Christian Funeral Research Articles

Women, Grief, and the Art of Lamenting in Maronite Christian Funerals in Lebanon

Women, Grief, and the Art of Lamenting in Maronite Christian Funerals in Lebanon

A Century of Funeral Change in Burial Practices: From Church Burial to Cremation Without a Ceremony

The changes in funeral practices in Czech society which occurred during the 20th century were more significant than those that took place during the whole of the second millennium. Traditional Roman Catholic Christian funerals which were performed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries are described as a starting point from which the focus moves to a study of the major changes from the onwards. The first half of the 20th century was specific in the emergence of cremation. The Communist era was characterized by a huge expansion in the popularity of cremation as well as by a significant increase in the proportion of secular funerals. Contemporary Czech funeral practices can be seen as a direct continuation of those of previous generations and are noteworthy in terms both of having one of the highest cremation rates in Europe and, even more strikingly, the extraordinarily high rate of cases (around one quarter to one third) in which no funeral ceremony is held at all for the deceased.

The role of flowers in the personalization of Christian funerals in Denmark

Flowers are a common element in Danish funerals. Drawing on fieldnotes, interviews and survey data on funeral practices in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark as well as theories of ritualization, meaning-making and practices, this article shows that flowers are not only a sine qua non in the funerals but are also used to make them more personal and to produce and reproduce social relations. Additionally, flowers are material objects and acquire their social meaning in the right ceremonial context. Outside this context they have no inherent meaning and might even obstruct the ceremony because, as physical objects, they have to be put somewhere in ceremonial space. Paradoxically, flowers are ubiquitous yet invisible.

The Juxtaposition of Ritual Worlds. Maintaining Relationship in Anglican Indigenous Christian Funerals

The juxtaposition and maintenance of inherited and indigenous rituals suggests there is something in each of those sources which are felt necessary to retain as both create and express identity and faith at the heart of the ritual processes. Counter to many conversations in liturgy which advocate for full inculturation as the goal, I suggest that acculturation, rather than inculturation, may be, for certain cultures and liturgies, the preferred ritual pattern, a ritual technique to continue two identities in the midst of diversity, especially in Christian communities who live in the ongoing reality of the move from colonialism to postcolonialism. To argue this assumption first requires a conversation between incarnationally-based inculturation and the newer conversation partners of hybridity and syncretism, placing that conversation in the context of colonial and postcolonial realities before turning to an example of acculturated funeral rituals amongst the Swampy Cree of Manitoba, Canada.

Liturgical reflections on the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II: mass participation and mass detachment

ABSTRACT The funeral of the late Queen raises questions for liturgists and for the associated disciplines of ethnography and ritual studies. It followed a rite little used for Christian funerals, framed in language now deemed archaic and unintelligible. Yet promoters of modern language liturgy who might have been expected to be critical remained silent. For a wider public, the language choice at the funeral was consistent with an image of a figure who embodied tradition. This article considers the funeral liturgy in three movements – outdoor, transitional, and indoor. It concludes that this was a funeral in keeping with the liturgical formation of the deceased and her sense of her symbolic role in the Church of England. But it also asks how the contemporary language rites of the Church of England could be shown to be capable of supporting the kind of pageantry and ceremonial expected of royal occasions.

