12. Is it possible to pray for the unbaptized? Question: Is it possible to pray for unbaptized relatives and friends - living or dead - and how? After all, this often happens in families: your father is not baptized, he doesn’t want to be baptized, but he really good man. How to pray for him: in church, at home? Can i

3. Is it possible to submit health certificates for unbaptized people? Question: Is it possible to submit health certificates for unbaptized people? For many years I included in health notes the names of people close to me who were not baptized. But recently in the temple a woman selling candles resolutely refused to take

3. Can a person acting as a healer on behalf of the Orthodox Church be trusted? Question: Can you trust a person acting as a healer on behalf of the Orthodox Church? Answers priest Konstantin Parkhomenko: To do this, such a person must present a document

1. Can you briefly tell us about the history of the Russian Church? Question: Can you briefly tell us about the history of the Russian Church? Literally the main stages. Answers priest Konstantin Parkhomenko: If the history of the Christian Church goes back almost two millennia, then the history

Is it possible to submit health certificates for unbaptized people? viceroy Sretensky Monastery Archimandrite Tikhon (Shevkunov) Dear Galina, The woman in the church shop told you absolutely right. Notes for proskomedia can only be submitted with the names of baptized people. For loved ones

Is it possible to sit in church? “If you have weak strength and fatigue, you can sit in church. My son! give your heart to me (Prov. 23, 26). “It is better to think about God while sitting than about your legs while standing,” said St. Philaret

301. Blessing for work for the benefit of the church of the addressee and her husband. Approximate compliance prayer rule. How to treat guests. Should we remember the strangled man? Advice to my son. Information about health. About the akathist to St. Ignatius the God-Bearer The mercy of God be with you! Received

356. To the woman Mary. Is it possible to have a name Mother of God. A Lutheran woman should not be commemorated in church. About the rule for bowing The grace of God be with you! This is the first time I hear about what you write. There is no prohibition in the church to bear the name of the Mother of God. And the troubles come from what someone celebrates

1268. Consolation about the death of a young daughter. When you can sit in church, God's mercy be with you! Welcome, come naturally. May the Lord grant you Holy Communion. Tain. It will be to the rescue. Lord send you every consolation! That the Lord took your daughter early is, in truth, the mercy of God.

Not a single priest wanted to perform his funeral service - What, a suicide, and not yet baptized? And this one, whom Anna heard about, thought and thought and agreed. Nothing, he says he’s not baptized. We will baptize him in absentia and, at the same time, sing him to death.
Olesya Nikolaeva. "Mene, tekel, fares"

Archpriest Konstantin Bufeev

About non-statutory service to the martyr Uar

In a report at the diocesan meeting of Moscow in 2003, His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II noted: “In Lately The veneration of the holy martyr Huar is becoming increasingly widespread. Chapels are built in his honor and icons are painted. From his life it follows that he had special grace from God to pray for unbaptized dead people. During the times of militant atheism in our country, many people grew up and died unbaptized, and their believing relatives want to pray for their repose. Such private prayer was never prohibited. But in church prayer, during divine services, we remember only the children of the Church who have joined it through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.

Some abbots, guided by mercantile considerations, perform church commemorations of unbaptized people, accepting a lot of notes and donations for such commemoration and assuring people that such commemoration is tantamount to the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. People with little church have the impression that it is not necessary to accept Holy Baptism or be a member of the Church, you just need to pray to the martyr Uar. Such an attitude towards the veneration of the holy martyr Huar is unacceptable and contradicts our church teaching.”

The Primate of the Russian Church rightly pointed out that important canonical violation, which, unfortunately, has recently become quite common.

However, it is not the life of the holy martyr Huar that provides the basis for those distortions of Orthodox piety that the Patriarch spoke about. No one prays for the pagans, resorting to the help of the prophet Jonah, although the shipmen asked him: Arise and pray to your God, for God will save us, and let us not perish ().

