How Orthodox Christians Should Approach Death and Dying

From keeping vigil at the bedside to praying for the departed, the Orthodox Church offers a deeply human and spiritual approach to life's final moments.

Fr. Joshua Genig | November 9, 2026

 

 

500. That is the number of deaths that I estimate I have been present for in my role as a Trauma and ICU Chaplain at a large level-one trauma center outside of Detroit. I have witnessed the good, the bad, and the ugly. All of it has only reinforced in me the importance of the ancient, Orthodox understanding of death and dying. Indeed, this is the “more excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31) that, though forgotten by an industrialized and commercialized medical and funeral industry, must be retained and promoted by us today within our culturally dying milieu. 

It seems prudent, however, to first offer a few observations from my work before proceeding to suggestions.

Covid Dehumanized Death.

During the years of the pandemic, the process and act of dying were completely dehumanized, in no small part because family members were prohibited from being present at the time of death. No one should die alone. Even the Lord Jesus, though abandoned by many, was not abandoned by all. Instead, however, many who died during this time began their departure from this earthly life with only the ceiling of their hospital room as their companion. They looked up from their beds and saw no familiar face and, in some cases, no face at all. What faces they did see were further dehumanized by masks and breathing apparatuses. This changed the way our country (and the world) views death. We must recover the humanity of dying.

Death is Not Natural.

Yes, we know this. Death is not the way God created us to live. Yet, this is the language often employed by family and staff in hospital settings, particularly in the midst of anxiety and the unfamiliar. The goal, of course, is to soften the blow of death, to make it more sanitary and acceptable to our grief, but this provides us no benefit spiritually or emotionally. We must recover the reality of life: “God did not create death” (Wisdom 1:13). And when death occurs, it is the antithesis to natural. We should sit with that and absorb it. It is good for us. 

Touch and Voice matter.

When someone is dying or has died, for many, the first reaction to step back, to retreat. Yet, I am constantly encouraging people to draw near. To hold the hand of the one who is beginning their journey to God. To speak to them. To tell them what they need to tell them. To ask for forgiveness for all things. To just be present. 

So, where does this leave us, the Orthodox, in our approach to death and dying?

We are not mere psycho-somatic organisms, but we are fully human, made in the image of God Who created us and declared humanity “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Death is a foreign enemy that invaded our lives at the fall of our first family. But eternal death is dead. Christ has crucified it on the cross, buried in the grave, and given us hope – in His own glorious and life-giving resurrection – that we, too, will rise again. It is this hope that should guide our approach to death and dying. 

Stay with the Dying.

Think about it: from the minute a person is born, we keep them near. We do not let a newborn out of our sight. Over time, children grow up and move on and out. They must become independent in some way. Yet, our prayer is that they are never alone. Nevertheless, when it comes to dying, we often retreat and run away. We are not comfortable with death and, thus, we disengage. The one who was near to us all our lives, at the moment of death, becomes very far from us. We must stay near them. Even if it makes us uncomfortable – especially if it makes it uncomfortable! – we must be with them. 

Involve the Priest.

Death is a struggle, physically and spiritually. Of course, Orthodox Christians today like to quibble over the journey of the soul from this life. Do Toll Houses exist? Is there a struggle for the soul during its departure from the body? Whatever a Christian may think personally, the liturgical life of the Orthodox Church makes this clear: the soul’s journey to God is filled with the threat of aerial spirits who wish to drag our souls down (see, for example, the prayer to one’s guardian angel in the “Canon of Preparation for Holy Communion” or the “Office of the Parting of the Soul from the Body”).

The priest should be called upon whenever a person is suffering, yes, but particularly at this most critical time in the life of the Christian. Coming to the bedside of the dying one, the priest will pray several prayers, including a Canon, prayers for one who has suffered and, at the time of death, he will pronounce holy absolution. These are not indifferent or unnecessary things, but they have a real and lasting influence on the departure of the soul and its journey back to the Father. 

Honor the Days After.

In our culture, the minute a person dies, they are taken from us (or we leave them). They generally go to a morgue, then to a funeral home, and then – for a short time – to a church for a funeral. Of course, this need not be so (as will be delineated below), but most importantly, we must honor these first days. The ancient Jewish belief was that the soul remained near the body of the departed for three days, with the possibility of being reunited with it (later, the Jewish Talmud speaks explicitly of this). The Lord Jesus, knowing this, waits until the fourth day to come and raise Lazarus, indicating that He had power over death, as all hope had disappeared.

Yet, even for the Orthodox today, the first days after a person dies are extraordinarily significant for them and for us. As St. John Cassian notes: “Souls after the separation from this body are not idle, do not remain without consciousness; this is proved by the Gospel parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:22-28). The souls of the dead do not lose their consciousness, they do not even lose their dispositions—that is, hope and fear, joy and grief, and something of that which they expect for themselves at the Universal Judgment they begin already to foretaste” (referenced by St. John Maximovitch in his Homily “Life After Death”).

During this time, the most loving thing we can do for the departed is pray for them, request Panakhidas for them in the Church, and ensure that they are being commemorated in the Divine Liturgy. Our prayers will accompany them in their journey so that, along the way, they are never alone and never unloved. 

Re-think the “Rules”.

What we have come to believe are hard-and-fast rules around burial are simply not so, and Orthodox Christians should re-think these.

First, embalming is not required in any state. Of course, there are some cases where embalming is necessary (e.g. when a body must be transported by plane or cannot be properly refrigerated before a funeral). Yet, when this is not the case, choosing to leave the body as the Lord made it, without removing what is natural and introducing what is foreign, is a way to honor the holiness of the Lord’s image in man.

Second, while it is required by some cemeteries, not all require burial vaults. As the funeral ikos proclaims: “For out of the earth were we mortals made, and unto the same earth shall we return again.” Allowing the body of the reposed to be placed into the earth, as close to the very dust from which he was made, is perfectly acceptable and often preferred.

Third, we must push back against the casket industry, which requires far more than is necessary for a humble Orthodox Christian. In short, we need to start making our own simple coffins again, with our own hands, for our own parish family members.

Finally, we need to let the body of the reposed spend its final few days or hours in the temple. The parish church is the Christian's home. Period. Following death, rather than lying on display in a generic funeral home, the body of the reposed should be brought to the Church with prayer, laid in the center of the temple for mourning, and receive the help that comes from the prayers and the reading of the Psalms. 

We are not of this world. Our death is dead in Christ. Our departed ones have not left us. In Christ, who is the life, they are alive. In all things, we must follow the example of the holy ones who have gone before us: “Do for them what is needful for them and within your power” (St. John Maximovitch).

 

Source: https://uoj.news/man-and-church/how-orthodox-christians-should-approach-death-and-dying/