cost of transport and other funeral services, as a result of which the relatives of a deceased Christian decide to save on the funeral service. The latter is extremely regrettable, since it is better to refuse funerals, wreaths, tombstone, But make every effort and bring the body to the temple, as a last resort, call the priest home or to the cemetery. Nevertheless, the Church meets people halfway in special cases performs the funeral service in absentia, somewhat shortened compared to the usual one.

An absentee funeral service must be ordered on the day of the funeral, remembering to take the death certificate to the church. It is enough for at least one of the relatives of the deceased to pray in the temple. The priest will give him a whisk, a scroll of paper with the text of a prayer of permission, and a small bag of earth. As already mentioned, the whisk should be placed on the forehead of the deceased, the prayer should be right hand, and scatter the earth over the body in a cross shape from head to feet and from right shoulder to left.

It happens that an absentee funeral service takes place some time after the funeral. Then the burial soil should be scattered over the grave, and the aureole and prayer should be buried into the grave mound to a shallow depth. If the grave is very far away or in an unknown place, then the aureole and prayer are burned, and the earth is scattered on any grave on which an Orthodox cross is installed.

The funeral service, like Baptism, is performed once. But if it is impossible to establish for certain whether a person was buried or not, you need, without embarrassment, to order an absentee funeral service, and the sooner the better. To believe in prejudices means to be in confrontation with the Church.

Believing in prejudice means being in confrontation with the Church

There are many other signs and superstitions associated with death and burial. Every settlement has its own unique burial traditions, passed on from generation to generation. Mostly older women consider themselves knowledgeable and enlightened in these traditions, they take upon themselves the right to monitor their observance during funerals, often not only ignoring the blessing of the priest, but openly and publicly mocking him. They do not understand at all, and sometimes, on the contrary, they deliberately put themselves in confrontation with the teaching of the Church and the Holy Fathers.

All witchcraft and witchcraft are unacceptable in Orthodox traditions, including in burial traditions. Any such information should be approached with great caution, remembering the harm that contacts with this kind of people bring to the soul and health. We must remember that the devil is the father of lies and with his army makes every effort to mislead a person in the truth and alienate him from the Church and its true teaching. During a funeral, the only guidance that can protect you from outright witchcraft and damage can only be priest's blessing.

In conclusion, it must be said that every Christian who has even a modicum of courage and civic responsibility is simply obliged to help a fellow believer or a person who is almost ready to set foot on the Church path of salvation in Christ, in the correct understanding of Divine truths. We are all mortal, but this irrefutable truth is deprived of spiritual depth and turns into banality outside the teaching of the Church, which testifies that man was created by God for immortality. All superstitions and fabrications surrounding this main issue are destructive for the soul of an Orthodox Christian.

Hieromonk Dometian, priest of the house chapel “Savior Not Made by Hands”, Novosibirsk

Cremation is one of the ritual burial processes. The procedure involves burning the human body. Subsequently, the burnt ashes are collected in special urns. Methods for burying cremated bodies vary. They depend on the religion of the deceased.

History of the cremation ritual

The tradition of burning corpses has been known to humanity since ancient times. According to archaeologists, this procedure was first used in the Paleolithic era. Later, this burial process spread everywhere.

There is a legend about the burial of Buddha, according to which his body was burned and his ashes were buried in several parts of India.

In ancient times, cremation was widespread in Rome and Greece. It was believed that burning the body would help a person pass to the afterlife.

The Christian religion initially did not accept the cremation procedure. Among the Orthodox, the burial process was carried out by placing a corpse in the ground. Burning a human body was a sign of paganism.

Later, due to the development of Christianity in European countries cremation was prohibited. The penalty for violating the ban was the death penalty. The burning procedure has not been used for more than a thousand years.

Today, cremation is common both in Europe and in Russian Federation. This is due to the increase in population in big cities and the lack of cemetery space. This is a big problem. Therefore, increasingly, Christians prefer the burning procedure, regardless of how the church views cremation. It happens that relatives carry out the will of the deceased, who before his death expressed a desire to be cremated.

Traditions of Christian burial

Burial of a body in the Christian religion combines Orthodox and pagan elements. It is important to carry out the burial ritual correctly and observe all national rules. This will help the deceased to pass on to another world.