Unfortunately, there is a textual basis for this anti-canonical practice in the latest editions of the liturgical Menaion.

Thus, on October 19, two services are given to the martyr Uar - statutory and non-statutory. The first (which the Typikon points to) is composed quite habitually and traditionally. The holy martyr is glorified together with the prophet Joel. The main motive of the service can be expressed by the troparion of the canon: “ give with your prayers us resolution of sins, lives correction, Ware"(Canto 9, p. 469).

The second service - which the Typikon does not mention at all - begins with a rather unconventional and pretentious name: “ Another service, vigil, was given to the holy martyr Huar, to whom was given the grace to pray for the dead of Cleopatraine’s ancestors, who were not worthy to receive holy Baptism.” .

The following should be noted about this name.

Firstly, this is not just a service in honor of such and such God's saint, as always happens in the Menaion, but it is stated specific goal, as it were, a super task: to glorify Uar precisely as prayer book for the unbaptized "Cleopatrine's ancestors".

For comparison, suppose someone wanted to create a new alternative service “on the feast of the Beheading of the venerable head of John the Baptist, to whom was given the grace to heal from headaches”- on the grounds that, they say, prayer to the Forerunner helps with headaches. Or someone would create a new service “To St. Nicholas, he was given the grace of deliverance to grant the governors unrighteous death to those who had it.” Although the Church sings with such words (Akathist, Ikos 6) Myra miracle worker, this does not give grounds to make this single episode from the life of St. Nicholas decisive in the content and title of the service to the saint. In the same way, the title of the service should not impoverish the abundance of talents of the glorious martyr and wonderworker Uar.

Secondly, it should definitely be said that the title of this second, non-statutory service contains, if not an outright lie, then an unsubstantiated and unfounded statement: there is no evidence that Blessed Cleopatra (comm. on the same day, October 19) has relatives were unbaptized. It is likely that a pious and zealous Christian wife was raised by believing Christian parents. Life of St. Uara gives no reason to suspect Cleopatra's relatives of unbelief and paganism. This should be stated with at least some facts indicating their wickedness.

Let us remember what life says. After the martyrdom of Huar, Cleopatra secretly stole his body and, instead of her deceased husband, took “... the relics of Saint Huar, brought them, like some kind of jewel, from Egypt to Palestine and in her village called Edra, which was located near Tabor, she laid them with her ancestors.” . After some time, Saint War appeared in a dream to Cleopatra and said: “Or do you think that I did not feel anything when you took my body from the pile of cattle corpses and laid me in your room? Don’t I always listen to your prayers and pray to God for you? And first of all, I prayed to God for your relatives, with whom you laid me in the tomb, so that their sins would be forgiven."

Thirdly, even if we assume that among Cleopatrine’s relatives there were people who were not baptized and did not believe in Christ, by the Providence of God they ended up in a crypt, consecrated by the grace emanating from the relics of Saint Uar: "The earth on it is the most patient your body, wiser, lies, sanctified divinely"(Canon, Song of the 9th statutory service, p. 469). God is omnipotent even to resurrect the dead from touching the relics of His saints, as was the case with the holy prophet Elisha: I cast down my husband in the tomb of Elisse, and the man's body fell dead, and I touched the bone of Elisse, and he came to life, and stood up on his feet. ().

True, it has not yet occurred to anyone to create a new service “To the prophet Elisha, to whom was given the grace to raise the dead to their feet”.

Let us also note that even if there were unbaptized relatives in the family crypt, neither Cleopatra herself prayed to Christ for their salvation, nor did she ask the holy martyr Huar for prayers about this. The martyr carried out his intercession before the Lord, standing before the throne of the Almighty, and not at all consulting with those living on the sinful earth.

Let us consider the content of the liturgical text hazing services to the martyr Uar according to Menaea.

