The
Mysterious Meaning of Commemorating the Dead
An Athos monk was once allowed to see the way the
commemoration of the dead went: it was All-Soul's
Saturday, Liturgy had ended. Some of the present were already leaving the
church, while others stayed on and began to approach the general kanun (standing,
as usual, in the middle of the church).
I stood in the choir. The priest and deacon came out
of the altar. The priest exclaimed: "Blessed is our God, always, now and
ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen". The Deacon lit up the candles, began
distributing them to those present.
And at this time I saw how many people there WERE – entering
the door of the temple from the street, and then PENETRATING through walls and
windows. The temple was getting filled up with a crowd of – transparent SHADOWS.
In this mass I saw – women, men, youth and children. I
discerned from their appearance priests, emperors, bishops, and in between them
a simple laborer, decrepit soldier villager, a poor woman and poor in general.
After the exclamation of the priest they noiseless but
extremely quickly FILLED UP – [with themselves]
the entire church, standing closely with each other. All of them seemed to
strive towards the kanun, but for some reason they could not approach it. I
could not take my eyes off this amazing picture.
Finally they had accumulated so many [of them] that the real praying [people] seemed
to me but figures, brightly painted against the background of these amazing
shadows. They (the shadows), nearing in silence, stood still by the altar. Some
of them were as if kneeling, others bent over their heads, precisely as if
waiting the pronouncing of a sentence. The children stretched out their hands
to the candles that burned on the kanun, as well as to the hands of the living
praying people.
But there, the deacon took out the notes and began
reading out the names written on them. My surprise had no end when I noticed
that with an the impetuous, joyful movement one figure stood out then another.
They came up to those who commemorated them, stood next to them, looked them
with eyes full of love, of joyful
peace. I even thought that in the hands of the shadows there was some spiritual
burning candle and they themselves – while
praying together with those praying for them – were blazing with unusually
joyful rays. With the reading out of names more and more joyful figures stood
out of the crowd of shadows. They noiseless walked and mingled with the alive
praying people. Finally, when the notes had been read out there remained many
unnamed – sad, as though having come to some common holiday, but FORGOTTEN – by
those who might have invited them to this great celebration for them. Some of
the souls were anxiously glancing at the door, precisely as if expecting that,
perhaps, a kin would come and would in turn call their name.
But no, no new faces turned up, and those unnamed
could only enjoy the joy of those who were called by name by those who had come
to be together with them.
I watched the general group of praying [people], who were as it getting mixed
with the trembling in the bright rays ghosts from the other world, and I saw an
even more wonderful picture.
At the time of exclamation of the words "Blessed art Thou, O Lord, teach me Thy
statutes" or the words "Thyself,
O Lord, repose the souls of Thy departed servants," I could see how
the faces of the living [persons]
lit up with the light together with the faces [persons] of the departed, how tears not of despondency but of joy ran
down from the eyes of those who wore the corporeal shell, and at the same time
some passionate love, boundless devotion burned in the eyes of those being commemorated.
With the cloud of smoke from the censers, with the jets
of smoke from the burning candles there sounded a wondrous prayerful appeal:
"[Together] With the saints
give rest ..." and I saw that the whole church as if a single man knelt on
ones' knees and the spirits whose names were commemorated, prayed both for
those present and for themselves, while those who had been FORGOTTEN, prayed
only for himself.
When the prayerful chant ended, they damped out the
candles and the priest read the last exclamation, and the deacon finished with
a common commemoration of the departed, the shadows standing in front of me
began to disappear and there remained only people who had wished to further serve
a private commemoration service for their deceased. Then, I saw in the faces
such peace, such satisfaction, such renovation that is beyond me to convey.
Great, holy
and gratifying for the departed is the ritual of commemoration of
the Orthodox Church!
And how sad it is to those who gets RENDERED to oblivion,
denying them not only the joy to see themselves not forgotten, but thus also
slowing down their spiritual renovation and receiving of FORGIVENESS of their TRANSGRESSIONS
from the Lord – both during the funeral service, and especially so during the
Liturgy. For each time the priest takes out particles for the souls, these
souls RECEIVE – mercy, getting closer to the Kingdom of God.
Each and every one of us experiences this thirst of
the departed – to be commemorated [remembered].
Therefore quite often they REMIND of themselves in our dreams on the eve of
their birthdays or days of departure, on the eve of the All-Souls' Saturdays.
Every word of ours, every thought, memory of the
deceased instantly responds to them, and remembering them with GOOD is
encouraging, while the remembrance with evil is PAINFUL, for it causes them remorseS.
You can imagine how AWFUL the afterlife PAINS are for people who are hard to be
remember with good.
This is why laws of popular charity require SPEAK NOTHING
bad of the departed, so as not to embitter their spiritual wounds. All these
things must serve us as a warning: to act in our lifetime so that after our
death we would NOT DESERVE feelings of contempt for us, of reproach and hatred –
or, even worse, of curse, and in that way BE DEPRIVED of the prayers of our
loved ones.
