When You Can't Go To The Cemetery And Why

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

No time for visitors: when and why you shouldn't go to the cemetery

There are certain days and hours when going to the cemetery is not recommended. At the same time, the reasons for the prohibition can be very different - from religious to psychological.

When you can't go to a cemetery - Christian reasons

Christians have several traditions that limit visits to the cemetery:

• Easter. The priests recommend not to visit the graves of the dead during the entire Easter week, because Easter is a holiday of resurrection. This is the main joyful day for Christians, and therefore it is not worth darkening it with sorrow. Instead, the Orthodox ministers of the church offer to visit the dead at Radonitsa - on Tuesday of the second week following Easter;
• Sunday. Firstly, Sunday is a little Easter for a Christian, and therefore on this day it is supposed to rejoice in the wonderful resurrection, and not to yearn for the dead. Secondly, the clergy recommend that Sunday be dedicated to prayer in the church. But the churchmen also argue that after (but not instead of) prayer, it is quite possible to visit deceased loved ones;
• daily. Priests (and psychologists) advise, even in case of painful loss, to refrain from daily trips to the grave. Instead, the churchmen recommend directing the grief in a different direction - to pray for the soul of the deceased in the church, order a prayer service, and talk to a priest.

The clergy emphasize that all the aforementioned days are not strict prohibitions on visiting the cemetery, but recommendations. In fact, there is no mention in the Bible that it is forbidden to go to the graves on any particular holidays or days of the week.

Other reasons

The church does not prohibit pregnant women from visiting the cemetery. However, in this position, the lady can be very sensitive and subject to strong feelings. Therefore, if she has even the slightest doubt that it is worth visiting the grave, it is better to abandon this venture. It will be better both for her and for the unborn child. Neither the church nor the community condemn the absence of “obligatory” visits (on the 9th, 40th day, and so on) by pregnant women. Menstruating women and girls can also visit the cemetery as they wish and feel.

The issue of visiting the cemetery by children of primary school age is decided by their parents. The priests do not offer any instructions on this, and psychologists can give different reasons for and against such trips. As arguments “for” are usually presented the development of a calmer and more conscious attitude towards death and human mortality in a child. Opponents argue that attending a funeral or cemetery can be a shock, which will create deviations and an unhealthy interest in the attributes of death in the baby.

Each parent must independently decide whether to take their child with them to the cemetery.

But drunk people should not come to the churchyard. Not only is this disrespect for the dead, but also the living are unlikely to approve of such behavior.

As for the time of day, there are no definite prohibitions here, although there is a recommendation not to come to the graves after sunset. This can be easily explained by the eerie flair that surrounds the image of the cemetery. But there is a more weighty reason than fear of the supernatural - in cemeteries at night you can meet not zombies or ghosts, but very real drug addicts, homeless people or sectarians.

Despite the fact that the funerary culture is largely determined by religion, the Orthodox Church reserves the right for its parishioners to visit the cemetery at any time. Even funerals during Easter are not considered a serious sin, although they are not very much encouraged.