During Alexei Navalny's (Russian Orthodox) funeral on March 1, 2024, multiple photos show the pallbearers wearing the same red-black-red armbands on the left arm, as seen in Photos: Crowds attend Navalny funeral as Kremlin warns against protests , In pictures: Defiant Russians gather for Alexei Navalny's funeral , and Funeral of Alexei Navalny in Moscow – in pictures , for instance. Looking back, it seems that the (military) pallbearers during Gorbachev's funeral also wore similar armbands, but in this case those were black-red-black, as seen In Photos: Gorbachev Laid To Rest After Moscow Funeral That Putin Didn’t Attend . I am aware that plain black armbands are sometimes used as a sign of mourning, but I could find no reference to the red color. Is this typical for (Russian) Orthodox funerals or is this a political/cultural/regional thing? What is the significance of the red color specifically? Do they have a specific name, and what is their origin? ![Four Russian men with red and black armbands carrying a coffin ][6] ![Several Russian peoples along the side of a street; some men are wearing red and black armbands ][7] ![A Russian man wearing a red and black armband speaks with a military official ][8] ![A Russian man holds a black and white photo of Gorbachev while four military men with black and red armbands stand nearby ][9]

According to Catholic teaching, can Requiem Masses be said for the souls of the deceased unbaptized?

My grandmother-in-law had requested a funeral the same as her twin sister, who died 24 years ago. This had included a personal tribute read by a family member. We're being told by the priest for my grandmother-in-law's funeral that the personal tribute is not allowed at the funeral, and needs to be read at the wake. Only a homily read by the priest is permitted. This has upset many members of the family. Is he correct? Or was the previous interpretation correct?

Cremation is a very popular way to deal with the bodies of the deceased in the UK, and is permitted by the Church of England as an appropriate method for doing so. The process creates ashes, which then need to be scattered, interred, or otherwise disposed of. What options for disposal of ashes are appropriate according to the canon law and practices of the Church of England?

In the movie [Constantine](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360486/) , Rachel Weisz's character begs a Catholic priest to give her twin sister a funeral, but he refuses because she committed suicide. Is this an accurate depiction of Catholicism? I know expecting fair or accurate religious portrayals from the heathens that run Hollywood is probably expecting too much. Wondering how accurate that is?

I was reading a 1952 missal and wondering about some of the customs, one notable one I saw was that there was a particular commemoration that is supposed to be celebrated on the 3rd, 7th and 30th day after a funeral. Is there any particular significance in these days in Scripture or Tradition? How would someone go about getting a Mass said like this? Assuming there are funerals every other week in an active parish, wouldn't every other Mass wind up being this kind of commemoration?

In [Mozart's Requiem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Mozart)) (K. 626), the most musically well known (apart from the Introitus) is the [Sequentia portion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Requiem_(Mozart)#III._Sequentia) consisting of the following sections: - Dies irae ("Day of Wrath"), [8:06](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=486s) - Tuba mirum ("Hark, the trumpet"), [9:47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=587s) - Rex tremendae ("King of tremendous majesty"), [13:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=811s) - Recordare ("Remember"), [15:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=951s) - Confutatis ("From the accursed"), [21:31](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=1291s) - Lacrymosa ("This tearful day"), [23:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0&t=1430s) (links above are to a [sample performance with English subtitles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54h8TxJyNy0) by the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and the Polish Sinfonia Iuventus Orchestra, 2019) Reading the text, it's obvious that the purpose of the *Sequentia* sections are to provide various reflections on particular judgment, general day of judgment, resurrection of the body, atonement of Jesus Christ, and petition for mercy by Christians after death. Mozart's beautiful musical dramatization of each section (written on the year of his death, 1791), makes his Requiem setting especially popular for concert music and recordings to this day. **My question is**: what is the origin of the Sequentia portion of the Catholic funeral mass and the function of it within the liturgy? Does it replace the Credo? Who wrote the text? Is it still part of the funeral liturgy today? **Helpful resources**: - Latin/English [translation](http://www.phoenixsymphonychorus.org/uploads/7/3/5/4/73548593/mozart_requiem_pronunciation_and_translation.pdf) of Mozart's Requiem - Brief musical introduction and analysis from *The Classic Review* by David A. McConnell (2020): [Mozart - Requiem - A Beginner's Guide](https://theclassicreview.com/beginners-guides/mozart-requiem-a-beginners-guide/) - [An article about *Dies Irae* Sequentia](http://chantblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/missa-pro-defunctis-dies-irae-sequentia.html) showing the complete text as Latin poetry plus a link to a Gregorian chant rendition.

