Funeral

Funeral Service

PRIEST

Blessed is our God always, now and ever and to the ages of ages.

CHOIR

Amen.

FIRST STANZA

Mode pl. 2.

Blameless in the way. Alleluia. Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your ordinances. [SAAS] Alleluia.

My soul longed to desire Your judgments in every season. [SAAS] Alleluia.

My soul fainted because of its listlessness; establish me in Your words. [SAAS] Alleluia.

Incline my heart to Your testimonies and not to greediness. [SAAS] Alleluia.

Despondency held me because of sinners who abandon Your law. [SAAS] Alleluia.

I am a companion of all who fear You and keep Your commandments. [SAAS] Alleluia.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Alleluia.

DEACON

Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray You, hear us and have mercy.

( Lord, have mercy. (3) )

Again we pray for the repose of the soul of the departed servant of God (Name), who has fallen asleep, and for the forgiveness of all his (her) sins, voluntary and involuntary.

( Lord, have mercy. (3) )

May the Lord God place his (her) soul where the righteous repose. Let us ask for the mercies of God, the kingdom of heaven, and the forgiveness of his (her) sins from Christ our immortal king and our God.

( Grant this, O Lord. )

PRIEST

For You are the resurrection, the life, and the repose of Your departed servant(s) (name), Christ our God, and to You we offer up glory, and to Your Father, who is without beginning, and Your all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and to the ages of ages.

( Amen. )

CHOIR

SECOND STANZA

Mode pl. 1.

Your hands made and fashioned me; instruct me, and I will learn Your commandments. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

I am like a leather bag in a frost; I did not forget Your ordinances. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

I am Yours; save me, for I search Your ordinances. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

I did not turn away from Your judgments, for You taught me Your law. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

I inclined my heart to do Your ordinances forever for a reward. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

It is time for the Lord to act; they broke Your law. [SAAS] Have mercy on me, O Lord.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Have mercy on me, O Lord.

DEACON

Let us pray to the Lord.

( Lord, have mercy. )

PRIEST

( Amen. )

CHOIR

THIRD STANZA

Mode pl. 4.

And have mercy on me. Alleluia. Look upon me and have mercy on me, according to the judgment of those who love Your name. [SAAS] Alleluia.

I am young, and beheld as nothing, but I have not forgotten Your ordinances. [SAAS] Alleluia.

Hear my voice, O Lord, according to Your mercy; give me life according to Your judgment. [SAAS] Alleluia.

Rulers persecuted me without cause, but my heart feared because of Your words. [SAAS] Alleluia.

My soul shall live and praise You, and Your judgments shall help me. [SAAS]

I went astray like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.

Evlogetaria for the Dead

Mode pl. 1.

Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your commandments.

The choir of Saints has found the fountain of life and the door of Paradise. May I also find the way through repentance. I am the lost sheep: O Savior, call me back and save me. [GOA]

Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your commandments.

Of old, You created me from nothing and honored me with Your divine image. But when I disobeyed Your commandment, You returned me to the earth from which I was taken. Lead me back again to Your likeness, so that the ancient beauty may be refashioned. [GOA]

Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your commandments.

I am an image of Your ineffable glory, though I bear the scars of my transgressions. Take pity on me, the work of Your hands, Master, and cleanse me by Your compassion. Grant me the desired homeland for which I long, making me again a citizen of Paradise. [GOA]

Blessed are You, O Lord, teach me Your commandments.

Give rest, O God, to Your servant(s), and place him (her, them) in Paradise where the choirs of the Saints and the righteous, O Lord, will shine as the stars of heaven. To Your departed servant(s) give rest, O Lord, overlooking all his (her, their) offenses. [GOA]

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let us devoutly praise the threefold radiance of the one God as we sing: Holy are You, the Father without beginning, the co-eternal Son, and the divine Spirit. Illumine us who worship You in faith and deliver us from the eternal fire. [GOA]

Both now and ever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Rejoice, gracious Lady, who gave birth to God in the flesh for the salvation of all, and through whom the human race has found salvation. Through you, pure and blessed Theotokos, may we find Paradise. [GOA]

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia. Glory to You, O God. [GOA]

Kontakion. Mode pl. 4.

