The attitude of the Orthodox Church towards the cremation of the dead.

The cremation of the dead, which was adopted in a number of eastern religious traditions, contradicts the established Christian practice (and especially the tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church) of burying their dead in the ground. Based on the evidence of the Orthodox Church tradition, the Council of Bishops cannot accept the cremation rite as corresponding to the faith of the Church and a proper treatment of the bodies of the deceased Christians. The draft document “On the Christian burial of the dead” declares, therefore, that the Council of Bishops encourages all Orthodox priests to clarify this issue in an appropriate way to their parishioners and all the faithful.

The memory cross on the Russian Orthodox cemetery at Nisku. 

However, the Church believes that God has the power to resurrect the dead from any of the elements: ^“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (Revelation 20:13). Keeping this in mind, the Russian Orthodox Church does not deprive of the prayerful remembrance those Christians, who, for various reasons, did not receive, according to the relevant church tradition, the proper Christian burial. This is especially important for those who lived in the countries, where cremation remains the part of the prevailing customs of the local culture, such as Japan: for the majority of citizens the organizing of a proper Christian burial in the ground is extremely difficult there.

According to the point of view of the professor of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary Doctor of Divinity Alexei Ilyich Osipov, the question of whether the body of the deceased person be buried or cremated is not as important as the question of “whether the homage to the departed person is being paid and the prayer about him or her is being raised or not.” If all of the above listed is being done properly, it does not make big difference, from the point of view of the Orthodox Faith, whether the person was interred or cremated…

The traditional way of burial is significant only in terms of the pious tradition, since it is associated and sanctified by certain Church actions and reflects a deeper perception of the core essence of the human body. The body of every dead Christian is not an empty urn; we honor it as the Temple of the Holy Spirit, for this body was once baptized, anointed, took inward pure Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and was the means through which the Christian soul, that lived in it, was performing good deeds … We inter the body of the deceased Christian to the land and treat it as a precious thing, as if we were depositing it into a safety box to store and preserve it without distortions until the general resurrection … The burial act is, certainly, more correct than cremation, but the question itself does not have the crucial meaning and does not intact in any way the merits of our Orthodox faith.

In connection with this discussion it seems appropriate to quote here one interesting thought from the book of deacon Andrei Kuraev “Occultism in Orthodoxy “. The author refers to the ancient Christian writer Minucius Felix, who in his Apology of Christianity, while answering the question about the burial of the dead, states that: “We [Christians] are not afraid of any damage in any method of burial, but we prefer to stick to the old and the best custom of bringing the body to the earth” (Mark Minucius Felix.The Octavius. Theological works. Collection 22. – M., 1981 – S. 161).

God is free to raise any body from any of the elements; He is able to bring any person back to life. Another thing is that the burial in the ground is much more humanely, much more rich in biblical symbolism, and – what is also very important – much more comforting and edifying for the bereaved relatives of the dead. The Church recommends evade cremation not because it might affect in any way the fate of the deceased, but because the cremation leaves scars in the souls of those who accompany a passed person into his or her last earthly abode.

The most important thing – is the respect towards the deceased. Cremation is, as a matter of fact, possible, but then one has to perform it with reverence and love and after the necessary funeral burial rite; cremation should be performed not for the sake of saving money, or because of the disgust that one might feel toward the dead human body, and, of cause, not because of the fact that we are extremely busy with other things in our life…

The final decision about the burial of the cremated body at the cemetery is made by a priest who will perform the funeral, and the council of the parish that owns the cemetery, because different parishes may have different approaches to this question.