
A funeral is a memorial service conducted by a priest, with the help of which the Church escorts the deceased to the world of another Christian existence, praying for him, and asking God to forgive his sins and grant him peace in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Death is a temporary separation of soul and body, a part of life until the Second Coming of the Savior, the General Resurrection, and the Last Judgment.
Death is primarily a spiritual phenomenon. It is possible to be dead while still living on earth and to be uninvolved in death while lying in the grave. Spiritual death is a person’s separation from life, that is, from God. The Lord is the only Giver of life and Life Itself (John 11: 25-26).
The deceased does not need tears, nor a feast, he needs prayer and alms, deeds of love in his memory!
How should a Christian treat death?
With trepidation about the insufficiency of one’s repentance and with hope for God’s mercy. Ideally, as the Apostle Paul: “To me life is Christ, and death is gain” (Phil. 1:21).
“Man is born mortal, and it is wise to fear sins, not death.” St. John Chrysostom