The verses on “Lord, I cried” of Little Vespers assert about Saint Uar that “Through his prayers the dead forgive pagans Lord Christ" . « Unvernia the dead are delivered and freed from the places of hell through the prayers of Uara the Martyr.” .

From this more than dubious thesis it follows next first timid request: “Accept our pity, martyr, and remember in the darkness and the shadow of death those condemned who are sitting on our behalf, and pray to the Lord God to fulfill our petitions for them.” .

At Great Vespers in the stichera on “Lord, I have cried,” this theme is developed with great boldness: “Entreat Christ God to show all kindness to our relatives, not having achieved faith and Baptism, have mercy on them and save our souls" .

At the end of the stichera there is a “slavnik” of more than half a page, which contains such "real screams": “Remember... Orthodox faith and Baptism of the saint who have not achieved, but in bewilderment, as in contradictions, deceived and fallen in every way, hear, great martyr, these cries, and beg to give forgiveness, and remission, and deliverance from the sorrowful to those who have been oppressed.” .

The theme of begging for unbelievers and the unbaptized is intensified in the stichera “at litia.”

“...Remember our relatives... even alienated by heterodoxy deceased, unfaithful and unbaptized, and pray to Christ God to grant this forgiveness and remission." .

« A plea for the non-Orthodox, who have died for many years... and now pray diligently, martyr, to deliver from the gates of hell and to free the imperishable ones from sorrow, like... having not accepted the saving generation and alienated the Orthodox faith, hasten therefore to ask from Christ God forgiveness and remission, and great mercy.” .

In the “slavnik” the stichera “on the poem” again states about Cleopatra that “This is finding its unfaithful relatives, through the prayers of the glorious martyr, were delivered from the sorrow of eternal torment.” This gives the compiler of the canon the basis for the prayer appeal: “In the same way, our parents and their neighbors, pityingly, care even more faith and baptism of the saint alienated... ask Christ the God for their change, and merciful deliverance from endless darkness.” .

The stichera for Psalm 50 contains the petition: “...deliver our unfaithful relatives and ancestors and all for whom we pray, out of fierce and bitter languor.” .

In the canon of the service, the theme of prayerful intercession to the martyr Huar for the unbaptized is strengthened by an appeal never found in other known church texts with the same petition to the Mother of God Herself to beseech all, without exception, the unbaptized and heterodox dead.

“Deliver Your warm prayers from fierce torment unfaithful ours and unbaptized relatives... and grant them deliverance and great mercy"(Bogorodichen sedalen, p. 479) .

“... Intercede relentlessly for mercy to Your merciful Son and Master, to have mercy and forgive the sin of heterodoxy our deceased relatives"(Canto 9, p. 484).

Not only Holy Mother of God, but the angelic ranks are also moved to pray for the infidels: “Move the face of the holy Heavenly Powers with you to prayer, martyr, and do a wonderful thing... dead wrong ancestor and those remembered with them, grant this from the Lord forgiveness and great mercy."(Canto 3, p. 478.

The canon offers other saints as allies and assistants to the martyr Uar:

“For thou hast listened to Thy holy One, O Lord, to have mercy on unfaithful dead, and even today we bring them to prayer, and for the sake of their petitions, please non-Orthodox deceased» (Canto 8, p. 483). This petition is noteworthy, since it obliges not just the martyr of Uar, but a whole council of holy saints of God to ask for the salvation of the unbaptized: “The Lamb of God, who redeemed us with His Most Pure Blood, Hearing the prayer of Feklino and Blessed Gregory, Methodius with many and Macarius received the petition, and I will give joy and deliver evil having given to the dead, and having raised up Chrysostom to write about these prayers, accept therefore, O Master, with these glorious Uar and prayers their remembered from us, forgive and have mercy"(Canto 8, p. 483).

The Holy Fathers acted in full accordance with the apostolic teaching: What kind of communion between truth and lawlessness, or what kind of communion between light and darkness, what kind of agreement between Christ and Belial, or what part will I return with the infidel, or what kind of laying down of the Church of God from idols? ().

