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> Interesting things > Why is it buried on the third day and what happens on days 9 and 40?
The funeral of loved ones is one of the most difficult experiences that a person can endure. Of course, one can only sympathize with them. Traditionally, seeing off the deceased is associated with many rituals and customs, most of which are incomprehensible to modern Russians. It is most often impossible to obtain clear explanations from the older generation, who insist on observing all rituals.
Burial traditions
For some peoples, it is customary to throw the bodies of the deceased into the river, for others to burn them at the stake, for others to leave them as food for vultures, but still, most cultures on earth use the standard method - burial in the ground.
Burial in the Orthodox world is an important ritual, during which certain events and rituals are observed, about which you can learn more in the information article. All Orthodox funeral traditions carried out have one good goal - it is to help the soul calmly leave this world, be cleansed of sins and enter the Kingdom of God.
Traditionally, relatives contact a funeral agency, purchase a coffin and other ritual goods, and order a funeral dinner, the purpose of which is to remember the deceased and remember him with a kind word.
At funerals there is often an atmosphere of solemnity and severity. This ritual allows everyone present to understand that life on Earth is not eternal, and the Almighty will call everyone in due time. According to church traditions, it is customary to bury an Orthodox person on the third day. The countdown is from the date of death, since many people mistakenly add three more days to the first day of death. If a person died on the 1st, then he should be buried on the 3rd, since it must be counted from the very date of death.
It is not advisable to bury earlier
The factors influencing the choice of the day on which the deceased should be buried were described above. Based on the same conditions, all Orthodox clergy agree that it is not advisable to bury the body earlier. Of course, in exceptional cases this happens, but the suffering of the soul of the newly deceased must be taken into account. Since the break between the bodily and physical essences will be made by force, the relatives of the deceased will need to offer more prayers for the repose and order Proskomedia along with Sorokoust.
At the same time, burial after the 3rd day is completely acceptable. The soul no longer grieves for the lost body and can go through the proper ordeals without any special regrets. Such a delay is often associated with repatriation or other life circumstances. Nevertheless, it is necessary to try to carry out the burial before the 40th day from the moment of death.
The meaning of the third day of death in Christianity
The texts of the Gospel say that Jesus, after crucifixion on the cross, resurrected on the third day. This is precisely the sacred meaning of burial on the third day after death. It is believed that the soul remains in the world of the living for exactly three days, and maintains its invisible connection with the physical body. It is at this moment that the Guardian Angel appears to the soul, who escorts it to the spiritual world and helps it pass all the tests.
For three days after death, subtle matter remains, which is not devoid of emotions. And watching her physical body sink into the ground ahead of time will be extremely painful for her. It is believed that the soul will suffer and will not be able to rest in peace. Therefore, priests do not recommend rushing to a funeral.
Also, the number “three” is associated with the Orthodox concept of the Holy Trinity, which personifies the unity of the Father God, his son and the Holy Spirit.
And lastly, close relatives need time to understand the death of a person, say goodbye to him, and organize a decent funeral.
Priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery, answers:
Our earthly existence is a preparation for the future life: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Post-mortem experiences indicate that, freed from bodily fatness, the soul becomes more active. The tests that she undergoes immediately after separation from the body are of a spiritual and moral nature. Everything she did, good and bad, remains. Therefore, for the soul, from the very beginning of the afterlife (even before the Judgment), joys or suffering begin, depending on how it lived on earth. St. John Cassian writes: “the souls of the dead not only do not lose their feelings, but do not lose their dispositions, i.e. They are already beginning to anticipate hope and fear, joy and sorrow, and something of what they expect for themselves at the general judgment, contrary to the opinion of some infidels, that after leaving this life they are destroyed into nothing; they become even more alive and cleave more zealously to the glorification of God” (Conversation 1, chapter 14). In the first two days, freed from the mortal body, the soul enjoys freedom and can visit those places on earth that were dear to it. But on the third day she ends up in other areas. The revelation given by an angel to Saint Macarius of Alexandria (who died in 395) is known: “When on the third day there is an offering in the Church, the soul of the deceased receives from the angel guarding it relief from the grief that it feels from separation from the body; receives because praise and offerings in the Church of God have been made for her, which is why good hope is born in her. For for two days the soul, together with the angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on the earth wherever it wants. Therefore, the soul that loves the body sometimes wanders around the house in which it was separated from the body, sometimes around the coffin in which the body is laid <...> And the virtuous soul goes to those places in which it used to do the truth. On the third day, He who rose from the dead on the third day - the God of all - commands, in imitation of His Resurrection, every Christian soul to ascend to heaven to worship the God of all. So, the good Church is in the habit of making an offering and prayer for the soul on the third day. After worshiping God, He is commanded to show the soul the various and pleasant abodes of the saints and the beauty of paradise. The soul examines all this for six days, marveling and glorifying the Creator of all this - God. Contemplating all this, she changes and forgets the sorrow that she had while in the body. But if she is guilty of sins, then at the sight of the pleasures of the saints she begins to grieve and reproach herself, saying: “Alas” for me! How I fussed in that world! Carried away by the satisfaction of lusts, I spent most of my life in carelessness and did not serve God as I should, so that I too could be rewarded with this goodness <...> After considering all the joys of the righteous for six days, it is again lifted up by the angels to worship God. So, the Church does well by performing services and offerings for the deceased on the ninth day. After the secondary worship, the Lord of all again commands to take the soul to hell and show it the places of torment located there, the various sections of hell and various wicked torments <...>The soul rushes through these various places of torment for thirty days, trembling, so as not to be condemned to imprisonment in them. On the fortieth day she again ascends to worship God; and then the Judge determines the proper place for her affairs <...> So, the Church acts correctly by making remembrances of the departed and those who have received Baptism" (St. Macarius of Alexandria. A Sermon on the Exodus of the Souls of the Righteous and Sinners..., - "Christian Reading", 1831, Part 43, pp. 123-31; “How the soul spends the first forty days after leaving the body, M., 1999, pp. 13-19).
