A mystical incident in the crematorium. Horrors of crematoria: truth and fiction Attitude towards cremation of the Greek Orthodox Church

“As a child, we ran to watch how the dead were burned in the crematorium. We sneaked to the small window and looked at the coffin engulfed in flames. that they burn a living person. We ran away in horror. Then at night I was tormented by nightmares. But all the same, we were drawn to the window like a magnet ... ". I often think of this passage from my aunt's childhood memoirs. More often than I would like, for last years more than once I had to participate in the farewell ceremony in last way. And often these farewells took place in the building of the crematorium.

About crematoria, about what happens in the building itself, where access to relatives and friends of the deceased is closed, there are many most incredible, chilling stories. Where is the truth, and where is fiction, we will try to figure it out.

In Europe, the Etruscans burned their dead, then the Greeks and Romans adopted this custom. Christianity declared cremation to be paganism. In 785 Charlemagne is under threat death penalty banned cremation, and it was forgotten for about a thousand years. But in the XVI-XVII centuries. cities in Europe began to gradually turn into metropolises, and a big problem arose with the organization of cemeteries. In some graveyards, the dead began to be buried in large common graves that have been open for many days. Often cemeteries were located in the human habitat, which was the cause of the spread of diseases. The idea of ​​burning the bodies of the dead arose again. Starting from the XVI century. in Europe, funeral pyres began to be used for sanitary and hygienic purposes. However, the problem was to create a suitable method of burning - fires were not suitable. This method has only been developed in late XIX century. On October 9, 1874, the first hot-air cremation took place in a regenerative oven designed by the German engineer Friedrich Siemens. And the first modern crematorium was built in 1876 in Milan. Currently, there are more than 14.3 thousand crematoria operating in the world

On the territory of Russia, the first crematorium was built not after the 17th year, as many people think, but even before the October Revolution, in Vladivostok, using a Japanese-made furnace. Probably for the cremation of citizens of the Land of the Rising Sun (at that time, many people from Nagasaki lived in Vladivostok). Today, a crematorium is again operating in this city, this time for the Russians.

The first crematorium in the RSFSR (the "Metallurg" oven) was opened in 1920 in the building of baths, house No. 95-97 on the 14th line of Vasilievsky Island in Petrograd. Even the act of the first ever Soviet Russia cremation, signed by the chairman of the Standing Commission for the Construction of the 1st State Crematorium and Morgue, the manager of the administration department of the Petrogubernia Executive Committee Comrade. B.G. Kaplun and other persons present at this event. In the act, in particular, it is written: "On December 14, 1920, we, the undersigned, carried out the first experimental burning of the corpse of the Red Army soldier Malyshev, aged 19, in a cremation oven in the building of the 1st State Crematorium - V.O., 14 line, 95/97. The body is pushed into the oven at 0 hours 30 minutes, and the temperature of the furnace at that moment was equal to an average of 800 C with the action of the left regenerator. The coffin flared up at the moment it was pushed into the combustion chamber and fell apart 4 minutes after its introduction there ". The following are details that I have chosen to omit so as not to injure impressionable readers.

The furnace did not work for long, from December 14, 1920 to February 21, 1921, and was stopped "for lack of firewood." During this period of time, 379 bodies were burned in it, most of which they were burned in an administrative order, and 16 - at the request of relatives or according to a will.

Finally and irrevocably, fiery funerals entered the life of Soviet people in 1927, when in Moscow, in the Donskoy Monastery, a "department of godlessness" was opened, as the atheistic propaganda then called this crematorium. The monastery church was converted into a crematorium Saint Seraphim Sarovsky. The first customers of the institution were trusted comrades - "knights of the revolution". In the columbarium, located in the temple, on cremation urns one can read inscriptions, such as: "Bolshevik-Chekist", "member of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, staunch Bolshevik", "one of the oldest figures of the Bolshevik Party". In general, fiery revolutionaries were supposed to have a flame even after death. After 45 years, another crematorium was built in the city - this time the largest in Europe - at the Nikolo-Arkhangelsk cemetery, in 1985 - at Mitinsky, and after another 3 years - at Khovansky. There are also crematoria in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok; On July 7 last year, a crematorium was opened in Novosibirsk.