The Metropolitan wrote: “Our prayers can act directly on the souls of the deceased, If only they died in the right faith and with true repentance, i.e. in communion with the Church and with the Lord Jesus: because in this case, despite the apparent distance from us, they continue to belong with us to the same body of Christ.” He quotes from 5 Rule VII Ecumenical Council: « There is a sin leading to death when some, having sinned, remain uncorrected, and... stiff-neckedly rebel against piety and truth... the Lord God is not in such, unless they humble themselves and become sober from their fall into sin." In this regard, Bishop Macarius notes: “Those who died in mortal sins, in unrepentance and outside communion with the Church are not worthy of her prayers, according to this apostolic commandment.”

Decrees of Laodicea Local Council they definitely prohibit prayer for living heretics: “ It is not proper to pray with a heretic or renegade"(Rule 33). " One should not accept holiday gifts sent from Jews or heretics, nor should one celebrate with them."(Rule 37). The same Council of Laodicea prohibits members of the Church from prayerfully commemorating the dead buried in non-Orthodox cemeteries: “ Let the church members not be allowed to go to the cemeteries of all heretics, or to the so-called places of martyrdom, for prayer or for healing. And those who walk, even if they are faithful, will be deprived of church communion for a certain time"(Rule 9). In his interpretation of this Rule, the bishop noted: “This rule of the Laodicean Council prohibits the Orthodox, or, as the text says, “church members,” everyone belonging to the Church, from visiting such heretical places for the sake of prayer and worship, since otherwise he can be suspected of an inclination to one or another heresy and not be considered Orthodox by conviction.”

In light of this, the ancient and widespread tradition of separating Orthodox cemeteries from others - German, Tatar, Jewish, Armenian - becomes clear. After all, the funeral prayer in cemetery churches and chapels is performed, according to the Service Book, about « lying here and everywhere Orthodox» . Behind "here lie the Gentiles" The church doesn't pray.

Likewise, the Church does not pray for suicides. Rule Saint Timothy of Alexandria, given in the Book of Rules, prohibits church commemoration of those persons who “he will raise his hands against himself or throw himself down from on high”: “An offering is not appropriate for such a person, for he is a suicide”(Answer 14). Saint Timothy even warns the presbyter that such cases “I must certainly test it with all care, lest I fall under condemnation.”.

It is noteworthy that while the Holy Fathers prohibit praying for living and dead heretics, they positively resolve the issue of the possibility of church prayer for apostates who, due to weakness and cowardice, could not stand the test during persecution: “either those who suffered in prison and were overcome by hunger and thirst, or outside prison at the judgment seat, tormented by planing and beating and finally overcome by the weakness of the flesh.” "For those- decides saint, - when some by faith ask for offerings of prayers and petitions, it is righteous to agree with him.”(See: Rule Book, Rule 11). This is motivated by the fact that “to show compassion and condolences to those who cry and groan for those who have overcome heroic deeds... is not in the least harmful to anyone”[Ibid].

Church canonical Rules do not allow the possibility of praying for heretics and pagans, but declare to them anathema and thus they are deprived, both during life and after death, of prayerful communion with the Catholic Apostolic Church.

The only case of liturgical intercession for the unbaptized is prayers and litanies for the catechumens. But this exception only confirms the rule, since the catechumens are precisely those people whom the Church does not consider strangers in the faith, since they have expressed a conscious desire to become Orthodox Christians and are preparing for holy Baptism. Moreover, the content of the prayers for the catechumens obviously applies only to the living. There are no prayer rites for deceased catechumens.

He wrote: “There should be no doubt at all that the prayers of St. Churches, saving sacrifices and alms benefit the dead, but only those who lived before death in such a way that after death all this could be useful to them. For for those who have departed without faith promoted by love, and without communication in the sacraments in vain their neighbors perform deeds of that piety, the guarantee of which they did not have in themselves when they were here, not accepting or accepting in vain the grace of God and hoarding for themselves not mercy, but anger. So, they do not acquire new merits for the dead when those they know do something good for them, but only draw consequences from the principles they previously laid down.”

