Many people know that 9 days after death are important, but not everyone knows what they mean. Probably many people wondered why to order a service in the church and arrange a commemoration.
So, you need to remember that it is the 9th day after death that is called "uninvited", since guests are not invited to it. Only relatives and close friends of the deceased can come to the commemoration in order to honor his blessed memory.
What happens on the 9th day after death?
Gathering at the memorial meal, you need to read the prayer "Our Father", after which it is imperative to eat at least a spoonful of kutya (preferably consecrated in the church).
Despite the fact that after death, 9 days have already passed on the table, there should not be, and behind it - fun, laughter, funny songs and foul language. It is also forbidden to remember the "bad" qualities of the deceased.
Those who are convinced that the food on the table is playing the wrong way big role v memorial day... This is wrong. It is best to have a modest meal without exquisite dishes... After all, it doesn't matter what dishes are on the table that day, but more importantly, people have come who respect and yearn for the deceased, and are ready at any time to lend a helping hand to his loved ones.
What does 9 days after death mean?
What happens to the soul on the 9th day after death worries many. As the Orthodox scriptures say, the soul after death leaves the human body and does not leave the world of the living, not for 9 days, but until 40 days are completed. But for 40 days, the soul is where it previously lived in the body. Some argue that after the funeral, relatives sense someone's presence in the house.
The first day after the death of a person, his soul is shocked, since it cannot understand how it can exist without a body. It is from these considerations that it is customary in India to destroy the body. If physical body will be dead for a long time, then the soul will be near him all the time. If the body is given to the earth, then the soul will see its decay.
On the third day, the soul gradually begins to come to its senses, get used to being without a body, walking around the neighborhood, after which it returns to the house. Relatives should not suffer hysterically for the deceased and sob loudly, since the soul hears everything and experiences all the torments of relatives on itself. At this time, it is necessary to pray all the time for the soul of the deceased, trying to send it out of this world. At this moment, she experiences psychological pain, worries and does not understand what to do next. Therefore, through the prayers of her relatives, I help her to calm down.
So what happens to the soul on the 9th day after death and what traditions are associated with this day? The deceased's funeral is held in honor of the nine angel ranks who serve the Almighty and ask him to have mercy on the deceased. After three days, the soul is accompanied by an Angel, who leads it into the gates of paradise and shows the abode of unearthly beauty. The soul is in this state for six days, forgetting about the grief that was felt during the period 
existence in the body and after leaving it. But if the soul is sinful, then seeing the delight of the saints in paradise, it begins to grieve and reproach itself for having sinned on earth. On the ninth day, the Almighty orders the Angels to again present the soul to him for worship. And here the soul again with trembling appears before the Lord. But during this period, relatives and friends pray for the deceased, and ask God to have mercy on the deceased and take him into their possession.
But the fate of the soul is decided only on the fortieth day, when it ascends to worship the Almighty for the third time. And then God will decide her fate, weighing her good and bad deeds in the scales.
Relatives should pray all this time, thereby atonement for the sins of the deceased - this will be the most important for him.
Who invented this commemoration? Why are 9 and 40 days after death celebrated? Why this tradition is followed modern people? Published on the web portal
Ministers version Sretensky monastery... How do they interpret the commemoration on days 9 and 40:
On the ninth day, the deceased is commemorated in order to honor the honor of the 9 ranks of the angels, who, being servants of the Heavenly King and our representatives to Him, intercede before Him for mercy on the deceased person. It is believed that from the third to the ninth day, the soul of the deceased stays in the heavenly abodes, where it: Forgets the past grief that she had to leave her body and the ordinary world .. Realizes that she served God so little while on earth, reproaches herself for this is what grieves. On the ninth day, the Lord sends Angels to bring the soul to worship. Before the throne of the Lord God, the soul trembles in this and is in great fear. At this time, the holy church in prayers for the deceased asks the Almighty to make a decision to accept the soul of his child. From 9 to 40 days, the soul goes to hell, where it observes the torment of sinners who do not deserve forgiveness, and trembles with fear. Therefore, it is so important to spend the ninth day in remembrance and prayers for the deceased. Why is the 40th day after death celebrated? The history and giving of the Church say that 40 days is the period necessary for the soul to prepare to receive help and Divine gift from the Heavenly Father. Angels show the soul a hell in which the souls of unrepentant sinners suffer in torment. On the 40th day, getting to the Lord for the third time (the first time the soul falls on the 3rd day), the soul receives a sentence: a place is appointed in which it will stay until the Last Judgment.
