How to properly place candles for the repose
For many people, even those who are not church-going, visiting a temple is associated with lighting candles. Most often they put them for health and for repose - in this way believers take care of both the living and those who have already left this world. "Izvestia" tells where to put candles for the repose and what prayers to read.
Eve: where to put candles for the repose of the soul in the church
In Orthodox culture, a candle is a symbol of prayer, a reflection of a person's aspiration to God, as well as a voluntary sacrifice to the temple. There is no division of candles into "memorial" and "non-memorial", as well as there are no special requirements for their thickness or height. The main thing is that the lighting should be accompanied by a sincere prayer - it is this prayer that gives the ritual meaning. In addition, it is desirable to buy candles in the same place in which the believer plans to put them, as the money spent goes to the maintenance of the temple.
In Orthodox churches, candles for the repose of the dead are allocated a special place - the eve. It is a rectangular candlestick with a crucifix, which is usually located in the left part of the aisle. Traditionally, it is in front of it that funeral services and other requiem services are held.
Round candlesticks in front of the icons are intended for candles for health. However, the clergy emphasize that if a believer wants to pray to a particular saint for the deceased, a candle for repose can also be lit in front of his image.
What to say when placing a candle for the repose of the dead
To put a candle for the repose, you need to cross yourself, light it from already burning candles or a lamp and carefully put it on a free cell of the canon, slightly melted from the end. If there are no places, it is acceptable to put the candle next to the candlestick to be lit later by the temple servants. The prayer will not lose its "power", because only sincerity and good intentions of the believer influence the appeal to God.
Setting a candle for the repose, you can say aloud or to yourself a short prayer: "Rest, O Lord, the soul of Your deceased servant (name). Forgive him all his trespasses, both voluntary and involuntary, and grant him the Kingdom of God!"
Nevertheless, the Church does not establish special rules or "formulas" of commemoration. You can pray for the deceased in your own words for as long as your soul requires.
Is it possible to put a candle for the repose of the dead at home?
One of the common questions related to church candles is whether it is possible to light them for the repose at home. The church statute does not prohibit believers to memorialize the deceased with candles in front of the home iconostasis. The only condition is that the candles must be bought in the temple and properly consecrated. Also do not forget about prayer, without which a lit candle is just an additional source of light.
Memorial prayers for the deceased
Prayer for the deceased is the most important element of commemoration in Orthodox culture. It is believed that after death a person can no longer ask forgiveness before God for his sins and do good deeds as a sign of repentance. Instead of him, living relatives, friends or other close people should do it. Thus, prayer helps not only to survive the loss, but also benefits the soul of the deceased.
It is necessary to pray for the person both in the first 40 days from his death, and after this period. To do this, you can submit a note with the name to the proskomidiya, put a candle in the temple, order a memorial service or read the prayer yourself at home.
Prayer for the deceased for up to 40 days
"Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope of eternal life Your newly deceased servant (name), and as good and merciful, absolving sins and consuming unrighteousness, loosen, remit and forgive all his free will and unwilling trespasses, raising him to Your holy second coming in the communion of Your eternal blessings, for their sake in You alone I believe, the true God and Human Lover. For Thou art the resurrection and life and rest of Thy servant (name), O Christ our God. And to Thee we give glory, with Thy beginningless Father and with the Most Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages, Amen."
Prayer for the deceased after 40 days
"Remember, O Lord our God, in faith and hope for the eternal life of Thy departed servant, our brother (name), and as the Good and Merciful One who forgives sins and consumes unrighteousness, loosen, remit, and forgive all his free and unconfessed transgressions, deliver him from eternal torment and the fire of Gehenna, and grant him the communion and enjoyment of Thy eternal good things prepared for those who love Thee: Even if you sin, yet do not depart from You, and believe without doubt in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit, God You in Trinity glorified, and in the Unity of the Trinity, and in the Trinity in Unity, confessing orthodoxy even to your last breath.
Therefore be merciful to this one, and put the faith that is in Thee instead of works, and with Thy saints as generous rest: for there is no man who will live and not sin. But Thou art the only One apart from all sin, and Thy righteousness is righteousness for ever, and Thou art the only God of mercies and bounties, and of mankind, and to Thee we give glory, to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. Amen."
When visiting a cemetery or praying at home, the laity can recite a requiem litia. It is appropriate both for remembering the newly deceased (the first 40 days after death) and for remembering the dead at other times. The full text of the litia can be found here.
Earlier "Izvestia" told about the meaning and traditions of Meat-Passover Parents' Saturday.
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