Keywords: service, cemetery, tomb, martyrs, saints, rest, eternity
Abstract:
Cemeteries are resting places, where people are buried. Due to their consecration and use, they are among the sacred goods of the Church. Ever since the time of the Early Church, the bodies of the Christians were interred separately from those of the Pagans. During the era of the persecutions, Christians gathered around the tombs – especially those of the martyrs – at the times of prayer, since these places were protected by law and could not be defiled. Church services and the Divine Liturgy were officiated on top of them, while Christian churches were built alongside cemeteries, as the cult of the martyrs gained recognition. After the end of the persecutions, when the Christians were granted freedom to worship, they maintained this tradition to prepare the tombs of their departed in the vicinity of churches. Subsequently, cemeteries were organised within designated spaces, that have clear rules for the maintenance of order and civility within these sacred places, such as: raising a wooden or stone cross in the centre, arranging the tombs from east to west and placing a cross at the head of each of the departed. Both the tombs and the cemeteries must be surrounded with fences and the vegetation around them must be groomed, since the maintenance of these monuments in a good state mirrors the degree of religiosity of the local parishioners and involvement of the priest.
Pages: 12-18