Archaeological Evidence of Atypical Burials in the Middle Ages

The research into the Medieval necropolises in the territory of present-day Serbia has established a relatively standardized mode of interment of the bodies of men, women, and children. The deceased were laid supine oriented west to east, with their head to the west. This paper addresses the deviations from this practice recorded in the necropolises dated into the period from the 10th to the 15th centuries. The evidence is critically discussed on the individuals oriented contrary to the established standard, the ones buried in the foetal position, the deceased thrown into the burial pit or laid prone, facing downward. The aim of the paper is to raise the question who were these people, deprived of the prescriptive Christian funeral and the adequate treatment of their bodies in death. The research is based on the precept that there is a correlation between the persons laid in extraordinary positions in their graves, and the outcasts, stigmatized and marginalized individuals. The paper is based upon the theoretical basis that postulates the burial and the treatment of a dead body as the community’s encounter with a social loss and the additional unwanted outcome of death – the cadaver. Additionally, the modes of marginalization and the generation of the marginalized in a society through the deprivation of a decent burial are discussed from various perspectives, starting with the ideas of Robert E. Park, Erving Goffman and Elisa Perego. Regardless of the fact that the phenomenon of the atypically buried individuals has not been duly investigated in the Serbian Medieval archaeology, the analysis of the evidence shows that contexts corresponding to this type are registered at no less than 19 sites. In order to offer a more precise answer to the question which of these individuals have indeed been marginalized and why, it is essential to conduct physical-anthropological analyses, present in only two instances treated here. Considering the quality of the data at the disposal, the paper reaches the conclusion that the individuals laid contrary to the norm (with the exception of children), thrown into the burial pit, or laid prone facing downward, are indeed the marginalized ones. Particularly are indicative the situations where more than one parameter of stigmatization is present in one funerary context. The suggestion is put forward that the flexed individuals laid in foetal position are the ones who could not have been laid prone due to some illness, such as muscular atrophy of paralysis. The extraordinary treatment of some new-borns and children, buried under the stećci, raises the issue of the social position of children in this cultural context. In spite of the limitations of reinterpretation of old evidence, the potential is demonstrated of the research integrating various lines of evidence: archaeological, physical-anthropological, ethnographic, historiographic, and legal-historic.

The Christian Funeral as Counter Witness

The proliferation of unconventional death practices in North America, however innovative, is in part an expression of societal confusion about the nature of death and grief. If the church can recover the theological and liturgical fabric of funerals, reclaiming their main purpose as public confession rather than private pastoral care, Christian funerals can serve as a hopeful counter-witness to an uncertain culture.

New dynamics of religious death culture in Bulgaria in the post-socialist transition period

ABSTRACT Is there a ‘resurrection’ of death in the post-socialist countries brought about by a rediscovery of religious norms and values in the context of the global processes of (de)secularisation? Based on a sample of 20 in-depth biographical interviews with men and women 75 years old and over from Bulgaria, this paper examines the complex dynamics of the privatisation and liberation of religiosity from the grasp of the communist regime. This religiosity developed along with the surge in the interest in Christian rituals, including Christian funeral and mourning, with their reinvention and integration into systems of personal values. However, it lacked the understanding of the Orthodox religious ideas of (preparation for) the afterlife. What emerged was an original death culture, driven largely by pursuits for a reconfirmation of family, national and anti-communist identity. It reproduced an unstable knowledge about the formal aspects of rituals and, paradoxically, was permeated by internalised ideological patterns of mourning, enforced by cultural experts of the communist regime.

Figurative Images in the Early Christian Funeral Paintings of Chersonese

The paintings of the 11 early Christian burial vaults of Chersonese uncovering the image of the Garden of Eden fully correspond to the traditions of the Late Antique art. There figurative images are very rare, and not all of them have been interpreted properly. Single man’s figures preserved in the painting of three vaults (of the years 1853/1905, 1909 and in the vault on N. I. Tur’s land) are of particular interest for the determination of the time and ways of penetration of this artistic tradition into early Christian Chersonese. A comparative analysis of funeral paintings from different regions of the Eastern Roman Empire makes it possible to determine the function of the mentioned images of men in the painting of these tombs and to explain their origin in early Christian burials. According to the fragments that survived, all three figures of young men are very similar in dress and posture. Probably, they all held a burning candle in the hands, the image of which survived only in the vault of the year 1909. These images are comparable to the figures of servants from a number of tombs discovered in the Balkans, Asia Minor, North Africa, and Levant. The young men from Chersonese are most close to the images of male servants from the tombs in Bulgaria and Serbia. From the analogies given in this paper there are reasons to interpret the figures of young men in the three vaults of Chersonese as images of servants. Figures of servants were widespread in ancient art and also in Christian burials to the end of the fourth century. Most likely, these figures appeared in the paintings of Chersonese under the influence of the Eastern Balkan artistic tradition.

