How Our Departed Ones Live: The Experience of the Orthodox Church

by Monk Mitrophan, John Shaw (Translator)

Overview

"Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Conqueror of death, and, consequently, of the death of our departed ones. Let us say to them in Him, not 'Farewell,' but 'Until we meet again, beloved spouse, good parents, dear brother or sister. Until we meet again!'"
 
While many are now abandoning traditional religious practice, none the less, the reality of death and questions regarding the afterlife remain at the forefront of spiritual consciousness. How Our Departed Ones Live is the answer to those who seek the truth as expressed through the experience of the Orthodox Church. This comprehensive book discusses the source of death and mortality, the inner connection and mutual relationship between the living and the departed, intercession by the living for the departed, and life beyond the grave. It will comfort the grieving and inspire all Christians to strengthen their resolve as they seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780884654018
Publisher:	Holy Trinity Publications
Publication date:	11/01/2015
Edition description:	Second Edition, Second edition
Pages:	452
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Monk Mitrophan was Russian Orthodox monk of the Konevets Monastery. John Robert Shaw is a liturgist, Slavist, and polyglot. In 2008 he was tonsured a monk with the name Jerome and subsequently consecrated as Bishop of Manhattan.

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How Our Departed Ones Live

The Experience of the Orthodox Church

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By Monk Mitrophan, John R. Shaw

Holy Trinity Publications

Copyright © 2015 Holy Trinity Monastery
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-88465-402-5

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CHAPTER 1

FIRST PART

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Death in Relation to Immortality Concerning Death

1. The Origin of the Word and Concept of "Death"

The word and concept of death first appeared on earth in the Garden of Eden, from the lips of God Himself, Who said to our first ancestors: "In whatsoever day ye shall eat of it, by death ye shall die."

2. The Appearance of Death on Earth

It is not known how long Adam and Eve lived in Paradise. The enemy's spite was not long in coming. All theologians are in agreement that the first man was a higher being, the likeness of the angels, and even the likeness of God; a being dedicated to divine Revelations and in all branches of knowledge moral and sinless. The present moral decline, progress for the worse or regress, is the result of ancestral sin.

Concerning the higher perfection of our ancestors one can judge from the fact that they were given no commandments, no moral laws such as we have been given, but only the easiest commandment. Probably all of the main laws of the spirit were already in the soul of man; it cannot have been otherwise. If man was set as king over all things visible, then he was the crown of God's creation.

The spirit was not weighed down by the flesh, and our forefather did not cry out as did St. Paul, "Who shall deliver me from this body of death?" But this moral downfall that St. Paul bewailed arose from the fall of Adam. With the fall of Adam, death of body and soul appeared on earth; "for by one man, sin entered the world, and through sin, death" (Romans 5:12), as the same St. Paul bears witness.

Thus death became the inheritance of our forefathers, and therefore of all mankind. Who does not know this concept and word: death? The savage and the educated man know it equally. All humanity knows two truths: first, that we shall die, and second, no one knows when.

3. The Definition of Death

As mysterious and incomprehensible as is the joining of the soul and body in the mother's womb, equally mysterious is the separation of the soul and body.

It is God's commandment that everyone be ready for death at all times. This is the common lot of humanity, as a punishment for sin; and, as a punishment, death is fearsome to the righteous and to the sinner. While commanding that we be ready for death, the Holy Spirit reveals the circumstances in which the righteous and the sinner pass into the life beyond the grave. The death of the former is beautiful and of the latter, dreadful.

The reality of these words was revealed to certain of the saints, who were pleasing unto God, for our edification.

According to the teaching of our Orthodox Church, "death is the separation of the soul from the body," after which the soul remains by itself while the body is committed to the earth and there disintegrates into its various components (elements). This is the lot of man on earth: death, of which the Holy Scriptures bear witness as follows: "And the dust shall return to the earth, as it had been, and the soul shall return to God, Who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:7).

4. The Universality of the Law of Death

The law of death is common to all humanity. Death is inescapable for each and every one. The law of God bears witness thus of the universality of the law of death: "Who is the man, who shall live and not see death?" (Psalm 88:49) "It is appointed to man once to die" (Hebrews 9:27); "In Adam all die" (I Corinthians 15:22).

