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Summary
- A prayer for someone who has died can be short: say their name, thank God for their life, and ask rest for them and comfort for those who mourn.
- Catholic and Orthodox Christians pray for the souls of the dead, and the best-known Catholic prayer begins “Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.”
- The Orthodox Church remembers the departed by name at every Divine Liturgy and at a memorial service, the panikhida, often on the third, ninth and fortieth days after death and on the anniversary.
- Many Protestant churches do not pray for the dead; the Westminster Larger Catechism (1648) teaches prayer for the living “but not for the dead,” and they give thanks for the life instead.
- Catholics keep All Souls’ Day on 2 November, and the Church of England keeps the same day as the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed.
- Five of the nine prayers ask something for the one who has died, and the other four pray for those who mourn, so any church can use them.
- Prayer for Peaceful Passing is a prayer of thanks after a death, not a prayer for someone who is dying.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Scripture is quoted from the King James Version: Matthew 5:4; Matthew 6:7; John 11:25; 1 Thessalonians 4:13. King James Version, BibleGateway
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1997. Paragraphs 1030–1032, “The Final Purification, or Purgatory.” vatican.va
- A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. 1 (Baltimore Catechism), Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, 1885: prayer “For the Faithful Departed.” Project Gutenberg eBook no. 14551. gutenberg.org
- Orthodox Church in America. “Prayers for the Departed,” Questions and Answers. oca.org
- Westminster Larger Catechism (1648), question 183. Orthodox Presbyterian Church. opc.org
- Mershman, Francis. “All Souls’ Day.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton, 1907. newadvent.org
- The Church of England. Common Worship: the Calendar, 2 November, “Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day).” churchofengland.org
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