There are many such inventions. In works of scientific content, the justification for the commemoration of 9 and 40 days after death simply does not exist. There is no such mention in the most authoritative spiritual source- Bibles.
Prayer for the dead is not a biblical concept. Our prayers have nothing to do with someone who has already died. The reality is that at the moment of death, the eternal destiny of a person is finally determined. Either he is saved through faith in Christ and is in heaven, enjoying peace and joy in God's presence, or he is tormented in hell. The story of the rich and the beggar Lazarus provides us with a vivid illustration of this truth. Jesus used this story to teach us that after death the unrighteous are forever separated from God, that they remember their rejection of the Gospel, they are tormented and their condition cannot be changed (Luke 16: 19-31).
The writer of Hebrews says the following: “As a man is destined to die only once, and then - Judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). From this text, we understand that no changes in the spiritual state of a person are possible after his death - neither by himself, nor through the efforts of others.
So, adhering to these empty legends is simply stupid. Don't be stupid.
"Nothing disappears anywhere, but passes from one form to another" .
Even in works of scientific content related to exact sciences there are many disagreements in theories and exceptions to the accepted rules, and in matters of faith and religion, there are more than enough differences in the interpretation and explanation of traditions. Thus, to find the only correct one - remembrance of 9 and 40 days after death - simply does not exist. Below you will find the answers given by various representatives of the spirit world, as well as Interesting Facts and important tips.
If you read Castaneda, then everything is perfectly described there that happens to a person after death. V Tibetan book dead: the disintegration of the mental shell ends on day 40, the former personality and memory disappears (as a rule, but there are exceptions ...), in pre-religious descriptions it was believed that up to 9 days - the deceased could still be returned, the soul was still in it. And forty days - the soul has already left, but is tied to the body ... Previously, only the last nine days of the past were buried
If we turn to Christianity, then the version about the "energy shells" of a person is also supported there. It is not for nothing that there is a tradition to commemorate the dead on the 9th and 40th day. It is on these days that the energy shells leave (at the time of death, the first shell leaves, on the 9th day - the second, on the 40th day - the third). Religious custom have now been explained scientifically, and this once again confirmed that it was not just that these customs appeared, and in ancient times people knew more about the soul than we do now.
My drawing is the eternal passage of time @Milendia:
Commemoration of the deceased - long tradition, which originated in the days of the rise of Christianity. According to religion, the soul of every person is immortal; it most needs prayers in the afterlife. The duty of any living Christian is to pray to God for the repose of the spirit of a deceased person close to him. One of the most important religious duties is considered to be the organization of a commemoration with the participation of everyone who knew the deceased during his lifetime.
The version of the representatives of the Sretensky monastery
Why is the 9th day after death celebrated?
The Bible says that the human soul cannot die. This is confirmed by the practice of commemorating those who are no longer around in this world. In Church Tradition, it is said that after death, the spirit of a person for three days is in those places that were dear to him during his lifetime. After that, the soul appears before the Creator. God shows her all the blessedness of paradise, in which the souls of people who lead a righteous life dwell. Exactly six days the soul dwells in this atmosphere, delights and delights in all the delights of paradise. On the 9th day, the spirit again appears before the Lord for the second time. It is in memory of this event that funeral dinners are arranged by relatives and friends. On this day, prayers are ordered in the Church.
