Funeral Rituals In The Christian Community
Written on December 17, 2009 – 8:26 am | by Micheal Chen
A funeral can either be a State or a family ceremony, and it is conducted in the remembrance of the deceased person. It entails a series of rites and rituals that change according to the deceased’s culture and belief system.
Most Christian funerals have rituals that can be categorized into three categories of events – visitation, funeral and in the end, the burial. The first two ceremonies, which are the most essential ones as far as rites and rituals are concerned, are discussed here.
Visitation is the ceremony that comes first, when the deceased’s body is placed in a coffin for the friends and relatives to see. The body is often adorned with the finest garments and jewellery belonging to the dead person. Some communities follow the ritual of embalming the body, though not all communities are bound to do it.
Some families like to display memories from the life of the deceased at visitation in the form of photographs and personal articles that were prized possessions of the dead person. Some people also play a video or run a slideshow in memory of the deceased.
This part is then followed by the funeral ceremony, which is essentially a memorial service that is generally conducted at the church. The coffin containing the dead body is put in a vehicle and brought to the church with a funeral cortege of mourners, who follow the carriage. The casket with its floral decoration is then placed in the church.
Funeral services generally include chants and recitals from the Holy Scriptures and the Bible. Devotional songs are also sung in chorus by the attendees. The pastor presiding over the ceremony delivers a comforting speech, followed by eulogies or tributes given by relatives and close friends of the departed, who speak of the latter’s good qualities and achievements. Though this is not a mandatory custom, but in some communities, people are allowed a final glimpse of the body before leaving the church for final burial. Church bells are also sometimes rung after the service.
The completion of second part, which is the funeral, marks the commencement of the burial, which is the final stage of the proceedings, and the body is taken through a funeral cortege.
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