In the Russian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod for the first time allowed in 1797 Orthodox priests, when accompanying the body of a deceased non-Orthodox person in certain cases, to limit themselves only to singing Trisagion. The “Handbook of Priests and Church Ministers” states: “ Prohibited burial of the Gentiles according to the rite of the Orthodox Church; but if a non-religious person of the Christian confession dies and “there is no priest or pastor of either the confession to which the deceased belonged or another, then a priest of the Orthodox confession is obliged to escort the corpse from the place to the cemetery according to the rules specified in the code of church laws,” according to which the priest should the deceased should be escorted from the place to the cemetery in vestments and stole and lowered into the ground while singing the verse: Holy God"(Decree of the Holy Synod of August 24, 1797)".

In this regard, the saint notes: “According to church rules, it would be fair if the Holy Synod did not allow this either. In allowing this, he used condescension and showed respect to the soul that had on itself the seal of baptism in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. There is no right to demand more."

The handbook also explains the following: “ Obligation for an Orthodox priest to bury a non-Christian Christian confession is determined by the absence of a clergyman of other Christian confessions, which an Orthodox priest must be convinced of before he fulfills the request for the burial of a non-Christian (Church Bulletin. 1906, 20).

The Holy Synod, in its resolution of March 10–15, 1847, decided: 1) at the burial of military officials Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed confessions Orthodox clergy may, by invitation, do only that, what is said in the decree of the Holy Synod on August 24. 1797 (accompanied to the cemetery with singing Trisagion. - priest K.B.); 2) Orthodox clergy has no right to perform the funeral service those who died according to the rites of the Orthodox Church; 3) the body of a deceased non-Christian cannot be brought into the Orthodox Church before burial; 4) regimental Orthodox clergy according to such ranks cannot perform house funeral services and include them in church commemoration(Case of the Archives of the Holy Synod of 1847, 2513)".

This standard of piety, which prohibits funeral services for non-Orthodox people, was observed everywhere in all local Orthodox Churches. However, in the middle of the 19th century, this provision was violated.” Patriarch Gregory VI of Constantinople in 1869 established a special rite of burial for the deceased non-Orthodox, which was also adopted by the Hellenic Synod. This rite consists of the Trisagion, the 17th kathisma with the usual refrains, the Apostle, the Gospel and the small dismissal."

In the very adoption of this rite one cannot help but see a deviation from the patristic tradition. This innovation was carried out among the Greeks in parallel with the adoption of a new so-called “Typikon of the Great Church of Constantinople”, published in Athens in 1864, the essence of which was to reform and reduce the statutory worship. The spirit of modernism, shaking the foundations of Orthodoxy, encouraged the creation of similar orders in the Russian Orthodox Church. As the archpriest noted, “just before the revolution, a special brochure was printed in the Petrograd Synodal Printing House Slavic font“Service over the deceased non-Orthodox.” This rite is indicated to be performed instead of a requiem, with the omission of the prokemna, the Apostle and the Gospel."

This very “Service over the deceased non-Orthodox” appeared in our Church as a manifestation of the revolutionary-democratic and renovationist mentality that captivated the minds of other theologians and clergy at the beginning of the 20th century. Its text cannot be justified at all from a church-canonical position. The text of this “Service of Order” in the Trebnik contains a number of absurdities.

So, for example, at the beginning of the “Sequence of Orders” it is said: "For some reason blessed guilt, it is opportune for an Orthodox priest to perform the burial of the body of the deceased non-Orthodox» . We have already shown above that there are no church canons "blessed wines" not allowed here.

