According to the Christian Tradition, the soul of a deceased person overcomes a certain path in the afterlife. There are special dates on which close relatives need to remember the soul of the deceased, and thanks to their prayer, this path is a little easier to do. So why is it important to celebrate the ninth day on time? What does this day mean for the soul of a deceased person?
Death is what unites absolutely all living beings on earth. Even in antiquity, Plato said that after the death of the body, "the inner part of a living being," as he called the soul, leaves its physical shell. Various religious denominations and traditions treated the farewell to the dead with special trepidation. This event has always been filled with special symbolic content and ritual sacraments. This article will talk about the path of the human soul after death, through the prism of the Christian worldview.
Death as the beginning of the life of the soul in the afterlife
To answer the question indicated in the topic of the article, it is necessary to briefly talk about the Christian concept of the afterlife and answer the question: what happens to the soul in the first 40 days after death. Christians believe that after death the soul flies away from the body and in the first 3 days it visits all the people who were dear to the deceased. On the 3rd day, the soul goes to the throne of God to present itself before the Judgment. Depending on what kind of life a person has lived: honest or not honest, his soul will be sent either to heaven or hell. This is the time when it is important to pray with special attention and trepidation for the soul of the deceased, so that his path "on the other side of life" is less severe.
In the period from the 3rd to the 9th day, the soul of a person ascends to the Kingdom of Heaven together with the Angels, where at the Paradise gates he dwells in bliss, forgetting all the pain and anxiety of earthly life. On the 9th day, the Angels bring the soul of the deceased back to the throne of God, where he is absolutely alone for the first time before the face of the Almighty.
The last stage of the soul's journey in the afterlife is the period from the 9th to the 40th day. This is the time of the ordeal of the soul, when the angels of heaven lead the deceased to the abyss of hell and he observes the sufferings of sinners. All repressed fears break through at this moment from the depths of the soul and come to life in this heaven-cursed world. The human soul meets with its shadow sides, in the name of atonement for sins.
And on the very last day, the 40th, the soul of a person ascends for the last time to the throne of God and already hears the final decision about its future fate. In the Orthodox Tradition, the soul has 2 paths: either to dwell in the fiery hyena of hell, atoning for its earthly sins, or to ascend to the throne of God in order to get into the Kingdom of Heaven and pass through the heavenly gates into eternal life.
Why is it important to celebrate the 9th day after a person dies on time?
It becomes obvious that the 9th day after the death of a person is a turning point in his path. This is the time when his soul meets with real spiritual tests, which should either cleanse him of sins, or even more denigrate him. It is on this day that the attention and prayer of loved ones and relatives for the soul of the deceased is for him a serious support in that unattainable world. In this regard, the transfer of an event to an earlier or later date is unacceptable.