It is not uncommon for people to make the mistake of starting the countdown from the day after death. In fact, the countdown time should be the day on which the deceased left this world, even if it happened late in the evening (before 12:00). Thus, if a person died on December 2, then December 10 will become the ninth day after death... Adding numbers mathematically (December 2 + 9 days = December 11) and starting the count from the day after death is wrong.
On the ninth day, you can remove the curtains from the mirrors.
On the ninth day after the death of the deceased, you can remove the curtains from the mirrors in the house (in all except the bedroom of the deceased). It is noteworthy that the hanging of mirrors is a non-Orthodox tradition. These are echoes of an old Russian belief, which says that in the mirrors the soul of the deceased can get lost and not find a way to the next world.
On the ninth day, the commemoration should be modest.
Alcohol at a feast is optional, and according to the widespread opinion of native believers, it is an unnecessary attribute. In a table conversation, one should remember good deeds and the good deeds of the deceased. It is believed that every good word spoken about the deceased will be credited to him.
Why is it remembered for 40 days?
The fortieth day after death is considered the most important for the afterlife. From 9 to 39 days, the soul is shown hell, in which sinners are tormented. Exactly on the fortieth day, the soul again appears before Higher Power for a bow. During this period, a judgment takes place, at the end of which it will be known where the spirit will go - to hell or heaven. Therefore, it is very important in this decisive and important period ask God for alms in relation to the deceased.
The history and giving of the Church say that 40 days is the period necessary for the soul to prepare to receive help and Divine gift from the Heavenly Father. The number 40 appears several times in church traditions.
Saturday is generally dedicated to the memory of all the Saints and the dead.
On Saturday (meaning rest in Hebrew), the Church prays for all who have passed from earth to the afterlife.
except daily prayers and prayers on Saturdays in the year there are separate days, mainly devoted to prayers for the dead. These are the so-called parenting days:
1. Ecumenical meat-eating parent saturday... It happens a week before Lent. This Saturday received the name of the meat on the day following it - "Meat week", that is, the day on which last time it is allowed to eat meat.
2. Parental Universal Saturday of the 2nd week of Great Lent.
3. Parental Universal Saturday of the 3rd week of Great Lent
4. Parental Universal Saturday of the 4th week of Great Lent
5. Radonitsa - Tuesday of the second week after Easter. This day is called Radonitsa to commemorate the joy of the living and the departed about the Resurrection of Christ.
6. May 9 - the day of remembrance of all those who died and died tragically during the Great Patriotic War.
7. Trinity ecumenical parental Saturday - Saturday before the day of the Holy Trinity. Currently, there is a wrong custom to consider the holiday of the Trinity as a parental day.
8. On the day of the Beheading of the head of the Prophet, Forerunner and Baptist of the Lord John (September 11, new style), the Church commemorates the Orthodox soldiers, for the Faith and the Fatherland, on the battlefield of the slain. This commemoration was established in 1769 during the war with the Turks and Poles by order of Empress Catherine II.
9. Dimitrevskaya parental Saturday - Saturday one week before the feast of memory of the great martyr Dimitri of Thessaloniki (November 8, new style), Heavenly Patron of the Blessed Grand Duke Dimitri Donskoy. Having won a victory on the Kulikovo field, Prince Dimitri made a memorial by name of the soldiers who fell on the battlefield on the eve of his Angel day. Since then, the Church commemorates on this day, called by the people Dimitrievskaya Sabbath, not only the soldiers who died for the Fatherland, but also all the departed Orthodox Christians.
On parental days, Orthodox Christians visit the church, in which funeral services are performed. On these days, it is customary to make sacrifices at the funeral table (eve) - various products (with the exception of meat). After the memorial service, food is distributed to the servants of the temple in need, sent to orphanages and homes for the elderly. Food is also brought to the funeral table on other days when the funeral service is performed, that is, it is alms for the departed.