August 9, 2004
Rules for the third day after death
On the third day after death, the funeral of an Orthodox person is held. The ritual necessarily includes a funeral service, the importance of which you can find out here. All friends, acquaintances and colleagues who attend the funeral service come to say goodbye to the deceased and then go to the cemetery.
After the funeral, the relatives of the deceased invite everyone who came to a memorial dinner, which is pre-organized in a cafe. You can order a funeral lunch at our agency when you sign up for a funeral agreement.
The funeral feast begins with the common prayer “Our Father,” and before starting the meal, everyone must taste kutya, which is traditionally prepared from rice, raisins and honey.
And since gluttony in Orthodoxy is considered a great sin, the funeral dinner menu consists of simple and modest dishes. Drinks include jelly or compote; alcoholic drinks are not welcome, but in practice this ban is extremely rarely respected. After lunch, it is customary to hand out scarves and towels, sweets and cookies to all who come.
Is it possible to hold a funeral on the first or second day after death?
Church ritual traditions do not approve of funerals ahead of schedule, since the connection between body and soul is still strong. The Guardian Angel descends from heaven to help the soul go to another world. And if the soul is deprived of support from above, then an early funeral will lead it into confusion and make it suffer. The three-day period before burial is needed not only by relatives, but also by the soul, which must get used to the new life.
However, in the modern world this tradition is practically not observed. And there may be several reasons for this: there is no space in the morgue, it is very hot outside, and so on. Under special circumstances, it is possible to carry out an earlier burial, not forgetting the funeral prayers to facilitate the transition of the soul.
The Power of Prayers
The breaking of all connections between soul and body occurs at the moment the coffin lid is nailed. Just as loved ones say goodbye to the deceased, so the soul is blissfully separated from the body. Prayers said for the repose of the deceased are intended to help the soul overcome grief over the past and future ordeals. Even for a sinner, forgiveness can be begged if prayers and requests for him are expressed sincerely.
After the death of an Orthodox Christian, churches order a forty-day reading of prayers for the repose - Sorokoust. It is believed that the spoken words from the Psalter by a clergyman within the walls of the Church have special power. The practice of remembrance may also include proskomedia - the performance of sacred rites over bread and wine with mention of the life of Jesus Christ. In the latter case, the name of the newly deceased is pronounced over a piece of bread.
Sorokoust is ordered in several Churches. The more prayers offered for the deceased, the greater the likelihood of God’s mercy being shown at the end of the ordeal. The person who submits a request to read prayers will also be overshadowed by the Grace of the Lord.
Is it possible to hold a funeral on the fourth day?
It is permissible to bury the deceased later than the third day of death. This often happens when a body is sent to the morgue for an autopsy to clarify the details of death. How the autopsy procedure is carried out and whether it can be avoided, read here. The Church does not object to late burial, unless there are good reasons.
Also, a funeral may be delayed for other reasons, for example, when you need to wait for close relatives to arrive. In this case, the body of the deceased is sent to the morgue, where it is embalmed and stored at an optimal temperature that retards decomposition.
Restrictions on funeral rituals
The church may impose bans on burial on certain days, as well as on certain rituals that are performed in preparation for the funeral:
- They do not bury people on Holy Easter and Christmas. If the 3rd day after death falls on these holidays, it is better to postpone the funeral than to arrange it ahead of schedule.
- New Year is not a church holiday, but according to folk customs, it is better not to bury on this day, but to postpone the organization to the second of January.
- On the birthday of the deceased, a funeral can be held. On this day, a person was born and was interred, a symbolic date set for commemoration.
- Orthodox prohibitions include funeral services for suicides and ardent atheists, wishing them the “Kingdom of God,” and ordering a memorial service in the church.
- It is not recommended to bury on other church holidays that are marked on the calendar. It is advisable to postpone the ceremony until the next day.
Orthodox prohibitions apply only to Orthodox dead. Holidays of other religions have nothing to do with an Orthodox person, and therefore there is no point in postponing the funeral if the day of a Jewish, Muslim or Catholic holiday has arrived.