Death reaches a man when he has attained the limit of life determined for him by God's righteous judgment, so that he may complete the work assigned to him. Within this limit all that is beneficial to man has been provided, and therefore death is beneficial to him. It is also commanded that we should give thanks for all unto God's Providence. Therefore, Glory be to Thee, O God, Who hast arranged all things for our benefit. Blessed be Thy Name, O Lord, from henceforth and forevermore. St. Anthony the Great, looking into the depth of God's destinies, once turned to God with the following prayer: "O Lord, why do some die in youth while others live to old age?" An answer came to him from God: "Anthony, watch thyself! For these are God's judgments, and it is not unto thy good to try them" (from the Lives of the Saints).

God has ordained for the soul to pass through three states, which comprise its eternal life: in the mother's womb, on earth, and beyond the grave. Why then should we be horrified, since all is the will of God, and we are the Lord's? We did not plan beforehand to be born on earth and recall nothing of our first state. Therefore let us prepare ourselves for our second birth unto eternal life beyond the grave. We have directions on how to prepare ourselves, and we already know what is to be after death.

Here is what St. John Chrysostom writes about death: "Death is terrible and frightening for those who do not know the higher philosophy, who do not know of life beyond the grave, who consider death to be the destruction of being. Understandably, death is horrible to such, and its very name is devastating. But we who, by the grace of God, have seen His unknown and secret wisdom and consider death to be a passing over, ought not to shudder but to rejoice and be of good spirit; for we leave this corruptible life and go on to another, which is unending and incomparably better" (Homily 83, commentary on St. John's Gospel).

5. The Reason for Death

The Word of God shows that God did not create death, but created man free of corruption (Wisdom of Solomon, 2:23); but "Through Satan's envy, death came into the world" (ibid., v. 24), along with sin.

Had Eve not gone into league with the devil, had she not been seduced by deceit, had she not fallen away from communion with God, then there would be no sin. "Righteousness is immortal, but unrighteousness is the cause of death" (Wisdom of Solomon 1:13–16); these words of Solomon which define the meaning and origin of death's appearance on earth, serve at the same time as evidence for the immortality of man. Solomon says that only the unwise see death as an end of existence (ibid., 3:2–4). Consequently, immortality was bestowed on man.

It was the breaking off of the soul's communion with God that constituted its death. Nine hundred thirty years after his soul's death, there finally followed the death of Adam's body.

6. The Unnaturalness and Necessity of Death

From the Holy Scriptures (Wisdom 1:13) it can be seen that death is contrary to man's nature, and therefore it is life that is natural to man. And so love for eternal life is natural for man. But with the fall, from the very time that man turned his love to that which was forbidden, love for eternity (which was natural) was replaced by love for the material, the temporary. The soul betrayed itself. It is entirely diseased and is attached to that which is not natural to it.

God did not create man for him to offend his Creator by breach of His holy will. God's desire was eternal bliss for man, as proven by man's nature which constantly desires and strives towards only that which is pleasant in life and hates and turns away from the unpleasant, from death. Thus, man is intended for a blessed eternal life, and sin is something unnatural; death is the consequence of sin and so is also unnatural to man; man was created immortal both in body and in soul.

The goal or intent of punishment is good: the cutting off of evil; and so death too is beneficial to man. After man's fall, as our Church teaches, death was needful as a means for holding back evil from spreading further. If Adam had remained physically immortal even after his fall, then evil would have been immortal, and there would be no hope of salvation for man. So as not to make evil immortal with man's immortality, it was forbidden to Adam to eat of the fruit of the tree of life (Genesis 3:22,23) immediately after his fall. By the same token, now that the power of death has been destroyed by the death of Christ the Saviour on the cross, and those who believe in Him are redeemed and justified from ancestral sin, death is also needful for the complete cleansing and extermination of evil from human nature, inasmuch as the root of evil is found in carnal conception itself. It is in the conception, and therefore in the union, as it were, that joins soul and body, and therefore cannot otherwise be eliminated, than by the dissolution of that union. Therefore no matter how much a man might purify himself on earth, and no matter how perfected he might be in holiness, he still cannot altogether exterminate in himself the root of evil. He cannot free himself from the weight of the body, so as not to sigh together with St. Paul, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24; Theology of Archbishop Anthony, p. 242).

7. The Beneficial Nature of Death

When things happen that are unpleasant for the soul and the body, which lies like a stone upon the soul, the soul is brought to sorrow, distress and often the risk of losing salvation, of losing the Kingdom of Heaven. Such circumstances are called temptations. Consequently, temptation is no joy for man, but a sorrow. Life has not been a joy for mankind since the minute that our ancestors fell, for then it was decreed that man should obtain the means of his existence by the sweat of his brow. Endless labor, diseases of the body, mental anguish, distress, temptations — these are what have filled our life on earth. Only the Saints have rejoiced in their sorrows; so there is no man who has been free of temptations. The holy, righteous, long-suffering Job asked: was not life itself a temptation?