After the usual prayerful beginning, the “Service of Order” cites Psalm 87, which contains, in particular, the following words: Food is the story of Thy mercy in the grave, and Thy truth in destruction; Your wonders will be known in darkness, and Your righteousness will be known in the forgotten land(). If we clarify that the Church Slavonic word food means “is it really”, the Psalm will become a reproof for those who read it over the non-Orthodox dead.

Following this is Psalm 118, praising walking in the law of the Lord(). The saint, in his interpretation of this Psalm, cites a patristic judgment: “Not those blessed who stain themselves with sin in the corruption of the age, but those who be blameless in your journey and walk in the law of the Lord.” .

In fairness, it should be noted that in the editions of the Trebnik of the last ten to fifteen years this “Sequence of Orders” is no longer published.

From the point of view of the Orthodox traditional attitude to the issue under consideration, the position of the monk Mitrofan, who published the book “Afterlife” in 1897, should be considered correct. Let's give a few quotes from it.

"Our St. The Church prays for the departed as follows: “Rest, O Lord, the souls of Your servants who have reposed in the faith and hope of the resurrection. May God rest all Orthodox Christians.” This is for whom the Church prays and with whom she is in inextricable union and communion. Hence, there is no union and communion with dead non-Christians and non-Orthodox… For true Christian“except for suicide, no kind of death dissolves the union and communion with the living - with the Church... The saints pray for him, and the living pray for him, as for a living member of a single living body.”

“Let us ask, can everyone in hell be liberated through our prayers? The Church prays for all the dead, but only the dead in true faith will certainly receive exemption from hellish torment. The soul, while in the body, is obliged to take care of its future life in advance, it must deserve that upon its transition to the afterlife, the intercession of the living can bring it relief and salvation.”

“Sins that constitute blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, that is, disbelief, bitterness, apostasy, unrepentance and the like, make a person eternally lost, and intercession of the Church to such dead and not at all alive will not help, because they lived and died outside of communion with the Church. Yes about those Church already doesn't pray» .

Here the author obviously has in mind the words of the Gospel: If anyone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; and whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven him either in this age or in the next(). From these words of the Savior, many naturally concluded that, in principle, remission of sins is possible even after the death of a sinner. The Metropolitan notes in this regard: “ About those who died with blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, or, what is the same, in mortal sin, and unrepentant The church doesn't pray, and that’s why, as the Savior said, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven to man, either in this age or in the next.”

Reverend did not allow open commemoration at the liturgy of the deceased heretical iconoclasts.

Let us cite a number of statements by the Holy Fathers in which they, while calling for prayer for the dead, did not allow it to be performed in the Church for those who died outside church communion - heretics and the unbaptized.

: “The whole Church observes this as handed down by the Fathers, so that pray for those who have died in the communion of the body and blood of Christ when they are remembered in due time at the sacrifice itself.”

Saint: “This is a very godly and useful deed - to perform a divine and glorious sacrament commemoration of the dead in the right faith» .

Reverend: “The mysteries and self-seers of the Word, who conquered the earthly circle, the disciples and divine Apostles of the Savior, not without reason, not in vain and not without benefit, established to perform terrible, pure and life-giving mysteries remembrance of the faithful departed» .

Saint John Chrysostom: “When all the people and the sacred cathedral stand with their hands stretched out to heaven, and when a terrible sacrifice is presented: how can we not appease God by praying for them (the dead)? But this about those only who died in faith» .

On the commemoration of non-Orthodox people in home prayer

In the words of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy that we quoted at the beginning at the Moscow diocesan meeting in 2003, it was noted that only private, home prayer is and has always been allowed for the unbaptized, but “at the service we remember only the children of the Church who have joined it through the Sacrament of Holy Baptism.” This division between church and private prayer is essential.

