Father Gabriel Rochelle wrote:
Shortly before we left Pennsylvania I asked my immediate relatives to come for dinner and to make a pilgrimage to the grave of my parents and aunt and uncle. When we got there I served a panakhida, which is a prayer service for the departed. In the midst of it when we name those we commemorate I asked those gathered to say the names of their departed relatives for inclusion in the prayer. This was especially for in-laws of the family, and I was surprised by the response. People said the names of parents, brothers and sisters, and other family, some tearfully. It became obvious to me in the conversations afterward that, for some of them, this was the first time they had ever openly mentioned those lost to them.
For people raised in the Protestant tradition, it may come as a surprise to realize that we Orthodox Christians believe our loved ones to be still alive in Christ, who “is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” (Luke 20:38). “Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:13) In fact, classic Christianity has always taught that Christ has one body, present and living both in this world and beyond it. We do not believe six feet of earth can trump the unity of the body of Christ.
Father Thomas Fitzgerald writes,
Death alters but does not destroy the bond of love and faith which exists among all the members of the Church. Orthodoxy believes that through our prayers, those who have fallen asleep in the faith and the hope of the Resurrection continue to have opportunity to grow closer to God. Therefore, the Church prays constantly for her members who have died in Christ. We place our trust in the love of God and the power of mutual love and forgiveness. We pray that God will forgive the sins of the faithful departed, and that He will receive them into the company of Saints in the heavenly Kingdom.
This confidence in the unity of the Church in Christ is why Saint Paul could say, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). And as brothers and sisters in Christ, in the body and out of the body, we “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18).
Prayer for the departed is of course found in scripture. Paul prays for the departed servant of God Onesiphorus:
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he arrived in Rome, he sought me out very zealously and found me. The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord in that Day – and you know very well how many ways he ministered to me at Ephesus. (2 Timothy 1:16-18)
Interestingly, even many Protestant commentaries concede that Onesiphorus had already reposed by the time Paul prayed for him. (See the The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament, and Philip Schaff in The International Illustrated Commentary on the New Testament.)
About 200 years before Paul, in Scripture we see pious Jews offering sacrifices for the forgiveness of sins of the departed:
On the following day, since the need had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to collect the bodies of those who had fallen and to bury them with their kindred in their ancestral tombs. However, under the tunic of each of the dead, they found amulets that were sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. Thus it was clear to everyone that this was the reason that these men had been slain. And so they all praised the acts of the Lord, the just judge who reveals things that are hidden, and they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be completely blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, since they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as a result of the sin of those who had fallen.
Then he took up a collection from all of his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this, he acted in a suitable and honorable way, guided by his belief in the resurrection. For if he had not expected those who had fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. However, if he was focusing on the splendid reward reserved for those whose death was marked by godliness, his thought was holy and devout. Therefore, he had this expiatory sacrifice offered for the dead so that they might be delivered from their sin. (2 Maccabees 12:39-46)
Prayer for the departed may not be a familiar part of American popular religion, but it is no innovation; we inherited this practice from the Jews. In fact, the Jewish prayer El Malei Rachamim (God Full of Mercy) will sound quite familiar to Orthodox Christians:
God full of mercy who dwells on high, grant perfect rest on the wings of Your Divine Presence in the lofty heights of the holy and pure who shine as the brightness of the heavens to the soul of [Name] who has gone to his eternal rest as, without making a formal vow, I pledge to give charity in memory of his soul. His resting place shall be in the Garden of Eden. Therefore, the Master of mercy will care for him under the protection of His wings for all time and bind his soul in the bond of everlasting life. God is his inheritance and he will rest in peace. And let us say Amen. Hebrew Source
For Christians, of course, prayer for the departed is inseparable from our belief in the resurrection of the dead. Saint John of San Francisco related this experience:
That the commemoration at the Liturgy is so important can be seen in the following event. At the opening of the relics of St. Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), the priest who was re-vesting the relics grew tired, and sitting down near the relics, dozed off. He saw before him the saint, who said to him, “I thank you for laboring for me. I ask you also to commemorate my parents when you serve the Liturgy,” and he said their names (Priest Nikita and Maria). The priest asked him, “How can you, a saint, ask me for prayers, when you yourself are standing before the heavenly Throne, granting God’s mercy to people?!” “Yes, that is true,” replied St. Theodosius, “but the offering at the Liturgy is more powerful than my prayers.”
Throughout the year, the Church offers memorial Liturgies for all the departed.
- The Saturday before the Last Judgment (this year: Feb. 14.)
- The second, third and fourth Saturdays of Great Lent (this year: Feb. 7, 14, 21.)
- Radonitsa, the Tuesday following the Resurrection week (this year: April 21.)
- Trinity Saturday, the Eve of Pentecost (this year: May 30)
- Demetrius Saturday (this year: November 7.)
But in addition every Saturday is appointed for the commemoration of the departed, and on the anniversary of a loved one’s repose it is appropriate to request a Divine Liturgy for their memory.
But not only priests and parishes offer prayers for the departed: The Church has provided us prayers and services to offer at home at any time, expressing our love for our departed ones and asking the Lord’s blessing and goodness for them. Two in particular that you may use in your personal or family prayers are:
Honoring their memory
Saint John of San Francisco wrote, ”Something else that brings great joy to the souls of the departed are deeds of mercy done for them. Whether feeding the hungry in the name of the departed or helping the poor, it is as if this were being done for the departed himself… By making use of these means for the poor, one can perform two good deeds simultaneously: both for the departed and for those who will be helped.”
Kontakion for the Departed, Tone 8
With the saint, give rest, O Christ, to the souls of thy servants, where there is nither suffering nor sorrow nor sighing, but life everlasting.
Prayer
O God of all spirits and flesh, Who has trampled down death, and overthrown the devil, and given life unto Thy world: Do Thou, the same Lord, give rest to the soul of Thy departed servants in a place of brightness, a place of refreshment, a place of repose, from which all sickness, sorrow and sighing from have fled away. Pardon every transgression which they have committed whether by word or deed, or thought. For Thou art a good God and lovest mankind; because there is no man who lives and does not sin; for Thou only art without sin and Thy righteousness is to all eternity and Thy word is true.
For Thou art the Resurrection, the Life, and the repose of Thy servants who are fallen asleep, O Christ our God; and unto Thee do we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father who is from everlasting, and Thine All-Holy, Good and Life-creating Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages.