There is not one human being that does not feel the weight of life towards its end. No matter how dear life is to a man at first, nevertheless, we often hear of the desire for death near the end.

While a man is on earth, distress and temptation never leave him, up to his death. Only death frees man from temptation. Is not death, which puts an end to sorrows, a benefit to man, one for which he should offer up thanks from his very heart?

All our life passes in temptations, which are needed for our salvation. What did St. David, the king, lack? And yet he expressed the truth of mankind, that old age is labor and illness. Was it not perhaps for this reason that he often cried out to God, "Woe is me, for my sojourn is prolonged," that is, death has not yet come. And our Lord Jesus Christ warned his followers, the Christians, that life on earth would be full of sorrows. Consequently, death for true Christians is an end of sorrows and should therefore be met with joy and humility. For death has already been destroyed by the death of our Redeemer and Intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who made death for Christians into a falling-asleep, a temporary sleep of repose. Death has been changed into a passage, that is, a moving from one place to another, from the visible world into the invisible, which is beyond the grave, spiritual, and, for Christians, incomparably and ineffably better. Therefore, Chrysostom cried out in exultation, seeing death as the beginning of bliss: "Where is thy sting, O death?"

The death of each and every believer is in the death of the Lord Jesus, Who gave us by His Resurrection a blessed eternal life. "I am the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25) teaches the God-Man; and we believe that the dead are alive in Him, if only they be not chaff, but members of the Church of Christ.

Death, viewed by itself, presents the action of Divine anger, softened by righteousness and love. Therefore death, seen in regard to the righteous, is a sign of Divine love, according to which their souls depart from this earthly, sad life, full of evil, into the kingdom of love, light, and bliss. This is the place to which their spirit was lifted up, and death for them, according to the word of God, is "beautiful"; as the attainment of a desired separation from the earthly, the temporary, the vain, so as to be with Christ: "having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is far better" (Philippians 1:23); to be where the Creator decreed as the destination of man.

But viewed in relation to sinners, death is "bitter," as the action of Divine anger, mixed with justice; an eternal breach with what was dear upon earth and is no longer present beyond the grave. The bitter death of unrepentant sinners is of benefit to the state, the community, and the family, as the uprooting of a weed.

8. The Departure of the Soul

The soul, conjoined by the will of God with the body, is separated, again by the will of God, from the body with which it had previously formed a human being. Having separated, the soul passes over into the realm of beings like unto itself, into the spiritual, angelic realm; and depending on whether it has gained good or bad qualities, joins either the good angels in heaven or the evil angels in Hades. The Lord Himself revealed this truth in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, teaching us that the soul, after leaving the body, that very day enters either Paradise or Hades. "Today thou shalt be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:43), said Jesus Christ to the wise thief.

This means that every soul after leaving its body will be either in Paradise or in Hades. When? "Today," said the Lord Jesus Christ. How are we to understand "today"? How does this agree with the teaching about toll-houses or with the Church's observance of the third, ninth, and fortieth day?

On earth there are days and nights and years, whereas, beyond the grave there is eternity — either bright or dark. For the soul to reach a bright or dark state beyond the grave, a certain space of time is needed which corresponds to the forty days on earth. The various states in which a soul is after its separation from the body correspond to specific days on earth. Since the state of the soul on the third day is known and revealed, as is its state in the next six days and in the following thirty days, the Church and those close to the departed person make use on these days of special means of seeking God's mercy.

And so, the word "today" signifies time beyond the grave, eternity. The third, ninth, and fortieth days are days on earth, but not beyond the grave where there is only "today" and none other.

The mystery of death is a door through which the soul, having parted with its body, enters eternity.

We see and know what then happens with the body, but as to what happens with the invisible soul, this we do not see. However, we have certain knowledge from the teaching of our Church, which is the pillar and ground of truth and which is infallible in its teaching, for the Holy Spirit teaches the Church.

The departure of the soul and the events which takes place at that time, the Holy Fathers explain as follows. The soul is met by angels good and evil. The sight of the latter is extremely distressing to the soul; it finds joy in the sight and the protection of the good angels. Then a man's good deeds and clear conscience are a great help and joy to him. Obedience, humility, good works, and patience help the soul, and, accompanied by angels, the soul goes in great joy to the Saviour. But a soul filled with passion and love for sin is taken away to Hades by evil spirits to suffer (St. Theodore the Studite).