Despite the increased propaganda, the citizens of the USSR treated this type of burial with distrust and fear. Partly (but only partly) this is due to the negative attitude towards cremation of traditional religions, because in monotheistic religions cremation is prohibited or at least not welcomed. Judaism categorically forbids the cremation of the body. Jewish tradition regards cremation as an offensive custom, dating back to the pagan practice of burning the dead on funeral pyres. Burning the body of a person is unacceptable in Islam. If this happens, the sin falls on those who committed the burning. The Orthodox Church regards cremation as an "alien custom", a "heretical way of burial". The Greek Orthodox Church stubbornly opposes the introduction of cremation. As stated by the official Holy Synod, Bishop of Alexandroupolis Antimos, commenting on a bill introduced by seven members of parliament that allows this rite for members of non-Orthodox (!) Congregations of Greece: "Cremation is an act of violence, an insult to humanity, an expression of nihilism ...". Strongly against fire burial and the vast majority of Russians Orthodox priests. “The burning of the dead may be a violation of the Church’s teaching on the veneration of the remains of the holy martyrs and saints and deprive Orthodox Christians of holy relics,” says priest I. Ryabko. death, which they receive when burying bodies in the ground.It follows that, from a purely Orthodox point of view, the burning of the dead is recognized as alien and unacceptable in Christian faith an innovation." The official position of the Russian Orthodox Church was voiced by the Deputy Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin: "We have a negative attitude towards cremation. Of course, if relatives ask for the funeral of the deceased before cremation, the ministers of the church do not refuse them. But people who profess Orthodoxy must respect the dead and not allow the destruction of the body created by God. "However, there is in Russian Orthodox Church and a lobby that advocates not to anathematize crematoria. Moreover, they say that the crematorium opened last year in Novosibirsk was consecrated. And in general, in recent times There are persistent rumors (which representatives of the ROC do not confirm) that the construction of crematoria in all major cities has long been agreed with the church authorities and there is a blessing from the ROC itself high level. Probably, the rumors arose due to the fact that priests work in all crematoria in Russia, who bury the dead before cremation, and some crematoria have chapels.

Other branches of Christianity look at this method of burial somewhat differently. Lutherans and Protestants were the first to approve cremation. And in 1963, albeit with reservations, cremation was allowed by the Catholic Church.

But, I repeat, the reason for the cool (forgive the pun) attitude towards fire funerals is not only in the religious beliefs of our citizens. main reason- Numerous horror stories, which have been passed from mouth to mouth for many years, about the "horrors" happening in crematoria. I, like many other citizens, have repeatedly heard that the dead are undressed, gold teeth and crowns are pulled out, coffins are rented out, and clothes taken from the dead are handed over to commission shops. At one time, Mikhail Veller's story "The Crematorium" added fuel to the fire, which describes how the employees of this institution in Leningrad undressed the dead before cremation, and handed over the clothes to a nearby thrift store. Let me briefly remind you what the essence of the story is: a man won a car in a money and clothing lottery, drank to celebrate, and died. He was cremated (allegedly along with the ticket, which was in the pocket of the suit). A few days later the widow of the deceased went to the commission shop, where she saw her husband's suit. In the pocket, of course, was the same ticket ... By the way, as my mother told me, this tale about a suit and a ticket (a bond with big win) she heard in childhood, when Weller also couldn’t hold a pen in his hands.

I managed to talk with an employee of one of the Moscow crematoria. Of course, I wanted to know the "whole truth" about what was going on there. An attempt was even made to get Ivan drunk (the name was changed at his request, since employees of the funeral services generally prefer not to advertise their place of work). Ivan willingly drank with me, but did not tell any terrible secrets. And in response to a question about the clothes supposedly taken from the corpses, he laughed: “Old man, how do you imagine it? marketable condition, it is necessary to hire a team of seamstresses-minders and shoemakers. So what? In general, this is complete nonsense.” “And the gold? - I did not let up. Are you sure you remove jewelry from the dead? Do not waste the good ... "But Ivan just waved his hand - they say, leave me alone.