On spring and summer parental days (Radonitsa and Trinity Saturday), it is customary to visit the cemetery after church: fix the graves of deceased relatives and pray next to their buried bodies.
And not only in Orthodoxy there is a tradition of commemorating the dead- it is considered that on the 9th day it is destroyed astral body(body of emotions), and on day 40 - mental (body of thoughts). That is, the soul comes out of its shells.
In the sacred Tibetan Book of the Dead ("Bardo Thedol") the body is just a vessel that temporarily contains the soul. As an earthen pot is broken when it is empty, so the body is subject to destruction when the soul no longer needs it. Bardo Thedol contains a whole science about what tests the soul passes through, overcoming death, and how to facilitate its path in the ocean of samsara, the illusion of rebirth, on the way to the next reincarnation, or incarnation.
The process of separating the soul from the former shell lasts three days, during which the monks chant special mantras. These mantras, as a guide, pave the way for the consciousness of the soul through the steps of the bardo, from death to new life. In the process, the old body becomes an empty form, forever devoid of meaningful content.
The main metamorphosis takes place with the body, it splits into primary elements: earth, air, fire and water. The soul, on the other hand, becomes completely free from the shell in order to plunge into a new vessel, in which, perhaps, it will be able to approach nirvana.
Physicists believe that 40 days after death - this is the period after which the DNA stops producing a reference vibration (it loses its individual electromagnetic field)Death is not the end. In fact, death is the beginning, another stage of growing up. In the moment physical death your spirit will go to spiritual world where he will continue to learn and develop. Death is a necessary step in your development, just like birth. Someday, after your death, your spirit and body will unite again, so that they will never be separated. This is called "resurrection"
9 day after death. Why do we consider it a special day? Christians believe that a person's life does not end with his earthly existence. After all, a person is not only his body. From Holy Scripture we know that a person's body is mortal, but his soul is eternal. After death, the soul meets God. For everyone, this meeting takes place in a different way. Someone is given it hard because of the sins accumulated in earthly life, and someone experiences the great joy of meeting with Heavenly Father. But all people need support through prayer these days. You can pray in the church, in the cemetery and in your cell. The soul of a person is poisoned by sin and a meeting with the Perfect God can become a great test for the soul of the deceased. But we know that the Lord is merciful and hears our prayers, granting us forgiveness of sins through them. Therefore, we can also pray for the deceased. Reception, we know from Church Tradition that some days in a person's afterlife will be especially important and difficult for him. It is on these days that a person's soul meets with God, his posthumous fate is decided, he revisits the days of his earthly life and often suffers from his sins, from the memory of moments when he could not give up the temptation to do something unrighteous. What is happening to the soul these days? How can you help the deceased?
9 days after death - meaning in Orthodoxy
3 days, 9 days after death, 40 days ... These dates are important point for the soul of a deceased person. According to Church Tradition, up to 3 days after death, the soul stays next to the body. She has already passed into a new state, but has not yet completely left this world. On the third day, the soul of a person goes to the Lord, where he can see the heavenly abodes. On the ninth day, the soul appears before God and can find out what hell is, eternal life without the Lord. On the 9th day, the time of purification comes for the human soul. It can be hard for the soul to be without the support of loved ones on this day. A person's posthumous memory is preserved, his soul knows and remembers that there are people left in earthly life who can pray for him. Memory is part human personality and nowhere is it said that getting to heaven, the soul of a person completely loses its connection with this world. Moreover, a terrible meeting with the abodes of hell lies ahead. This meeting lasts longer, because the Kingdom of Heaven is entered by the “narrow gate”. The hellish abodes are much larger than the heavenly ones. But the fortieth day will determine the further fate of a person until Of the Last Judgment, the soul of the deceased will remain in Paradise or in Hell until the moment when the Lord comes to “judge the living and the dead,” and new world... During the Last Judgment, where the fate of all people will be finally decided, they will be resurrected.