Once two angels appeared to St. Macarius of Alexandria (a contemporary of St. Macarius the Great). "A soul," said one angel, "be it of a devout person or not, is frightened by the presence of fearful and terrible angels. The soul hears and understands the tears and wailing of those that surround it, but cannot utter a single word nor raise its voice. It is distressed by the long journey before it, the new way of life, and the separation from the body" (St. Macarius of Alexandria).

(Continues...)

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Table of Contents

Foreword: The Story of the Rebirth of This Book 11

Translator's Preface 13

Introduction to the English Edition 15

First Part Death in Relation to Immortality: Concerning Death

1 The Origin of the Word and Concept of "Death" 17

2 The Appearance of Death on Earth 17

3 The Definition of Death 18

4 The Universality of the Law of Death 18

5 The Reason for Death 19

6 The Unnaturalness and the Necessity of Death 20

7 The Beneficial Nature of Death 21

8 The Departure of the Soul 22

9 The Departure of the Righteous Soul 26

10 The Departure of a Sinful Soul 26

11 The Third Day and the Tollhouses. The Significance of the Ninth Day, Fortieth, and Anniversary 27

Second Part The Inner Connection and Mutual Relationship Between the Living and the Departed

1 The Spiritual-Moral Realm and Its Members 35

2 The Basis of the Union, Bond, Relationship, and Communion Between This World and the Next - of the Living with the Dead 36

3 The First Basis: The Lord Jesus Christ, His Grace, and Holy Faith 37

4 The Second Basis: Life and the Order of Moral Development 41

5 The Third Basis: The Immortal Soul of Man 45

6 The Definition of the Union, Bond, Relationship, and Communion Between This World and That Beyond the Grave 48

7 The Visible Expression of the Union, Bond, Relationship, and Communion of the Earthly World With That Beyond the Grave 51

8 The Union, Bond, Relationship, and Communion of This World With That Beyond the Grave 54

9 The Bond and Communication of Those Living on Earth With the Angelic World in General 56

a With the Holy Angels 56

b With Evil Spirits 59

10 In General About the Bond and Communion of the Earthly World With That Beyond the Grave, of the Living With the Dead 61

a Of the Bond and Communion with the Saints 62

b The Bond and Communion with the Imperfect 63

c The Bond and Communion with Those Lost to the Kingdom of Heaven 63

11 The Manifestation of Beings from the Spiritual World-Angels and Souls-to People in This World 64

a The Appearance of Good Angels on Earth 64

b The Appearance on Earth of Evil Spirits 65

c Saints Appearing on Earth 66

d Appearances of Souls from Hades 66

Third Part The Dogmatic Teaching of the Church Concerning Intercession by the Living for the Departed, and Requesting Forgiveness for the Sins of Certain Sinners

1 The Basis of the Church's Teaching Concerning the Possibility of Salvation for Certain Departed Sinners 89

a The Basis for Asking Forgiveness of Sins for the Dead: Love and Faith 90

b The Old Testament Scriptures 98

c The Gospel Teaching 103

d The Tradition of the Apostles 106

e The Teaching of the Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church 109

f Decrees of the Holy Councils 116

g Actual Examples 117

2 The Meaning of the Present Life of the Living in Relation to the Life of the Dead Beyond the Grave 122

3 The Intercession of Those on Earth for Those Who Have Passed Into the World Beyond the Grave-Prayer 127

4 The Church and Her Intercession 131

a The Liturgy 134

b Days of the Commemoration of the Dead, or Soul Saturdays 139

I Saturday in Meatfare Week 140

II Saturday Before Pentecost 141

III The Second, Third, and Fourth Saturdays in Great Lent 142

IV Tuesday after Thomas Sunday 143

V The 29th of August 144

VI The Saturday of St. Dimitri 144

VII Royal Days of Commemoration 145

5 Individual Intercession for the Departed by Relatives, Friends, and Acquaintances Remaining on Earth 146

6 Almsgiving 148

7 Not All Intercessions of the Living are Beneficial to the Departed, and Not All the Departed Benefit from the Intercession of the Living 152

8 Addenda 161

a The Significance of the Third, Ninth, Fortieth, and Anniversary Days After Death. Kutiya 161

b The Benefit to the Living in Praying for the Dead 164

c The Contemporary Nature of Prayers for the Departed 164

Fourth Part Life Beyond the Grave: Its Inner Connection with the Preceding Sections 169

