For a believing Orthodox person, the memory of the departed consists in the prayerful remembrance of the deceased relatives and loved ones. There are certain funeral prayers, among which the reading of the Psalter for the departed occupies a special place.
The Psalter is a book included in the body of the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament. It contains 150 psalms (hence the corresponding name), which are prayers to the Lord. The author of the psalter is believed to be King David, but some of the prayers were compiled by other rulers of ancient Israel.
The Psalter became widespread for use even in apostolic times. In Russia, from ancient times, this Old Testament book was used as prayers both at divine services and in home prayer. Currently, the services of the Church also include prayers from the Psalter.
In Orthodox culture, there is a pious tradition to read the Psalter for the departed, in memory of them. The entire Old Testament book is divided into twenty kathisma, its complete reading can take up to five hours of time, therefore prayer for the deceased with the help of this book is a special work of living people in memory of the deceased. The reading of the Psalter is performed both for laymen and for deacons and monks. Any devout Christian can read.
It is customary to read the psalter before the burial of the deceased. It is desirable that the prayers last continuously, however, in the absence of such an opportunity, you can read at least a few kathisma a day, or change the readers. The prayer of the psalter traces the hope of a person for the mercy of God, the sacred texts comfort the relatives and relatives of the deceased person.
The Psalter can be read for forty days after death, with special attention paid to the days of remembrance: the ninth and fortieth. In addition, the psalter for the departed can be read on the anniversaries of death or on any other day, because prayers to the Lord for the forgiveness of the sins of the dead can be offered up by a Christian at any time.
The order of reading the Psalter for the departed is simple. In prayer books, before the reading of the Psalter, special initial prayers are laid, after which "Come, let us bow down" and the text of the kathisma are read. All kathismas are divided into three "Glories". The peculiarity of reading the Psalter for the dead is the addition of a special prayer for the dead at each "glavnik". Thus, when the reader sees the inscription "Glory" in the text of the kathisma, one should read as follows:
After this, the reading of the psalms from the kathisma continues. There is a practice according to which, after the funeral prayer, the Theotokos prayer is recited "Virgin Mary, Rejoice." On the last third "Glory" only "Glory" "And now" is pronounced, the threefold "Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia, glory to Thee, O God" and a prayer for the deceased. After that, the trisagion according to our Father is read, special troparia, written at the end of the kathisma, as well as a certain prayer.
The beginning of each new kathisma is again accompanied by the reading "Come and worship":
At the end of the reading of the Psalter or several kathisma, special prayers are published, published in the prayer book "after the reading of the Psalter or several kathisma".
It should be especially noted that if a person does not have the opportunity to read the psalter for the dead completely, one should work at least in reading the 17th kathisma, since it is this part of the psalter that is read at the funeral service (used during prayers for the commemoration of the departed).
The position of the praying person while reading the Psalter should be standing. Other people can sit during prayer if they experience physical weakness.
If the psalter is read in front of the coffin of the deceased, then the reader stands before the feet of the deceased. When reading the psalter, it is customary to light candles or an icon lamp in front of the icons. During the reading of the psalter, it is necessary to fully concentrate on prayer and turn to the Lord with humility, reverence and pious attention to the sacred texts.