The following rituals exist:

• washing the body of the deceased;
• the process of putting on special clothes;
• farewell;
• parting;
• funeral service;
• burial;
• commemoration

Funeral preparations are carried out carefully. The deceased is washed with water. According to tradition, a person must appear before God purified physically and spiritually. After this, the body is dressed in the best clothes. IN Ancient Rus' they were white robes. They were worn by both women and men. IN modern world Men are usually dressed in classic black suits and light shirts. Women are buried in light-colored dresses. Now there are many funeral services where you can buy everything you need, including outfits.

Deceased unmarried girls They are buried in wedding dresses, with a veil placed next to them. This is a sign of purity and innocence. Young men wear wedding rings and wedding suits. There may be some wedding traditions present. For example, drinking champagne.

The burial takes place on the third day after death. All this time the body is indoors. They place him facing the icons. Mirrors are covered throughout the house. This is also a kind of tradition that has its own history. Extraneous sounds are not allowed. A prayer is placed in the hands of the deceased and a whisk is placed on the forehead. A person must wear a cross. The room is fumigated with incense and church candles are burned.

The person is seen off with special honors. A portrait of the deceased is installed, relatives and close people say goodbye and express their condolences to each other. The funeral procession escorts the person's body to the cemetery, where the burial takes place.

The funeral ceremony for the soul of the deceased by a priest is obligatory. This is a necessary measure for the remission of sins of the deceased. Suicides in Orthodox religion there is no funeral service. Exceptions are possible, but they require permission from the Patriarch of All Rus'.

After the burial, flowers and wreaths are left on the grave, and a wooden cross is placed.

Upon arrival from the cemetery, according to tradition, a wake is held. They set the tables, read prayers, and sing special songs. As a rule, commemoration is carried out on the third, ninth and fortieth day. It is believed that on the fortieth day the soul leaves human world and passes into the Kingdom of God.

The Christian Church's attitude towards cremation

In large cities, there is less and less space left in cemeteries for burying people. Today this is a major problem for megacities. There is practically no space available for new cemeteries. In this situation, cremation becomes an alternative solution to the problem.

How does the church view cremation? Christian church promotes burial of the body in the ground. This tradition is associated with Many scriptures say that man was created in the image and likeness of God. Consequently, even after death the body must go into the ground. That's why Orthodox faith takes care of the safety of the body.

Cremation is allowed by the church, but only as a necessary measure. Cemetery space is expensive. Not every person has the means to purchase it. Burning the body and burying the urn with the ashes is much cheaper. Of course, burning a body does not mean making it difficult to transition to another life. The Church does not refuse funeral services to relatives who decide to cremate the body of the deceased. This action is not considered a sin. According to the clergy, cremation will not prevent the resurrection from the dead. But still, for the Orthodox religion, this is an unnatural process of decay of human remains. Regardless of the form of burial, all the deceased are remembered at liturgies and memorial services. Still, the church’s attitude towards cremation is negative.

Meeting of the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church

In May 2015, a meeting of the Russian Holy Synod took place. This event was held in the Danilovsky Monastery in Moscow. At this event, an important document “On the Christian burial of the dead” was adopted.

The project has been developed over several years. The Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' participated in its revision. This document describes the burial standards for Orthodox believers.

Of course, there are situations in which the funeral service and burial of the body becomes impossible. These could be plane crashes, floods (when bodies are carried away into the water), Act of terrorism, fires or any other tragic situations. In such situations, funeral services for the dead may be performed in absentia. They pray for them in the same way as for those buried in the ground. The clergy pay great attention to the relatives of the victims. They are taught to pray fervently for loved ones.

The essence of the document "On the Christian burial of the dead"

The meeting of clergy clearly described their position in the burial document.

According to the Holy Scriptures, the human body is the temple of God. The body of the deceased must be treated with respect. According to Christian belief, man comes from dust and after death his body must turn into dust. In this state it must rest until the day of resurrection, when “what is sown in corruption will be raised in incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:42).

In accordance with the burial document, any burial is carried out in the ground in wooden, plastic or stone coffins. Burial in caves and crypts is possible in compliance with the necessary standards.

Cremation is not recognized as the norm for burial. At the same time, the church says that the Lord God is able to resurrect any body that has been exposed to any element.

Procedure for cremating a human body

The process of cremation of a person occurs according to the preliminary will of the deceased. It takes about one and a half hours. In the Russian Federation, the share of cremated burials is small and amounts to approximately 10%. But in large cities, mainly Moscow and St. Petersburg, this method of burial prevails over the traditional one. Its share is 70%. Of course, before deciding to burn a body, you need to think about all the intricacies of cremation; you must weigh the pros and cons.

