How to write Church Memorial Notes: history, meaning and rules

In the Orthodox tradition, prayer for one's neighbors, the living and the departed, occupies a special place. One of its oldest expressions is the church notes that believers submit at divine services, asking the Church to combine their personal request with a common prayer. This form of conversion to God has its roots in the first centuries of Christianity and still remains an important part of liturgical life. How to write a memorial note and a memorial note is in the Izvestia article.

The history of the tradition of Church notes

The practice of commemoration by name is one of the oldest elements of the liturgical life of the Church. Even in the first centuries of Christianity, communities noted the need for collective prayer for both the living and the deceased.

Byzantine liturgical practice assigned deacons and priests to be commemorated by name, and in medieval Russia it became customary to keep family synodics, lists of names passed down from generation to generation and used in worship.

Over time, the names on the leaflets transformed into church notes that are familiar today — one-time memorials "for health" or "for repose," which believers submit for commemoration at proskomidies, litanies, prayer services and memorial services.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the form of the note was simplified, but its meaning remained the same: it is a request from a parishioner to combine his petition with the prayer of the entire Church. Before the revolution, family memorials and synodics were widely used for commemorations.

In modern practice, along with traditional paper notes, forms on counters in temples and electronic demand order forms have become widespread. Nevertheless, the canonical point of support remains the same — the name inscribed in the temple note is voiced or outlined at a special moment of the liturgy during the proskomedia and becomes the subject of common prayer.

The Prayer of the Optina Elders: origin, meaning and tradition of reading

The meaning of commemoration in the Orthodox tradition

In the Orthodox understanding, church prayer for the living asks for health, strengthening of faith and spiritual salvation. For the departed — for the forgiveness of sins and the repose of the soul. Commemoration is associated with the idea of a church community in which the division into "living" and "dead" does not negate the mutual spiritual connection. The Church on earth and the Heavenly Church together proclaim prayer for all.

The practical purpose of commemoration is to express love and responsibility, to remind of the ties between the family and the community, and to ensure the participation in the Eucharist of those who, for one reason or another, cannot attend in person.

The Proskomedia, in turn, gives commemoration a special sacramental meaning: particles taken out of the prosphora, placed on the diskos and subsequently combined with the Gifts, become symbolic participation of named persons in the Sacrament.

Types of memorial notes: about health and repose

In church practice, there are two basic types of notes: "on health" and "on repose." A note "on health" is submitted for the living — with a request for the preservation of health, for help in sorrows, for strengthening in faith. Often, such notes include the names of relatives, friends, confessors, as well as the worshipper's own name.

The note of repose is addressed to those who have gone to the Lord. She expresses a petition for the forgiveness of sins, repose and giving alms in their memory.

Day of Prayer for the Dead: when is the Intercession Parents' Saturday in 2025

Believers honor their ancestors in the temple and at home, continuing the ancient customs of commemoration.

How to write a resting note correctly

Commemoration of the dead in the Orthodox Church is one of the most ancient and important forms of church prayer. This is not a funeral ritual in the secular sense, but a manifestation of love, memory and faith that the prayer of the living helps the soul of the deceased to find peace and light in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Commemoration is performed at various services — most often at the Divine Liturgy, memorial service, parastas or sorokoust. The main and most solemn form is commemoration at the liturgy, when the priest, during the proskomedia, takes out the particle "for repose" from the prosphora and places it next to the Lamb, the symbol of Christ, which expresses the prayerful participation of the soul in the sacrifice of Christ. At the memorial service and prayer service, commemoration is performed verbally, in special petitions and litanies.

In order to properly file a note of repose, it is important to remember a few rules. First of all, only the names of the deceased are entered, without surnames and without clarifications like "grandfather", "dad" or "girlfriend". Names are given in the genitive case and in the church form given at baptism: for example, "for the repose of the servant of God (Name)." If the exact church name is unknown, you can use the usual one — the priest will remember the person according to the intention of the giver.

You can submit a note on the eve of the service (during the evening service) or on the day of the liturgy — before it begins. If we are talking about a forty—day commemoration, the note is accepted in advance, in the office of the temple. Believers often submit a note on the day of death, on the ninth, fortieth day or anniversary, but this can be done at any time. The Church prays for the dead all the time, not just on memorable dates.

Many parishes establish different forms of commemoration: you can order a one-time note, a sorokoust, or an eternal commemoration. In recent years, electronic submission of notes has also been practiced through the official websites of churches or dioceses. In this case, the data is sent to the altar, where the priest remembers the names in the same way as in paper notes. However, personal involvement remains preferable.