[13][14] In Eastern Orthodoxy, Christians pray for "such souls as have departed with faith, but without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance".
[15] While prayer for the dead continues in both these traditions and in those of Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, many Protestant groups reject the practice.
Subsequent writers similarly make mention of the practice as prevalent, not as unlawful or even disputed (until Arius challenged it towards the end of the 4th century).
The most famous instance is Saint Augustine's prayer for his mother, Monica, at the end of the 9th book of his Confessions, written around 398.
[1] An important element in the Christian liturgies both East and West consisted of the diptychs, or lists of names of living and dead commemorated at the Eucharist.
To be inserted in these lists was a confirmation of one's orthodoxy, and out of the practice grew the official canonization of saints; on the other hand, removal of a name was a condemnation.
In view of the certainty that by the process of purification and with the help of the prayers of the faithful they were destined for heaven, they are referred to as the "holy souls".
"[18] During the slaughter of the First World War, Pope Benedict XV on 10 August 1915 allowed all priests everywhere to say three Masses on All Souls' Day.
In Communio Sanctorum, the Lutheran and Catholic Churches in Germany agreed that prayer for the dead "corresponds to the communion in which we are bound together in Christ ... with those who have already died to pray for them and to commend them ... to the mercy of God.
[20][21] Saint Basil the Great (379 CE) writes in his Third Kneeling Prayer at Pentecost: "O Christ our God ... (who) on this all-perfect and saving Feast, art graciously pleased to accept propitiatory prayers for those who are imprisoned in hades, promising unto us who are held in bondage great hope of release from the vilenes that doth hinder us and did hinder them, ... send down Thy consolation ... and establish their souls in the mansions of the Just; and graciously vouchsafe unto them peace and pardon; for not the dead shall praise thee, O Lord, neither shall they who are in Hell make bold to offer unto thee confession.
"[22] Saint Gregory Dialogus († 604) in his famous Dialogues (written in 593) teaches that, "The Holy Sacrifice (Eucharist) of Christ, our saving Victim, brings great benefits to souls even after death, provided their sins (are such as) can be pardoned in the life to come.
"[23] However, St. Gregory goes on to say, the Church's practice of prayer for the dead must not be an excuse for not living a godly life on earth.
"[24] Father Seraphim Rose († 1982) says: "The Church's prayer cannot save anyone who does not wish salvation, or who never offered any struggle (podvig) for it himself during his lifetime.
Then the body is washed, clothed and laid in the coffin, after which the priest begins the First Panikhida (prayer service for the departed).
Traditionally, in addition to the service on the day of death, the memorial service is performed at the request of the relatives of an individual departed person on the following occasions: In addition to Panikhidas for individuals, there are also several days during the year that are set aside as special general commemorations of the dead, when all departed Orthodox Christians will be prayed for together (this is especially to benefit those who have no one on earth to pray for them).
"[30] For those who have died, Martin Luther declared that 'I regard it as no sin to pray with free devotion in this or some similar fashion: Dear God, if this soul is in a condition accessible to mercy, be thou gracious to it.
[35]This question and answer do not appear in Luther's original text, but reflect the views of the twentieth-century Lutherans who added this explanation to the catechism.
[38] Nonjurors included prayers for the dead, a practice that spread within the Church of England in the mid-nineteenth century, and was authorized in 1900 for forces serving in South Africa and since then in other forms of service.
Many jurisdictions and parishes of the Anglo-Catholic tradition continue to practice prayer for the dead, including offering the Sunday liturgy for the peace of named departed Christians and keeping All Souls' Day.
For example, following the intercessions, there are two options for a concluding prayer: the first begins, "Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to you our brother (sister) N., who was reborn by water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism ..."; the second, however, would be appropriate for one whose faith and standing before God is not known:Father of all, we pray to you for N., and for all those whom we love but see no longer.
[41] John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, stated that: "I believe it to be a duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed".
Divine Services for the faithful departed take place thrice a year; additionally, "New Apostolic Christians also pray that souls who have died in an unredeemed state may find salvation in Christ.
[16] For example, members of the Baptist churches hold that "dead men receive no benefit from the prayers, sacrifices, &c. of the living.
In addition, "Peace be upon him" (sometimes abbreviated in writing as PBUH) is a constantly repeated prayer for dead people such as prophet Mohammed.
While the Kaddish does not mention death but rather affirms the steadfast faith of the mourners in God's goodness, El Maleh Rachamim is a prayer for the rest of the departed.
[This quote needs a citation]A record of Jewish prayer and offering of sacrifice for the dead at the time of the Maccabees is seen being referred to in 2 Maccabees, a book written in Greek, which, though not accepted as part of the Jewish Bible, is regarded as canonical by Eastern Christianity and the Roman Catholic Church: But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear.
In doing this, he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
"[55] This extract does not explain on what grounds Le Goff argued that prayer for the dead was not in use in the first half of the 2nd century BC.
The account of the action of Judas Maccabaeus was written midway through the second half of the same century, in about 124 BC,[56] and in the view of Philip Schaff its mention of prayer for the dead "seems to imply habit".
Cause them to enter the garden of happiness, cleanse them with the most pure water, and grant them to behold Thy splendors on the loftiest mount.