And yet, where do the jewels go? In general, agents, when they draw up documents for cremation, offer the customer to remove from the deceased Jewelry. But if the relatives leave everything as it is, then the following happens during cremation. In cremation equipment there is such a thing - a cremulator. It is designed to grind the remains of bones after cremation. With the help of an electric magnet, all metal inclusions are removed from the ashes: nails, coffin handles, metal prostheses, etc. When the first crematoria only appeared in the USSR, in order to avoid the theft by the operator of the cremation oven from the machines of gold from dentures, wedding rings etc., control was established over the surrender of all non-magnetic metals to the state. All the metal that the fire did not take, the special commission was obliged to hand over to the state (these rules still exist today). However, as it turned out, the temperature in the furnace is so high that gold, silver and other valuable metals melt and, when combined with the remains, turn into dispersed dust, from which it is almost impossible to extract anything of value. Of course, there is a possibility that the crematorium servants can seize valuables even before the deceased is sent to the furnace. However, until now, since the existence of crematoria, there has not been a single such criminal case. Basically, this can be explained mutual responsibility workers of the crematorium, but somehow it is hard to believe that information about the crimes did not leak to law enforcement agencies.

As for the coffins, which are supposedly let in "to the left", both my new friend Ivan and quite officials unanimously assure that technological feature modern ovens is such that they cannot work without a coffin. In general, the process of cremation is as follows. After the coffin, which is boarded up or closed with latches, enters the domino drive, a metal plate with an engraved number is nailed, the coffin is sealed. If it is decorated with metal, plastic crosses, handles, they are removed so as not to pollute the atmosphere. harmful emissions, as well as to ensure that the nozzles of the furnace last longer. After the end of the cremation, along with the remains, the number plate is removed from the ashes and the numbers are checked to eliminate confusion with the issuance of someone else's ashes (one of the common fears is that someone else's remains will be given out). By the way, in some crematoria there is a glazed viewing room for relatives and friends, from where you can watch how the coffin goes into the oven. Only one deceased can be cremated in the oven at a time; before loading the next one, it is carefully cleaned. Another interesting detail is that in modern crematoria, in order to turn on the furnace, you need to have a key with a cipher and know a special code.

In general, rumors about outrages in crematoria, as they say, are greatly exaggerated. However, the crematorium, however, like the entire sphere of funeral services, is a good feeder for those who work there. You can always steal extra money from the relatives and relatives of the deceased who are not thinking well from grief. So, for example, employees of the ritual hall of the crematorium - it seems they are called masters of ceremonies - are often asked to give "for candles", for "requiem", for "remember dearly the dead" ... And people, of course, give. By the way, one of my acquaintances cherished the dream of getting a job in a crematorium, because she heard that they earn good money there. But she didn't succeed. It turned out that getting into this institution without patronage is just as difficult as it used to be to enter MGIMO without bribes and blasphemy. The amount she had to pay for employment turned out to be unbearable for her.

Today goes again, as at dawn Soviet power, increased propaganda of fiery burial. In favor of crematoria are even historical examples, which show that the burning of the dead was the norm among many peoples, including the ancient Slavs. Also, countries where cremation is widespread are given as an example: the USA, Japan, the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Denmark ... Cremation is presented as the most hygienic and environmentally friendly clean way burials. But the point is not in ecology (in any case, not only in it), but in the earth. Cities are growing and demanding new territories. Cremation does not allow cemeteries to grow strongly and "capture" priceless land. But ordinary people Of course, it's not all that that worries, but the cost of the funeral. Cremation is cheaper than regular burial. That is why in the last ten years the tradition of cremating the dead among poor residents of large Russian cities (primarily Moscow and St. Petersburg) is gaining popularity. Wealthier people can afford to pay for traditional funerals and land at the cemetery, while those who are poorer have to resort to fire burial.

