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Commemoration of the Dead
Russian Orthodox Cathedral of St John the Baptist, Washington, DC
Orthodox Christians live in anticipation of the hour of their death, their birth into a new life and their meeting of the Lord, to Whom they pray: "Grant unto me to remember death." The time "about which day and night I fell down and fervently prayed" approaches. The soul quakes and suffers as it leaves the body and moves through the realm of the "princes of the air." The prayers of one's loved ones and of the Church ease the soul's journey. With lighted candles, and with a lampada burning before the icons, pious Christians read the 'Canon for the departure of the soul from the body" over the dying person. Over the body of the deceased, they read prayers from the "Rite following the departure of the soul from the body."
Private prayer at home, commemoration at the Liturgy, and alms on behalf of the deceased all lessen the suffering of the sinful soul, and can even free it from the bonds of hell. In the writings of St. John the Merciful, we read the story of a certain imprisoned youth whose parents thought he was dead. On the days on which his parents offered fervent prayers for him, he was freed from his shackles. Such is the power of prayers of commemoration. The third, ninth and fortieth days are days of special prayers for the dead. ...
Source: stjohndc.org/stjohndc/English/What/0011a.htm
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