Liturgy and Landscape—Re-Activating Christian Funeral Rites through Adaptive Reuse of a Rural Church and Its Surroundings as a Columbarium and Urn Cemetery

We present the design research for the adaptive reuse of the St. Odulphus church as a columbarium in the village of Booienhoven (BE). Surrounded by agriculture, the site is listed as a historic rural landscape. The small neoclassical church is no longer in use for traditional Catholic services and is abandoned. Positioned on an isolated “island”, it has the appropriate setting to become a place to remember and part from the dead. Instigated by the municipality, and taking into account the growing demand for cremation, we present topological research on three different liturgical and spatial levels: 1/the use of the church interior as a columbarium and for (funeral) celebration, 2/the transformation of the “island”, stressing the idea of “passage” and 3/the layering of the open landscape reactivating the well-spring and its spiritual origins. Based on the reform of the funeral rite after Vatican II, we propose a layered liturgy that can better suit the wide variety of funeral services in Flanders today, while at the same time respecting its Catholic roots. Rather than considering the reuse of the church a spiritual loss, we believe that it can offer the opportunity to reinforce and open up the traditional, symbolic and ritual meaning of the Christian liturgy to the larger community. As such, this case is an excellent example of how, in exploring new architectural and liturgical questions, religious sites can be transformed into contemporary places for spirituality.

A good going: The importance of the funeral meal at traditional western Christian funerals in the United Kingdom

Abstract It is a paradox that funerals are one of the most significant end-of-life events, and yet they are rarely discussed in hospitality research. This article explores one aspect of the funeral – namely the importance of food at traditional western Christian funerals – through interviews with five UK-based funeral directors and five funeral catering providers. Exploring both the historic significance and the current importance of the funeral meal, five specific issues were examined: funeral poverty, family interactions, power relationships, financial control/power and socialization. The study not only highlights the continuing social significance of the funeral meal in Christian western society but also the unequal power relationships between the mourners and the funeral director. However, funeral directors and their catering providers are still mindful of the costs and driven by a growing concern over funeral poverty; there is an increasing awareness for both the funeral and the funeral meal to match the mourner's ability to pay. The study concludes that the format of the funeral meal needs to change to better reflect people's changing lifestyles, and outlines areas where further research is required to better understand the significance of the funeral meal.

Loftur Helgason fer til Björgvinjar

The article recounts the account from the Árna saga about Loftur Helgason’s trip to Bergen in 1282 and his stay there over winter, explained in terms of the formal sources about the organization of the government and changes in the law in the latter half of the 13th century. These changes were aimed at introducing into Iceland the power of both the King and the Church and in fact marked the actual changes throughout the Norwegian state. Loftur was Skálholt‘s official and the story about him was part of a long-standing dispute about the position of the chieftains versus the new power of the Church and the opposition to its introduction. The article defines the political confusion described in the Árna sagain Bergen in the winter of 1282-1283 as, on the one hand, changes in the constitution and, on the other hand, legislation, and at the same time whether the Kings Hákon Hákonarson and his son Magnús had systematically pursued a policy of having the Church be an independent party to the government of the state from 1247 onward until the death of the latter in 1280. When the disagreement is looked at as continuing, it is seen that Icelanders had made preparations for changes in the constitution with assurances of introduction of the power of the Church beginning in 1253 and the power of the King from 1262, but, on the other hand, the disagreements in both countries disappeared in the 1270s in the face of the conflict of interests that resulted from the laws that followed in the wake of the constiututional changes. Árna saga tell of this and how the disputes were described, but also that their nature changed as King Erikur came to power in 1280, as he gave the power of the King a new policy that was aimed against the power of the Church. Ousting of the archbishop from Norway and the Christian funerals of the excommunicated chieftains are examples of the conditions of government that could not have been, if the King had no longer had executive power over Christian concerns, as he had already conceded power over spiritual issues to the Pope in Rome with the Settlement at Túnsberg in 1277.

