The Order of the Funeral in Bright
Week
From the Arabic-language Small Euchologion (Damascus, 1964)
PRIEST: Blessed is our God, always …
CHOIR: Amen.
The priest then censes the body while chanting
the Paschal troparion thrice:
PRIEST: Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
The choir concludes the troparion each time:
CHOIR: Bestowing life.
While the priest continues to cense, he and the
choir chant the Paschal verses and troparion as at the beginning of other divine services
during Bright Week:
PRIEST: Let God arise …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: As smoke vanisheth …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: So let sinners perish …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: This is the day …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: Glory …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: Both now …
CHOIR: Christ is risen from the dead…
PRIEST: Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
CHOIR: Bestowing life.
The deacon now censes the body while intoning the
petitions of the usual litany for the departed:
DEACON: Have mercy on us, O God, according to
thy great mercy …
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy. (thrice)
DEACON: Again we pray for the repose of the
soul …
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy. (thrice)
DEACON: That the Lord God will establish
…
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy. (thrice)
DEACON: The mercies of God, the kingdom of
heaven …
CHOIR: Grant this, O Lord.
DEACON: Let us pray to the Lord.
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST: O God of spirits and of all flesh
…
For thou art the Resurrection and the Life and the
Repose …
CHOIR: Amen.
PRIEST: In that we have beheld the
resurrection of Christ …
The choir then chants the 1st and 3rd
katavasiai of the Paschal Canon, ending the 3rd with the triple chanting of
‘Christ is risen from the dead …’ and ‘Jesus having risen from the
dead as he foretold …’ Then the deacon intones:
DEACON: Let us pray to the Lord.
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST: O God of spirits and of all flesh
…
For thou art the Resurrection and the Life and the
Repose …
CHOIR: Amen.
The Paschal hypakoë ‘They who were with
Mary …’ is read. Then the choir continues with the chanting of the 4th,
5th and 6th katavasiai of the Paschal canon, ending the 6th
with the triple chanting of ‘Christ is risen from the dead …’ and
‘Jesus having risen from the dead as he foretold …’ Then the deacon
intones:
DEACON: Let us pray to the Lord.
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST: O God of spirits and of all flesh
…
For thou art the Resurrection and the Life and the
Repose …
CHOIR: Amen.
The kontakion for the departed ‘With the
saints give rest, O Christ …’ is chanted in tone eight. Then the choir
continues:
CHOIR: As many of you as have been baptized
into Christ, have put on Christ. Alleluia. (thrice)
Glory … Both now … Have put on Christ.
Alleluia.
As many of you as have been baptized into Christ,
have put on Christ. Alleluia.
DEACON: Let us attend.
READER: (chants the prokeimenon of the
day)
DEACON: Wisdom.
READER: The reading is from the Acts of the
holy and pure apostles.
DEACON: Let us attend.
READER: (chants the epistle of the day)
PRIEST: Peace be to the that readest.
CHOIR: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.
DEACON: Wisdom. Stand upright. Let us hear
the holy gospel.
PRIEST: Peace be to all.
CHOIR: And to thy spirit.
PRIEST: The reading from the holy gospel
according to (N.)
CHOIR: Glory to thee, O Lord. Glory to thee.
DEACON: Let us attend.
PRIEST: (chants the gospel of the day)
CHOIR: Glory to thee, O Lord. Glory to thee.
Then the choir continues with the chanting of the
7th, 8th and 9th katavasiai of the Paschal canon, ending
the 9th with the triple chanting of ‘Christ is risen from the
dead…’ and ‘Jesus having risen from the dead as he foretold …’
Then the deacon intones:
DEACON: Let us pray to the Lord.
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST: O God of spirits and of all flesh
…
For thou art the Resurrection and the Life and the
Repose …
CHOIR: Amen.
The choir then chants the Paschal exaposteilarion
‘When thou didst fall asleep in the flesh …’ (the Greek text says this
is chanted twice), the Resurrectional evlogitaria (not those for the departed),
and the Paschal verses and stichera ending with ‘Glory…Both now… It is the
day of resurrection…’ and the triple chanting of the Paschal troparion
‘Christ is risen from the dead …’ Then the deacon intones:
DEACON: Let us pray to the Lord.
CHOIR: Lord, have mercy.
PRIEST: O God of spirits and of all flesh
…
For thou art the Resurrection and the Life and the
Repose …
CHOIR: Amen.
While the Arabic text does not indicate how to
end the service, the Greek text prescribes the following dismissal:
PRIEST: Glory to thee, O Christ our God and
our Hope. Glory to thee.
CHOIR: Glory … Both now … Lord,
have mercy (thrice). Father, bless.
The priest says the dismissal from the usual
funeral service.
PRIEST: May he who is risen from the dead,
Christ our true God …
May thy memory be eternal, O our ever-memorable
brother (sister) who art worthy of blessedness.
CHOIR: Memory eternal. (thrice)
Then instead of ‘Through the prayers
…’ the priest says the Paschal dismissal.
PRIEST: Christ is risen.
PEOPLE: Indeed, he is risen.
PRIEST: Christ is risen.
PEOPLE: Indeed, he is risen.
PRIEST: Christ is risen.
PEOPLE: Indeed, he is risen.
PRIEST: Glory to his holy third-day
resurrection.
PEOPLE: We adore his third-day resurrection.
PRIEST: Christ is risen from the dead
trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs
CHOIR: Bestowing life.
