The religious scholar spoke about the rules of commemoration of the dead on Antipascha

On Antipascha, April 19, the church does not commemorate the dead: memorial services and requiem masses are not held at this time. Nevertheless, it is possible to pray for the deceased. Nikita Pavlov, a religious scholar and researcher at the Laboratory for Research of Religious Factors of Structural Changes in Modern Society at the ISD of the National Research Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia about how to commemorate the dead on this day.

From the point of view of the church charter, there is no public, that is, special, commemoration of the deceased on Antipascha — memorial services and requiem masses are not served. In a broader sense, this applies to the entire period from Holy Thursday to the Monday after Antipascha: at this time, the Church deliberately refrains from funeral services in order not to disrupt the Easter character of the service.

"Prayer for the dead does not stop. It continues in the Divine Liturgy, but without special funeral petitions — without changing the general joyful structure of worship," Pavlov emphasized.

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The religious scholar recalled that Radonitsa becomes the first day when a full-fledged, "public" commemoration of the dead is resumed. In 2026, the event falls on April 21st. It is then that believers traditionally visit cemeteries, submit notes of repose and pray for their loved ones. Thus, from the point of view of church tradition, the transfer of commemoration to Antipascha is a mistake.

"It is fundamentally important to understand that Antipascha is not a day of commemoration of the dead. She continues the Easter celebration, which focuses on the victory of life over death, so funeral services are not held on this day. The first church-wide commemoration of the dead after Easter is celebrated on Radonitsa. This sequence has a deep meaning: the Church first allows believers to fully experience the joy of the Resurrection, and only then returns to a special prayer for the deceased," Pavlov sums up.

For more information about what the word "Antipascha" means, what kind of holiday it is and how to celebrate it correctly, see the Izvestia article.

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