“When the Priest cuts out sections [of bread that will be used for Holy Communion] and commemorates the names of the faithful during the Prothesi, an Angel of the Lord descends and takes this commemoration and places it before the Throne of Christ as a Prayer for those commemorated.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“When I am preparing the Gifts before Divine Liturgy, I see Souls pass before me and beg me to commemorate them; and even if I wanted to forget them, I couldn’t.”
Saint Iakovos Tsalikis of Evia
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“Limitless and without consolation would have been our sorrow for close ones who are dying, if the Lord had not given us Eternal Life. Our life would be pointless if it ended with death. What benefit would there then be from virtue and good deed? Then they would be correct who say: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” But man was created for immortality, and by His Resurrection Christ opened the gates of the Heavenly Kingdom, of Eternal Blessedness for those who have believed in Him and have lived righteously. Our Earthly life is a preparation for the future life, and this preparation ends with our death. “It is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). Then a man leaves all his earthly cares; the body disintegrates, in order to rise anew at the General Resurrection. Often this spiritual vision begins in the dying even before death, and while still seeing those around them and even speaking with them, they see what others do not see.
But when it leaves the body, the Soul finds itself among other spirits, good and bad. Usually it inclines toward those which are more akin to it in spirit, and if while in the body it was under the influence of certain ones, it will remain in dependence upon them when it leaves the body, however unpleasant they may turn out to be upon encountering them.
For the course of two days the Soul enjoys relative freedom and can visit places on Earth which were dear to it, but on the third day it moves into other spheres. At this time (the third day), it passes through legions of evil spirits which obstruct its path and accuse it of various sins, to which they themselves had tempted it. According to various revelations there are twenty such obstacles, the so-called “toll-houses,” at each of which one or another form of sin is tested; after passing through one the Soul comes upon the next one, and only after successfully passing through all of them can the Soul continue its path without being immediately cast into Gehenna. How terrible these demons and their toll-houses are may be seen in the fact that Mother of God Herself, when informed by the Archangel Gabriel of her approaching death, answering her Prayer, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself appeared from Heaven to receive the Soul of His Most Pure Mother and conduct it to Heaven. Terrible indeed is the third day for the Soul of the departed, and for this reason it especially needs Prayers then for itself.
Then, having successfully passed through the toll-houses and bowed down before God, the Soul for the course of 37 more days visits the Heavenly habitations and the abysses of hell, not knowing yet where it will remain, and only on the fortieth day is its place appointed until the Resurrection of the dead. Some Souls find themselves (after the forty days) in a condition of foretasting Eternal joy and blessedness, and others in fear of the eternal torments which will come in full after the Last Judgment. Until then changes are possible in the condition of Souls, especially through offering for them the Bloodless Sacrifice (Commemoration at the Liturgy), and likewise by other Prayers.
How important Commemoration at the Liturgy is may be seen in the following occurrence: Before the uncovering of the Relics of Saint Theodosius of Chernigov (1896), the Priest-Monk (the renowned Starets Alexis of Goloseyevsky Hermitage, of the Kiev-Caves Lavra, who died in 1916) who was conducting the re-vesting of the Relics, becoming weary while sitting by the Relics, dozed off and saw before him the Saint, who told him: “I thank you for labouring with me. I beg you also, when you will serve the Liturgy, to Commemorate my parents” — and he gave their names (Priest Nikita and Maria). “How can you, O Saint, ask my Prayers, when you yourself stand at the Heavenly Throne and grant to people God’s Mercy?” The Priest-Monk asked. “Yes, that is true,” replied Saint Theodosius, “but the offering at the Liturgy is more powerful than my Prayer.”
Therefore, panikhidas (i.e., Trisagion Prayers for the Dead) and Prayer at home for the dead are beneficial to them, as are good deeds done in their memory, such as alms or contributions to the Church. But especially beneficial for them is Commemoration at the Divine Liturgy. There have been many appearances of the dead and other occurrences which confirm how beneficial is the Commemoration of the dead. Many who died in repentance, but who were unable to manifest this while they were alive, have been freed from tortures and have obtained repose. In the Church Prayers are ever offered for the repose of the dead, and on the day of the Descent of the Holy Spirit, in the Kneeling Prayers at Vespers, there is even a special petition “for those in hell.”