With the Saints give rest, O Christ, to the soul(s) of Your servant(s) where there is no pain, no sorrow, no sighing, but life everlasting. [GOA]

Funeral Hymns

By John the Monk (of Damascus).

Mode 1.

Which of life’s pleasures remains free of sorrow? Which earthly glory is permanent? All this is fainter than a shadow, all more illusory than a dream. In a single moment, death succeeds them all. O Christ, grant rest to those whom You have taken, in the light of Your face and in the sweetness of Your handsomeness, O benevolent Lord. [SD]

Mode 2.

A flower withers and a dream passes: likewise every human being disintegrates. Then, at the sound of the trumpet, there will be like an earthquake, and all the dead will rise to meet You, O Christ God. We pray You will then place the spirits of Your servants, whom You have taken from us, in the dwellings of Your Saints, O Master Christ. [SD]

Another Extra Hymn.

Mode 2.

Alas! Such agony afflicts a soul when it is separated from its body. Alas! How it weeps then, but there is no one to have mercy on it. It turns its eyes towards the Angels and prays to no avail. It reaches for other people, but there is no one who can help. Therefore, my beloved brethren, let us realize how short is our life, and let us pray to Christ to grant repose to the departed, and great mercy to our souls. [SD]

Mode 3.

Vanity is everything human, which after death exists no more. Wealth does not remain, glory does not go with us; for when death arrives, all these disappear. Therefore let us cry to Christ the immortal King, “Grant rest to those departed from us, there where glad are all who have their dwelling in You.” [SD]

Mode 4. You have given.

Frightening indeed, and quite so, is the mystery known as death, how a soul then is forcibly * separated from its frame, parting from its body; * severed is that union, which is most natural and innate, * by Your divine will. And therefore we entreat * that You who are benevolent grant the departed eternal rest, * where the saints and the righteous dwell, * O our God and the Giver of life. [SD]

Another Extra Hymn.

Mode 4.

Where are all those worldly attachments? Where are the imaginings of things that do not last? Where is the gold, where the silver? Where is the flood and fuss of assistants and servants? All of this is dust and ashes, all just a shadow. Nevertheless, come let us say to the immortal King, “Lord, grant Your eternal good things to those departed from us, and give them rest in unending blessedness.” [SD]

Mode pl. 1.

I remembered how the Prophet once said: “I am but dust and ashes”; and then I looked into the graves and saw the naked bones, and in turn I exclaimed: “Who can tell, which one was a king, which one a soldier, rich or poor, a righteous man or a sinner?” Nevertheless, O Lord, grant that Your servants may rest with the righteous, in Your benevolence. [SD]

Mode pl. 2.

Your creative command was my beginning and real existence; for wishing to construct me as a living creature from both visible and invisible natures, You fashioned my body from earth, and You gave me a soul by Your divine and life-giving breath. Therefore, O Savior, give rest to Your servants, in the land of the living, where the righteous dwell. [SD]

Grave Mode. No longer are we barred.

O Savior and Life-giver, to those You transferred * from this fleeting life, grant rest, as they cry out, * “Glory to You, O Lord.” [SD]

Another Extra Hymn.

Grave Mode.

In the beginning, when You fashioned man in Your image and likeness, You put him in Paradise to have dominion over Your creation. But by the envy of the devil, man was deceived; and he ate the fruit and thus became a transgressor of Your commandments. Therefore, O Lord, You sentenced him to return to the earth, from which he had been taken, and to pray for repose. [SD]

Mode pl. 4.

I grieve and I lament when I think about death, and when I see the beauty, which God made for us in His image, lying formless in the grave, without glory and unsightly. Amazing! What is this mystery that happened to us? How were we given over to decay and coupled with death? Indeed, as it is written, this is all by the command of God, who grants repose to those who have passed away. [SD]

Glory. Mode pl. 4.

O Lord, Your death gave rise to immortality; for if You had not been enclosed in a tomb, then Paradise would not have been opened. Therefore grant repose to the departed, O benevolent God. [SD]

Both now. Mode pl. 4.

O pure Virgin, you are the gate of the Logos, and the Mother of our God. Pray for our salvation. [SD]

Prokeimenon. Mode 3.

