www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Greece legalises cremation

Dear Simple Sinner,

Does not the Roman Catholic church now allow cremation?

I believe the answer is 'yes'.

The Orthodox church does not.

That is exactly what I meant.

Well, in this particular instance, I have to say that atleast it is the state and not the church, as is the case in the Roman Catholic church.

it... could hamper the resurrection of the dead.

In the U.S., according to law, even Orthodox are embalmed.

Alice,

This is a common misconception. Laws differ from state to state, but most states allow a body to remain unembalmed. Of course, the funeral directors want you to think otherwise.

I recently watched a program on the History Channel that talked about "green burial." At one particular cemetery in CA, bodies were left unembalmed, placed either in a simple wooden casket or just wrapped in a shroud, and placed in the earth without any vault. It sounded very Orthodox to me!

I also learned from the same program that the "ashes" that remain after a cremation are pulverized pieces of charred bone. The high temperatures of the crematorium actually vaporize most of the body.

Dave

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada does not permit cremation.

I was a bit surprised at the harshness towards Orthodox Christians who have not paid their annual dues in the quote from the ACROD church.
In our church seniors for example are exempt from the $90 a year membership fee. (People are expected to also give their tithe and/or gifts as well.)

If you are a registered member you get to use the church without an extra fee. usually the choir or a smaller choir will sing at the funeral without an extra fee. usually on a week day funneral the choir is made up of seniors/ retired people.

If you are not a paid up member then there is an extra fee for use of the church building. I have never heard of anyone being refused a funeral service in the church building however.

Alice,

For the RC, cremation is only allowed after the funeral service - all the liturgical rites would be with the body present. The cremation would take place before the burial of the urn. As to Indian converts - most prefer burial. The majority of cremations among Catholics occur in the US and in nations where cremation is the only option allowed by law.

Cremains brought to Church?
"It is greatly to be preferred that the funeral liturgy take place in the presence of the body of the deceased prior to its cremation."

This quote, from the Vatican Indult regarding allowing cremains to come to Church expresses the feelings of the Church. The presence of the body shows reverence for the body, can contribute toward our belief in resurrection of the body, and provides the closure of seeing the body of the deceased.

Until a short time ago, the Catholic Church didn't allow cremains to come to Church. The funeral was always celebrated with the body present. The citations from the Catholic Catechism found on this page provide the reasons, along with the personal considerations that make the presence of the body desirable.

A recent letter from the Vatican has cleared ground for celebrating the funeral Mass with the cremains present. That's a change, and any change requires learning and understanding. Each diocesan bishop has the right to decide whether to allow the practice in his diocese. Any good shepherd would want the faithful to have good understanding before introducing something that could be confusing or misunderstood. My desire in the creation of this page is to help us come to greater understanding of what the Church teaches ... and why. The link below provides the text of the Indult, or letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments that opens the door for such permission.