It happens that people dream of deceased relatives or acquaintances. Some see this as any mystical signs, others think about the meaning of sleep. For an Orthodox person, the question does not arise of what to do with the dead after dreams. The Church gives a clear answer to this.
Human sleep is still not fully understood by scientists. Therefore, it is not so easy to get an answer to the question why or what the dead people dream of. There are several explanations for this phenomenon. If we consider sleep as a mental component of the personality, then the phenomena of the dead in a dream can be a projection of the human emotions of living people, the memory of the deceased. Some people consider dreams with the departed to be specific phenomena of a deceased human personality. However, it is very rare for Orthodoxy to regard this as an affirmative fact. The fact is that the human soul after death no longer exists in our material world. Therefore, the personal appearance of the soul in a dream is very controversial, although sometimes there is a phenomenon in the night visions of saints, the Mother of God or angels. However, this is another question. So what should an Orthodox person do if he dreams of the dead? The Church gives an unequivocal answer to the question.
The appearances of dead people in a dream are an incentive to a stronger prayer for the departed. It is quite possible that the very need of the human soul of a living person is manifested in this. We can consider this phenomenon as a reminder to a living person of the religious duty of prayer for the departed, filled with love for our deceased loved ones.
After a dream of a deceased person, the Orthodox Church advises at home to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased. You can read a special canon about the dead, read the akathist for the one who died, sing the funeral litiya. All these rites can be found in Orthodox prayer books. If possible, at home you can read a psalter for the deceased.
It is also necessary to order the commemoration of the deceased in a dream in the temple, if the latter was baptized. It is necessary to order a memorial service in memory of the deceased, to light a candle for the repose of the soul of the latter. The Church also advises to order the commemoration of the deceased at the liturgy and proskomedia, to issue a magpie for the deceased.
If the dreamed deceased was not baptized, then the latter should be well prayed in secret (at home).
