It is believed that on the graves of Orthodox Christians the cross is installed at the feet, and on the graves of Catholics or Lutherans - at the head. In fact, there is no single tradition on this score.
What does the cross in the legs and in the head represent?
In the Christian tradition, the dead are buried facing east, that is, with their head to the west and feet to the east. This is how Christ was buried in a cave grave. The New Testament claims that before the End of the World, Christ will rise and rise like lightning from the east. When the departed, in turn, are resurrected to appear before the Last Judgment, they can immediately see Christ. The cross at the feet symbolizes support and eternal life.
If the cross stands at the head of the grave, this symbolizes the banner that a person will carry in his hands after the general resurrection as a symbol of victory over the dark forces.
What do church dogmas say?
The Church explains that the orientation of the cross has more to do with religious tradition than dogma. It all depends on local customs, as well as on the religious beliefs of the loved ones of the deceased. So the cross can stand in the legs and in the head. The first option is more common among Orthodox Russians. In Catholic countries - the second.
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Opinions of clergy
But even among the ministers of the Orthodox Church there are disagreements on this matter. For example, in the book "All Alive With God" says: "The cross, the symbol of salvation, rises above the grave of every Christian (it is placed at the feet)."
Father Afanasy (Gumerov) says: “According to the Orthodox tradition, the deceased is buried with his head to the West and, accordingly, his face to the East, so that he can see the sunrise. The sun is born in the East, but dies in the West. The position of the deceased expresses silent prayer and the desire to follow from darkness to light, from West to East, from this earthly
the world into eternity. Before the end of the world, Christ will come from the East, where according to the Bible is Paradise. And when he comes, the dead must see His face, and Christ must see the faces of the dead. The cross of Christ is placed at the feet of the deceased. Orthodox churches are also built in such a way that believers face the East during prayer."
Hieroschemamonk Amfilochiy (Nikolai Fyodorovich Trubchaninov) writes in the book The Power of the Cross of Christ: “And then the time came that they began to put the cross at the feet of the deceased. So he said: “I am ready to accept any, the most cruel torments, but only so that the words do not come out of my mouth: put a cross in my feet. And God forbid that they put a cross at my feet, I will come from there and show then where the cross is being placed.”
Father Oleg Molenko answers the question of a believing woman about the installation of the cross as follows: “On the day of the glorious general resurrection of the dead … the bodies of all dead people will be resurrected by God's power and will rise from their graves. Those who, according to pious custom, had a cross at their feet, the first thing they will see is this beloved symbol of their salvation. Those who, due to ignorance or other reasons, put the cross at the head … they can only hit their head on the base of the cross.
So it's up to you to decide which tradition to follow and where to put a cross on the grave.
Irina Shlionskaya