What happens to the soul of the deceased on the 9th day after death
A journey through heaven and hell is a figurative concept. We do not know anything for certain about how exactly God and the human soul meet after death. In earthly life, a person cannot see God, so there is no doubt that after traveling through the heavenly mansions, meeting with God is a responsible and important moment. The Guardian Angel led a person through the Kingdom of Heaven and, behold, the person finds himself in worship with the Heavenly Father. Man is imperfect; in earthly life he has committed many sins. And it is difficult for a soul to endure a meeting with a perfect Creator. Superstitious beliefs often paint hell as a place with pans and boiling pots. In reality, we only know figuratively that we are waiting for a person who does not end up in Paradise. We only know for sure that life without God is a torment for man, and all the good that we have in earthly and future life is from God. We don't have an exact promise. 3 days, 9 days after death and 40 days after death are the numbers that are often found in the Bible. Perhaps 9 days after death is a very long time in our understanding, but we perceive days as earthly time, heavenly time can go completely differently. It is necessary to calculate 9 days after death correctly. The usual mathematical method (add 9 days to the day of a person's death) is the wrong way. To correctly calculate 9 days from the date of death, we need to take into account the date on which the person died. Even if it happened at 11 pm. If a person died on November 4, the 9th day from the date of death is November 12. It is imperative to take into account the date of death, if death occurred during the day on November 4, this day is also taken into account when calculating. We know one thing for certain about 9 days after death, 40 days after death - these milestones become special and most important for the soul of a person in his afterlife.
Commemoration on the 9th day after death
The best thing for the soul of a deceased person is to go to the cemetery on the 9th day, ask the priest to perform a requiem. Of course, you can pray for the soul of a person in private. We do not know exactly how our prayer works. Reasoning about such things, one can only make assumptions, but the Church unequivocally says that prayer these days facilitates the fate of the deceased and gives consolation to the relatives and loved ones of a person who has passed into eternal life. There are various prejudices and superstitions that say that you should not visit the cemetery on the 9th day after death. But all the statements that it is - Bad sign or in some way can harm a person's soul, do not correspond to reality. The Church resolutely rejects superstitious beliefs not based on Church Tradition. The experience of the Church suggests that a person can go to a cemetery, or not, if he doesn’t have such an opportunity. The main thing is to pray for the soul of the deceased.
9 days after death - what to do for the relatives of the deceased
Death loved one or a relative always gives birth to sorrow. God created us for eternal life, that is why death is perceived by our minds as something abnormal, contrary to human nature, frightening and wrong. “Death is the only penance that no man has escaped,” the priests say. We pay with death for the imperfection of this world, in which we find ourselves as a result of Original sin. Our body is forcibly separated from the soul and, of course, this is a test both for the deceased and for his loved ones. The human soul will pass into eternity in the state in which death found it. We never know when we will go over to God, which is why we need to try to live with dignity and righteousness throughout our lives. But Christians have consolation. We know that our Lord, Jesus Christ "trampled death upon death." The Lord took upon our sins so that we can enter into eternal life. He conquered death. By His grace, God has provided us with the opportunity to help the soul of a person who can no longer help himself by repentance. Paisiy Svyatorets said “the best memorial service for the deceased is correction own life”. Therefore, sincere prayer, without a formal approach, is pleasing to God, and we can really still help our loved ones if we pray for them after their death.
If you are unable to invite a priest, you can read the deceased's litany for a lay person. There is a special rite of lithium, which is performed by the laity in private and in the cemetery. Despite the fact that we cannot know exactly what our prayer gives to the soul of the deceased, we have a certain spiritual experience accumulated by the Russian Orthodox Church and we know that God always hears our prayers. He also sees a sincere desire to help the deceased, the love of his neighbors for a person who has passed into a new world.
