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Glory to Jesus Christ!

I'm seeking information regarding funerals in the Eastern Churches in the United States and Canada. Tradition calls for the casket to be open during the funeral. At the funerals I've attended the casket is usually closed, except for clergy. Apparently the undertakers and social "psychologists" have been permitted to overrule Church tradition.

In your parish, is the casket open or closed during funerals? And what was the Church (jurisdiction)?
Certainly if the person died of communicable disease or was mangled, the casket would be closed, but what of a non-violent death?

When I was an Anglican ministrering in northern Canada, if the family wanted an open casket, they got. Simple. This was especially the case on Native reservations, where the casket was pretty much always open.

I know we're talking Anglicans here, but it at least suggests that the funeral directors were responsive to family and/or church desires.

What I've experienced is that the Funeral Director WILL do as directed, but he's not going to suggest an open casket. Here in PA assume the casket is supposed to be closed, because that's all they've seen.

This makes no sense because most of the time the casket is open at the viewing. Why is it more traumatic (as they claim) at the funeral? So people cry...that's natural; is it healthier to hold it back?

More observations? Are EC's even aware the casket should be open?

I think to some extent that it's incumbent on the priests and deacons to exert their authority at funerals (pastorally, of course) and to thereby re-educate the people and funeral directors.

In my experience, funeral directors have been pretty responsive. It's just that the people themselves seem to have welcomed the move away from explicit mourning.

I haven't had to do any funerals as an EC priest yet, but the parish I serve seems pretty au fait with the tradition of open casket.

Слава Ісусу Христу!

In my Greek Orthodox church (Hellenic community) here in Ontario Canada, we have an open casket. I have been to Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Brampton, St Elias and they have an open casket. There are two Ukrainian Greek Catholic churches here and one has a closed casket and the other ( a much older church ) has an open casket. The one Ukrainian Orthodox church has open casket.

Kolya

Preferred Lutheran practice is for the services to take place in the church; sometimes with a viewing prior to the liturgy. The viewing takes place in the narthex or a parlor.

The casket is closed prior to the liturgy and one of the first acts is to cover the closed casket with a white pall as the Baptismal promise of Romans 6 is read.

For Veterans the pall is removed just prior to the casket departing the church and the flag is placed at that time.

Out of 5 funerals I remember attending at my previous parish (Ruthenian), 4 were open casket, and 1 was closed casket at the request of the family, due to the circumstances of the death.

Annunciation always had open casket. I don't know about any others.

Well, I know that in the Latin Rite, that the Veteran part of removing the pall and dressing it with the flag is correct. I learned this when my father passed away, and we had his funeral with military honours. However, the Roman Rite is always closed casket, and the only time it's ever open-casket is at the funeral home. Haven't really attended funerals in the Byzantine Rite, shame on me, but I remember being at the viewing of Msgr. Vaida back when I was younger, as I was an altar server under him.