Praying for the dead is self-evident to us as Orthodox Christians. Even Monophysites, Nestorians, Roman Catholics, and Uniates continue this practice from their Orthodox Christian past. But many of our Protestant neighbors question or reject it, thinking it is not biblical. As Orthodox Christians, we should understand why we pray for the dead, so we can explain this to others who ask about it (1 Peter 3:15). This post explains the Orthodox practice of prayer for the dead. We also explain the tradition of blessing and eating “memorial wheat” in the Orthodox Church.
5 minutes
Prayer for the dead is biblical
First and foremost, the Orthodox pray for the dead because the Bible tells us to. As members of the Church, the Body of Christ, we are exhorted to pray for one another (James 5:16). Whether we live or die, “we belong to the Lord” (Romans 14:8). For we are “members of His Body, of His flesh and of His bones” (Ephesians 5:30). The Church is “the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God”. As such, she includes “tens of thousands of angels” and “the spirits of righteous people made perfect” as well as those of us alive on earth (Hebrews 12:22-24).
Because of Christ’s resurrection and victory over death, death does not end our membership in the Body of Christ. For neither “death nor life […] will separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39). The Orthodox remember that God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living – for all are alive to Him (Luke 20:38). Therefore, we pray for both the living and for the “dead in Christ” (1 Thessalonians 4:16).
Related: What Happens After We Die?
Examples of prayer for the dead in Scripture
The most notable examples of prayer for the dead in Scripture are perhaps Judas Maccabaeus and Saint Paul the Apostle.
Judas Maccabaeus offered sacrifices and prayers for his fallen soldiers with the future resurrection of the dead in mind. As he said: “It is therefore a good and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, so they may be set loose from their sins” (2 Maccabees 12:39-46). Most Protestant Bibles don’t include this book as part of the canon. However, both the Orthodox and Roman Catholic canons use the Septuagint version of the Old Testament cited by Christ’s apostles in their writings.
Secondly, we have the Apostle Paul, who prays for his departed friend Onesiphorus. As he writes: “May the Lord grant that he find mercy from the Lord” on Judgment Day (2 Timothy 1:16-18). And so the Orthodox do likewise!
The nature of death after Christ’s victory
We can see from the verses above that we remain alive to God and part of His Church, even if we are dead to this world. Death is the parting of our souls and bodies, not the end of our existence or the obliteration of our personhood. The Bible bears witness that our souls live on after death, both conscious and active after our earthly lives (Luke 16:19-31; Revelation 6:9-10). For this reason, the Church speaks biblically of the dead as those who have “fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-16), for they are destined to awake and rise on Judgment Day.
With an eye toward the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come, we ask God who gives life to the dead, to keep them in His eternal memory and grant them mercy, peaceful rest, forgiveness of their sins, and a good answer for themselves before the awesome judgment seat of Christ.
Fun Fact
The English word cemetery comes from the Greek word koimeterion, “a place for sleeping”, from the root word koimisis, “sleep”.
As Orthodox Christians, we have hope in Christ both in this life and in the age to come. As He tells us: “I am the One who lives, and became dead, and behold I am alive for ages and ages […] And I hold the keys of death and death’s underworld” (Revelation 1:18-19). So, the Orthodox turn to Him in prayer for both the living and the dead, as the church has always done.
Blessing of Memorial Wheat
The custom of making and blessing memorial wheat is one of many examples of how Orthodox Christian worship of the Church appeals to all five sense of the human being to make us aware of God’s truth, grace, and life in our lives. During prayer services for the dead, we bless and share memorial wheat. You may have heard it called grure (Albanian), ameh (Arabic), kollyva (Greek), or kolyvo or zhito (Serbian). Recipes for the memorial wheat vary by location and family; but each recipe has at least three basic ingredients:
- boiled whole wheat kernels
- dried fruit, and
- some sort of sweetener, like sugar or honey
The wheat kernels remind us of Christ’s words about death and resurrection: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains a single seed, but if it dies it brings forth much fruit” (John 12:24). Secondly, the fruit symbolizes the risen Christ, the “first fruits” of the dead, whose resurrection brings our own (1 Corinthians 15:22-24). And the sweetener reminds us of the sweetness of the afterlife that awaits those who follow Christ, the Wisdom of God. “For wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 24:14).
When we eat our serving of wheat, we offer a brief prayer for the person being remembered: “May God forgive them.”
