The Greek or Eastern Orthodox Christians of Russia have
intermingled their religious teachings with their ethnic traditions in a
fashion called Dual Faith, and both religion and traditions play a part in the
death rituals of a member of the Church. When they die, the departed are
clothed in white garments left unfinished “because [they] belong not in this
world but the ‘other world’” (The Funerary Source). Interestingly enough,
before the bodies are confined to their coffins, they are laid out in their
houses for three days. They are placed near their icon corners, where
worshipers place their images and statuettes of saints and their Lord.
One of the reasons that the bodies are left out is the belief that the dead can still feel things when they are newly deceased. Letting the bodies a period of freedom allows the person’s spirit to settle into being dead. When they are finally ready to be put in their coffins, the caskets are made comfortable for the loved one with a bed of soft woodchips and funerary items, things that the dead would need for the afterlife such as food and clothing. When it comes time for the coffin to be buried, the Orthodox reverends perform what is called a ‘seeing off’ ceremony. Friends and family of the dead person take turns singing laments and pouring handfuls of dirt out onto the casket.
One of the reasons that the bodies are left out is the belief that the dead can still feel things when they are newly deceased. Letting the bodies a period of freedom allows the person’s spirit to settle into being dead. When they are finally ready to be put in their coffins, the caskets are made comfortable for the loved one with a bed of soft woodchips and funerary items, things that the dead would need for the afterlife such as food and clothing. When it comes time for the coffin to be buried, the Orthodox reverends perform what is called a ‘seeing off’ ceremony. Friends and family of the dead person take turns singing laments and pouring handfuls of dirt out onto the casket.
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