In the early 90s of the last century, churches began to open, and the people massively ran to the funeral service for their deceased relatives. But people didn’t know whether their ancestors were baptized or not.
There was a hitch: is it possible to funeral unbaptized person? Let's look at this topic in more detail.
What is baptism?
Before dealing with the funeral, we find out: what is the sacrament of baptism and why is it needed?
Baptism is a spiritual birth. With a body, we were already born. And baptism allows you to be born spiritually. At baptism, each of us is given a guardian angel.
Do not think that baptism is a pass to Paradise. Baptism is becoming a member of the Church of Christ. The baptized man is the lamb of God.
But what about the unbaptized?
Is it possible to bury a non-baptized 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 soul. But the grace of the Holy Spirit did not touch him. There is no union with God. An unbaptized person is not a “sheep” of God.
Why can’t you burial?
It would seem that we examined above the question of why it is impossible to funeral for unbaptized people. No, not completely.
The funeral service is not just a beautiful ceremony. Candles flicker, a priest walks around the coffin with a censer and sings something. The air smells of incense, the relatives of the deceased cry, saying goodbye to him forever.
When the father "sings something", then this "something" turns out to be prayers. The priest reads special prayers. And there is a line in one of them "with the saints repose." That is, the priest and relatives ask the Lord to receive the dead man in His Paradise abode.
How can you ask for this fate for someone who was not a member of the church? Who did not know God? The answer to this question most accurately will give the priest. But the funeral of an unbaptized person is hardly permissible.
What if it's a baby?
Is it possible to bury a non-baptized person, if we are talking about a baby? Let's say a baby was born very weak. They simply did not have time to christen. He is sinless, did not have time to do anything wrong.
Alas, even babies who have no sin are not buried in the church.
About suicides
Is unbaptized equal to suicide? The father will definitely answer this question. We can say that if a baptized person committed suicide, then he has a direct road to hell.
Why? Because he forgot about God. The Lord gives life, and He takes it. And the suicide took over the function of the Lord.
How are suicides buried?
In the old days, people who took their lives were buried behind a cemetery fence. Now this rule has long been forgotten. Suicides are buried in cemeteries. But they don’t put an end to the grave. This is an abuse of the shrine.
Is it possible to put 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 funeral an unbaptized person, we have learned. No you can not. Is it possible to funeral sick suicide?
If we are talking about a mental illness in which a person did not know what he was doing, the church admits the funeral of those. If a person, being physically ill, but in a firm mind, committed suicide, then he cannot be buried.
The funeral of the unbaptized
How to bury an unbaptized person? There is no funeral service for him. So, they bury him the same way as a suicide. Without a cross on the grave.
They say goodbye to the morgue or to the cemetery. They’re not brought to the church, respectively. And the priest is not invited to the morgue. Now you can take a funeral at the morgue, as many people know.
What is a funeral service in absentia?
Absentee funeral is carried out without the presence of the human body in the temple. It is allowed by the church to sing the baptized person after his funeral. But only in exceptional cases: loved ones know that a person has died, but his body was not found. Or death was such that the body was almost destroyed (hit by a train, blew up).
When does the funeral service take place?
The rite of the burial of Christians is performed on the third day after death. So, if a person died on Monday, then the funeral service and bury him on Wednesday.
Is it acceptable to sing on Tuesday and bury on Wednesday? Alas, the funeral service is not accepted on the second day. Although this question can be clarified with the priest. Perhaps in some exceptional cases this is permitted.
Burial service - a pass to Paradise?
Is it possible to funeral for an unbaptized person, we now know. It is forbidden. But for a baptized person this sacrament is not a guarantee of paradise abodes.
Judge for yourselves: a man lived his whole life without knowing God. I didn’t go to the temple, I didn’t start the sacraments of confession and communion. "Legally" was considered God's, but actually lived on its own. Where is it already "with the saints repose."
Although, as they say, the ways of the Lord are inscrutable. We do not know what a person was like during his lifetime. Maybe he lived by the gospel commandments, without knowing it. 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 for a baptized person it is possible to submit a note and order a magpie, then a dead person who has not received the sacrament of baptism cannot be remembered in the church.
And what should relatives do, who understand what their relative’s fate is, but don’t know how to alleviate it?
Give alms for the deceased.
Do good deeds in his name. Help those in need not only financially, but also mentally. Live not for yourself, but for others.
Pray for the unbaptized deceased in home prayer.
How to pray at home?
We warn you right away: The hymnal for unbaptized people is forbidden to read. By and large, it is not read for every baptized person. Too strong a thing.
Those who read morning prayers know that in the end there is a prayer for health and repose. In it, one can also remember unbaptized relatives.
And yet - no one excluded the prayer of Huaru. As well as the canon of him. Only there is one “but”: in the temples and chapels this canon is not read for the unbaptized. It can only be read at home.
What is the prayer to the martyr Huara?
The text of the prayer is given in the article. It is very short, can be rewritten on paper, or printed:
Oh holy martyr Ware! Jealousy over the Lord Christ we kindle, He confessed the king of heaven before the tormentor, and he assiduously suffered, and now the Church honors the hell, as it is glorified from the Lord Christ by the glory of Heaven. Accept our petition and your prayers from eternal torment free us. Amen.
Who is Saint Ouar?
The future martyr came from a pious family. Saint Ouart lived in Egypt during the reign of Diocletian. Huar was a very courageous man, he served in the imperial army. But this did not prevent the future martyr from reverently treating the exploits of Christians.
In those days, the seven ascetics of Christ were in prison. And Saint Ouart visited them, knowing that people suffer for Christ. Shortly before the trial, one of the righteous died. And then Ouar stood in his place to accept a martyr's death.
A young warrior revealed himself to the emperor. He was very surprised. It is not known whether he tried to persuade Huara to abandon the faith. We only received information about his anger when the martyr said that no one and nothing could influence his decision.
Then the cup of emperor’s anger poured out on the youth. He was tied to a rack and beaten with wide leather straps. The torture did not break the stamina of the spirit of St. Huara. He was calm, the more angry the tormentors. They tied the martyr, threw him to the ground and ordered the womb. The insides fell out. The tormentors tied Ouar to a pillar, near which he gave his soul to God after five hours.
But earlier ...
Is it possible to bury a non-baptized person? No, it is forbidden. For him, you can pray to Saint Huar at home.
If you came to church, and there they say to you, then you can order a prayer to the holy martyr, submit notes on an unbaptized relative and put candles for him, run away from this temple.
Previously, dishonest abbots used the trust of people and accepted such notes and prayers, assuring them that they were equated with prayer, as if they were baptized. This is a lie. For the purpose of profit, nothing more. No bishop will allow this.
Conclusion
You can help your deceased unbaptized relative. But not through church commemoration. Give alms for the salvation of his soul, do good deeds, pray to Saint Huara in home prayer.
Why a person did not want to come to God during his life 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, being alive.