According to the New Testament of the Holy Bible, what is the interpretation of the phrase "may his/her soul rest in peace. RIP"?

If a person dies and is given a Catholic funeral and service, but that person has a lot of family in a location that was too far away to attend the service, is there an official Roman Catholic service that can be held as a sort of "satellite funeral" for those who were unable to attend the actual service but wish to remember the person religiously? If not, what would usually be done in this situation? I hope that made sense; I was struggling a bit with the wording.

In a copy of *Order of Christian Funerals* that my deacon owns, it says this regarding burial and cremation: > *413* Although cremation is now permitted by the Church, it does not enjoy the same value as burial of the body. The Church clearly prefers and urges that the body of the deceased be present for the funeral rites, since the presence of the human body better expresses the values which the Church affirms in those rites. > > *414* The Church's teaching in regard to the human body as well as the Church's preference for burial of the body should be a regular part of catechesis on all levels and pastors should make particular efforts to preserve this important teaching. Unfortunately, it doesn't go into detail about why the Catholic Church prefers burial over cremation. What is the reasoning for this? What values that the Church affirms are better expressed through burial, but not cremation?

I noticed in a local rural cemetary that all the graves run east-west. It also appears that the Head stones are on the West end of the vault/coffin. Thus, I intuit that the Head is near the West placed stone, so as implied in Matthew 24:27 the body will rise facing east. I also understand this is generally normal for Catholic cemeteries. Note: This was not a Catholic cemetery. 1.) Generally, do Catholic cemeteries follow the same tradition or would the head of the coffin for some reason face West? 2.) Considering the image below, I would think you would need to stand facing West to read the print normally. The vault/coffin would be there in front of you -- east side of the headstone. Is this a correct understanding? 3) Another Catholic cemetery is similar to this image but the printing is on the other side(west) of the headstone. This seems to be at odds with tradition?

My mother is recently deceased. My siblings want just a Mass said for our recently deceased mother. Is there a Mass for the Deceased other than a funeral?

I've noticed that Christian funerals and burials tend to come several days after the death, even in cases where the death was expected, there was no police involvement (so no need to wait on investigations), and nobody had to travel great distances.1 I've seen this for Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and some type of Lutheran (sorry, don't know which), so I'm *assuming* it's general, but if that assumption is mistaken please correct me. Is there a theological reason to wait? Maybe a wait of three days is religiously significant, or there is some belief that either the soul or the family needs the delay? Is it a practical concern (that somehow doesn't apply to Jewish burials, which are usually within a day)? Is it not seen as urgent and so it's easier to just always have a delay? 1 The case that reminded me to ask the question is a Monday-morning death, expected, and a Saturday funeral, where nobody has to fly in.

First off I know next to nothing about Christianity. Well, I do know that Catholics have more traditions and ceremonies than Protestants do, and I know about Eucharist. What I didn't know is that Eucharist is used during funeral ceremonies too. A Buddhist classmate told me he recently attended the funeral of his boss (he did not know about the boss's religion but was told the funeral was held at church and he felt it would be a kind thing if he attended). But he told me that he did not know anybody there and there was lots of chanting and at some point the priest started administering Eucharist and people were lining up and he started freaking out because he doesn't drink and he did not want to be impolite either so he kind of just left! I told him I doubt anybody would have forced him and maybe they don't even use wine anyways, but anyhow, though I was aware of Eucharist during regular mass, I was not aware that they also do it during funeral. Can someone explain to me its significance during funeral or if it's shared by all Catholics? Thanks.

So is a funeral something the Bible requires, either directly or indirectly, if an unbelieving family member dies? Would it make a difference if the dead person was a Christian, whether to have a funeral or not?

In which denomination(s) are Christians allowed to bury or hold a Christian funeral for their deceased nonreligious or just non-Christian relative in a Christian cemetery near the church? I am thinking about an instance where a non-Christian or nonreligious family member dies, and relatives just happen to be Christians. Do Christians ask their minister to perform a funeral for the deceased individual, or do they ask a humanist funeral officiant to do the job? Also, is there a general rule for allowing or disallowing non-Christians to be buried in a Christian cemetery, or is that more of a denominational sort of thing or is that up to the pastor to decide?

What do Chinese Christians wear to a Western or Chinese Christian funeral? In the West, it seems that black is the popular color for death and funerals. You see this in movies, where women would wear black veils and black formal dresses. In Chinese culture, it is known that white is the color reserved for death and funerals. So, do Chinese Christians wear white or black at a funeral? Is there a preference for a single color in Christianity for certain occasions, or is this more of a Western cultural thing?