This procedure is carried out in specially designated places, crematoria. There are furnaces here, the temperature of which varies from 900 to 1100 °C. After the procedure is completed, the ashes are only 2-2.5 kg. First, it is placed in an iron capsule, which is subsequently sealed. You can also store ashes in an urn. The relatives of the deceased buy it themselves. Urns can come in a variety of designs and shapes. Crematorium staff move the ashes from the capsule to the urn.

Only relatives can collect the ashes. The shelf life of the urn in the crematorium is 1 year. Sometimes more. If the ashes remain unclaimed, after the expiration of the storage period, burial occurs in a common grave. Every crematorium has such burials.

Cremation oven

How are people cremated? Modern cremation ovens consist of two chambers. The first chamber contains a coffin with the body of the deceased. The first stage of human cremation takes place here. Combustion occurs using hot air. Hot jets are unable to burn the body completely. Therefore, the remains are sent to the second chamber. It is called an afterburner chamber. The remains of organic tissues completely burn out in it.

From the cremation oven, the remains are sent to the cremator, where they are ground into dust. Unburned metal products are removed using special magnets.

It is impossible to confuse the remains. Before burning, a metal number is placed in the coffin. After the procedure, he is pulled out of the ashes.

Places for burial of ashes

The state does not allocate special places for burial of ashes. The relatives of the deceased dispose of the urn at their own discretion or carry out the last will of the deceased. The procedure for burying ashes is more convenient than traditional burial. The urn can be placed in a related grave. In this case, it is not necessary to maintain a sanitary period (15 years).

You can purchase a place in an open or closed columbarium. Some simply scatter the ashes in a specific place.

A columbarium is a place where urns containing the ashes of the deceased are stored after the cremation procedure. Such storage facilities were first built during the ancient Roman civilization. A columbarium is a structure divided into many cells. Such storage facilities exist at every crematorium. In Moscow, the most famous columbarium is located in the Kremlin wall.

There are two types of such burials: open and closed. An outdoor columbarium is installed outdoors. These can be various types of structures, divided into cells.

The closed columbarium is a separate building, the so-called mausoleum. In the walls of such premises there are cells intended for storing ashes. The cells can be concreted after placing the urn in them. After which a portrait of the deceased person and various inscriptions are placed on the cell.

Basically, the columbarium cells are covered with glass. Relatives and loved ones usually place mementos and photographs of the deceased along with the urn.

There are also family columbariums. In terms of their semantic meaning, they can be compared to family crypts or family graves in a cemetery. One such cell can hold up to four urns with ashes.

Moscow crematoria

There are three crematoriums in Moscow. All of them are located in the cemeteries: Nikolo-Arkhangelsk, Mitinsky and Khovansky.

• Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye Cemetery - Moscow, Saltykovka microdistrict, st. Okolnaya, 4.
• The Mitinskoye cemetery is located outside the Moscow Ring Road, Moscow, Mitinsky district, Pyatnitskoye highway, 6th km.
• Khovanskoye Cemetery is located in Moscow, Mosrentgen settlement, st. Admiral Kornilov, Kyiv highway, 21st km.

To find out how people are cremated, you need to contact the crematorium administration. Here you can find out the cost of the procedure.

Basically, crematoriums provide services of various levels. The price depends on the choice of the hall for saying goodbye to the deceased, ritual accessories, etc.

Burial of ashes at the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoe cemetery

Nikolo-Arkhangelskoe Cemetery was founded in 1960. Initially, burials were carried out here only using the traditional method. Later, in 1973, it was decided to open a crematorium on the territory of the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery in Moscow. This is a big building. The crematorium carries out up to forty cremations per day.

Basically, relatives of the deceased do not pay attention to how the church views cremation. The fact is that the cemetery is closed to new burials. Burial is allowed only in family graves or places purchased in advance. The traditional method of burial in a related grave requires compliance with sanitary deadlines. This condition is becoming a major problem for megacities. Therefore, most of the population of large cities resort to the cremation procedure.

On the territory of the Nikolo-Arkhangelskoye cemetery there are open and closed columbariums. Unlike places for traditional burials, a place to store ashes here can be purchased without any problems.

