According to her, the annual peak of burials is already close.
Valentina Tokmacheva (name has been changed), who has been working at one of the cemeteries of Syktyvkar for many years, shared with the "Primary Source" an eerie and unusual fact - the mystical gateway to "that world." The woman stressed that they open only at a certain time, warning that this time is already close:
From Easter to Trinity … it is during this period that we work for days. The funeral goes one after the other, and sometimes at the same time. We can't even sit down for the whole day! At this time, the "damn list" expands to the point of impossibility. That year, for example, people who came to their loved ones for 40 days opened their mouths, looking at the rows of new graves. For some 40 days, the cemetery grew so much that even the eyes were hard to believe.
According to Valentina, from Easter to Trinity, it is not customary for them to take leave, because "work is dumped immensely." When Easter is approaching, employees already know how much work is ahead, and therefore they are preparing for the "active season":
You know, it was at this time that a kind of huge pit opens in the ground, where people are pouring down in a powerful rain. Here are children, young people and adults - absolutely everything. I've been working for so many years! And I don’t remember, perhaps, any such period that it turned out to be measured. From year to year, from Easter to Trinity, the same thing repeats itself - a stormy "dead" waterfall sets in. And only after Trinity we can breathe out calmly, sit down, so to speak, and relax. Until next Easter …
From the conversation with Valentina it became clear that April and May are the most troubling months. But what is it? Mystic? Or a coincidence? The rector of the Holy Kazan Church, Archimandrite Philip, helped to sort out these issues, who confirmed the existence of the mysterious gate:
From Easter to Trinity there are 50 days, so the Trinity is called Pentecost. To be honest, during this period of time we do not observe an increase in the number of funeral services. But the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven really exist and, according to the teachings of the church, they open on Bright Week, which this year will be from 8 to 15 April. That is, the gates to the Kingdom of Heaven will be open all week.
A representative of the clergy spoke about the gate in more detail, noting that even at this time, the Church did not observe an increase in mortality:
Promotional video:
The opening of the gates to Holy Week is a special mercy of God, since everyone who dies from Easter to the first Sunday gets into the Kingdom of Heaven. Believers are well aware of this, who dream of ending their lives on this particular Easter week. Because it is believed that on Bright Week the Lord accepts good and pious people, especially those who have worked for their neighbors here on earth. Therefore, such believers want to be chosen, worthy to die during the festive week. Sometimes you are even surprised that an absolutely healthy and kindest person can suddenly leave us on Holy Week. I don't know if this is a coincidence or not, but it happens that in Easter week we even observe a decrease in the number of funeral services.
Father Philip also emphasized that he cannot deny the increase in mortality, since there are other factors that influence such statistics:
Do not forget that Easter time is the time of spring when many chronic diseases become more acute. Changes in atmospheric pressure, sharp changes in temperature and other instability of climatic conditions can provoke "vascular catastrophes". It is not for nothing that in medicine, spring is marked by an exacerbation of vascular diseases, which are the first cause of death in our country.
And, apparently, the representative of the clergy was right. According to the material published on the basis of Rosstat data, diseases of the circulatory system are indeed the main cause of death in the country. At the same time, the analysis of statistics also shows not only high mortality, but also its growth from April to May on average from 8.31% to 8.53%. It is not known whether it is the gate or the spring aggravation, but this can hardly be called the “peak of burials”, since the most “dangerous” month was January (9.15%).