RUSSIA. No. VIII.

CEREMONIES OF THE GRECO-RUSSIAN CHURCH.
FUNERAL RITES AND CEREMONIES.

THE calm sublimity, the deep and tender pathos, the
chastened hopes, that pervade the beautiful and purely
spiritual service of our national church, must have
been deeply felt by all who have once followed to their
long home the mortal remains of one beloved : and
who is there that has not done so ? and who is there,
though he may have bent over the grave with tears,
that has not quitted it with hope, for the time "a
wiser and a better man," beneath the influence of its
soothing promises? Far from repressing the tender-
est emotions of our nature, it encourages, whilst it
regulates, ennobles, and sanctifies them.

The whole of the Greco-Russian church-service for the burial of the dead is highly impressive, but at the same time much too exciting. They have a singular form, peculiar to themselves, of making known the death of a person. The individual sent round to the friends and relatives to convey the tidings, would, supposing the name of the deceased to be John, and that of his father James, announce it thus :-Ivan Jakovitch vam jelaët dolgo jcet;-" John, the son of James, wishes you to live long," adding generally the family name of the individual.

ing is of crimson or pink velvet, or cloth, frequently sumptuously fringed with gold or silver: the lining is of white satin, and the head of the deceased rests upon a pillow of the same material. At the head and also at the feet are placed two enormous wax tapers, in massy silver or plated tripods. There formerly existed a practice of hiring mourners, or persons whose sole occupation it was to attend upon funerals,

To feign a woe they could not feel.

This repulsive custom, although not extinct, is nevertheless banished from the capitals, excepting among the more ignorant classes. The writer of this article has witnessed it repeatedly in the provinces, and once or twice in the ancient metropolis of Russia. Not only unauthorized by, but utterly at variance with, the form prescribed by the Greek church, it has in all probability been adopted in imitation of the customs of the Jews and Romans, among the latter of whom, as with the Russians, only women, called præfice, were employed.

According to the laws of Russia, the body must be deposited in the church, there to remain until the final ceremonies, which are as follows:

The streets from the house to the church, and thence to the cemetery, through which the hearse passes, are strewed with sprigs of the aromatic juniper. First come ten or twelve torch-bearers, in long black cloaks, the collars and narrow capes of which are bound with white, and wearing round hats with enormous brims, eight or nine inches in width, that hang upon the shoulders and back, and flap over the face. Each bears a flambeau of resinous gum. As the interments invariably take place in the morning, in the full blaze of day, the effect is most absurd. Although the funerals of private individuals were always performed by torchlight and at night, yet the Romans it is well known celebrate all public obsequies in the forenoon; and it is generally imagined, from a passage in Plutarch, also with torches. From thence, in all probability, the custom has descended through the early Greek missionaries in the first ages of Christianity; at any

The last struggle over, and the filmed eye closed by the hand of the nearest relative, the body, having first been washed, in accordance with the practice of ancient and modern times, is habited in its ordinary apparel, as is the practice of most countries on the Continent. The hands are crossed on the breast, and above them is laid a picture of the patron saint. If the individual had been in the service of the crown, the corpse is generally arrayed in full dress uniform. The priest is then summoned after fumigating the apartment with incense, and blessing it by the aspersion of holy water, he reads a short formula: a few verses are then sung by the attendant choir, in a low impressive tone, and the service is then concluded with prayers for the soul of the deceased. It is gene-rate, the high antiquity of the practice is unquestionrally the practice among the wealthier classes to retain a deacon or other inferior member of the ecclesiastical body, to read night and day selections from the Gospel, whilst the body remains in the house: this, however, is not ordained by the church.

Receiving intimation of the event, in the terms we have mentioned, the friends and relatives of the deceased throng to the house of death, to offer their condolence. The custom of paying a visit of this kind in mourning is not observed in Russia: indeed on entering the saloon the assemblage might almost be mistaken for one gathered on some ordinary occasion. The sombre attire, the quiet subdued tone of manners, the suppressed voice, the noiseless tread, are wanting. The rustling of silks, the jingling of spurs, the unstifled laugh, the elevated tone of voice, are little in harmony with the solemnity of the occasion. The wreaths of fragrant incense that curl through the opened door of the adjoining room, the

monotonous sound of the reader's voice as he recites

the Gospels in low and hurried tones, the sob of the bereaved, heard perhaps at intervals of silence, alone tell that the hand of the spoiler has been there.

