In the early 90s of the last century, churches began to open, and people ran en masse to bury their dead relatives. But people did not know whether their ancestors were baptized or not.
Here there was a hitch: is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? Let's look at this topic in more detail.
What is baptism?
Before dealing with the question of the funeral service, let's find out: what is the sacrament of baptism and why is it needed?
Baptism is a spiritual birth. We have already been born with the body. And baptism allows you to be born spiritually. At baptism, each of us is given a guardian angel.
Don't think that baptism is a pass to Paradise. Baptism is becoming a member of the Church of Christ. A baptized person is God's sheep.
But what about the unbaptized?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? The church answers this question unequivocally - no, it is impossible.
A new question is brewing: "Why not?"The fact is that such a person did not receive a spiritual birth. That is, he has a body and a soul. But the grace of the Holy Spirit did not touch him. There is no connection with God. An unbaptized person is not a "sheep" of God.
Why can't we have a funeral service?
It would seem that above we have analyzed the question of why it is impossible to bury unbaptized people. No, not completely.
Funeral service is not just a beautiful ritual. Candles flicker, the priest walks around the coffin with a censer and sings something. The smell of incense is in the air, the relatives of the deceased are crying, saying goodbye to him forever.
When the priest "sings something", this "something" turns out to be prayers. The priest reads special prayers. And there is in one of them the line "with the saints rest in peace." That is, the priest and relatives ask the Lord to accept the deceased into His Paradise abodes.
Is it possible to ask this fate for someone who was not a member of the church? Who didn't know God? The answer to this question will most accurately be given by the priest. But the funeral of an unbaptized person is hardly permissible.
What if it's a baby?
Can an unbaptized person be buried if it is a baby? Suppose the baby was born very weak. They just didn't get to baptize. He is sinless, he did not have time to do anything bad.
Alas, even babies who have no sin are not buried in the church.
About suicides
Does the unbaptized equate to suicide? Unambiguously answer this question father. We can say that if a baptized person commits suicide, then hestraight road to hell.
Why? Because he forgot about God. The Lord gives life and He takes it away. And the suicide took over the function of the Lord.
How are suicides buried?
In the old days, people who took their own lives were buried behind the cemetery fence. Now this rule has long been forgotten. Suicides are buried in cemeteries. But they don't put a cross on the grave. This is a desecration of a shrine.
Can I put up a monument? Yes, you can. Only without the image of the cross, angels and other things, one way or another connected with the church and God.
And if the suicide was sick?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person, we found out. No. Is it possible to bury a sick suicide?
If we are talking about a mental illness, in which a person did not know what he was doing, the church allows the funeral of those. If a person, being physically sick, but in a firm mind, committed suicide, then it is impossible to bury him.
Funeral of the unbaptized
How to bury an unbaptized person? A funeral service is not held for him. So, they bury him in the same way as a suicide. No cross on the grave.
Saying goodbye in the morgue or in the cemetery. Accordingly, they do not bring to the church. And the priest is not invited to the morgue. Now you can bury the dead in the morgue, as many people know.
What is a funeral in absentia?
An absentee funeral is carried out without the presence of a human body in the temple. It is allowed by the church to bury a baptized person even after his funeral. But only in exceptional cases: relatives know that a person has died, but his body has not been found. Or death was such that the body was practically destroyed (hit by a train, blown up).
When is the funeral?
The rite of burial of Christians takes place on the third day after death. So, if a person died on Monday, then they bury him and bury him on Wednesday.
Is it permissible to bury on Tuesday and bury on Wednesday? Alas, it is not customary to bury the funeral on the second day. Although this question can be clarified with the priest. Perhaps in some exceptional cases this is allowed.
Funeral service - a pass to Paradise?
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person, we now know. It is forbidden. But even for a baptized person, this sacrament is not a guarantee of heavenly cloisters.
Judge for yourself: a person has lived all his life without knowing God. I didn’t go to church, I didn’t go to the sacraments of confession and communion. "Legally" was considered God's, but in fact he lived on his own. Where is the "rest with the saints" here.
Although, as they say, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. We do not know what the person was like in life. Maybe he lived according to the gospel commandments, without knowing it himself. And it is possible that God accepted him posthumously.
How to help the soul of the deceased?
Here we make a reservation: the unbaptized deceased. If a note can be submitted for a baptized person and a magpie can be ordered, then a deceased who has not received the sacrament of baptism cannot be commemorated in the church.
And what to do for relatives who understand what the fate of their relative is, but do not know how to make it easierher?
- Give alms for the deceased.
- Do good deeds for his sake. Help the needy not only financially, but also morally. Live not for yourself, but for others.
- Pray for the unbaptized deceased in prayer at home.
How to pray at home?
Let's warn you right away: It is forbidden to read the Ps alter for the unbaptized. By and large, it is not read for every baptized person. Too strong a thing.
Those who read morning prayers know that at the end there is a prayer for he alth and repose. In it, one can commemorate unbaptized relatives.
And yet - no one ruled out the Huaru prayer. As well as the canon to him. There is only one "but": in churches and chapels, this canon is not read for the unbaptized. It can only be read at home.
What is the prayer for the martyr Uaru?
The text of the prayer is given in the article. It is very short, you can copy it on paper, or print it out:
Oh, holy martyr Uare! We inflame the Lord Christ with zeal, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and you suffered zealously for Him, and now the Church honors you, as if glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven. Accept our petition and with your prayers free us from eternal torment. Amen.
Who is Saint Ouar?
The future martyr came from a pious family. Saint Ouar lived in Egypt during the reign of Diocletian. Uar was a very courageous man, he served in the imperial army. But nothing prevented the future martyr from reverently treating the exploits of Christians.
In thosetimes, seven ascetics of Christ were in prison. And Saint Ouar visited them, knowing that people were suffering for Christ. Shortly before the trial, one of the righteous died. And then Uar stood in his place to accept martyrdom.
The young warrior revealed himself to the emperor. He was very surprised. It is not known whether he tried to persuade Ouar to renounce the faith. Only information about his anger reached us, when the martyr said that no one and nothing could influence his decision.
It was then that the cup of emperor's wrath poured out on the young man. He was tied to a rack and beaten with wide leather straps. The torture did not break the fortitude of the spirit of Saint Ouar. He was calm, which angered the tormentors even more. They tied the martyr, threw him to the ground and cut open the womb. The insides fell out. The tormentors tied Uar to a pillar, near which he gave his soul to God five hours later.
But before…
Is it possible to bury an unbaptized person? No, it's not allowed. You can pray for Saint Huar at home.
If you came to the church, and they tell you, then you can order a prayer service to the holy martyr, submit notes about an unbaptized relative and light candles for him, run away from this church.
Previously, dishonest abbots used the gullibility of people and accepted such notes and prayers, assuring that they were equated with prayer, as for a baptized person. This is a lie. For profit, nothing more. No bishop would allow this.
Conclusion
You can help your deceased unbaptized relative. But not throughchurch commemoration. Give alms for the salvation of his soul, do good deeds, pray to Saint Ouar in your home prayer.
Why a person did not want to come to God during his lifetime is his secret. He made his choice. No matter how monstrous this choice may seem to us. We can help, God accepts even a little. It is only a pity that our loved ones do not want to know God while they are alive.