한국 기독교 장례 예전의 차별화된 핵심 가치에 관한 연구

한국 기독교 장례 예전의 차별화된 핵심 가치에 관한 연구

Food and Funerals: Why Meals Matter for Christian Mortality and How We Might Respond Gustatorily to Changing Death Practices

Christian funerals in North America have long been associated with food. A number of practices have been relatively widespread: food carried to the bereaved by fellow members of a congregation; the...

Judgement, myth and hope in life-centred funerals

Funerals led by a celebrant not representing a faith community are rapidly increasing in England. This article argues that these ‘life-centred’ funerals have an implicit theology; like Christian funerals, but in different ways, they invite judgement, myth and hope. How should churches respond to this competition? Imitation is problematic, because the ‘life-centred’ approach is far more than a mere technique to be bolted on to the Christian funeral. The article concludes by sketching some unique resources churches have that cannot be matched by the new breed of celebrants.

Death and Funeral of Christian Tradition in Korean Protestant Context

Based on these different understandings of death, Korean funeral has been developed as a combined one. In a Korean Christian funeral, it is not hard to find other religious and cultural elements. From the beginning, it is not easy to articulate how the Korean Protestant Church comprehends funeral rites. There is very little information about this topic, and materials about funeral practices and rites in the Korean Protestant Church. Liturgically and systematically, the Korean Protestant church neither examined theoretically nor engaged in research regarding the funeral practices and rites. Directly speaking, it seems to me that the Korean Protestant Church does not even articulate a basic outline of its funeral services. In general, a Korean Protestant church is based on evangelical and reformation tradition. In the worship book of the main Korean Protestant Churches, Korean traditional elements are easily found in their service orders for funerals. However, a Korean Protestant church has not yet articulated why these elements are deeply practiced in the worship service nor how the Korean Protestant Church understands these traditional elements that are prohibited in the name of pagan culture. Therefore, I do not think that the Korean Protestant church has successfully adapted Korean traditional cultures into the worship services for the dead in the Korean Protestant churches. Without recognizing what the traditional and cultural elements are and what they mean, the Korean Protestant church just accepts the funeral services in its worship book according to its denomination. In the Korean Protestant church, the funeral services mostly consist of a concept of logos. From the beginning of the service to the end of it, the written statements are constantly repeated as prayers, hymns, scripture readings, and the sermons by the pastor. There is only one communication channel that glides away from the pastor to the participants in the service. There is no bodily movement. It is not inclusively allowing the participants to involve in the funeral service but just passively sitting on the chair. The Korean Protestant church deleted all the liturgies in traditional funeral practice, but snatched some of meanings from the traditional funeral practice and reformed it in the church worship setting.

Divine Worship and Human Healing: Liturgical Theology at the Margins of Life and Death by Bruce T. Morrill, S.J.

