RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Burial Buridan
offered at the grave, and the survivors gave food and money to the poor. Prayers were made for the deceased, not only in private, but also in public. The third, seventh (or ninth), thirtieth (or fortieth) day were memorial days, on which the church ceremony for the dead took place, as well as on the anniversary of death (see Cemeteries, II., 6). These prayers and offerings were believed to have a beneficial effect for the dead, provided he belonged to the saved.
The Greek Church preserves a remnant of the
idea that the death of a Christian invites to praise,
and on this account uses the Halle-
2. The lujah in the celebration at the church Greek The requiem-mass is unknown, but
Church, additional prayers are offered for the
dead. The ceremony at the grave is
very brief, the priest throwing earth upon the
corpse with the spade and sprinkling it with oil
from the holy lamp or ashes from the censer.
The Western Church of the Middle Ages also knew only of burial as a means of disposal of the dead. Charlemagne forbade the conquered Saxons to cremate corpses on pain of death. The place in which a Christian was buried was considered holy ground, but patrons or spiritual
3. The dignitaries were entombed in churches Medieval in token of distinction. Every Chris- Church, tian was to be buried in consecrated
ground, but if special emergencies, like war or shipwreck, necessitated a burial in unconsecrated ground, the grave had to be provided with a cross. The dead was washed, dressed in linen or penitential robes, or, in case of one in holy orders, in official dress. On the day of the funeral he was carried by his peers, the layman by laymen, and the clergy by clergy, first to the church, where mass was celebrated, and afterward to the grave, in which he was laid, with his face turned toward the East. Various ceremonies had their meaning; the holy water sprinkled on the body protected it from demons; charcoal indicated that there was a grave there and thus kept it from profanation; incense kept away the odor of decay, and was a symbol of prayer for the dead, as implying that he was a sacrifice well pleasing to God; ivy and laurel symbolized the imperishable life of those who die in Christ. The custom of throwing three shovelfuls of earth upon the body was known in the Middle Ages, although the present Roman ritual does not mention it. The modern Roman Catholic Church has retained the old Christian view that the death of little children who have been baptized is a joyful event and that their burial should have the character of joy.
The Reformation made a clean sweep of the
existing burial rites, in so far as they presupposed
the doctrines of purgatory, mass, and the mediation
of the Church, but it adhered to the
4- The Ref- view that the dead body is not a
ormation worthless thing but is to rise again, Burial no matter how it has decayed. On Service, this account it should have a Christian burial, and the burial-places must have a fitting appearance. The burial was a matter of the church, and the congregation should take
part in it, if possible, and should also attend the funerals of the poor. Accordingly, the bells called the congregation together. The church was represented by the minister and the school-children, or at least by the sexton and grave-digger. As the procession was passing to the cemetery, the children or the mourners sang Christian funeral hymns, and at the grave such Biblical passages as I Thess. iv. 13-18 or John xi. were read and prayer was offered, while basins were also placed to receive alms for the poor. The burial service of the Reformed was similar. In some countries the congregation recited the creed after the closing prayer.
The desire to instruct the congregation on every occasion was expressed in the burial service by the reading of Scripture and the singing of hymns. A short discourse on death and the resurrection was read in the home, in the church, or at the grave, although a special sermon might be requested of the minister if he was specially paid for it, and in such cases he referred particularly to the life and death of the subject of his address. Thus arose the funeral sermon, which was originally designed to instruct the congregation in eschatology, and to honor the memory of the departed.
In modern times the burial rites were extended by carrying the cross before the procession, by casting earth upon the body thrice, and by pronouncing the benediction. The first two ceremonies were known even among the Protestants in former centuries and were occasion- 5. Modern ally used, although they were generally
Develop- regarded with distrust, and were evens ments. directly prohibited. The blessing is; connected with the prayer for the dead. The Reformed rejected prayers for the dead unconditionally, while Luther and the Augsburg Confession permitted it, and "Johann Gerhard endeavored to prove its validity by dogmatics. From this developed the blessing of the dead, which, despite vehement opposition since the middle of the nineteenth century, has spread more and more. That the dead is addressed by " thou," may perhaps be explained on the ground that, according to the ancient Christian view, the congregation regards the departed as still belonging to it. The meaning of the solemn declaration: " I bless thee," however, is very uncertain, and the blessing should take the form of a wish.
It should be noted that the Church of Rome prohibits cremation, whereas the Protestant Churches have not yet reached a uniform conclusion.
W Caspari.
Bibliography: On the general question consult C. Martene, De antiquis ecclesice ritibua, Antwerp, 1736-37; F. X. Kraus, Realencyklopadie der christlichen Alterthumer, articles Tod, Totenbestattung, Freiburg, 1880-96; T. Kliefoth, Liturgische Abhandlungen, vol. i., part 2, Vem Begrabniss, Halle, 1869; Bingham, Origines, book xxiii. On the antiquarian and legal sides of English custom eonsuit: J. Stutt, A Compleat View of the Manners, Customs . . . of the Inhabitants of England, 3 vols., London, 1775- 1776; C. A. Cripps, Law of Church and Clergy, ib. 1886; T. Baker, Law of Burials, 6th ed., by E. L. Thomas, ib. 1898; Encyclopaedia Britannica, xxvi. 466-468.
BURIDAN, bur'i-dan or French bu"ri"dan', JEAN (Johannes Buridanus): Medieval French philosopher; b. at Bethune (25m. n.w. of Douai),
Burke
Burma