To clothe the deceased, new garments are used, resembling those typically worn during church services. For men: underpants, shirt, belt, and kaftan (a long outer garment); for women: a long shirt, sarafan (traditional jumper dress), povoinik (a married woman’s headdress), and a headscarf. Soft slippers are placed on the feet. First, a savan (burial shroud) is placed in the coffin. The savan is made as…
If men sin against you, even seventy times seven, forgive them, that they may be forgiven on earth and in heaven.(Prayer at the Burial) One of the ancient Russian funeral customs is the placing of an absolution certificate into the hand of the deceased. After the farewell, the priest quietly reads aloud the written prayer of absolution…
“We believe in the resurrection, but as for those who do not believe—woe unto them, for they have been grievously deceived.”(Prayers at the Burial) The aim of the funeral rite is to warm the soul, separated from the body, with prayer; to comfort the grieving loved ones with the hope of a just reward for…
In churches we often witness a sorrowful scene. Relatives come to arrange the burial of an Orthodox Old Believer. And the first, entirely reasonable question from the standpoint of a believer—“Who was the spiritual father of the deceased?”—throws them into confusion. The second question, “When was the last time he went to confession?” prompts them…