Prayer for the departed
After death two places are appointed for the soul of a person: paradise with all its good, and hell with the evil spirits in it and its torments. The first of them, the Kingdom, is prepared for those who lived righteously on earth; the second for sinful people. Holy Scripture tells us, for the state after death, only of two utterly different conditions — of blessed souls and of fallen ones; but not every person dies either wholly sinful or wholly justified. There are people (and quite a many) who died in their sins, it is true, but who at the same time began repentance here on earth, had a seed of goodness in the depth of their soul and performed good works. Where will the souls of such people dwell? From Holy Scripture, and especially from the practice of the Orthodox Church, from its prayers and its hymns, it is clear that the souls of such people, though they are in hell, are not deprived of the hope of the forgiveness of sins and of release from hell. The love of God for mankind and the power of the labour of Christ the Saviour, which helps people until the second coming, are equal to the justice of God, which punishes evil and does not leave good without reward — all this gives us the undoubted right to believe that the torment of such people is accompanied by a certain consolation. It is true that they cannot come out of this state themselves, but they thirst for forgiveness and await help from outside. The holy Orthodox Church helps such departed ones with prayer, with alms and especially with the offering of the bloodless sacrifice, and asks God for the forgiveness of their sins. In the epistle of the Eastern patriarchs on the Orthodox faith it is said: “The souls of people who have fallen into mortal sins and have not repented before death, though before parting from this life they had repentance but did not manage to bring forth the fruits of repentance (such as prayer, tears, prostrations, contrition of heart, the consoling of the poor, and love toward God and neighbour fulfilled in deed), go down into hell and are punished for the sins they committed; but along with this there remains for them the hope of the easing of these torments.”
The Apostle James advises us to pray for one another, for prayer for another is pleasing to God. It has great power.
Unrepentant sinners, blasphemers and haters of mankind will come to hell as those without hope and wholly lost to the Kingdom of God.
Mortal sins, the forgiveness of which people will receive neither in this world nor in the next, lead a person's soul straight to hell.
Prepared by Khatuna Rakviashvili
The newspaper “Bulletin of the Patriarchate” No. 26(234), 2003 How we should pray for the departed
The tradition of commemorating the departed comes from the Old Testament, when Judas Maccabeus had a sacrifice offered in Jerusalem for the cleansing of the warriors who had fallen in the battle against the Idumeans.
In the New Testament the liturgical commemoration of the departed is attested earliest in the Liturgy of St James the Apostle.
The Georgian table reflects this tradition too: in a toast we remember departed people and in their name take bread dipped in wine, which symbolically means the communion of the departed. And sometimes we pour wine from the cup onto the bread or onto the ground. This too is symbolic and means the forgiveness of the departed person's sins — just as at the crucifixion the Saviour's blood was poured out on the ground, seeped through and dripped onto the skull of Adam, buried beneath the cross, and cleansed him of the first sin.
a) The panikhida
For one newly departed we should have a panikhida served in church:
on the first day — when they die;
on the 3rd day — when they first stand before the Lord;
on the 9th day — when they stand before the Lord a second time;
on the 40th day — when they are at the particular judgement.
And after this, on every anniversary of the death and on the birthday.
Besides this, as we noted in discussing the common prayers, general panikhidas are appointed in church on particular days of the year (these days must be looked up each year in the church calendar, or learned at the church), at which the relatives of the departed should be present.
It will be good if for the fortieth day we order a Liturgy in the name of the departed, at which the members of the family will be present and, having prepared accordingly, will receive holy Communion. After this it is desirable to order further Liturgies from time to time. By ancient tradition seven Liturgies are served for a departed person.
b) The funeral service
On the day of the burial the departed should be given the funeral service; the funeral is performed by a priest, either in the home, by the body, or in church.
If for some reason the funeral cannot be performed on the day of the burial, it may be performed earlier. This service may also be performed for someone who died long ago and was not given the funeral service at the time.
It is desirable that the departed lie in the room facing east (if the space allows). At the head there should stand holy water and wheat, and a lamp should burn (a lamp is a small vessel with oil, in which a cotton wick is placed; it can be bought at the church or made at home). A candle may burn by the departed as well.
c) The reading of the psalms
The members of the family and their relatives should pray for the departed too. The best and most traditional form is the reading of the hymns from the “Psalms” of the holy prophet David, which are sold at the church. The book, with a bookmark, should lie near the departed, in a visible place, so that everyone who wishes may read, which is a great help to the soul of the departed.
We take the book and continue the reading from the marked place. We read as much as we can, mark the place and put it back, so that another who wishes may read afterwards. The more times the book is read to the end before the burial, the better.
In old times the psalms were read to the departed without ceasing for a whole day and night. From this comes the tradition, preserved to this day, of keeping vigil by the body. So if the relatives keep vigil over the departed, it is desirable to read the psalms in turn.
d) Commemoration of the departed during the common prayer
The soul of the departed may be commemorated in the common prayer as well, besides the prayer devoted to them alone.
Commemoration at the proskomedia. The commemoration by the priest during the Liturgy is very important. Before the beginning of the Liturgy, in the morning or on the evening before, we should buy at the church a small loaf specially baked, the prosphora; then on a slip of paper we should write “the departed” and list the names of our departed relatives.
(By tradition, for a departed person we buy a prosphora with the image of the cross, and for the commemoration of a living person one with the image of the most holy Trinity or of the most holy Mother of God. One prosphora may be offered for one person or for several.) We leave the prosphora and the commemoration slip in the proper place, from where the sacristan will carry them into the sanctuary. The priest, during the Liturgy, will cut small particles from this prosphora with the spear for the names of those commemorated, will offer them in sacrifice and at the end of the Liturgy will place them in the holy chalice.
N o t e: there are cases in which the commemoration of a departed person at the proskomedia is not possible:
1. if the person was not baptised in the Orthodox way;
2. if they blasphemed God to the end of their life;
3. if they knowingly ended their life by suicide.
What we are to do for such a departed person must be found out from one's spiritual father in each particular case.
e) The forty-day commemoration
There is a tradition in the Church of commemorating the departed at the proskomedia for forty days. In churches where the Liturgy is celebrated daily (Sioni, Anchiskhati, Kashveti, Svetitskhoveli, the Russian church of St Alexander Nevsky), at the request of the relatives the departed is commemorated at the proskomedia every day for forty days. The forty-day commemoration of the departed is especially important during Great Lent.
f) Commemoration at a general panikhida
As we noted earlier, the departed may be commemorated at a general panikhida. For this, the name written on a slip of paper should be handed to the priest.
The departed may also be commemorated privately, in the appropriate place while saying the morning prayers.
g) Lighting a candle
One of the forms of commemorating the departed is the lighting of a candle, for which a corner with an image of the Saviour's crucifixion is set apart in the church.
A candle for a departed person may be lit at home as well, before the icons or at the table laid in their name.
