Within the framework of “The Church and the Law” series of interviews Iravaban.net talked about the funeral and burial rituals with the spiritual pastor of the Saint Amenaprkich Church in Ararat, Ter Artsrun priest Mikayelyan.
– In the Christian worldview, a person is liberated when he dies. What is death and from what are we freed??
– When we read the Bible, in the very first chapter, when the history of the creation of the world is presented, the history of the creation of man is also clearly presented there. Death appeared as a phenomenon after human sin. Among other punishments, the man also received death. God said, “For dust you are and to dust you shall return”, after that we see that the biblical characters lived longer, but during the construction of the tower of Babel, we see that God sets 120 years for a person’s life.
– The priest prays during the funeral and burial. What kind of prayer is being performed and why is it being performed?
– All our church ceremonies are based on the Bible. In other words, all our ceremonies are based and justified by the Bible.
When a person dies, the day before the funeral, the relatives call the clergyman home, a memorial service is held, and a burial is held the next day. The burial ceremony consists of three parts. The first part is called the order of the house, which the priest performs at home, the second part is called the order of the church and the third order is called the order of the grave. A prayer is made for the repose of the sleeping soul.
– Is the presence of a clergyman mandatory at the memorial service and funeral?
– First, I must say that all our church ceremonies are performed for all those who are baptized in the Armenian Apostolic Church, if a person is not baptized, no ceremony is performed. The presence of a clergyman is mandatory.
– In one of Ashtishat Councils, obscene crying over the dead was banned. Is there a set order on how to say goodbye to the deceased?
– Since we are Christians and believe in the existence of eternal life, we also believe that when our relative dies, we are temporarily separated from him. The mourner should show restraint and say goodbye to his relative with the hope of meeting again.
– Why are women forbidden to attend a relative’s funeral and can visit the relative’s grave only the next day?
– Women are not prohibited until they reach the resting stone. How does it usually happen? The order of the house is performed, after that, if they are taken to the church, the order is performed in the church. Old cemeteries have resting stones. The deceased is placed there and the women said goodbye to the deceased.
– And when the relatives announce that they will do 7 and 40 in one day, is that acceptable and understandable for the church?
– It is definitely wrong. They are different ceremonies, their advice is also different, but sometimes people do them. One of the reasons is related to mourning, and the other is if a close relative cannot stay that long. Naturally, the priest explains to them that they should not do that.
-According to the latest data, the 556.9 hectares planned for cemeteries in the master plan of Yerevan have been almost completely consumed. The Armenian Apostolic Church is against cremation, why?
– I said at the beginning of my speech that the divine commandment is like this: you were dust, you will return to the dust, that is, a person must be returned to the dust, cremation is definitely not acceptable for us, because in this way the divine commandment is violated, and in the case of cremation, a person becomes ashes.
– What is justice?
– Fulfillment of God’s will on earth.
– What is morality?
– Living according to the rules established by the Holy Book.
– What is faith?
– Faith is trust in God.
– To what extent are justice, morality and faith interrelated?
– I can say that one does not exist without the other.
Details in the video.
Hasmik Sargsyan
