There are many reasons for this, but the main reason is that God has no living and no dead, all people for him are alive, just some have not yet crossed the line of the mortal gates, while others have crossed it, and now their fate directly depends on their deeds, prayers of the living and the mercy of God. And if we ask God for the welfare of our loved ones in this life, then why should we leave them without our participation in the other world? After all, from now on, only we, their relatives, can influence their fate and remove from them the sins of which they did not repent and which, perhaps, did not even remember.
God has everyone alive
The fact that people who have passed away hear our prayers is evidenced by many cases. For example, in 1896, at the relics of Archbishop Theodosius (Chernigov), a certain hieromonk Alexy was obedient, who once was so tired that he fell asleep by the crayfish. Then, in a dream, the archbishop appeared to him, who thanked him for his prayer and asked him to pray for his parents at the Liturgy: Father Nikita and Mother Mary, pointing out that prayer during the Liturgy is the most powerful. Until that moment, the names of the saint's parents were unknown and were not mentioned in the life.
Later in the monastery, in the archive, a commemoration of the saint was discovered, in which the first names were the names of his father and mother - Nikita and Mary.
Hieromonk Alexy, who was awarded the vision, later became a famous elder in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra.
Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh spoke about the case of a murdered girl's prayerful intercession about her groom, who accidentally shot her during the hostilities, which he grieved all his life. He confessed his sin before various confessors, but it did not get any easier for him until he came to Vladyka Anthony.
The saint gave him advice - to pray for forgiveness not only to God, but also to ask his beloved for forgiveness so that she, the innocent victim, would intercede before God for her killer.
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A few years later, the man wrote to Anthony that the guilt that had tormented him for so many years had receded, that is, the prayer to God of the bride he killed was stronger than all his prayers.
This is indicated by the Holy Scriptures
The Old Testament (2Mac. 12:39) tells how the soldiers of Judas Maccabeus, after the battle with the Edomites, began to gather their killed comrades on the battlefield and under their clothes they found idol amulets that the Jews captured as trophies and because of superstition they put on before the battle …
Such an act was a terrible sin before God, and the surviving soldiers realized that this sin caused the death of each of the killed.
To atone for the guilt of their fellow tribesmen, the Jews made a joint prayer before the Creator with a request that this sin be “completely blotted out”, and Judas Maccabee sent an offering to Jerusalem so that they would bring a sacrifice to God there that would propitiate the Creator and cleanse the dead from sin. This case clearly shows that the living can influence the decision of God about the deceased, have a real opportunity to ask Him for forgiveness for the misdeeds of their relatives and thus facilitate their posthumous existence.
In the book of Jeremiah (16: 7), the believer is charged with giving alms for the deceased, giving it to the poor: "… depend on your bread in the presence of the righteous, but do not give it to a sinner."
In the Gospel of Matthew, Christ himself says that in the next century only one sin will not be forgiven - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which directly indicates the possibility of forgiving a person after his death.
Therefore, the Orthodox Church prays “for the deceased Christians who lie here and everywhere” - to alleviate their fate, since no one fully knows what fate awaits his relatives.
Seek forgiveness for those who have sinned
Since the final fate of a person will be determined at the Last Judgment, this means that the living still have time to ask forgiveness for the dead: “Whatever you ask in prayer with faith, you will receive” (Matt. 21:22).
It is known that early Christians prayed for the dead since apostolic times; their gravestones are inscribed with the petitions of their relatives to God: “May God refresh Anthony's soul! Let him see paradise”,“Eternal light to Timothy in Christ”. “May the One to whom all is possible cool you” - is inscribed on the grave of the burnt martyrs.
On the stone of Bishop Averky (city of Hieropolis), equated to the apostles, is written his request to the Synod to pray for him.
Prayer for the departed is a selfless feat that should be combined with fasting and good deeds. The most famous prayer books among the Orthodox were the hermits the Great Macarius and Paisy, Pavel the Simple, the holy fool Andrew and the holy martyr Uar, to whom they pray for unrepentant sinners.
In Russia, the most famous prayer book for a deceased spouse was St. Xenia of Petersburg, who became a widow at the age of 28 and devoted her whole life to pleading her husband from hell, accepting the feat of foolishness. She put on men's clothes, called herself by the name of her husband and began to pray to God day and night for forgiveness.
How can you help?
First, the deceased must be buried - this can be done in a church, in the farewell hall of a ritual service, or in a cemetery. If it is not possible to conduct a funeral service for the deceased, you can do it in absentia. After the funeral, the magpie is ordered "For the repose", relatives read the Psalter for 40 days.
It is believed that the first 40 days after death, the soul of a person overcomes trials, and only after that the Lord decides its fate; the prayers of the living can tip the scales in the direction of its relief.
Then they order an annual commemoration, you can submit notes "about the repose", order funeral services - special funeral services. In the monasteries of Russia, Athos or Jerusalem, you can order "eternal remembrance", you can give alms to the poor, so that they pray for the deceased, do good deeds and even make peace with those with whom he was in a quarrel.
All this, plus personal fervent prayer to God, is pleasing to the Lord and can ease the posthumous suffering of a loved one.
Maya Novik