In the cultures of various nations, there are various ideas about where the soul of a deceased person is located in the first three days after death. Christian Orthodox culture has its own explanation of this issue.
Christian Orthodox culture announces to the world that death is not the end of being, but only the transition of a person from one state to another. The Church teaches that the human soul is unique and immortal. In this one can find one of the reasons for the need to pray for a deceased person. The Orthodox person believes that after death the soul of the deceased does not die, but ascends to a private judgment before God. However, questions may arise, when exactly does the soul "go" to its Creator? Where is the soul of the deceased in the first three days after death?
The Orthodox tradition says that in the first three days after death, the soul of a deceased person is on earth. In particular, you can find indications that the soul of the deceased loves to visit those places that were especially loved by the deceased during his earthly life. This is a manifestation of a certain sorrow of the soul about leaving its body. We can talk about a certain "connection" of the soul, passing into the immaterial world, with earthly being.
Orthodox Christians pray especially strongly for a deceased person in the first three days after death. So, at this time, the psalter can be read, a dirge can be sung, a funeral service is performed. Believers believe that at this time the soul of the deceased is at home. She is present near those people who have come to fulfill their religious and moral duty of saying goodbye to their deceased relatives or friends.
Thus, the Orthodox Church assumes that the human soul only on the third day after the death of a person goes to God. Until that time, she is on the ground.