Section I

1 Life Beyond the Grave in General 170

a A Definition of Life Beyond the Grave 170

b Nomenclature of the States of Souls Beyond the Grave or of the Places Where They Abide 183

c The Periods of Life Beyond the Grave, Age, Personal, Conscious, and Active Life 185

Section II

1 The First Period of Life Beyond the Grave 187

a A Definition of This Period 187

2 In General Concerning the Life and Activity of the Soul and of Its Distinct Powers Beyond the Grave 188

a The Soul and Its Organ of Activity, the Body-Immortality of the Soul and Body-The Activity of the Soul on Earth and Beyond the Grave-Internal and External Activity 188

3 Inner Life-Inner Activity 193

a Feeling-Mind-Memory-Will-Conscience-Their Activity Beyond the Grave 193

4 Outward Life-Outward Activity 202

a The Union, Bond, Mutual Relationship, and Communion of This World and That Beyond The Grave, and the Union, Bond, Relationship, and Communion Between Souls Beyond the Grave 202

5 The Bond and Communion of This World With That Beyond the Grave 204

6 The Bond and Communion Between Souls in the World Beyond the Grave 219

7 Life and Activity in Paradise 225

a The Beginning of This State While on Earth-Various Names for the Dwelling Place of the Saints 225

b The Place and Description of the Habitation of the Blessed in the First Period-The Dwellers in Paradise-When They Enter There-The Character of the Saved-The Nature of the Sexes-The Number of the Saints 230

c The Basis and Definition of the Blessed Life, of Bliss-The Makeup of Bliss-Incomplete Bliss 238

d Inward and Outward Incomplete Bliss, or the Activity of the Soul in Paradise 244

8 Life and Activity in Hades and in Gehenna 262

a The Beginning of these States Beyond the Grave-Of Hades and Gehenna on Earth 262

1 Various Names for the Places of the Souls in the Undetermined and Condemned States-The Place and Description of the Dwelling of Those in the Undetermined State-Hades 264

9 The Dwellers in Hades and Gehenna-When Souls Enter This State Beyond the Grave 275

a Distinctive Character of Souls in the Undetermined and Condemned States-The Basis, Definition, and Makeup of Torment-Incomplete Torment, Internal And External-Life in Hades and Gehenna 275

Section III

1 The Second Coming of Christ to Earth. The Resurrection of the Dead. The Final Judgment Of Moral Beings, and the End of the Age 286

a The Time and Speed of These Events 286

I Signs and Expectation of the End of the World 286

II The Second Coming of Christ to Earth 299

b Resurrection of the Bodies of the Dead 301

I The Basis for the Resurrection of the Bodies of the Dead-The Immortality of the Body-The Teaching of the Old and New Testaments on the Resurrection of the Dead-The Resurrected Bodies,Their General Characteristics for the Saved and the Damned-The History of This Dogma 301

c God's Final Judgment on Moral Beings 314

I The Universal Judgment-Judgment on Christians and Non-Christians 314

II The End of the Age (of the World) 323

Section IV

1 The Second Period of Life Beyond the Grave 333

a Definition of the Second Period of Life in Paradise-Description of the Habitation of the Saints in the Second Period-Degrees of Bliss-Bliss of the Soul and Body-Perfect, Complete, Inward, and Outward Bliss-Distinctive Character of the Second Period of Life in Paradise 333

b Definition of the Second Period of Life in Gehenna-Life in Gehenna-Eternal Death-Description of the Abodes of the Lost-Gehenna-The Degree and Eternal Quality of Torture- Utter, Complete, Internal, And External Torment-Distinctive Character of Life in Gehenna in the Second Period-The Life of Suicides Beyond the Grave 345

2 Concerning the Prayer of Absolution at Funerals 381

Appendix 1 Reviews of the Original Russian Book 383

Appendix 2 Reviews of the French Language Edition 391

Acknowledgements 395

Editorial Reviews

"More than just a book about death, this book is a catechism of the Orthodox Church. It provides a view of our faith, not from this world, but as if looking back from the next, revealing not how things are, but how things were meant to be, how they went wrong, how they are repaired, and the various results of all these events. This is a book for those who wish to know not only about the next life, but about this life and how to live in it. Truly this is a book that goes far, far beyond its title." —Archpriest David Moser

"A long lost book written by a Russian monk some 130 years [ago] . . . has the power not only to shield, but to erase, that unfortunate 'sorrow of death' so ubiquitous in our American culture today." —Gregory Winsky, Esq, blogs.ancientfaith.com

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