Ceremony in The Church
Throughout the service, upon a table close to the coffin stands a dish containing kolyva, made of wheat—symbolic of the grain which falling to the ground dies and brings forth much fruit (John 12:24)—and honey—symbolic of the sweetness of the Heavenly Kingdom. A taper is placed in the kolyva and is lit during the service.
In the Orthodox funeral, the coffin is usually open in church (unlike the West, where it is usually closed), and the lower part of the coffin is covered with a funeral pall. The lid of the casket may be left outside the church door, as an invitation to all who pass by to enter and join in the funeral.
Read more about this topic: Christian Burial, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Burial Ritual
Famous quotes containing the words ceremony and/or church:
“No ceremony that to great ones ‘longs,
Not the king’s crown, nor the deputed sword,
The marshal’s truncheon, nor the judge’s robe,
Become them with one half so good a grace
As mercy does.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The tavern will compare favorably with the church. The church is the place where prayers and sermons are delivered, but the tavern is where they are to take effect, and if the former are good, the latter cannot be bad.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)