Every one of us who desires to manifest his love for the dead and give them real help, can do this best of all through Prayer for them, and particularly by Commemorating them at the Liturgy, when the particles which are cut out for the living and the dead are let fall into the Blood of the Lord with the words: “Wash away, O Lord, the sins of those here Commemorated by Thy Precious Blood and by the Prayers of Thy Saints.” We can do nothing better or greater for the dead than to Pray for them, offering Commemoration for them at the Liturgy. Of this they are always in need, and especially during those forty days when the Soul of the deceased is proceeding on its path to the Eternal habitations. The body feels nothing then: it does not see its close ones who have assembled, does not smell the fragrance of the flowers, does not hear the funeral orations. But the Soul senses the Prayers offered for it and is grateful to those who make them and is spiritually close to them.
O relatives and close ones of the dead! Do for them what is needful for them and within your power. Use your money not for outward adornment of the coffin and grave, but in order to help those in need, in memory of your close ones who have died, for Churches, where Prayers for them are offered. Show mercy to the dead, take care of their Souls. Before us all stands the same path, and how we shall then wish that we would be remembered in Prayer! Let us therefore be ourselves merciful to the dead. As soon as someone has reposed, immediately call or inform a Priest, so he can read the Prayers appointed to be read over all Orthodox Christians after death. Try, if it be possible, to have the funeral in Church and to have the Psalter read over the deceased until the funeral. Most definitely arrange at once for the serving of the Forty-Day Memorial, that is, daily Commemoration at the Liturgy for the course of forty days. (NOTE: If the funeral is in a church where there are no daily services, the relatives should take care to order the Forty-Day Memorial wherever there are daily Services.) It is likewise good to send contributions for Commemoration to Monasteries, as well as to Jerusalem, where there is constant Prayer at the Holy Places. Let us take care for those who have departed into the other world before us, in order to do for them all that we can, remembering that “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Saint John Maximovitch
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“Once while Elder Joseph the Hesychast was Praying for a departed Soul who had been condemned, he had the following vision: “As I was Praying, I saw the late Father George Karslidis in front of me. He is a contemporary Saint. I managed to meet him because he was still alive when I was in the world. Ever day, he served the Liturgy and commemorated thousands of names. Afterwards, he would go to the tombs and read Trisagion Prayers and Memorial Services for the departed, all day long. I saw him in a vision and heard him saying to me in great amazement: “Wow! Until today, I thought that the deceased were only saved with Liturgies and Memorial Services. But today I saw and realised that people in hell are also saved with Prayer Ropes.” Again he repeated with admiration: “Yes, people are also saved with Prayer Ropes.””
Abbot Haralambos Dionysiatis
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Q. “Will the Souls of unrepentant sinners be saved?”
A. “They will, if there is someone who will Pray for them. It is most beneficial for departed Souls if Forty Liturgies are served for them and if, after that, someone gives a donation to the Church to continue Commemorating them at the Holy Liturgy.” The Liturgy is, as we know, a Golgothan sacrifice. This means that the Lord Himself is Sacrificed at the Holy Liturgy. When a Priest takes out the particles from the Prosphora for the repose of the departed and after receives Holy Communion, he says, “O Lord, by Thy most pure Blood forgive the sins of all those commemorated today!” As you see, this is the most perfect Prayer and the greatest sacrifice that we can offer up for our loved ones who have departed to God.”
Saint Nikolai Velimivorich
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Q. Geronda, can the indicted Souls who await trial Pray?
A. They are aware of their condition and seek help, but they cannot help themselves. Those who are in Hades desire only one thing from Christ: to live for five minutes in order to repent. We, who live, still have time for repentance, but those unfortunate ones who have fallen asleep cannot improve their condition on their own; they await help from us. This is the reason why we have an obligation to help them with our Prayer… And just as in this life when one who’s a friend of the king can intercede and request help for someone awaiting trial, so, too, if one is “a friend” of God, he can intercede with Prayer to God, and He can transfer the indicted Souls of the dead from one “prison” to another, better one, from one “detention-cell” to another, better one. Or God may transfer them to a “room” or to an “apartment”.
