Church hierarchs reiterate dogmatic opposition to cremation for Orthodox Christians
Greek Church hierarchs this week continued to detail Orthodoxy’s dogmatic opposition to cremation, in the wake of the operation of the first crematorium in Greece, and specifically outside the south-central city of Halkida. Moreover, press reports this week cited the prospect of another two such units being opened in the country.
As reported by the Orthodoxia News Agency on Wednesday, the Metropolitan of Piraeus, His Eminence Seraphim, echoed other hierarchs in the country and called on Orthodox clerics not to officiate at funeral or memorial services in cases where the deceased has selected cremation instead of burial.
The Holy Metropolis of Thebes and Livadia, in south-central Greece, also announced that priests under its ecclesiastical jurisdiction would not officiate at a funeral service for a deceased member of the Orthodox faith who chose cremation instead of burial. The same policy applies in cases where relatives of the deceased choose cremation.
The announcement read “…Interment of man’s dead body in the earth requires and implies faith in the Resurrection of the dead during the Second Coming; it means hope and the divine expectation of eternal life. Conversely, cremation denotes a lack of faith and hope, as it means an absolute destruction and annihilation of man.”
A similar stance was expressed by the Metropolis of Larissa and Tyrnavos, which insisted on the adherence to a decision taken in 2016 by the Holy Synod of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church of Greece.
In central Greece, the Metropolitan of Karpenisi, His Eminence Georgios, expressed approval for the decision to prohibit Orthodox clerics from officiating at funerals and memorials for the deceased who choose cremation.
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