Antiphon 18.2 (2014) 198–223 Book Review Bruce T. Morrill, S.J. Divine Worship and Human Healing: Liturgical Theology at the Margins of Life and Death Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 2009 xii + 274 pages. Paperback. $34.95. Informed by academic expertise and pastoral experience, Bruce Morrill undertakes a systematic study of contemporary Catholic sacramental rites of healing, primarily those set forth in the Pastoral Care of the Sick and the Order of Christian Funerals. Morrill makes a compelling case for his thesis that there is an intrinsic (if often underappreciated) link between divine worship and human healing. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God reveals the divine will for humanity as salvation—a word that even etymologically bespeaks healing. In celebrating the Church’s healing rites, Christians can experience themselves and others as sites of the gracious, saving activity of God and sacramental witnesses to God’s solidarity with human suffering. While often perceived and practiced as rituals addressed to individuals for their ultimate spiritual benefit, Morrill contends that the prayers, symbols, and gestures of the postconciliar rites possess the capacity to work healing (through Christ, in the power of the Spirit) that is holistic, human, bodily, ecclesial, and deeply liturgical. Morrill begins by surveying the book’s main foci: worship and healing. The first chapter articulates a theology of liturgy rooted in the Paschal Mystery, developed in word and sacrament, and manifested in and through the lives and bodies of those baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection. Chapter 2 examines the concept of “healing” against the backdrop of postmodern approaches to health, illness, situations of crisis, and death; prevailing cultural understandings both align with and differ from the theology and practice of healing offered in the reformed sacramental rites. These considerations inform the next two chapters that plumb Scripture and Tradition as primary sources for the Church’s “liturgical ministry of healing.” Drawing on Louis-Marie Chauvet’s sacramental theology, Morrill concludes that the liturgically celebrated Paschal Mystery provides a privileged en- 199 Book review counter between the healing Christ of the Gospels and the ethical mandate to enact Christian faith in daily life. The book’s final section (chapters 5–7) considers how the revised rites offer healing to human persons through renegotiated meaning in illness and old age, passage from life to death, and eschatological hope in bodily resurrection. Morrill emphasizes the theology conveyed by the rites, the conflicting worldviews people may bring to celebrations of the rites, and pastoral suggestions for engaging these rites more fully within the larger context of the Church’s liturgical life so as to cultivate in members of the assembly “a repertoire ready to serve at the hour of death” (184) and at other times of illness or crisis. A concluding chapter invokes renewal “in the light of sound tradition” (261, see SC 4) as a way to lend perspective to the continued reception and development of these rites in a postmodern context where “the sacramental rites that may well ‘speak’ to the needs of people and thus promise renewal for the church are those that most explicitly offer healing” (263). Morrill’s investigation of divine worship and human healing is impressive in its scope. The author interweaves concepts from Christian theology with complementary biblical, historical, philosophical, and social-scientific insights to produce a multitextured work that will captivate a diverse audience while making a valuable contribution to the body of literature on the topic of human healing. The text and footnotes introduce readers to studies from cultural theory and ethno-medicine as well as stories gleaned from the popular media that reflect shifting perceptions on topics as diverse as pain management, funeral planning, and the possibility of “miracles” in today’s world. The book features several extended pastoral examples disclosing a perceived need for healing within the Church and its members (ranging from the sexual abuse scandal in the American Catholic Church to colliding worldviews during a contemporary funeral) that Morrill effectively analyzes to demonstrate how ecclesial and social factors impinge upon the theological resonance of particular celebrations of sacramental healing. These pastorally-oriented examples enrich the book and illustrate the challenge of enfleshing the...

Vitalita kresťanskej Tradície na pozadí dokumentu Teológia dnes z roku 2011

The article compares what the Church means by Tradition, with faith, values and life style. The author suggests that although in several cases there is a major difference between them, traditional values and faith can be for many people the way to discover the vitality of Tradition. The main attribute of Tradition is not to be unchangeable - as the Church is in a maturing process in its views and practices on a number of issues (e.g. the question if someone who commits suicide should receive a Christian funeral, etc.) but to be interpreted as being vital at all times.

Getting Down to Cases: Cremation and the Order of Christian Funerals

Getting Down to Cases: Cremation and the Order of Christian Funerals

Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral by Thomas G. Long

DialogVolume 52, Issue 1 p. 67-70 Book Reviews Accompany Them with Singing: The Christian Funeral by Thomas G. Long Melinda A. Quivik, Melinda A. Quivik Liturgical Scholar Houghton, MichiganSearch for more papers by this author Melinda A. Quivik, Melinda A. Quivik Liturgical Scholar Houghton, MichiganSearch for more papers by this author First published: 01 March 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/dial.12012Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume52, Issue1March 2013Pages 67-70 RelatedInformation