Here's what we know. The cross over the grave of a Christian is a silent preacher of blessed immortality and the coming resurrection. The deceased is usually lowered into the grave facing the east, with the same thought with which it is customary to pray to the east - in anticipation of the onset of the Morning of eternity, or the Second Coming of Christ, and as a sign that the deceased goes from the west (sunset) of life to the East of eternity. As a reminder that the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven was opened by the sufferings of the Savior on the Cross, an eight-pointed cross is placed over the grave mound - a symbol of our salvation. The deceased Christian believed in the Crucified on the Cross, wore the cross during his earthly life and now rests under the shadow of the cross. It is placed at the feet of the deceased. Crucifixion to the face of the deceased - so that at the general resurrection of the dead, rising from the tomb, he could look at the sign of Christ's victory over the Devil. Here is another possible answer.
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Why is the cross placed at the feet and buried in the east?
However, there is another tradition - to put a cross at the head of the deceased. According to that tradition, a person in the future resurrection carries a cross installed at the head as a banner, as a symbol of victory over Satan. But, it is worth noting that this tradition has not quite taken root among the Russian people. The deceased is buried according to the Orthodox custom with his head to the West and, accordingly, his face to the East, so that he can see the sunrise. The sun is born in the East but dies in the West. The position of the deceased expresses silent prayer and the desire to follow from darkness to light, from West to East, from this earthly world to eternity. Before the end of the world, Christ will come from the East, where, according to the Bible, Paradise is located. And when he comes, the dead must see his face, and Christ must see the faces of the dead. The cross of Christ is placed at the feet of the deceased. Orthodox churches are also built in such a way that believers face the East during prayer. Since ancient times, there has been a custom to put on the graves of Orthodox Christians not monuments, but crosses.
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from what the Magi think about the dead, cemeteries and crosses
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It turns out they have our ancient book of the dead. Here is what they write there. Among the Russians, the crosses with a gable covering and with the Holy (an icon - in the era of dual faith) installed on the graves were called "chapel". In the Russian North, in addition to the usual cross, you can see an oblong quadrangular structure (“stuffed cabbage”), open at the top or covered with a flat roof, on which a cross is placed. They also make a kind of “garden” on the grave: they plant flowers, fruit trees - in commemoration of the ascent of the soul of the deceased to the Heavenly Iriy-Garden. Grave earth is one of the strong witchcraft means, it was used in sending evil spells (less often - in healing hair) by sorcerers and witches. Cemetery
- the place of burial of the dead, where, according to legend, the souls of the dead and the spirits of the Navia reside; sacred place where funeral rites. As part of the mythologized space, the cemetery is opposed to the village, that is, the world of living people. The first deceased buried in the new cemetery is considered the founder of the entire cemetery community of ancestors. strictly enforced general rules behavior in the cemetery. At Eastern Slavs when meeting at the cemetery, you can’t say “good afternoon”, “goodbye” (they say: “goodbye”), so that you don’t meet in the cemetery in the future. It is forbidden to sing songs near the cemetery; newlyweds should walk past the cemetery during the wedding, returning from the christening to the godmother with a child. For all Slavs, the desecration of a cemetery, the graves of ancestors is considered a serious crime. Old cemeteries must not be plowed up, just as they must not be moved and tombstones otherwise the family will die out; take something out of the cemetery (for example, clothes left on grave crosses). Volkhov actions and rituals are carried out at the cemetery in order to cure illness or infertility, expel evil spirits from the village, as well as to acquire miraculous knowledge or damage to a person. Special meaning in these actions it is attributed to earth, sand, plants from the cemetery, found bones and other objects. Expelling the disease, in Polissya they boil sand from the cemetery in water and bathe sick children, after which it is returned to the place where it was taken from. A patient with a fever is sent to spend the night in a cemetery. The grave earth as one of the strong witchcraft tools was used for witchcraft purposes by witches: for example, in Polissya, cemetery earth, sand is thrown on the path of the newlyweds in order to spoil the life of the young or cause their death.
Unfortunately, every person at least once in his life faced the loss of people close to him. Death is inevitable. Paying the last tribute to the deceased, we show respect for him and blessed memory about him. From time immemorial, it has been customary to erect monuments on graves, such is the tradition that is associated with religious canons. However, at the same time, the question often arises, after what time a monument is erected to the deceased and how to do it correctly. Today we will shed light on this topic and you will learn and know the correct answers to other questions that interest you.
We observe traditions
The desire to erect a monument on the grave of the deceased is associated with the observance religious traditions, and this is quite correct. After all, we wish peace to those close to us who have left us. world of the dead. For example, in Orthodoxy it is prescribed to set up a cross on the day of the funeral. However, things are a little more complicated with monuments, because there are no religious prescriptions in this regard, and we want to carry the memory of the deceased through time so that generations remember him.
However, there are some unwritten instructions that apply to absolutely all religious people:
- keep the place of burial in order and cleanliness;
- periodically visit the grave of a loved one;
- bring fresh flowers to the grave.
Many are of the opinion that a memorial plate should be installed no earlier than forty days after the burial of the deceased. It is after this time that his soul goes to eternal rest. After this date, the cross can be removed and a memorial monument erected in its place.
There is a belief on this score that explains why the cross cannot be removed before the expiration of forty days. The soul, in order for it to rise from the grave and ascend to heaven, must grasp the cross that stands at its feet, only in this way can it leave it and find peace in heaven.
Additional features of the installation of a tombstone
It is also worth looking at the other side of the coin. If we leave the religious point of view, and move on to the practical, then the installation of the monument should be done no earlier than a year after the funeral. It is a year later that the soil is finally rammed.