In our prayers for the deceased, we ask that on the 9th day after death, upon meeting with God, the soul of a person receives inexpressible joy and consolation, and not sorrow for his unworthy life.
What prayers to read on the 9th day after death
The rite of the lithium, which the laity perform in private and at the grave of the deceased, differs from the rite of the lithium, which is read by the clergy.
Glory to Thee, our God, glory to Thee.
Heavenly King, Comforter, Soul of truth, Who is everywhere and fulfill everything, Treasure of the good and life to the Giver, come and dwell in us, and cleanse us from all filth, and save, Beloved, our souls.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (Three times)
Holy Trinity, have mercy on us; Lord, cleanse our sins; Master, forgive our iniquity; Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities, for Thy name's sake.
Lord have mercy. (Three times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in heaven! Hallowed your name Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven and on earth. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we also leave our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Lord have mercy. (12 times)
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Come, let us worship our Tsar God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and fall down on Christ, our King God. (Bow)
Come, let us worship and fall down on Christ Himself, the Tsar and our God. (Bow)
Psalm 90
Living in the help of the Most High, he will settle in the roof of the Heavenly God. The Lord speaks: Thou art my protector, and my refuge, my God, and I trust in Him. Yako Toy will save you from the snare of the hunter and from the word of rebellion, His splash will overshadow you, and under His krill you hope: His truth will go around you with weapons. Do not be afraid of the fear of the night, of an arrow flying in days, of a thing in transitory darkness, of a crumbling and midday demon. Thousands will fall from your country, and tma at your right hand will not come close to you: watch your eyes both, and behold the reward of sinners. As Thou, Lord, my hope, the Most High, Thou hast laid thy refuge. Evil will not come to you, and the wound will not approach your body. Like His angel a commandment about you, keep you in all your ways. They will take thee in their arms, but not when they knock your foot on a stone. Step on the asp and the basilisk, and cross the lion and the serpent. I trust in Me, and I will deliver and; I will cover and, as if My name is known. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble, I will destroy him, and I will glorify him; by the length of the days I will fulfill it, and I will show him my salvation.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, God. (Three times)
Troparion, voice 4th:
From the spirits of the righteous who have passed away, the soul of Thy servant, Savior, rest, preserving it in a blissful life, even with You, Human-loving.
In Thy rest, O Lord, where all Thy sanctuaries rest, rest the soul of Thy servant, as if you were the One Lover of Man.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Thou art God, descended into hell, and letting the fetters of the fettered, rest Himself and the soul of Thy servant.
And now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
One Pure and immaculate Virgin, who gave birth to God without seed, pray that his soul be saved.
Sedalen Voice 5:
Peace, our Savior, with the righteous of Thy servant, and put this in Thy courtyards, as it is written, despising, as Good, his sins, both voluntary and involuntary, and all even in the knowledge and not in the knowledge, Human-loving.
Kontakion, voice 8:
Rest with the saints, Christ, the soul of Thy servant, where there is no sickness, no sorrow, no sighing, but endless life.
Ikos:
You yourself alone are the Immortal, who created and created man, we will be created from the earth, and we will go into the earth, as you commanded, creating me and the river mi: as if you were the earth, and go to the earth, too, we will go to the earth, creating a burial sob : Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia.
It is worthy to eat as truly blessed Thee, Mother of God, Ever-Blessed and Most Immaculate and Mother of our God. The most honest Cherubim and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim, who gave birth to God the Word without corruption, we magnify the Mother of God.
Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, both now and forever and forever and ever. Amen.
Lord have mercy (Three times), bless.
Through the prayers of the saints, our Father, Lord Jesus Christ, our God, have mercy on us. Amen.
In blissful dormition, give eternal rest, O Lord, to Thy servant who has fallen asleep (name), and make him an eternal memory.
Everlasting memory. (Three times)
His soul will be settled in good, and his memory will be for generations and generations.
