Is It Possible To Hang A Photo Of The Deceased On The Cross: Opinions And Recommendations

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

Is it possible to hang a photo of the deceased on the cross: opinions and recommendations of priests

Photos in cemeteries are commonplace. Many people order tombstones with the image of the deceased, while others hang the picture in a frame on the cross. Is this arrangement of the grave appropriate? The priests of the Orthodox Church answer.

Can I post a photo on a cross

Despite the prevalence of such decoration in Russian cemeteries, Orthodox priests tend to rather condemn photos on graves. It is believed that the cemetery should remain a place dominated by the image of the cross. Visitors should have thoughts about God and prayers, about the miraculous resurrection and life after death. Photography, on the other hand, will confuse this mood and evoke memories.

But there is another opinion. The photo on the cross will allow the visitor to remember the deceased, even if he did not know him. This way a good memory of a person is preserved longer.

There is also a superstitious ban on depicting a person on a tombstone. It is believed that the soul seems to get stuck in this world and cannot get into another. As a result, the deceased is doomed to wander in the land of the living, being a restless soul.

How to choose a photo of the deceased

If you decide to leave a photograph of the deceased on the cross, then you need to be smart about its choice:

• a person should be clearly visible at least by the shoulders, nothing should overlap him in the photo;
• choose a photo that reflects well the personality of the deceased and his character. You should not take a photo where a person smiles if he was gloomy during his lifetime, and vice versa;
• avoid photos with a laughing person - such an image is inappropriate in a cemetery.

It is still recommended to place a photo not on the cross itself, but at its foot. An engraving directly on the crosshairs may be considered blasphemy by Orthodox visitors.

What about other religions

In most other cultures, it is not customary to mount photographs on gravestones. For example, in Catholic countries, a simple rectangular stone is usually used, on which the name and years of life are indicated. In some cemeteries, you can even find flat tombstones partially buried in the ground.

In Judaism, gravestones are also not splendid. In this belief, it is customary to approach the choice of stone ascetically - usually a simple bar with an engraved name is chosen. Sometimes additional information is applied: years of life, names of parents, gender, social status. Lines from religious texts can be added as epitaphs. But photographs are not hung - just as statues are not erected. This is not accepted here.

In Asian countries, images of the deceased are also not accepted to be applied to tombstones. Here, as in most other cultures, only the name of the deceased is carved on the stone, sometimes the years of his life. But photographs are on the home altar. For example, in Japan, relatives often leave symbolic offerings to their deceased loved ones and pray for them by lighting candles or incense sticks next to the picture.

Now in Asian countries, cemeteries are rarely replenished - people increasingly choose cremation and keep the ashes of deceased family members at home.

Photos on crosses and tombstones are a feature of exclusively Russian burial culture. Whether it is worth adhering to such a tradition - decide for yourself, starting from your own beliefs and the religion of the deceased.