The open columbarium of the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery is located on the street. These are rows of long walls divided into small cells. The ashes of the deceased are concreted in an open columbarium. After which the relatives have no access to the urn.

The indoor columbarium is located in a separate building. This is a room whose walls are also divided into cells. Here the urn is behind a glass door. In addition to the urn, it is possible to put little things that are dear to the deceased person into the cell: photographs, jewelry boxes, etc.

Prices for open and closed columbarium cells are different. In addition, the cemetery administration may collect an annual fee from the relatives of the deceased.

The cemetery provides various services: a monument store, a morgue, and grave care. You can rent equipment for caring for graves. In addition to the general crematorium, there is also a private one. It is located at the main entrance to the cemetery.

The Church of the Intercession was built on the territory of the cemetery Holy Mother of God, as well as a small chapel.

Based on the above, it is impossible to draw an unambiguous conclusion about how the church views cremation. On the one side, Christian faith promotes the traditional burial of the body of a deceased person. This is the natural way. It repeats the burial of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, cremation does not mean that clergy refuse to perform the funeral service and bury the ashes of the deceased. Because according to scripture, the Lord God will resurrect all souls in their body. Before making an important decision about the form of burial, it is worth weighing the pros and cons.

We have a crematorium in St. Petersburg for a long time. And many people, even believers, are not buried in the ground, but burned. It's much cheaper, and old people often don't have the money for a full funeral. Is it possible to resort to the “services” of a crematorium? Or is this categorically unacceptable? Is it a sin if you allow a relative to be cremated? How to repent of this sin? How to pray for those who have been cremated? Can I order funeral services for them? What if a relative himself bequeaths himself to be cremated? How to treat the ashes of a burned person without your consent?

Konstantin, St. Petersburg.

Christian burial follows in its essence the burial of the Lord. Let “the dust return to the earth” (Ec. 12:7) says the Bible. In the funeral service there are the words: “you are earth and you will go back to earth.” The human body, created from “finger”, from the composition of earthly elements, having fallen into decay and death after the Fall of Adam, after death returns to matter and disintegrates into elements. This is present deep meaning: created literally from “nothing” by the Will and Thought of God, in the complex composition of the soul and body, united in the hypostasis of a unique personality, after death we lose the this-worldly part of ourselves - the body - until the time, so that after resurrection in a new recreation we find it again, no longer involved in death.
Cremation, the accelerated unnatural or unnatural destruction of the body of the deceased through burning, is, of course, alien Christian culture, Christian spirit. In cremation as a modern funerary act, perhaps the horrific gap between the secular, i.e. a civilization separated from the Church - and a faith that has transformed this fallen and cruel human world for millennia. When faith is expelled to the margins of social values, the ugly and soulless essence of these very “free values” is exposed as having no basis in the Holiness of God. And it is probably no coincidence that the first crematorium project appeared during french revolution, and cremation as the industrial destruction of human remains develops in Europe in the 19th century, in the era of triumph evolutionary theory Darwin.
Cremation does not respond Christian morality and cannot be included in the list Orthodox customs burials. But cremation is only one, perhaps a more expressive example of many other non-Christian norms public relations(cultures of consumption, leisure, individualism), which we no longer notice due to their ubiquity.
Seeing cremation as something mystical spiritual meaning or even the prototype of “Gehenna fire” does not follow. Rather, it is precisely the spiritual meaning—namely, the church-building power of Christian ritual that gives everyday things a heavenly dimension—that cremation lacks. It is empty, soulless, indifferent and merciless to people, like other landscapes of modern megacities.
If it is possible to bury a deceased loved one, dear person in the grave, in the ground, even if it involves difficulties and expenses - it is better to make every effort to do it. If this is not possible, and I know that there are many such cases, then I have to cremate. This is not a sin, but a forced measure, conditioned by external circumstances, to which we cannot oppose anything. If there is anything we should repent of, it is that we did not make advance efforts to ensure that the body loved one avoided cremation.
Deceased Christian - accepted holy baptism and upon death, one who is honored with a funeral service according to the rite of the Orthodox Church, instead of a grave burial - cremated - can and should be remembered at Liturgies and memorial services, like other deceased who have passed away in peace with the Church. I know of no canons or rules that state otherwise.
The ashes of a cremated person should be treated like any other ashes - interred, create a semblance of a grave and, if space allows, put up a cross.
I had to hear erroneous opinion that cremation, instead of the usual decay of the body in the grave, will somehow complicate the bodily resurrection from the dead. It's a delusion. Saint Gregory the Theologian addresses those who doubt the possibility of resurrection in their own body: if you, holding a handful of seeds in your hand, can easily distinguish one vegetable from another, is it really possible for the Lord, Who holds the whole world in His handful, to disappear or get lost? ? And according to another St. Gregory - Nyssa, the soul imparts to the body a certain form (idea), it is imprinted on the flesh with a special imprint or seal, placed not from the outside, but from the inside. For the identity of the resurrected body with the earthly one, it is not at all necessary that the same material elements be combined: that very seal is sufficient.