In countries where historically long and strong Christian traditions, everyone knows that after death of a person the third day after the sad event, the ninth day and the fortieth day are of particular importance. Almost everyone knows, but many cannot say for what reasons these dates - 3 days, 9 days and 40 days - are so important. What happens, according to traditional ideas, with the soul of a person until the ninth day after his departure from earthly life?
The path of the soul
Christian beliefs about the posthumous journey human soul may differ depending on a particular denomination. And if in the Orthodox and Catholic picture underworld and the fate of the soul in it is still not much different, then in various Protestant movements the spread of opinions is very large - from almost full identity with Catholicism to a departure far from tradition, up to complete denial the existence of hell as a place of eternal torment for the souls of sinners. Therefore, the Orthodox version of what happens to the soul in the first nine days after the beginning of a different, afterlife life is more interesting.
Patristic tradition (that is, the recognized corpus of the writings of the Church Fathers) states that after the death of a person for almost three days his soul has almost complete freedom. She not only possesses all the "baggage" from earthly life, that is, hopes, attachments, full memory, fears, shame, the desire to complete some unfinished business, and so on, but is also capable of being anywhere. It is generally accepted that on these three days the soul is either next to the body, or if a person died away from home and family, next to his loved ones, or in those places that, for some reason, were especially dear or remarkable for this person... On the third tribute, the soul loses complete freedom of its behavior and is taken by angels to Heaven to worship the Lord there. That is why on the third day, according to tradition, it is necessary to hold a memorial service and thus finally say goodbye to the soul of the deceased.
Having bowed to God, the soul goes on a kind of "tour" around paradise: the Kingdom of Heaven is shown to it, it gets an idea of what paradise is, it sees the union of righteous souls with the Lord, which is the purpose of human existence, meets the souls of saints, and the like. This “sightseeing” journey of the soul through paradise lasts six days. And here, according to the Fathers of the Church, the first torments of the soul begin: seeing the heavenly delight of the saints, she realizes that she is unworthy of sharing their fate due to her sins and is tormented by doubts and fear that she will not go to heaven. On the ninth day, the angels again take the soul to God so that she can glorify His Love for the saints, which she just could observe herself.
What's important these days for the living
However, according to the Orthodox worldview, one should not perceive the nine days after death as an exclusively otherworldly affair, which does not seem to concern the surviving relatives of the deceased. On the contrary, it is precisely forty days after the death of a person that for his family and friends is the time of the greatest convergence of the earthly world and the Kingdom of Heaven. Because it is during this period that the living can and must make every effort to contribute to the best possible fate of the soul of the deceased, that is, its salvation. To do this, you need to constantly pray, hoping for God's mercy and forgiveness to the soul of her sins. This is important from the point of view of determining the fate of the human soul, that is, where it will await the Last Judgment, in heaven or in hell. At the Last Judgment, the fate of every soul will be finally decided, so that those of them who were placed in hell have the hope that prayers for her will be heard, she will be forgiven (if a person is prayed for, even though he committed many sins, which means that there was something good in him) and will be worthy of a place in paradise.
Ninth day after death of a person is in Orthodoxy, no matter how strange it may sound, almost festive. People believe that the soul of the deceased has been in paradise for the last six days, even if as a guest, and now it can adequately praise the Creator. Moreover, it is believed that if a person led a righteous life and his good deeds, with love for his neighbors and repentance for his own sins, won the favor of the Lord, then his posthumous fate can be decided after nine days. Therefore, the loved ones of a person should, on this day, firstly, especially earnestly pray for his soul, and secondly, hold a memorial meal. Funeral on the ninth day, from the point of view of tradition, they should be "uninvited" - that is, no one should be specially invited to them. Those who wish the soul of the deceased all the best should themselves remember this responsible day and come without reminders.
