The morning news., 1894-11-23
RUSSIAN FUNERALS.
The Curious Ceremonies Observed and
Their Religious Significance.


kept them informed during the last
month, and of which much more will be
heard for the next few weeks. Such cere-
monies are apt to seem meaningless or
superstitious to those who do not under
stand them; but when explained, they
often prove the existence of a bond of
sympathy. because the religious beliefs
which form their foundation can be ap-
preciated by the hearts or the magma
t1ons if not by the minds, of those who
do not believe in them as we'll as of
those who do.
The dying emperor received extreme
JUNCTION, as the ritual prescribes in the
Russian church. When this sacrament is
administered, a vessel filed with dry
grain is placed on a table in sight of the
sick person. The grain is symbol of
the withered, dried-up invalid; the dry
grain is capable of life, Just as the sick
person, possibly, may recover his health.
During the service, appropriate selections
from the Gospels and Epistles are read
several times and the sick person is an
otnted seven times, on the brow, cheeks,
nostrils mouth, breast, and hands. with
oil mingled with red wine. in memory OF
the manner in which the Good Samaritan
poured OH and wine on the wounds of the
man VINO teH among thieves. Al the
end OF the ceremony, the sick person begs
the forgiveness of all present for his Of
lenses against them-as is done, also, by
all deVout Russians at the beginning of
Lent, in preparation for Easter.
This made the third anOintment re
CelNeu pN Alexander Ill. Ills 0rSI was at
his baptism, when like any other child,
he was dnointed Immediately after the
triple immersion in the font. and then 1t
was the equivalent of confirmation in the
Roman Catholic or Anglican churches.
In that case. the eyes are anOinted instead
of the cheeks, and the feet are also an
ointed, in addition to the places men %
toned above, the priest pronOuncing the
words: The seal of the gift of the Holy
Spirit" After this anonument n baby
is brought often to the Holy Communion
(which iG a n hOth kinds with
a spoon, to members of all agesD Tor
health. But 8 child does not go to confes-
sion or tast before the sacrament until ne
is seven years of age, when mis- soul Is
grown, as the expression runs. AleEan-
! der III. 5 second anOintment was at his
coronation. Some Russians enormously
| believe that if they receive extreme unc-
ton ld afterwards recover, they can
never again eat meat or marry; there
fore young people often shrink from It
even when they are very i'll. The church
exhorts them not to be afraid, as they in
/ cur no such obligations.
When a Russian christian dies, he is
dressed in the COSTUME of his calling as
the late emperor has been dressed in the
uniform of the PreObrazhensky regiment
of infantry that 'IranShguraton regi-
ment formed by Peter the Great, and so
favored by him. The costume of man
/ profession is chosen to clothe his corpse,
/ because every man is held to direct ac-
count for his plain duties in this present
/ life. and his calling therein. a white
/ wnding-sheet or a white garment Is
sometimes used especially for children,
to signify that the dead person departs
/ pare or with purified penitent heart
! On the brow of the dead person. as he lies
! in his coffin is placed thin, narrow strip
: Of silk or cotton, stamped with represen-
/ tations Of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and
. John the Baptist. This halo or glory
/ is symbol of victory over passions and
/ other spiritual enemies. A cross or
| holy picture is laid on the breast, and
/ printed prayer Called by scOffers the
/ passport') is placed in the hands of the
For three days after death the body
( lies in its coffin, I'm the house, and panik-
/ hidt are said twice a day; generally at two
and at s o. IN. The name or these ser
! vices signifies an all-night religious ser
/ vice, and is a reminisCence of the funeral
rites held over departed christians IN the
! catacombs during the second and third
/ centuries. which included the Holy Com
munion. There the early believers re
/ counted, by the side of his coffin, the
/ good deeds OF the dead martyr or chris
/ tian. and thus did the modern funeral ser
mon have its origin. Another reminis-
/ cence of the Catacombs is found in the
/ lighted candles which are held by all
/ who are present at the panikhtdt. They
/ also symbolic the light Of faith, which
/ Illuminated the christian deeds of the
/ C1d person and the Joyful confidence OF
/ the worshippers in the bright future Of
/ the departed. From the moment OF death
/ until the burial service on the third day
the Psalter is read constantly over the
] corpse. The belief is that the soul hoVers
about its body during those three days
/ in and aroupd the house where it has
I dWelt grieving over its separation from
| the body, and its sins. When it hears the
sad and comforting Psalms, its pain Is
I alleviated, and the angel IN charge or II
! comforts 1t with the hope of God mercy.
At the funeral service on the third day,
/ the soul follows the body to the church,
and remains in great fear and doubt as to
/ what rs to become of II when its BODY is
/ hidden in the earth. Those present pray
/ for themselves, as well as for the dead
man, and say: Give rest win my
ha FarTl fNf O
| want" When the prayer of absolution has
been read. the Lord commands the angel
TO bring the soul TO heaven to do homage
/ to the Creator of all things. Then the
/ angel is commanded to show the soul
| all the various pleasant abodes or the
/ lust and the fairness of Paradise Tor six
I days Naturally this makes n sinful soul
"gnash its teeth and reproach itsef;
/ on the ninth day the soul Is brought 10 do
/ homage again to GOD; ana the relatlVes
Z and friends of the departed nave Cnufch
/ service on this day to pray for his soul
/ as il is being escorted through hell Tor
/ thirty days. on the twentieth day, Wnen
/ the soul is half way through its prellmi-
! nary wanderings. another service is
| often held. on the fortieth day after
/ death the friends again assemble and
pray for the soul, which IS now being
''presented'' to God for the third and
last time On this fortieth day God as,
signs to the soul an abiding place untll
( are held on the half yearly or annual an
. niversaries of the death, at the request
Z of the friends and relatives, ana serve
/ IN keen green the memory OF the departed.
I At the funeral the body is accompanied
/ on foot by male relatives and friends, and
7 Nv torches" which have the same sig
| nifcance as the candles, and the road is
/ thickly strewn with fragrant twigs of
THE evergreen fir tree which is a sym
/ boI of hope i'm eternal life for the de-
| parted In Russian cities these torches
/ resemble street lanterns plucked uD by
/ The roots-as If the dead man had de-
| nrived the town of light-borne by hired
I mourners clad in black and silver.
I At requiem masses the body OF the de-
I parted is represented by a dish Of rice and
I Tatsne placed on a reading desk upon the
ioor Of the church in front Of and some
distance from the ikonostas, or rood
. screen. behind which stands the altar.
/ The candles are placed, the incense watt
/ eli the professions performed In relation
| 40 this symbol. as in relation to the body
| al Inc funeral The rice Is a symbol OF
/ the resurrection; grain must fall into
| the earth and die before IL can bring forth
| life The raisins are symbolical, In the
/ same way Of Christ, the first fruits OF
them that sleep in the Lord. Any other
. grain and fruit would serve the purpose
I equally well but rice and ratsins are gem
Thsse explanations will be OF special
. Interest 10 those people who were 80 for
/ tuuate az 10 attend the solemn requiem
/ mass which Gen. A. T. Olarovsky. the
I ..ongu1 renaral Of Russia IN America