Just as we provide some comfort to the imprisoned with the refreshments and other material goods we bring to them, so are the dead refreshed by the Prayers and the charity we execute for their Souls. The Prayers and the Sacred Memorial offered by the living for the dead are the final chance that God gives to the dead to be helped until the Final Judgment takes place. After the Judgment, there will no longer be any possibility for help.
God wants to help those who have fallen asleep because He cares about their ultimate Salvation… when we Pray for those who have fallen asleep, we give God the right to intervene.
This is the reason why our Church has the sacred Memorials with the kollyva. Memorials serve as the best attorney on behalf of the Souls of those fallen asleep. They even have the power to bring a Soul out of hell. At every Divine Liturgy, we should Pray with kollyva for those who have fallen asleep. The wheat has a symbolic meaning: “It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption” (1 Cor. 15:42) according to Sacred Scripture…
Saint Paisios the Athonite
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“We should not mourn the dead but instead Pray fervently for our departed loved ones that God may grant them to dwell with the Angels. This is what He wants from us. Mourning will get us nowhere. By mourning we not only can destroy our own health but can also harm the peace that the Souls of the deceased have received from the Lord. We must Pray for our loved ones. We must not be sorrowful and depressed. Excessive sorrow for our loved ones who have left this world is not a Christian act, but an act of godlessness. We prepare ourselves in this life for Eternal Life. We must be thankful for everything and thank God for taking the Souls of our departed loved ones to Himself. If they have departed this world without having repented, we must Pray for them that God might forgive their sins. We must perform acts of mercy in their name and in their memory for the peace of their Souls, and God will accept such acts of love. Only the Lord can free a Soul from meshes of thought in which it became entangled while in this life, and which still bind it in Eternity. Only God can free such a Soul. Therefore we must Pray for our loved ones who are deceased. It is the most we can do: to pray that God grant rest to their Souls and to give their Baptismal names to Priests and Hieromonks who serve the Holy Liturgy every day so that they may Pray for their Souls.”
Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
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One day, a Monk, reading a multitude of names, grew tired and asked himself, “Will all those I commemorate be saved? Do they really feel anything? Does Heaven sense that I am at this moment Praying for those who have vanished from the face of the earth? Do the dead really help us?” And at that moment, feeling tired, he leaned on the stasidia, slightly closed his eyes, and, either in a dream or in reality, in a kind of mental arousal and a weariness of the flesh, he looked up and saw… countless Souls of the departed, and with them, Saints and Angels. And before the Throne of the Lord, the Most Holy Theotokos, in wondrous garments. She looks at Christ and, turning to Him, says, “My Son and my God, I ask You for them all. Accept the Prayers of Your Holy Church.” And then all the dead – the Monk heard them – began to sing: “O Theotokos and Virgin Mary, rejoice, O Mary Full of Grace, the Lord is with you, Blessed are you among women, and Blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have borne the Saviour of our Souls.” You not only bore us Christ the Saviour, but also Pray to Him day and night for us. Their voices became the voices of the deep, “the voices of many waters” (Rev. 1:15; 14:2), their voices echoed with the roar of Angelic wings, spreading throughout Heaven and Earth, reaching the place where the Monk stood. Not timbrels, not organs, but Angels beat their wings and sang: “For you have borne the Saviour of our Souls.”
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“One of the Holiest works, one of the best exercises of piety that we can practice in this world is to offer sacrifices, alms and Prayer for the dead.”
Saint Augustine of Hippo
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“In nature, when a pregnant mother breathes, the strength she receives from this breath passes on to her child. So also in a Grace-filled way the Church breathes a Prayer that is shared by all, and the power of the Prayer passes on to the reposed, who are held in the bosom of the Church, which is made up of the living and the dead, the militant and the triumphant. Do not be slothful, but zealously commemorate all of our departed fathers and brothers whenever you Pray. It will be your alms for them.”
Saint Theophan the Recluse
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“The dead feel our presence in their graves, they feel our Prayers and our sacrifices and love for them. And we will soon feel it, on that side of the grave, and will be grateful for those who remember us and Pray for us to God.”
Saint Nikolai Velimivoric
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