By turns the visitors are introduced into the apartment, where the body lies in state. The coffin, placed upon a trestle covered with crimson embroidered velvet, differs altogether in shape and ornament from those used in England, rather resembling the ancient sarcophagi, but accommodated in length to the human figure. It also stands in the same way upon four claws these are generally plated or gilt The cover

:

able. Next come the clergy habited in their sacer-
dotal robes, usually, on these occasions, of black
velvet, embroidered with silver, the priests bearing
tapers, the deacons censors with incense, and repeat-
ing at intervals, in recitative, short prayers for the
repose of the soul of the deceased, the responses and
the chorus to which are chanted by the choir which
follows next in succession.
Should the deceased
have obtained any marks of distinction in the service,
the badges of his orders, and the insignia of his
office, are borne before the hearse on cushions of
crimson velvet, carried by persons as nearly as may
be of his own rank; a custom decidedly of classic
origin. To these succeeds the corpse, the coffin ex-
posed to view on an open hearse, and supported by
servants attired in mourning. In some cases the lid
is carried before, the body being covered as far as
the chest by a rich pall of coloured velvet, gorgeously
embroidered. In the obsequies of persons of rank
or wealth, a canopy of crimson velvet, fringed with
gold lacings, is placed over the coffin. Then follow
the mourners and friends in carriages, whilst the
slaves and supernumerary servants on foot, flank and

terminate the procession.

on a bier

After a brief halt in the narthex of the church when the lid, if it have remained on, is removed, the coffin is borne into the nave, and deposited of embroidered velvet, before the steps of the chancel. Large wax tapers are placed round it, and each of the attendant friends is also furnished with one of smaller size. These kindled, and the choristers sta

Services are performed, and the absolution and remission read at the church, or at the grave, on the third, ninth, and fortieth day, on the birthday, and on the anniversary of the demise of the individual. The two last are continued for an indefinite length of time. These services are not ordained by the rubric of the church, but have been sanctioned by long usage, and adopted from the practice of the primitive oriental Greek church, which practice is itself clearly deducible from the Paternalia of the ancients.

tioned at each end of the chancel, the service begins | Lord's and the fulness thereof, the round world and with the 91st Psalm, which is sung in an under they that dwell therein." He then dismisses the voice; afterwards follows the 119th Psalm, chanted assembly with the doxology and benediction. in louder tones. At the end of each verse the Hallelujah Chorus is sung by the whole choir, invocations to the Virgin, and prayers for the. dead, are then offered up, accompanied by the chanted response of the choristers. Among the hymns sung on the occasion is the following, attributed to Joannas Damascenas. At the conclusion of the prayers, the priest and deacons descend from the altar, and walking three times round the bier, perfuming with their censors and sprinkling the by-standers with holy water, then stationing themselves around, a solemn and affecting farewell hymn is sung, and the mourning friends hasten to pay their last honours and give the parting kiss; this is termed the Aspasmos, or last embrace. Draw near, my brethren! ascribing glory to God, let us give our last kiss, and bid our last farewell, to our departed brother; engrossed no longer by the vanities or the cares of the world, he hath forsaken his kindred, and approacheth the tomb. His kindred and his friends where are they? Behold we are separated. May the Lord grant unto him repose! But what a separation my brethren! what lamentation and woe attend this mournful hour! Draw near! Embrace him who was lately one of yourselves. He is abandoned to the grave, he sojourneth in darkness and must moulder with the dead. Now is he cut off from his kindred and his friends. May the Lord grant unto him repose!

Every unholy connexion with life and its vanities is dissolved. The spirit hath left its tenement, the clay is disfigured, the vessel broken. We bear a motionless, speechless, senseless carcase to the tomb. May the Lord grant unto him repose!

