Everything You Wanted To Know About A Greek Orthodox Funeral
Greek
orthodox church is one of the oldest churches and is followed by people from
Eastern Europe, Russia and Greece, Georgia, and Cyprus. The church has a good
presence in the USA and has its own tradition when it comes to weddings,
baptisms, and funerals. If you are going to attend one, or if your funeral home Kendall
is going to host one, here are some important facts to know about Greek
Orthodox funeral traditions.
One of the
biggest differences with other churches is the belief that soul and body are
created together and so should remain whole. When a person dies, his body has
to be buried and the soul meets God and waits for the second coming of Christ
when the body will be resurrected and unite with the soul. This is why
cremation is mostly not allowed by Greek Orthodox church followers.
The wake of
a parishioner belonging to this church is also a little different. As per
tradition, the body has to be washed by a relative and laid on a bed blessed by
the priest with holy water. Then a service called Panikhida is held. The wake
is generally 3 days and kept by relatives and friends who recite the Book of
Psalms by the side of the body. But nowadays the washing of the dead body and
preparing it for the wake is done by the funeral home attendant. The wake is
also not that long but held before the funeral.
One of the
most important aspects of a Greek Orthodox funeral is the Trisagion prayer that
is held a day before the funeral and in modern times is often combined with the
wake. In this service, always begin with a fixed chant repeated thrice. Then
four hymns are recited which asks God to provide rest to the deceased person.
The beauty of this service is that the prayer words are poetic in nature and is
very comforting to hear for the grieving family members. The prayer service
ends with the song “May your memory be eternal”. This service is followed by
the funeral held the next day.
When
attending a Greek Orthodox funeral, please note that they are quite longer than
any other funeral that you have attended. Most last for 90 minutes and is very
poetic in nature. The prayers and words used during the funeral service are
very much like the Trisagion prayer held the night before. The deceased is
never referred to have “died”; he is believed to be in sleep or repose. There
are fixed chants and Psalms that has to be recited during the funeral in a
specific order.
Once the
funeral is over, people move from the funeral
home in Kendall where the funeral was held to the graveside. Another
Trisagion prayer is held there and before the coffin is lowered, the priest
sprinkles soil in the shape of the cross. Each person who attended the burial
places a flower on the coffin as the final respect.
After the
burial, refreshments called “Meal of Mercy” are given either by the family
members or the congregation. It can also be held in the funeral home or a
restaurant.
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