Conclusion
To sum up, the practice of praying for the dead is indeed biblical, and has been part of the Christian life for millennia. The Orthodox Church keeps this practice alive to this day, along with the tradition of blessing and eating memorial wheat. These things remind us of the power of Christ’s resurrection – that death is not the end for those who believe in Him.
Keep Reading: Why The Orthodox “Pray To” Saints
8 Responses
I am Protestant but thanks to the Orthodox Church in helping to change my mind from cremation to whole body burial for me and my husband.
THANK YOU
Pauline,
Glory to God! We are so glad you and your husband will do this and pay respect to the Temple the Lord provided you with. God bless you both!
Praying for my friend Nathan Richar as we lay him to rest today… Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have mercy on Nathan!
Jered,
Christ is risen! Memory eternal, and may the Lord remember Nathan in His Kingdom, always now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen. God bless you as you mourn this loss.
If there is no Purgatory and the fate of the soul is decided immediately after death then what does praying for the dead achieve? How would our prayer be beneficial for souls in Heaven (or Hell..)? Why do we pray forgiveness of their sins when their fate is already decided?
Adam,
Christ is in our midst! Thank you for your thoughtful questions. While Orthodox teaching affirms that the soul does undergo a particular judgment at the moment of death, we also recognize that God’s mercy and love are not bound by our human limitations or understanding of time and justice. The prayers of the Church — especially the Divine Liturgy and memorial services — are offered out of love, seeking God’s mercy, forgiveness, and repose for the departed.
The Church teaches that our prayers can be of real spiritual benefit to those who have died, even though their earthly choices are complete. The fullness of each soul’s experience of God’s love and mercy is, in a mysterious way, affected by the prayers and love of the faithful. We do not presume to know all the workings of God’s mercy, but we trust in His compassion and the power of prayer, which transcends the boundaries of life and death. We pray for the forgiveness of sins for the departed because we hope in God’s immense and unsearchable mercy. The Church’s prayers are acts of love and solidarity, commending the souls of the departed to God’s care and interceding for them. Moreover, the tradition of praying for the dead is rooted in the understanding that the whole Church — living and departed — remains united in Christ, and that love expressed through prayer is never wasted.
We pray for the dead not because we believe in Purgatory, but because we trust in the mercy of God, the deep mystery of His judgment, and the communion of love that unites all members of Christ’s Body — both living and departed. Through these prayers, we express our hope, love, and faith in the Resurrection, entrusting every soul to God’s perfect justice and compassion. If you would like to explore this further, we encourage you to read the prayers of the Orthodox funeral and memorial services, or to speak with a local priest, who can offer further theological and pastoral insight. God bless!
I’m confused as to why some think “departed” Onesiphorus was dead. Paul was writing from prison, so if a dear friend wasn’t visiting him, it could simply mean that departed meant” went back to his family area. It doesn’t have to mean dead, and if it is supposed to mean dead, it is a poor translation to say “departed” just because we sometimes refer to dead loved ones as dearly departed.
So if it doesn’t mean dead, then Paul wasn’t saying to pray for the dead.
Kerry,
Christ is in our midst! Interpretations of Onesiphorus in 2 Timothy have been discussed by Christians for centuries, and your attention to the nuances of language and context is commendable. In 2 Timothy 1:16-18 and 4:19, St. Paul writes, “May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus…” and “The Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord on that Day.” Some have understood these verses to suggest that Onesiphorus had already “departed” this life when Paul wrote the letter, especially since Paul greets only his household, not Onesiphorus himself, in chapter 4. This interpretation has been common in the Orthodox tradition and among many Church Fathers, who saw Paul’s prayer as an early example of intercession for the departed.
However, the Greek word used (“departed” or “absent”) does not, in itself, require that Onesiphorus was deceased—it could also mean that he was simply away from Paul, perhaps having returned to his home. As you point out, Paul’s imprisonment and Onesiphorus’s absence could simply reflect geographical separation.
Because the passage is not explicit, the Orthodox Church does not rest the entire practice of praying for the departed on this verse alone. Instead, the Church points to the broader biblical tradition (such as 2 Maccabees 12:44-45, and the continuity of prayer for the departed in ancient Christian worship) as evidence for this practice. The example of Onesiphorus is seen as consistent with, but not the sole foundation for, the Orthodox understanding of prayer for those who have fallen asleep in the Lord.
Ultimately, whether or not Onesiphorus was deceased at the time, the Orthodox Church’s practice is rooted in the conviction that love and prayer do not end with death, and that the Church — on earth and in heaven — remains united in Christ. God bless!