The departure from life of relatives, acquaintances, friends can leave long-healing wounds on the soul. However, the departed could benefit not only during their lifetime, but also after their death. Prayers for peace can help a soul in the afterlife.
Instructions
Step 1
Icon of Jesus Christ. After death, the soul strives for its Father. Only now, burdened with sins, it does not always fall to him. With prayers to the Lord, one can implore him to have mercy on a departed sinner. We must remember that there are no sinless people. Even if during his lifetime no one noticed anything bad about the deceased, then even more so no one knew his thoughts and secret deeds. The icon of Jesus Christ is the main decoration of any red corner. She is the first, before which it is worth praying for the deceased, reading the Psalter, the akathist "All are alive with God."
Step 2
The Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos is the second obligatory decoration of the icon shelf. Jesus Christ, like the Son, listens to the requests and entreaties of his mother. Actually, not only his own, but of all mankind, which he once entrusted to her in maternal care. Reading the akathist for the newly departed, praying for their mercy in the Kingdom of Heaven can and should be before the icon of the Mother of God. There are quite a few icons of the Virgin Mary, and there is no special one in this case. However, especially for the departed, they pray in front of the "Assistant of the Sinners", "The Quick-Hearing".
Step 3
Icon of the Archangel Michael. In Orthodoxy - the Archangel of the disembodied forces, i.e. the head of the holy army of Angels and Archangels. Archangel Michael carries a special mission, being the main fighter against the devil and human lawlessness. The memory of the Archangel is celebrated on November 21st. It is very important to pray for the dead on the night of November 20-21. Through earnest prayers at this time, Michael lowers his wing into hell, and many, holding on to it, are saved. You can read both an akathist to the Archangel and a prayer to him.
Step 4
An icon of a saint or saint whose name the deceased bore. It is not always the worldly name that a person wears in everyday life and writes in a passport is the name given to him at baptism. Ideally, the child should be called by the name indicated in the calendar on the day he was born. But moms and dads do not always like such names, and the chosen by them may be absent from the calendar. One can only baptize with the name that exists in the Orthodox Church. This is where the difference arises between names in the world and names in the church. So you should find out exactly what name the person was baptized with - Stasiki and Slaviki will receive special attention here. Stas may turn out to be both Stanislav and Anastas, and Slava may turn out to be Vyacheslav, Svyatoslav, etc. The saint whose name the deceased bore is a special intercessor for him before the Lord.