The major work “On the Commemoration of the Dead according to the Charter of the Orthodox Church” was compiled by the New Martyr, Bishop of Kovrov. In the section “Canon to the martyr Uar on deliverance from the torment of the dead in other faiths,” he writes: “ Ancient Rus' with all the severity of her attitude towards the dead, she found it possible to pray not only for the conversion of the living to the true faith, but also for deliverance from the torment of the dead in other faiths. At the same time, she resorted to the intercession of the holy martyr Huar. In the ancient canons there is a special canon for this case, completely different from the canon placed in the October Menaion under the 19th.”

However, this section, as well as the sections “Prayer for unbaptized and stillborn babies” and “Prayer for suicides”, Bishop Athanasius places in Chapter IV - “Remembrance of the Dead at home prayer" He rightly writes: “ At home prayer with the blessing of the spiritual father, commemoration can be made even of those who cannot be remembered on church service" “The commemoration of the departed, out of humility and for obedience to the Holy Church, transferred to our home cell prayer, will be more valuable in the eyes of God and more gratifying for the departed than done in church, but with violation and neglect of Church statutes.”

At the same time, he notes about statutory public worship: “ All funeral services are precisely defined in their composition, and the time when they can or cannot be performed is also precisely appointed. And no one has the right to transgress these limits established by the Holy Church.”

So, in church meeting, headed by a priest or bishop, there is no way to legally pray for the unbaptized (as well as for the non-Orthodox and suicides). Let us note that the treatise by Bishop Athanasius deals with both the statutory divine service and the services according to the Trebnik (funeral service, memorial service). Moreover, in the first three chapters there is no mention of service to the martyr Uar. It is noteworthy that the Lord himself writes at the beginning of Chapter IV: “We touched everyone various cases when the Holy Church allows or itself calls, sometimes strenuously calls for prayer for the departed. But all the previously listed cases of commemoration of the dead are performed with the priest.” Thus, the rite of vigil and non-statutory service to the martyr Uar, which we have considered, cannot be recognized either by the Orthodox liturgical text or by the rite of the Orthodox Breviary.

Many Holy Fathers spoke about the possibility of private commemoration in home prayer for those dead who cannot be remembered in a church meeting.

Reverend found it possible for such commemoration to be only secret: “unless every in my soul prays for such people and does alms for them.”

Reverend Elder, not allowing church prayer for those who died outside the Church (suicides, unbaptized, heretics), he commanded to pray for them privately like this: “Seek, Lord, the lost soul of my father: if it is possible, have mercy. Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin, but Thy holy will be done.”

Reverend Elder wrote to one nun: “By church rules remember a suicide should not be in church, and his sister and relatives can pray for him privately how Elder Leonid allowed Pavel Tambovtsev to pray for his parent. Write out this prayer... and give it to the family of the unfortunate person. We know many examples that the prayer conveyed by Elder Leonid calmed and consoled many and turned out to be valid before the Lord.”

The testimonies of the Holy Fathers we have cited force us, in full agreement with the word of His Holiness Patriarch Alexy II, to raise in our Church the question of abolishing from the annual liturgical circle the non-statutory vigil service to the martyr Uar, not provided for by the Typikon, as contrary to canonical church norms.

In all likelihood, only the canon to the martyr Uar (but, of course, not the continuation of the “All-Night Vigil”) is possible in particular cases "some for the sake of blessed wine" recommend for home cell prayer for deceased non-Orthodox relatives with mandatory prohibition read this canon in Orthodox churches and chapels for public services and services.

Literature

1. , Rev. Collection of letters to monastics. Vol. II. Sergiev Posad, 1909.

2. Afanasy (Sakharov), bishop. On the commemoration of the dead according to the Charter of the Orthodox Church. St. Petersburg, 1995.

3. Bulgakov S.N. A reference book for the clergyman. M.: 1993.

4. , holy Lives of the Saints. October. 1993.

5. Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate. 2004, No. 2.