Today, few people are really interested in how the church views human cremation. This question is being discussed in the media to calm one’s own conscience, to find a beautiful explanation for the savage treatment of the body of a deceased person. All the fuss about financial problems with burial, especially in big cities, really causes additional problems for the loved ones of the deceased. But lose yours human face, not to mention the Christian worldview, is not worth it. After all, it’s not just a matter of tradition, which is what he insists church hierarchy, but most importantly - in relation to faith, which is trampled upon by all and sundry with the connivance and bashful silence of those who still identify themselves with Orthodoxy.

Evidence of hoary and recent antiquity

Cremation was invented during the construction of the Tower of Babel, when people were punished for striving to become higher than God. It was at this moment that paganism and polytheism arose, and with them atheism, materialism and other cults. Burning a corpse when nothing is sacred is easier and more profitable. Business on the dead also did not appear today. The ancient priests knew a lot about making money from the grief of other people.

Before the revolution in Russia, the question of why a dead person cannot be cremated had only a negative answer. City dwellers constituted a minority as a percentage of the country's total population. Most people lived in rural areas and there were no problems with places for cemeteries; there was enough land for everyone. For hundreds of years, Christians buried their relatives and friends in graveyards - village cemeteries. The terrible thought of making money from this never occurred to anyone. Even the most wretched found peace under Christian cross as a symbol of resurrection.

After 1917, cremation of the deceased was officially allowed in the USSR. Those in power were not interested in the opinion of the Orthodox Church at that time. There is no God, personality is completely destroyed after death, existence rules over consciousness - these and other communist dogmas led to the appearance of pagan mummies like Lenin’s in the center of the capital, and throughout the country - numerous crematoria. The first such institution was organized already in 1920. Soon a columbarium appeared in the Kremlin wall, where urns with the ashes of Soviet leaders were walled up after cremation.

The rulers, who were far from being Russian people, organized a massive orgy of faith and common sense.

In just 2 generations, thanks to violence and propaganda, all these cynical innovations have become commonplace. For 3 decades now, Bolshevism has not existed as a planetary phenomenon, but the ritual of burning deceased people, which it allowed, continues to safely march across the territory of Russia. So 70 years of godless rule, urbanization, western image life gradually crowd out pious customs and make it difficult to treat the deceased as a person.

Reasons for the spread of cremation on Russian soil

Currently, the Russian Orthodox Church, as at all times, is categorically against cremation. But this is no longer enough. After all, ideas are immortal - be they pagan, heretical or communist. All of them are aimed at fighting God. Today, churches are being actively revived. Obvious atheist propaganda has died down. But the burning of deceased Christians, especially Orthodox Christians, continues. What could be the source of such an attitude if not the absence of real faith?

Many undergo the sacrament of baptism, go to church once a year on Easter and consider themselves true Christians. But as soon as it comes to defending a worldview in front of people of other faiths or circumstances such as funerals, courage disappears somewhere. The absence from infancy of training in loyalty to the Church, Russian traditions, not to mention the understanding of Orthodox teaching, led to the revival of such savagery.

According to statistics, more than 60% of deceased Muscovites end their earthly existence in a crematorium.

All big cities Russia is actively building new furnaces for fire funerals. In St. Petersburg, the problem with land is even more pressing than in the capital. City cemeteries are overcrowded, and people have to agree to perform a pagan ritual. After all, burning costs much less than Orthodox burial. Another important reason for the development of a network of crematoria throughout the country was the economic interest of interested business structures, authorities and other elements. For a place in the cemetery big city you have to pay a lot of money.

What do pagan sacrifices, the bonfire of the Inquisition and a beautiful crematorium have in common?