A report about one of the most unpleasant professions. Every 10 minutes, the drivers of the Minsk crematorium are required to open the valve in the furnace and stir the ashes of the deceased. They do it with an absolutely deadpan air, repeating that there is nothing supernatural in their work: "People are born, people die." Journalists personally observed the cremation process and found out why it is not customary to sprinkle ashes on one's head during work.

The monumental red brick building, surrounded by columbar walls and graveyard graves, is not a pleasant place to work. The air here seems to be saturated with human grief. If in the 80s there were about 1,000 cremations a year, today their number exceeds 6,300. Last year, about 39 percent of the dead went through cremation.

Unfilled cells in the columbarium - reservation. Relatives worry in advance about being "nearby" after death.

The deputy head of the crematorium, Alexander Dubovsky, explains the increased demand by the fact that, compared with a cemetery grave, the columbarium cell does not need special care. In addition, there are fewer and fewer places in the cemetery every year. And in the future, experts predict, the load on the crematorium will only increase. In Europe, today about 70 percent of the deceased are cremated, and in Japan - up to 98.

Those who, by misfortune, happened to be in the crematorium, know only its outer side - ritual halls (there are three of them) and a store with the appropriate assortment (flowers, urns, tombstones, etc.). The cremation shop and other utility rooms are located on the level below, and outsiders are not allowed to enter here. Long and dark corridors, along which coffins with the dead are transported on a cart, are connected with the ritual hall.

Machinists of ritual equipment - 5 people for the whole republic

Despite the specifics of the work, life is also "boiling" below. Work in the cremation shop strong-willed people - with a hardened psyche and a healthy outlook on things. In official documents, they are called "machinists of ritual equipment" - they are representatives of a rare profession in our country, if not piecework.

In the only one in the republic, this work is performed by only 5 people - exclusively men. They themselves are sincerely surprised when their profession is called difficult or unpleasant. And then they remember that the morgue workers (perhaps the most experienced people in the prose of life) are wary of the workers of the cremation shop, calling them "barbecue people". However, contrary to popular belief, there is no smell of either burnt or fried here. Cadaverous smell occurs occasionally - most often when a person dies at a respectable age and begins to decompose very quickly. On the day of our visit, we did not notice any unpleasant odors.

The work experience of local "stove-makers" is impressive. Both Andreis, one with a mustache, the other without, have been working in the crematorium for more than 20 years. They came, as they say, young, strong, slender guys. Of course, with the expectation of working here temporarily. And then they "worked in", and now - already half a life has passed within the walls of the crematorium. Men talk about it without a shadow of regret. They seem to be quite content with their position indeed. Face to face with the dead, they say, do not intersect (dead people are cremated only in closed coffin and together with the coffin), and all the main work is entrusted to the machine.

Previously, "the smoke was coming in a column", today the work of the driver is dustless
The cremation process today is truly automated. The workshop has four fairly modern Czech ovens. In one of them, postoperative oncological waste is burned, and the rest are used for their intended purpose. According to Alexander Dubovsky, with the old equipment, "there was a column of smoke here." Now the work of the driver is relatively dust-free.

After a memorial service is served for the deceased, the coffin is transported from the ritual hall either to the refrigerator (if all the ovens are occupied), or straight to the workshop. Crematorium workers say that they often come across the opinion that, allegedly, before burning, they take gold, watches from the coffin, and also take off good clothes and shoes from the deceased. "Will you put on the clothes of the deceased?" - Andrey asks a question directly, who is clearly fed up with such conversations. And without opening the lid of the coffin, the machinist quickly loads it onto the lift.

Now you need to wait until the computer gives the "green light", and only after that you can send the dead person into it. The program automatically sets the required temperature (usually not lower than 700 degrees Celsius). Depending on the weight of the body and its condition, cremation takes from an hour to two and a half hours. All this time the driver is obliged to control the process. To do this, there is a small glass hole in the furnace, which the faint of heart is unlikely to dare to look into. "You just treat it like this: you have to do it, and that's it. And even at the very beginning I tried to think that I just threw the box. I used to work for one day. You should be afraid of the living, not the dead."