6. Macarius (Bulgakov), Metropolitan. Orthodox dogmatic theology. T. II. St. Petersburg, 1857.

7. Menaia. October. M.: Publishing house. Moscow Patriarchate, 1980.

8. Mitrofan, monk. Afterlife. St. Petersburg, 1897; Kyiv, 1992.

9. Nefedov G., prot. Sacraments and rituals of the Orthodox Church. Part 4. M., 1992.

10. , bishop. Rules of the Orthodox Church with interpretations. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1996.

11. Missal. M.: Publishing house. Moscow Patriarchate, 1977.

12. Breviary. Part 3. M.: Publishing house. Moscow Patriarchate, 1984.

13. Theodore the Studite, Rev. Creations. T. II. St. Petersburg, 1908.

14. , holy Interpretation of Psalm 119. M., 1891.

15. , prot. Canon law. M., 1996.

The prayer for the unbaptized is based on an incident that occurred in Optina Hermitage. One day, a student turned to the Optina Elder Leonid (in the schema Leo, who died in 1841) in inconsolable grief over his deceased suicidal father, asking whether and how he could pray for him. To which the elder replied: Submit both yourself and the fate of your parent to the will of the Lord, wise and almighty. Pray to the Most Good Creator, thereby fulfilling the duty of love and filial duties, according to the spirit of the virtuous and wise:

Seek, O Lord, the lost soul of my father: if possible, have mercy! Your destinies are unsearchable. Do not make this my prayer a sin for me. But Thy holy will be done.

With this prayer you can pray at home about relatives who arbitrarily took their own lives, but given the certain spiritual danger described earlier, in order to perform home prayer, you must definitely take a blessing from the priest.

From the patristic heritage there are known cases when, through the intense prayer of loved ones, the fate of the souls of suicides was alleviated, but in order to achieve this, one must perform a feat of prayer.

Following the example of this prayer, you can pray for the unbaptized (those who have departed into eternal life unenlightened by the Orthodox faith), as well as those who have been baptized, but have apostatized from the faith (who have departed into eternal life in apostasy from the Holy Orthodox Church).

In this instruction for every Christian who is in a similar position, there is a lot of comfort, calming the soul in surrendering oneself and the deceased to the will of God, always good and wise. And the fact that the unbaptized can receive some relief through prayer is known from the conversation of the Monk Macarius of Egypt with the skull of a pagan priest. The monk prayed a lot for the departed and therefore wanted to know the effect of his prayers. When you pray for the dead, the skull answered, “we feel some kind of consolation.” This incident gives us hope that our prayers for the unfortunate who died unbaptized will bring them some consolation. We should not forget about such an effective means of alleviating the fate of the dead as alms, which in these cases acquires special significance.

It is a great sin not to accept the Savior and to reject the Orthodox faith, but the merciful Lord allowed one of His saints to intercede before Him for the souls of the non-Orthodox deceased. This saint is the martyr Uar, who accepted death for Christ in 307. Once, in a vision of blessed Cleopatra, the saint told her that for her good deeds he begged God to forgive the sins of all her deceased pagan relatives. Since then, Orthodox Christians have turned to the martyr Uar in prayer to intercede with the Lord for their relatives and friends who died not baptized into the Orthodox faith.

Prayer to the holy martyr Huar

Oh, venerable saint of the martyr Uara, we kindle with zeal for the Lord Christ, you confessed the Heavenly King before the tormentor, and for Him you suffered zealously, and now the Church honors you, as you are glorified by the Lord Christ with the glory of Heaven, Who has given you grace have great boldness towards Him, and now you stand before Him with the Angels, and in the Highest Rejoices, and clearly see the Holy Trinity, and enjoy the light of the Infinite Radiance, remembering our relatives in languor, who died in wickedness, accept our petition, and like Cleopatrine, you freed the unfaithful race from eternal torment with Your prayers So remember those who were buried against God, who died unbaptized, trying to ask for deliverance from eternal darkness, so that with one mouth and one heart we may praise the Most Merciful Creator forever and ever. Amen.