Why has business become the defining model in the life of a Russian person? This is explained by the broken connection of generations united by faith and tradition. Economic dependence on the dollar forces most people, not burdened with Christian knowledge, to live in accordance with Darwin's theory. If the ancestors were monkeys, then they can be safely sent to the oven. The attitude of the Church towards cremation is only negative.

Today in Germany there is an idea about building a pyramid following the example of the Cheops pyramid, where you can hide 50 million urns with the ashes of burnt corpses. This plan fits well with another fashionable intention of democracy - to allow euthanasia of the terminally ill. In some “humanistic” countries it has already become law. Soon, the German concentration camps of World War II will turn out to be a child's prank. After all, it is necessary to significantly increase the number of crematoria for burning people killed by “doctors”.

Buddhists and Hindus still burn their dead in crematoriums.

This is due to the ancient belief that the body is a prison for the soul. Therefore, you need to get rid of it as quickly as possible, as a temporary and harmful phenomenon. Medieval inquisitors sent living people to the stake, but under the guise of fighting sedition. And only the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church stood in the way of spreading blasphemy with the face of humanism over the souls of the living and the bodies of deceased Orthodox Christians.
Every Christian rite includes certain meaning. No exceptions are:

• birth;
• baptism;
• funeral service;
• death and burial.

Cremation resembles the “furnace of fire” described in the Gospel, “where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” But this does not mean that all those burned will be sent to hell. God judges by criteria other than the method of burial. For deliberate neglect of words Holy Scripture will have to bear responsibility. The Church advises that Christians should not be cremated, not only because it may somehow affect the fate of the deceased in eternity, but because it causes spiritual harm to the living.

How does the Orthodox consciousness relate to the burning of the dead?

Currently, to justify cremation, the belief that there is no difference between a traditional funeral and cremation is being introduced. After all, the body still becomes dust, as it is written in the Bible. Sometimes people drown, burn in fires, and it is impossible to bury them. To this the Orthodox Church gives a serious and well-founded answer. According to her teaching, the body of a Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit. And for most people it gradually smolders after death. Death is compared to the dying of a grain, which, when decomposed, produces fruit. So the body, after separation from the soul, awaits its time for the general resurrection, “sprouting in the earth.”

The importance of bodily substance is evidenced by thousands of examples of the incorruptibility of holy saints. For example, in the caves of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra there are more than 200 holy relics of saints, which are already more than 1000 years old. Their bodies did not decompose in conditions of high humidity and air temperature. These people are gifted with Divine grace, which has kept the temple of the Holy Spirit intact.

Whether cremation is a sin can only be answered with reason by the True Church - the Orthodox. At the end of world history there will be a general resurrection of the dead, the first of whom was Jesus Christ. That is, the body will rise and unite with the soul. This action implies that God has the power to restore the whole person. And people, by burning a corpse, renounce their belief in the resurrection of the dead.

The priesthood never ceases to repeat that the dead edify the living. It is not for nothing that in the old Jewish tradition there was such a rule: to send youth and children to funerals so that they would remember their fate. The gospel truth, which states that God has no dead, but all are living, further emphasizes the importance of funerals and funerals. Burying the deceased in the ground is closer to biblical tradition than burning him in a furnace.

What about the soul?

Prayers directed to God calm and pacify any sinner, if he was a true member of the Church and not a nominal one. A parishioner who understands at least a little about the canons is close and understandable to the rite when it happens. The soul, located at this moment above its own body, sees and understands all this. It is impossible to even imagine what happens to the spirit of the burned person. For an unbelieving living relative, the main thing is to follow all earthly rules so that he is not judged by neighbors or acquaintances. Most often, the relatives of the deceased have several tasks:

• buy a prestigious place in the cemetery;
• order the best coffin;
• arrange a luxurious wake with delicacies and pickles.

But these problems of the temporarily living no longer concern those who have passed into eternity. What attitude can Orthodoxy have towards cremation if it radically rejects the concept of afterlife? The living simply do not believe in the existence of another world, which is why they allow such actions. It is necessary to understand that the deceased are not in the cemetery. There is only dust here, and the spiritual substance is contained until the general resurrection in immaterial abodes.

How the Church relates to human cremation can be understood by considering at least the basics of its dogma.

People who lived in accordance with God's commandments and were buried in different cemeteries in other states will meet in the afterlife and be together.
Someone who was a God-fighter cannot be with a believer, even if he has lived for decades in a marital or other family relationship.

