A glance at the book of Nikolaos Vasiliadis

The mystery of Death

Many hymns of our Orthodox Church depict the freedom from death and the new life which were offered to us through the death of the Lord on the Cross. We refer to two from the Funeral Service for monks which express most vividly this truth. One hymn says: "In a manner appropriate for a king You signed my freedom (from death) with the red ink of Your fingers, having dipped them into Your own precious blood, O Master. And now we beseech You fervently with faith; our brother who has departed and is coming to You, Compassionate One, count him among the first born (who are in heaven) and make him worthy of the joy of Your righteous". The other hymn is recited when the body is placed in the grave and the priest, taking a handful of earth, places it upon the remains in the shape of a cross, and says: "The earth is the Lord' s and the fulness thereof". As he pours the oil in the same way, saying: "Through the sign of Your Cross, O lover of mankind, death has been put to death; Hades, now dead, has been robbed of its trophies; those who had died from old, having been resurrected, have offered you a hymn. This is why we cry out to You, Christ our God: To the one departed from among us, give rest where all those who rejoice near You dwell, so that he may glorify Your divinity".