Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Christian Funeral Rites And Their Significance

By Pluto Brown

For devout Christians, a funeral service signifies the start of the soul's journey to the eternal life after death. Funeral services and ceremonies are uplifting, because of the strong belief that the deceased has at last found a permanent home in God's place.

Christianity considers death as an entry into new life, wherein people are freed from the world of suffering to the world of everlasting bliss. The intensity of pain caused by the death of a near and dear one is alleviated by the very thought that the dead person is enjoying the bliss of being in the Lord's home with the Lord Himself. The Christian funeral ceremony is organized accordingly and with the same spirit.

Usually, a Christian funeral service is organized by the pastor. The funeral service usually is conducted at the church which the deceased visited regularly. Though the service does not have a casket usually, but when it is being conducted in a funeral home, casket is normally present. Public viewing of the deceased's body is generally not found in a conventional Christian funeral ceremony.

The funeral service is almost like a memorial, in which the programmes start with chanting of hymns, a vocalist, and readings from the Holy Scriptures. Then the priest gives a message and the attendees follow with a mass prayer.

Then the attendees share the grief of family members as well as close friends and talk about their personal feelings as to how the deceased has influenced them and left an everlasting impression in their minds. Some people also opt for doing a visual display of pictures of the deceased or play a video recording from the life of the departed.

The conclusion of the service is the serving of refreshments at a fellowship reception conducted mostly inside the church itself. People do not go for a graveside service generally, but there are some exceptional cases.

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