Death is not the end. It is the passage from this life to the next. But what happens in that moment, and after? The Church has preserved, through Scripture, the writings of the Fathers, and the witness of the saints, a clear teaching about the soul's journey.
The Orthodox Funeral
An Orthodox funeral is not a celebration of life - it is an offering of prayer for the soul and a sober reminder of our own mortality.
- Preparation of the body: The body is washed, dressed (often in baptismal clothes or simple garments), and placed in the coffin with the hands crossed.
- Psalms and readings: The Psalter may be read over the body before the funeral.
- Funeral service: Held in the church, it includes psalms, hymns, readings from the Epistles and Gospels, and prayers for the departed.
- The Kiss of Peace: The faithful come forward to give the last kiss to the departed.
- Burial: The priest blesses the grave, the body is laid to rest facing east, and the final prayers are said.
The funeral is both grief and hope.Grief because death is unnatural; and hope because Christ has trampled down death by death.
No Purgatory
The Orthodox Church rejects the idea of purgatory as taught in Roman Catholicism. There is no temporary "middle place" where the soul works off its sins. There is only the journey of the soul, the toll houses, the particular judgment, and then awaiting the Final Judgment at Christ’s return.
Heaven or Hell?
No one enters the final Heaven or Hell until the Last Day, when Christ comes again and the dead are raised. But after the particular judgment, the soul already begins to experience either the peace of God's presence (Paradise) or the torment of separation from Him (Hades).
The Moment of Death
When an Orthodox Christian departs this life, the soul is separated from the body. The body remains on earth and will be buried, but the soul immediately faces its first reality outside of time. The Fathers teach that angels are sent to receive the soul of the faithful, while demons also appear to accuse and claim it. This is the beginning of what the Church calls the "toll houses".
The Toll Houses
The toll houses are not a "customs checkpoint" for goods - they are spiritual encounters, where the soul is confronted with the sins it committed in life. Each "toll" is a particular sin: pride, anger, lust, greed, and so on. The demons accuse. The angels defend, bringing forward the soul's repentance, the good deeds done in Christ, and the prayers offered for it by the living.
Some of the toll houses described in the lives of saints include:
- The Toll House of Pride - "Who made you better than others? Did you give glory to yourself or to God?"
- The Toll House of Lying -"Did you speak falsely to hide sin or to harm another?"
- The Toll House of Lust - "Did you defile yourself in thought, word, or action?"
- The Toll House of Greed - "Did you hoard instead of giving to the poor?"
- The Toll House of Anger - "Did you destroy peace with your wrath?"
- The Toll House of Sloth - "Did you neglect prayer, fasting, and the works of God?"
At each toll, nothing can be hidden. Even thoughts and desires are exposed.
The toll houses are not a game to see who wins. They are the revelation of whether we died in repentance or in rebellion. This is why the prayers of the Church, offered while the soul is passing through, are so important. They strengthen the soul and help it endure the accusations of the enemy.
Lazarus and the Weight of Eternity
The Gospel tells us that Christ raised His friend Lazarus after four days in the tomb (John 11). The tradition of the Church says that during those four days, Lazarus saw the state of souls after death - the righteous in peace, the unrepentant in torment, and the dread judgment that awaits all.
After his return, Lazarus never spoke of what he saw, but those who knew him said he never smiled again, except once - when he saw a man stealing a clay pot, and said, "The clay steals clay". Even that smile was bittersweet, a reminder of how little the things of this world truly are, and the mark of a man who had already stood at the threshold of judgment.
The Particular Judgment
Will We See God?
We will see Christ, the Judge, even at the particular judgment, though not yet in the fullness of the Beatific Vision, which comes only after the resurrection and final judgment. The righteous will behold Him as their joy; the wicked will see Him as the One they rejected.
Soon after death, the soul stands before God for the particular judgment: the first judgment before the Final Judgment. It is here that the soul is shown whether it will await the resurrection in the joy of Paradise or the suffering of Hades. This is not yet the full reward or punishment, but a foretaste.
The saints speak of questions every soul will have to answer before God. These are not for information (God knows everything) but for our own confession of what we have chosen. Examples include:
- "Did you believe in My Son, Jesus Christ?"
- "Did you love Me with all your heart, or did you serve other masters?"
- "Did you forgive others as I forgave you?"
- "Did you feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned?"
- "What did you do with the time and gifts I gave you?"
These questions are not answered with clever words but with the truth of our life. There will be no excuses. Every act, every word, every thought will stand as its own witness.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV
Justifying ourselves will not be about arguing a case. We will "justify" in the true sense (to be found righteous) if our life shows repentance, faith, and mercy. If not, our own deeds will condemn us. The angels will bring forward the good we did in Christ; the demons will bring forward the evil we did and never repented of.
Will We Remember Our Family When We Die?
Yes, but not in the same way we remember them now. In this life, memory is tied to our passions: joy, anger, regret, longing. After death, the soul remembers with clarity, but without the distortion of sinful emotions. We will recognize those we loved, and the bond of love (purified in Christ) will remain. Even the rich man in Christ's parable of Lazarus remembered his brothers and pleaded for their warning. Memory is not erased; it is illuminated. And that is why our prayers for the departed, and theirs for us, continue even after the soul leaves the body.
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:
For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.
Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.
And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.
And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Luke 16:19-31 KJV
Why We Pray for the Departed
The prayers of the Church are not symbolic comfort for the living; they are real help for the departed. St. John Chrysostom says: "Not in vain was it decreed by the Apostles that remembrance should be made of the departed in the dread Mysteries." When we pray for the dead, especially in the Divine Liturgy, we place their name before God’s mercy. Our prayers can ease their passage through the toll houses, strengthen them before the demons' accusations, and even bring them relief in Hades until the Day of Judgment.
Conclusion
Life is short, and the journey after death is real. The toll houses are not a metaphor; the prayers of the Church are not empty tradition. Every soul will meet Christ - either with joy or with dread. The wise prepare now: by repentance, confession, Holy Communion, and a life of prayer.
"(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)"
2 Corinthians 6:2 KJV
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