Funerals

As there is no liturgical document before the eighth century, liturgists in the past have tried to reconstruct an early Christian ritual for funerals on the basis of fragments of texts from different geographic areas and periods. The result is obviously artificial, and we need not discuss such attempts. One source of evidence is hagiography, but I have already mentioned the risks in applying to the Christian population in general what is said about the clergy and the rich laity. Another source are the sermons in which bishops comment upon, usually critically, the practices of their flocks.

Let us consider the wake in the church: was it the usual practice in Late Antiquity? Macrina, the sister of Gregory of Nyssa, was brought to the church (Gregory of Nyssa, V. Macrinae 33). So was Ambrose, who died on Holy Saturday: his body was brought to the cathedral church, and the Easter vigil was his funeral wake (Paulinus, V. Ambrosii 48. 1). Paula was brought to the Church of the Savior, and the vigil held over her body lasted an entire week (Jerome, Ep. 108. 29. 1). These cases are obviously exceptional, and are presented as such in our sources. When one reads John Chrysostom’s sermons, it becomes clear that for most Christians, at least in Antioch and Constantinople, the wake took place in the home of the deceased. He often criticizes Christians who mourn their deceased as pagans would (references in Rebillard 2003: 153-4; Rentinck 1970: 133-4; see Rush 1941: 179-81), and the context he envisages is clearly the household, with relatives and slaves present. Interestingly enough, it appears that some Christians not only asked for priests and chanters, very likely to have psalms and hymns sung during the wake, but also hired mourners, usually (according to Chrysostom) pagan women (In Mat. hom. 31. 3; In ep. ad Hebraeos hom. 4. 5). Even if he did not approve of such competition between the pagan mourning professionals and Christian chanters, the bishop never encouraged holding the wake in church. In his frequent criticisms of the traditional expenditure on funerals and burial, he points out that it runs counter to the Christian faith, but does not propose an alternative ritual. The involvement of the clergy in the funeral of a Christian, if they were called upon by the family, seems to have been limited to bringing ‘‘philosophic consolation’’ into the house of the deceased, and to some singing (In Mat. Hom. 31. 4).

The same picture can be drawn for Africa, from Augustine’s sermons. The bishop of Hippo also repeatedly criticized the expenditure of his rich fellow Christians on funerals and burial (references in Saxer 1984: 153-6). He carefully explains, however, that, according to Scripture, caring for the dead is among the works of faith, although it provides no aid for the dead (Sermo 172. 2. 3). As such, it is the duty of the family to organize the funeral and burial; the Church has no say, except to encourage some moderation (Rebillard 2003: 152). Augustine never provides rules for a Christian ritual, nor does he picture the clergy at the home of the deceased. According to a canon from the Council of Hippo in ad 393, repeated in later councils in both Hippo and Carthage, some Christians wanted to bring the corpse of the deceased to the church immediately after death and expected the bishop to then celebrate the Eucharist. Interestingly, the canon forbids such a practice, arguing that the Eucharist cannot be celebrated in the presence of a corpse, and that the bishop can preside only if he is fasting. The recommended practice is, at least implicitly, to leave the corpse at home and to go to the church: if the bishop is fasting, he can celebrate the Eucharist; otherwise the family has to be content with prayers ( Concilium Hipponense 4; see Rebillard 2003: 155-6). Reading this canon, one has the impression that the family took the initiative to involve the clergy in the funeral, not that the clergy attempted to impose its presence.

This is confirmed by other documents on the funerals of Christians. Scholars have striven to gather all the available information on the days that marked the mourning process and associated rites (Cumont 1918; Freistedt 1928; Vogel 1975). The collected evidence reveals that local practices varied greatly, and that it was the family’s responsibility to ask for a eucharistic celebration, either at the grave or in the church, on the day of the burial or on the third, seventh, or ninth day. Commenting on Genesis 50: 10, where Joseph is said to have observed a mourning period of seven days, Augustine recommended that, instead of the period of nine days more generally observed by pagans {magis in gentilium consuetudine), Christians observe the same custom {Quaestiones in Heptateuchum 1. 172). The Apostolic Constitutions, which describe an ideal liturgy, follow the tradition of the ninth day like most of the eastern tradition and despite the Scriptures {8. 42. 1-3). The same variety of practice appears to have characterized the end of the mourning period on the thirtieth or fortieth day.

I believe that a useful distinction can be made between ‘‘Christian funerals’’ and the ‘‘funerals of Christians.’’ The former did not exist in Late Antiquity: there was neither a Church-sanctioned ritual for death nor any attempt by the Church to impose uniformity. Family wishes and local traditions prevailed.