For a god-fearing Christian, a funeral service is a celebration of the deceased’s journey into the after life. This is the primary reason why such services are alleviating as they are seen as an assertion of the belief that the deceased has obtained a shelter in the House of God.
Christians believe death to be an entry into the world of eternal bliss and exit from this cycle of grief and suffering. The intensity of pain caused by the death of a loved one is lessened by the comforting thought that the dead person is enjoying a blissful afterlife in the Lord’s house with God Himself. The Christian funeral rituals are conducted with these beliefs and feelings.
Generally, a pastor is the main officiator at a Christian funeral service. The services are usually conducted inside the very church that was visited by the deceased during his lifetime. Though a casket is not used in the service usually, but when it is being held inside a funeral home, casket is usually present. Public viewing of the deceased’s body is not something that you will find in a typical Christian funeral service.
The rituals in such a funeral ceremony are similar to a memorial, in which religious hymns and prayers are sung and texts from Holy Scriptures are read out. A short message is delivered by the priest, after which a mass prayer is held.
Then the assembled people share the grief of family members as well as close friends and talk about their personal experiences as to how the dead person has influenced them and left an everlasting impression on their minds. Some families also plan to organize a slide show of photos of the dead person or play a recorded video from the life of the departed.
The conclusion of the ceremony is the serving of food at a reception conducted mostly at the church itself. A service at grave is not very common, though some Christian communities opt for that as well.
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