Truly blessed is the way that you travel on today; for a place has been prepared for your everlasting rest. [SD]

The Epistle

DEACON

Let us be attentive.

READER

Verse: To You, O Lord, I cry; O my God, may You not pass over me in silence; may You never be silent to me, else I would become like those who go down into the pit. [SAAS]

DEACON

Wisdom.

READER

The reading is from Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians.

DEACON

Let us be attentive.

READER

1 Th. 4:13 – 17

Brethren, we could not have you ignorant concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. [RSV]

PRIEST

Peace be with you the reader.

CHOIR

Alleluia. Alleluia. Alleluia.

The Holy Gospel

DEACON

Wisdom. Arise. Let us hear the holy Gospel.

PRIEST

Peace be with all.

( And with your spirit. )

DEACON

The reading is from the holy Gospel according to John.

PRIEST

Let us be attentive.

( Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You. )

DEACON

5:24 – 30

The Lord said to the Jews who came to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can do nothing on my own authority; as I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who sent me.” [RSV]

PRIEST

Peace be with you who read the Gospel.

CHOIR

Glory to You, O Lord, glory to You.

DEACON

Have mercy on us, O God, according to Your great mercy, we pray You, hear us and have mercy.

( Lord, have mercy. (3) )

Again we pray for the repose of the soul of the departed servant of God (Name), who has fallen asleep, and for the forgiveness of all his (her) sins, voluntary and involuntary.

( Lord, have mercy. (3) )

( Grant this, O Lord. )

PRIEST

O God of spirits and of all flesh, You trampled upon death and abolished the power of the devil, giving life to Your world. Give rest to the soul(s) of Your departed servant(s) (name) in a place of light, in a place of green pasture, in a place of refreshment, from where pain, sorrow, and sighing have fled away. As good and benevolent God, forgive every sin he (she, they) has (have) committed in word, deed, or thought, for there is no one who lives and does not sin. You alone are without sin. Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and Your word is truth. [GOA]

( Amen. )

PRIEST

Glory to You, O Christ God, our hope. Glory to You.

May He who as immortal King has authority over the living and the dead and who rose from the dead, Christ our true God, through the intercessions of his most pure and holy Mother, the holy, glorious, and praiseworthy Apostles, our holy and God-bearing Fathers, of the holy and glorious forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, of His holy and righteous friend Lazarus, who lay in the grave four days, establish the soul(s) of His departed servant(s) (name) in the dwelling place of the saints, give rest to him (her, them) in the bosom of Abraham, and number him (her, them) among the righteous, and also have mercy on us and save us, as He is good and benevolent.

Eternal be your memory, brother worthy of blessedness and everlasting memory. (3)

PEOPLE

Eternal be his memory. Eternal be his memory. Eternal be his memory. [GOA]

CHOIR

Mode 2. Joseph took You down.

Brethren, let us give a final kiss * of farewell to him/her who is dead now, and offer thanks to God. * For he/she has departed from his/her friends and family. * He/she is ready for burial, no longer concerned with * anything of vanity or of the weary flesh. * Where now are the friends and the family? * Therefore let us pray to the Lord God, * that He will give rest to him/her who parts from us. [SD]

Brethren, separation is so hard. * Such a lamentation, such grieving, at this grave turn of events. * Come to kiss him/her who was with us just a short time ago. * He/she is taken for burial, and lies six feet under, * dwelling in the darkness now, buried alongside the dead. * Come, now, all his/ her friends and his/her family. * Fervently we pray to the Lord God, * that He will give rest to him/her who parts from us. [SD]

Glory. Both now. Theotokion.

Save those who have placed their hope in you, * Mother of the Sun never-setting, and Theotokos all-pure. * We entreat you pray to God the most benevolent, * that He grant everlasting rest, * by your intercessions, * to the one departed, where the souls of righteous repose. * Grant that he/she inherit the good things * that our God prepared, in the dwellings * of the righteous, for eternal memory. [SD]

PRIEST

You shall sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be cleansed; You shall wash me, and I will be made whiter than snow. [SAAS]

The earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness, the world and all who dwell therein. Earth you are, and to earth you shall return.

( Amen. )

Through the prayers of our holy fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us.

( Amen. )