What is life? a blossom, a vapour, the light dew of morning. Come near, then, let us attentively contemplate the grave! Where now the graceful form? Where the sparkling of the eye, the beauty of the cheek? all, all, withered like the grass, have vanished from our eyes. Come, let us prostrate ourselves with tears, before Christ our Saviour.

What lamentation and woe, what tears and agonies when the soul is torn from the body! Hades and the bottomless pit yawn around. Life is a fleeting shadow, a dream of error, the fruitless toil of transitory being.

Fly then the contaminations of the world, that ye may lay hold of the kingdom of heaven. Let us approach, my brethren! and view the dust and ashes of which we are formed. Whither are we bound? What shall be our destiny? Who is poor, who is rich? Who is master? Who is slave? All, all, are but ashes. The glory of man passeth away: the flower of youth is plucked by death.

See the limbs now motionless which were lately strung with vigour. Lo! now they are powerless, the eyes are closed; the feet fast bound; the hands at rest; the ears have ceased from their office; the tongue hath no utterance. All are given up to the grave, behold all things terrestrial are vanity.

It is worthy of remark, that the Mussulmans observe also the third, ninth, and fortieth days, and provide feasts upon the occasion, as is done in Russia. The service on the third day is called the Tretinui, that on the ninth the Devatinui; the popular belief is, that the soul of the deceased has not, till this period, or till the expiration of the fortieth day, wholly shaken off the trammels of earth. This service has a parallel in the Novendiale of the Romans, a solemnity grounded upon the same superstition. Another practice, evidently of high antiquity, prevails throughout the country and amongst all classes. During the celebration of the service, a dish called the Kootiyah composed of rice, dressed with honey, to which raisins are sometimes added, is placed near the coffin; after the burial, each of the guests invited to the feast, usually prepared on such occasions, takes three spoonfuls of the Kootiyah, and repeats a short ejaculating prayer for the repose of the deceased's soul.

On the fortieth day prayers are again said, and a service performed, called the Sorotchénui, after which the priests, with the friends, are assembled to dinner, and commence by partaking of the " Kootiyah," accompanied with the usual prayer for the dead. Sometimes a daily service is performed till the expiration of the forty days: this is termed the Coroköoustië. It would be idle to record the number

less silly popular superstitions as to the origin of the lower classes, but even amongst those who from these ceremonies, that are prevalent, not only among rank and education might be expected to know better. From the prevailing imagination that the souls of the deceased hovered about the graves, it is well known that the ancient heathens were in the habit of preparing a feast for the dead and the living called the Silicernium, and that a portion of this was deposited on the tomb or within the temple. The fondness with which some of the early converts clung to these practices of their forefathers, blending them with the pure rites of their newly adopted worship, and the eager ness with which their steps were followed in succeeding ages, by the indiscriminating zeal of those who had not the same blinding associations of kindred and of country, will sufficiently account for the transmission of these customs to later ages and more en

The scene is impressive, but everything around too strongly tends to arouse the imagination, and stimulate the feelings to a pitch of unnatural excitement, incompatible with the solemn and holy thoughts which should occupy the mind at such a moment. Even to the casual stranger the excitation is irre-lightened times, although unsanctioned by the authosistibly powerful, "he catches the trick of grief," and shares in the sorrow of the mourners, as he sees friend after friend with grief swollen cheek and streaming eyes, ascend the steps of the platform, falter out the valedictory prayer, and imprint the parting kiss on the lips and brow of the dead.

The last embrace given, and the farewell hymn sung, the procession resumes its way, in the same order, to the cemetery, where no further ceremonial is observed, excepting that the officiating priest casts first a little earth, in the form of a cross, into the vault, upon a coffin, and then pours upon it some holy oil, pronouncing the words, "The earth is the

rity of the church, and in direct opposition to the simple character of its ritual.

Another coincidence is not unworthy of remark: the term Bustirupus, (the robber of the pyre,) was among the Romans one of the deepest execration and contempt. The Russians have a corresponding expression Kootyanik, a word signifying the "stealer of Kootiyah," one of the most opprobrious epithets that can be applied to the vilest criminal.

The will of the deceased is read, and his papers are examined on the fortieth day, when the seal placed on his property by the police is removed by the proper authorities.