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كنيسةُ القِدِّيسِ جَاورجِيُوسَ الَأنطَاكِيَّة للرُّومِ الأُرْثُوذُكسِ في جَاكسِنْفل فلُوريدا

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Praying for deceased loved ones
 

Why do we pray for the dead?
The reason we pray for departed loved ones is no different than the reason we pray for our loved ones still here with us; because we love and respect them. All of us, living and dead, are members of one Church and are bound together by one Faith, each of us being unworthy sons of the merciful God.

Death and burial cannot sever the Christian love which united us to begin with. In life, we pray for the Grace of God to be upon our loved ones, aiding them through the journey of life on planet earth.  In death, we pray that that they may become worthy of the vision of God.

We also ask those who've died to pray for us. Since those whom the Church has deemed to be of the Church Triumphant (the canonized Saints) are in Heaven, they are in no need of our prayers for them; we've always asked for them to pray for us. 

How do our prayers help the departed?
Sin can leave long-lasting scars even after God's forgiveness is granted and accepted. The effects of sustained sin-our own, and that of others-do not simply vanish when we accept God's forgiveness, though this remission of our guilt is certainly the crucial first step towards total healing. 

Only through an ongoing life of faith in Christ do we gradually become cleansed and healed, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, from these wounds of sin. This happens as we gradually become more and more suffused with God's light and love-as we ever more completely partake of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).

Just as this process is never completed in anyone's life while on earth-no one becomes sinless-it is the Orthodox understanding that sanctification continues on, in some way, into the world beyond-especially in the beginning stages of the next life. The Church believes that our prayers for the departed can help them in this process of healing and purification. 

There is yet another dimension to this question. Not only do our prayers help the departed, but praying for them helps us as well. It keeps their remembrance alive in us, helping our hearts to stay warm and full of love towards them.

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​​​What is the significance of the 9 Day, 40 Day,6 mos, 1 year, memorial service after someone’s death?

In the Scriptures, 40 is used as a symbolic number.  It is the number which represents a long period of time during which something of great significance is accomplished.  In the time of Noah, God caused a great flood by making it to rain for 40 days and 40 nights.  After leaving Egypt, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.  After being Baptized, Christ fasted for 40 days. Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after resurrection.
 
Thus it is that 40 days signals the end of a period of mourning, and we mark the occasion by remembering our departed and praying God for their souls. There is a view that the period of the 40 days after death is it the time when the soul is 'judged' and on the 40th day itself, decided upon which direction the soul will go. There is also a view that the soul travels around for during that time visiting places of significance in its life.

All these concepts of a lingering soul are pious opinions but are not doctrines of the Church. In the Greek tradition it’s popular to believe the soul lingers for 40 days whereas the Russian tradition believes it lingers for 3 days. St John Chrysostom completely rejected the belief of a lingering soul altogether.


The Memorial Services:

THIRD DAY SERVICE
The third day service is celebrated for the reason that the reposed one received his being through the Trinity, and having been translated, he hopes to be changed back to the ancient beauty in which man was first made before the fall, or one better [at the resurrection].

NINTH (9) DAY SERVICE
The ninth day service is celebrated that his spirit may dwell together with the holy spirits, the angels, since it is immaterial as is their nature. They are ranked according to nine orders, and in three trinities they proclaim and praise God in Trinity.


40TH (40) DAY SERVICE
The 40th day service is celebrated in the memory of the Saviour’s Ascension 40 days after His Resurrection and that the reposed one, when he is resurrected, may be taken up in the clouds to meet the Judge, our Savoir and Master, and thus be with Him forever (1Thes. 4:17).
 

6 mos / ANNUAL ( 1year) 

MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR THE DEAD
Each year [thereafter] the relatives observe the memorial of the departed to demonstrate that he/ she lives and is of immortal soul and he/she shall be restored when the Creator raises up his/her body.