Humanly, this point can be understood, but God has his own plans. Many people ask whether it is possible to perform a funeral service for the deceased after burning, or whether it is better to conduct the burial ceremony in absentia. The priesthood is authorized to conduct funeral services. Otherwise it would be contrary to Orthodox teaching. The Church does not deprive the deceased funeral prayers, regardless of one or another method of burial. The funeral service is necessary for the soul of the deceased so that it, if possible, overcomes the path on which it will encounter the demonic horde. Therefore, burning is not a sin of the deceased, but of those who did it.

We have a crematorium in St. Petersburg for a long time. And many people, even believers, are not buried in the ground, but burned. It's much cheaper, and old people often don't have the money for a full funeral. Is it possible to resort to the “services” of a crematorium? Or is this categorically unacceptable? Is it a sin if you allow a relative to be cremated? How to repent of this sin? How to pray for those who have been cremated? Can I order funeral services for them? What if a relative himself bequeaths himself to be cremated? How to treat the ashes of a burned person without your consent?

Konstantin, St. Petersburg.

Christian burial follows in its essence the burial of the Lord. Let “the dust return to the earth” (Ec. 12:7) says the Bible. In the funeral service there are the words: “you are earth and you will go back to earth.” The human body, created from “finger”, from the composition of earthly elements, having fallen into decay and death after the Fall of Adam, after death returns to matter and disintegrates into elements. There is a deep meaning in this: created literally from “nothing” by the Will and Thought of God, in the complex composition of the soul and body, united in the hypostasis of a unique personality, after death we lose the this-worldly part of ourselves - the body - until time, so that after resurrection in a new recreation we will find him again, no longer involved in death.
Cremation, the accelerated unnatural or unnatural destruction of the body of the deceased through burning, is, of course, alien to Christian culture and the Christian spirit. In cremation as a modern funerary act, perhaps the horrific gap between the secular, i.e. a civilization separated from the Church - and a faith that has transformed this fallen and cruel human world for millennia. When faith is expelled to the margins of social values, the ugly and soulless essence of these very “free values” is exposed as having no basis in the Holiness of God. And it is probably no coincidence that the first crematorium project appeared during the French Revolution, and cremation as the industrial destruction of human remains developed in Europe in the 19th century, during the era of the triumph of Darwin’s evolutionary theory.
Cremation does not correspond to Christian morality and cannot be included in the list of Orthodox burial customs. But cremation is only one, perhaps only a more expressive example of many other non-Christian norms of social relations (culture of consumption, leisure, individualism), which we no longer notice due to their ubiquity.
One should not see any mystical spiritual meaning or even a prototype of “Gehenna fire” in cremation. Rather, it is precisely the spiritual meaning—namely, the church-building power of Christian ritual that gives everyday things a heavenly dimension—that cremation lacks. It is empty, soulless, indifferent and merciless to people, like other landscapes of modern megacities.
If it is possible to bury a deceased loved one in a grave, in the ground, even if it involves difficulties and expenses, it is better to make every effort to do so. If this is not possible, and I know that there are many such cases, then I have to cremate. This is not a sin, but a forced measure, conditioned by external circumstances, to which we cannot oppose anything. If there is anything to repent of, it is that they did not make advance efforts to ensure that the body of a loved one avoided cremation.
A deceased Christian - who has received holy baptism and upon death has been honored with a funeral service according to the rite of the Orthodox Church, and instead of a grave burial - has been cremated - can and should be remembered at Liturgies and memorial services, like other deceased who have passed away in peace with the Church. I know of no canons or rules that state otherwise.
The ashes of a cremated person should be treated like any other ashes - interred, create a semblance of a grave and, if space allows, put up a cross.
I have heard the erroneous opinion that cremation, instead of the usual decay of the body in the grave, will somehow complicate the bodily resurrection from the dead. It's a delusion. Saint Gregory the Theologian addresses those who doubt the possibility of resurrection in their own body: if you, holding a handful of seeds in your hand, can easily distinguish one vegetable from another, is it really possible for the Lord, Who holds the whole world in His handful, to disappear or get lost? ? And according to another St. Gregory - Nyssa, the soul imparts to the body a certain form (idea), it is imprinted on the flesh with a special imprint or seal, placed not from the outside, but from the inside. For the identity of the resurrected body with the earthly one, it is not at all necessary that the same material elements be combined: that very seal is sufficient.