"If Ivanov came, then they will give Ivanov's ashes"
The main thing, men say, is to do your job well. And the criterion for quality work for a crematorium is the absence of confusion. In the words of the heroes of the article, "if Ivanov came, then they would give Ivanov's ashes." For each deceased, something like a passport is made: the name, age, date of death and time of cremation are indicated on paper. Any movement of the coffin or ashes is possible only with this document.

After the end of the cremation, the data is recorded in a special journal. “It all depends on the driver, how carefully he rakes out the remains,” Andrey continues the story. "Look how the deceased is being raked out. There are only bones, the whole organic part is burned. And then the ashes go to the cremulator room, where the remains of calcium-bones are ground in a ball mill. And this is what remains of a person."

Ashes ground in a cremator

Andrei shows us a container with fine powder. If you do not try to turn events back and do not imagine what this person was like in life, you can safely work. The machinist pours the ashes into a special bag and attaches a "passport" to it. Then the "powder" enters the room for the issuance of ashes, where the organizers will pack it in an urn and give it to the customer. Or they won’t give it to the customer, because he simply won’t come for him. Although this is a rare occurrence, it happens regularly. The urns can wait for months for their relatives until the crematorium workers start looking for those who ordered the cremation and in some amazing way forgot about it.

"The only thing hard to get used to is baby cremations"
Every day, about 10-18 people are cremated in this workshop - from different destinies and life stories. Average age The dead, the machinists say, are about 60 years old. Usually, they try not to go into the causes of their death here. But when it comes to children, even the harsh "stove-makers" change their faces. And the worst thing, according to men, is when they bring a child from a year and older. Fortunately, there are few such cases.

Rest room for tough men

I remember raking the little one, and there was an iron machine among the ashes. So I dreamed about her for a long time. Racing like that. You get up at night, throw off the sweat, go to the toilet and think, how could this be a dream? The only thing that is difficult to get used to is children's cremations. The first child who was cremated was a girl, she was a year old. Well, there is a newborn, and when he has lived ... And you also see how the parents are crying ...

Money doesn't smell
Children are the only reason for stingy male sympathy. Alexander Kanonchik, 22, tries to think dryly: "People are born, people die. What's wrong with that?" When he first started working in the crematorium, he was warned that they often come here for 2 weeks, and then they can’t stand it - they leave.

In this case, a very clear distinction between "work and home" is necessary, otherwise even an "above average" salary will not be able to reassure. Operators of ritual equipment dirty earn about 7.5-8 million a month. "Money doesn't smell," Andrey, the driver, who showed us the cremation procedure, hurries to remind us. Men are proud that lately the dead have been brought to them even from Russia. The rumor spread that they "everything is fair."
"Goodbye" - throw a short phrase crematorium workers. “We hope that we will meet with you very soon,” we answer, and we are happy to leave this curious, but sad place.

That's all I wanted to say. I agree with the last sentence.

The first cremation oven in Russia was built in Petrograd, on Vasilyevsky Island, in 1920. The stove worked for only two months and was stopped for technical reasons and for lack of fuel - firewood. From December 1920 to February 1921, only 379 corpses were burned. A crematorium began operating in Moscow in 1927 near the former Donskoy Monastery. In 1973, a crematorium was also built in Leningrad. In the 70s, about 10 corpses were burned here daily. In the 90s, up to 50 dead passed through the cremators every day. Today, 100-120 dead people are burned in cremation ovens per day.

The deceased enter the crematorium from the morgues of the city, usually ready-made - dressed, shod, combed, powdered ... The deceased is placed in a coffin made of coniferous wood, covered with red cloth. Then the coffin with the body of the deceased is placed in the mourning hall for funeral rites. Sounds in the hall classical music, within 30 minutes, relatives say goodbye to the deceased. If this time is not enough, then for an additional fee you can take the hall for 45 minutes, an hour, and a half ... After parting, the coffin is covered with a lid and, by pressing a button, is moved along the escalator to the basement, where the cremation ovens are located.

