St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1895-01-12
THE FUNERALS OF RUSSIA.
Curious Ceremonies of Religious Signih-
canoe Always Observed.

cance Always Observed.
When Russian Christian dies, he Is
dressed i'm the costume of his calling,
as the late emperor has been dressed
In the regiment of the Preobrazhensky
regiment of infantry. that 'sTransfig-
urationr regiment formed by Peter the
Great, and so favored by him. The cos
TUNE of mans profession is chosen to
elothe hts corpse, because every man is
held to direct account for his plain
duties In this present life, and his cali
Ing therein. A white winding-sheet or
white garment two is sometimes
used, especially for children, to signify
that the dead person departs pure or
with purified, penitent heart. On the
brow of the dead person, as he lies I'm
his coffin, is placed q thin, narrow strip
of silk or cotton, stamped with repre-
sentations of Christ, the Virgin Mary,
and John the Baptist. This halo or
glory is a symbol Of victory over pas
sions and other spiritual enemies. a
cross or q holy picture is laid on the
breast, and q printed prayer (called by
scoffers the passport''l is placed in the
hands of the corpse.
For three days after death the body
lies in it's coffin, in the house, and pa
nikhidi are said twice day; generally
at and at p m. The name of these
services signifies an afl-night religious
service, and is "reminiscences OF the
funeral rites held over departed Chris
tians in the catacombs during the sec
ond and third centuries, which i'm
| cluded the holy communion. There the
early believers recounted, by the side
his coffin, the good deeds of the dead
martyr or Christian, and thus did the
modern funeral sermon have its origin.
Another "Reminiscences of the cata-
combs Is found in the lighted candles
which are held by ali who are present
at the panikhidi. They also symbolize
the light Of faith, which Illuminated
the Christian deeds of the dead person
and the joyful confidence of the wor-
| shippers in the bright future of the de-
parted. 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 It's body during those
three days, In and around the house.
i where it has dwelt. grieving over it's
separation from the body and it's sins.
When 1t hears the sad and comforting
Psalms, its pain is alleviated, and the
angel in charge Of II comforts IL with
the hope of Gods mercy.
At the funeral service, on the third
day, the soul follows the body to
church, and remains in great fear and
| doubt as to what is to become of it
when its body is hidden in the earth.
Those presant pray for themselves, as
we'll as for the dead man, and say:
.Giye rest with Thy saints, O Christ,
to the soul Of Thy servant. 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 of the just, and
/ the fairness Of Paradise for six days.
Naturally this makes sinful soul
sgnash it's teeth and reproach itself. I
i On the ninth day the soul is brought ia
do homage again to God; and the rela-
i tives and friends of the departed have
a church service on this day to pray for
his soul as it is being escorted through
hell for thirty days. On the twentieth
i day, when the soul is half way through
its preliminary wanderings, another
service is often held. On the fortieth
day after death, the friends again as
semble and pray for the soul, which is
now being presented" to God for the
third and last time. On this fortieth
day God assigns to the soul an abiding
place until the day of Judgment. There
after services are held on the half year
" or annual anniversaries of the death,
at the request of the friends Of the rela-
tives, and serve to keep green the
memory of the departed.
At the funeral he body is accom-
panied on foot by male relatives land
| friends, and by torches, which have
the same significance as the candles,
and the road is thiclxly strewn with
fragrant twigs of the evergreen fir
tree, !" which is q symbol Of hope in an
eternal life for the departed. In Rus
sian cities these torches" resemble
| street lamps pluelxed up by the roots
rs If the dead man had deprived the
town of light-borne by hired mourn
ers clad in black and silver,
At requiem masses the body of the
departed is represented by a dish ot
rice and raisins placed on a reading
desk upon the floor 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 waited, the process
sions performed in relation to this sym
boil, as in relation to the body at the
funeral The rice is a symbol of the
resurrection; grain must fall into
the earth and die before it 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 equally well, but rice and
raisins are generally used.
These explanations will be of special
interest to those people who were SC
fortunate as to attend the solemn re
QUEEN mass which Gen. A. 3. Olarov
sky, the consul general of Russia ir
America, caused to be said for the re
pose Of the soul OF the late Alexander
iii, The service was one-third In
Greek and two-thirds In Russian; the
Greek priest and reader being intelli
gible to the members OF the Greel
8 colony who were present, and the ole
Slavonic of the Russian ritual appeal
ing to the hearts of the Russians.
- Td r E<xe.4 aF