Censing During Ukrainian Orthodox Funerals

Note: be sure to subscribe to the podcast

Censing during Ukrainian Orthodox Funeral Services

Preface:

During the funeral, the priest stands with the deacon at the west end of the coffin, except during the incensations (at the Evloghitaria of the Departed, the Kondak, and at Eternal Memory, see below). It is proper to have the censor live and swinging throughout the service.

Litany (and Litya)

The deacon censes towards the east at each litany for repose. The priest (whichever it is that pronounces the prayer and the exclamation) takes the censer and censes as he says them, giving the censer to the server when he reaches the name of the Trinity so he can make the sign of the cross (a variation is to make the sign of the Cross with the censor).

Evloghatiria

The first celebrant with a candle in his left hand and preceded by the deacon with the candle censes the whole church during the Evloghitaria of the Departed [i.e. Psalm 118 – FWIW, I often move this to Psalm 90 for logistical reasons, then cense the body during Psalm 118 so that I can sing], in this order:

• The coffin from four sides,
• The Holy Doors, then enter the sanctuary through the Holy Doors in order to incense the sanctuary as at the Divine Liturgy,
• The iconostasis, the choir(s), and the people
• The whole church as at the beginning of the vigil (some reverse these last two).

The censing team ends up on the solea, where they incense the two main icons and then return to the middle of the church in front of the coffin. The priest incenses three times in front of the coffin, and the deacon once, the then deacon takes the censer and censes the priest twice.

Alleluia before the Gospel Reading
Some cense at the Alleluia before the Gospel, others do not. The rubrics are silent on the issue.

Kondak
During the Kondak, tone 8, (i.e. in Ode 6 of the Canon… where the Kontakion is usually found) they cense as at the Evloghitaria, but not the whole church (coffin 4 sides, altar, sanctuary, iconostasis, choirs people and coffin again).

Litya: see above

Memory Eternal

As the choir sings “Eternal memory”, the deacon incenses the iconostasis, the priest, the choirs and the people and returns in front of the coffin which he incenses three times.

The clergy lead off the procession of the coffin to the grave (or to the hearse), bearing cross and censer, but not turning round or walking backwards. The choir sings “Holy God, holy and mighty…”.

The Memorial Litya (as prayed after the Divine Liturgy)
The post-Liturgy Litiya is exactly as at the funeral, except the panykhida table takes the place of the coffin in the middle of the church. The priest remains in front of it throughout unless he has no deacon, in which case he has to do the Eternal Memory censing of the iconostasis himself.