Entrust the installation of a memorial tombstone only to experienced professionals who know their job. They take everything into account important nuances terrain, soil type and other factors. This choice guarantees the longevity of the commemorative tombstone. Well now you know How long does it take for a memorial to be erected to the deceased?, and we, in turn, condole with you if you were touched by the grief of loss.
But even among the ministers of the Orthodox Church there are disagreements on this issue. For example, in the book “All are alive with God” it says: “The cross, a symbol of salvation, rises above the grave of every Christian (it is placed at the feet).”
Father Athanasius (Gumerov) says: “According to the Orthodox custom, the deceased is buried with his head to the West and, accordingly, his face to the East, so that he can see the sunrise. The sun is born in the East but dies in the West. The position of the deceased expresses silent prayer and the desire to follow from darkness to light, from West to East, from this earthly
peace into eternity. Before the end of the world, Christ will come from the East, where, according to the Bible, Paradise is located. And when he comes, the dead must see his face, and Christ must see the faces of the dead. The cross of Christ is placed at the feet of the deceased. Orthodox churches are also built in such a way that believers face the East during prayer.
Hieroschemamonk Amphilochius (Nikolai Fedorovich Trubchaninov) writes in his book “The Power of the Cross of Christ”: “And then it became such a time that they began to put a cross at the feet of the deceased. So he said: “I am ready to accept any, the most cruel torment, but only so that the words do not come out of my mouth: put a cross at my feet. And God forbid that they put a cross at my feet, I will come from there and show then where the cross is placed.
Father Oleg Molenko answers the question of a believing woman about the installation of the cross as follows: “On the day of the glorious general resurrection of the dead ... the bodies of all dead people will be resurrected by God's power and rise from their graves. Who, according to pious custom, had a cross at his feet, those, having risen,
the first thing they will see is this beloved symbol of their salvation. For those who, due to ignorance or other reasons, the cross was placed at the head of the head ... they can only hit their heads on the base of the cross.
So it's up to you to decide which tradition to follow and where to put a cross on the grave.
Last Tuesday, May 14, Orthodox believers celebrated Radunitsa, the day of commemoration of the dead. On that day, people visited relatives and friends at cemeteries, prayed, priests consecrated the graves. One of our readers, visiting the cemetery in the village of Zadubye, noticed that on some graves the monument is not at the head, but at the feet. This innovation was also noticed by a native of the village of Zadubye Anatoly Sidorevich, who reported this to the MS and independently tried to find the answer to the question: where, according to Orthodox canons, should a tomb cross and a monument be placed? Relatives of the deceased, who erected a monument to the deceased at the feet at the Zadubensky cemetery, did not have much difficulty. The correspondent of "MC" asked the relatives of the deceased, what is the reason for this deviation from local traditions.
Valentina Sidorevich explained that she was a believer. Often happens in Zhirovichi, read a lot of religious literature, listened to various preachers and came to the conclusion that the monument should be at the feet. She explained this by saying that the cross should be in front of the deceased, and not behind him.
According to her, so does their local priest. Vyacheslav Tsevan, who used to convince people that it was more reasonable to put a cross at their feet, but no one listened to him. And until that time, tombstone crosses of the established tradition were placed at the head of all the deceased at the Zadubensky cemetery. Throughout the week, it was not possible to talk with the priest of the Malkovichi parish, Father Vyacheslav. In search of an answer, the author of the article turned to Petr Sychevich, rector of the Church of the Transfiguration of the Savior in the village of Budcha and St. George's Church in the village of Chudin, where the tradition of placing tombstones at the feet developed earlier.
Father Peter said that there was no specific charter on where the monument should be placed. “When a person is buried, they lower their head to the west into the grave of the deceased. At the cemetery, the priest prays, turning towards the sunrise, since it is from there that God will come. They don’t turn their faces away from the cross, that’s why the monument should be placed at the feet. ”. This is exactly what the inhabitants of the villages of Chudin and Budcha are doing now.
The reply, signed by Archpriest of the Minsk Diocesan Administration Nikolai Korzhych, says: “This or that practice of establishing a cross during burial depends on local traditions and is not at all heretical. And the tradition in different places may have different kind. Chadam Orthodox Church it is worth adhering to the tradition adopted in the region in which they live. In general, there are several interpretations of the symbolism of the installation of the cross. Thus, the cross set at the feet implies that in the future resurrection, a person, rising from the grave, looks at him and turns to His Creator. And the cross, installed at the head, marks the banner that a person will carry after the resurrection as a symbol of victory over Satan..
Thus, we come to the conclusion that everyone can act according to their convictions. But still, it is better not to violate the traditions of our ancestors.
According to Russian Orthodox tradition the cross on the grave is placed at the feet of the deceased. This expresses a very definite symbolism: the deceased prays, looking at the cross. That is, the cross is placed at the feet of the deceased, with the Crucifixion to the face of the deceased - so that at the general resurrection of the dead, rising from the tomb, he could look at the sign of Christ's victory over the devil
However, there is another tradition - to put a cross at the head of the deceased. According to that tradition, a person in the future resurrection carries a cross installed at the head as a banner, as a symbol of victory over Satan. But, it is worth noting that this tradition has not quite taken root among the Russian people.
The deceased is buried according to the Orthodox custom with his head to the West and, accordingly, his face to the East, so that he can see the sunrise. The sun is born in the East but dies in the West. The position of the deceased expresses silent prayer and the desire to follow from darkness to light, from West to East, from this earthly world to eternity. Before the end of the world, Christ will come from the East, where, according to the Bible, Paradise is located. And when he comes, the dead must see his face, and Christ must see the faces of the dead. The cross of Christ is placed at the feet of the deceased. Orthodox churches are also built in such a way that believers face the East during prayer.
Since ancient times, there has been a custom to put on the graves of Orthodox Christians not monuments, but crosses.
O. Athanasius (Gumerov)