On average, every tenth deceased has gold teeth. Before burning the deceased, gold crowns are pulled out with pliers. Some relatives (approximately 50%) take gold teeth with them and sell them to jewelers or dental technicians. Other relatives often refuse such an inheritance due to squeamishness. In this case, the crematorium workers draw up a special act in which they indicate the number of gold teeth and their weight. Once a year, the gold accumulated in this way (approximately one kilogram is collected) is sent to Moscow to the gold depository for examination. The gold depository evaluates the yellow metal, and its value is transferred to the bank account of the crematorium.

After the "dental intervention", the coffin is again closed with a lid and put in line for the oven. Initially, English stoves were installed, which worked for 10 years. Then they were replaced by Czechoslovak ones - they served for another 10 years. In 1994, 13 Russian-made furnaces were installed - the Aprelevka Pilot Plant for Thermal Insulation Products. But domestic experience was unsuccessful. Furnaces were made without any automation, often failed, and the whole process of burning the body of the deceased was carried out manually: from setting fire to the coffin with a rag to complete combustion of the corpse.

Recently, the St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise "Ritual Services" put into operation four new Czech-made cremation ovens. Investments in this project amounted to 20.8 million rubles. The entire cremation process is automated. All ovens run on natural gas. Information about the weight of the coffin with the body is received from the trolley to the computer, one of the three necessary programs cremation, and then the "OK" key is pressed. The coffin is guided into the furnace by means of hydraulic trolleys. Burning takes place at a temperature of 850 degrees and lasts from 40 minutes to an hour and a half.

In Tsarskoye Selo in 1917, a crowd of revolutionaries dug up the coffin with the body of Grigory Rasputin, as you know, and dragged it to be burned on the Vyborg side - to the place where the mansion of a friend and colleague of the "old man" Tibetan clergyman Badmaev had previously been burned. According to eyewitnesses, when the boards of the black glazed coffin were burned, Rasputin's body began to stir. He got up, waved his arms, tried to get out of the fire, but drowned in the flames.

In the St. Petersburg crematorium, they have not yet observed anyone trying to get up, giving signs that "this" is not necessary, and asking to turn off the furnace. We only saw how some of the dead, lying on their chests, straighten their arms.

So-called cremation oven operators work directly at the ovens. Men are 25-30 years old, do not drink, most do not smoke. Basically they former athletes, which means that the strong in spirit, the faint of heart, do not adapt to such work. educational institutions to work in crematoria does not exist. Personnel are found on the recommendations of employees working here. Usually they take people who have the specialty of the operator of a gas-using installation. Additional training takes place on site in the crematorium. The furnaces are served by 16 people, they work two days after two from 8.00 to 20.00. The only day off in the crematorium - New Year. Work in the crematorium is not considered harmful, but nevertheless they are given milk, 6 days are added to their vacation, the salary is 8800 rubles. If an employee of the crematorium dies, then his corpse is burned for free. For 50 percent of the cost, deceased close relatives of the crematorium employees are cremated.

After the cremation of the corpse, the furnace is turned off and switched to the cooling mode. Then the furnace is opened and the ashes are raked into a metal container, or, in other words, an ash pan. Nails and latches from the coffin are removed from it with a magnet.

The ashes weigh an average of three to three and a half kilograms. One person remarked very interestingly when they gave him an urn with ashes. He said, "That's how it works. When we come into this world and when we leave, we weigh exactly the same."

Urns cost from 100 to 1000 rubles. The cheapest ones are made of hardboard, the expensive ones are made of ceramics or granite. 60-70% of the ashes are poured into the urn, it is hermetically sealed, the last name, first name and patronymic of the deceased and the dates of birth and death are written on it.