However, in reality, memorials are almost always invited in a special way, and if more people are expected than the dwelling can accommodate, then they are held in restaurants or similar establishments. Funeral on the ninth day, this is a calm memory of the deceased, which should not turn into either an ordinary party or a funeral gathering. It is noteworthy that the Christian concept of special meaning three, nine and forty days after the death of a person, modern occult teachings were adopted. But they gave these dates a different meaning: according to one version, the ninth day is marked by the fact that the body supposedly decomposes during this period; according to another, at this turn, that of the bodies, after the physical, mental and astral, which can appear as a ghost, dies. 40 days after death: The Last Frontier
V Orthodox tradition the third, ninth and fortieth days after the death of a person have a certain meaning for his soul. But it is precisely the fortieth day that has a special meaning: for believers, this is the line that finally separates earthly life from eternal life. That's why 40 days after death, from a religious point of view, the date is even more tragic than the very fact of physical death.
Fight for the soul between hell and heaven
According to Orthodox ideas, which originate from the cases described in the Lives of the Holy, from the theological works of the Fathers of the Church and from canonical services, the soul of a person from the ninth to the fortieth days passes through a series of obstacles called aerial ordeals. From the moment of death until the third day, the soul of a person stays on earth and can be near his loved ones or travel anywhere. From the third to the ninth days, she dwells in paradise, where she is given the opportunity to appreciate the benefits that the Lord, as a reward for a righteous or holy life, gives souls in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Ordeals begin from the ninth day and represent such obstacles in which nothing depends on the human soul itself. A person changes the ratio of his good and evil thoughts, words and deeds only in earthly life, after death he is no longer able to add or subtract anything. Ordeals are, in fact, "trials" between representatives of hell (demons) and heaven (angels), which have an analogy in the debate between a prosecutor and a lawyer. There are twenty ordeals in total, and they represent certain sinful passions that all people are subject to. During each of the ordeals, demons present a list of a person's sins associated with this passion, and the angels announce a list of his good deeds. It is generally accepted that if the list of sins for each ordeal turns out to be more solid than the list of good deeds, then the soul of a person goes to hell if, by God's mercy, good deeds are not multiplied. If there are more good deeds, the soul proceeds to the next ordeal, as in the case if sins and good deeds are equal.
The final decision of fate
The doctrine of aerial ordeals is not canonical, that is, it is not included in the main doctrinal code of Orthodoxy. However, the authority of patristic literature has led to the fact that for many centuries such ideas about the posthumous path of the soul are actually the only ones within the framework of this religious confession. Period from ninth to fortieth day after death a person is considered the most important, and the fortieth day itself is perhaps the most tragic date even in comparison with death itself. The fact is that, according to Orthodox beliefs, on the fortieth day, after going through the ordeals and contemplating all the horrors and torments that await sinners in hell, the human soul for the third time appears directly before God (for the first time - on the third day, the second time - on the ninth day). And it is at this moment that the fate of the soul is decided - where it will stay until the moment of the Last Judgment, in hell or in the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is believed that by that time the soul had already passed all possible tests, which should have determined whether a person could earthly life deserve salvation. The soul had already seen paradise and could feel how worthy or unworthy it was to share the fate of the righteous and saints. She has already gone through ordeals and can imagine how many and grave her sins are. By this time, she must completely repent and rely only on God's mercy. That is why the fortieth day after death is perceived by the Church and the loved ones of the deceased as a key milestone, after which the soul goes either to heaven or hell. It is necessary to pray fervently for the soul of the deceased, proceeding from at least three motives. Firstly, prayer can influence the Lord's decision regarding the fate of the soul: attention is drawn to both the very fact of the care of those close to a person and the possible intercession of the saints before God, whom they pray to. Secondly, if the soul is nevertheless sent to hell, this does not mean final death for it: the fate of all people will finally be decided during the Last Judgment, which means that there is still an opportunity to change the decision through prayers. Thirdly, if a person's soul has found the Kingdom of Heaven, it is necessary to adequately thank God for the mercy shown to Him.