Around the crematorium there is a columbarium (Latin columbarium, the original meaning is a dovecote, from columba - a dove) - a repository of urns with ashes after cremation. The St. Petersburg columbarium is a concrete slab with cells (niches) of 4 floors. An urn is placed in the niche of the columbarium and the cell is closed with a slab, on which the last name, first name and patronymic of the deceased and the dates of birth and death are also inscribed. Often a photo of the deceased is installed. The urn with the ashes is in the columbarium above the ground, and it turns out that this violates the Christian custom that the ashes should be buried in the ground.

But there is one "but". Columbians were made in Soviet time, and, possibly, for reasons of saving cement, other building materials cells for urns are made very small, all the ashes in these niches will not get in the way, so they pour as much dust into the urn as it fits in the cell. The remains of the ashes, under the cover of secrecy, are dumped into a large common pit and then covered with earth. And in this case, no matter how the Christian custom is partially violated: 30-40% of the ashes of the deceased are interred, albeit in mass grave interspersed and "embracing" with other ashes.

There is a cemetery at the crematorium, where, by paying an additional 2,500 rubles, you can bury an urn and erect a monument.

In cases where the deceased have no relatives or relatives are no better than the deceased - they do not pay money for the funeral, they fall into the category of rootless. There were about 2,500 such dead last year. They were buried by the state, if, of course, it can be called a funeral. The naked body of the deceased is placed in a plastic bag and cremated without any funeral ceremonies. On the territory of the crematorium there is a so-called Field of Memory with the size of a football field. On it they scatter the ashes of the homeless.

In just 29 years of operation of the St. Petersburg crematorium, about one million corpses were burned here. great, famous, recognizable people very little. In the city on the Neva, about 65,000 people die a year. Of these, an average of 60 percent is burned. Cremation costs 3-4.5 thousand rubles, while burial in a cemetery costs 15-30 thousand rubles. "When you die, would you like your body to be buried or cremated?" - the correspondent of "NG" asked the acting director. director of the St. Petersburg crematorium Evgeny Kulinichev. "You know, I haven't thought about it yet," came the reply.

Recently, a lot of different information has begun to appear in the press (especially in online publications) about how now in certain countries it is accepted bury the dead, who and how provides funeral services. Curious materials about the application of various technologies appear. I am always with I read these articles with interest in order to be, so to speak, aware of modern ritual affairs. It’s just that relatives, acquaintances, and sometimes even strangers with a request to consult them on a particular issue related to With funeral. So you have to match.

Just recently, a friend of one of the neighbors came (her father died) and asked me to tell you more about cremation. I asked how organize it and what to do after. How to burn the body Christian church. Along the way, for some reason, she asked about other alternative methods of burial. This is where my knowledge comes in handy.

How right bury urn With ashes, neededwhetherfunerals, memorials and fences

In general, now there are many different ways of burial. This is due to many reasons.

After all, the decision of the family of Valentina Ivanovna (this neighbor's friend) to cremate the deceased was dictated by understandable difficulties. She herself lives with her husband and children somewhere in the Primorsky Territory. In the city of childhood on the mainland” are selected extremely rarely: far and expensive. BUT how then take care of the grave? Well, so far two of her aunts are alive and on the move. But they are already old enough, they won't be able to drive soon. at the cemetery . And there will be no one else, except perhaps ritual services. Besides, she wants to dust father was buried in the place where she lives and can always come on the visit the grave So, the deceased must be transported. But the transportation of the body from central Russia even in Primorye - an extremely expensive business. But urn with ashes shipping is much cheaper and easier. However, disagreements arose in the family. Religious aunts stood up with their chests: in no case should you burn the body - it is a sin. And the younger generation, including grandchildren and husband, prove that there is no sin here, so how there is no direct prohibition of the Church. Which of them is right?

Traditions

I must say that cremation was practiced by mankind With immemorial times. This is how representatives of many pagan cultures and civilizations buried their dead. For example, the same the ancient Greeks and Romans burned their dead, and the ashes were placed in ceramic vessels and buried in the ground. Moreover, sometimes it was buried right in the house, under the main hearth, so that the spirits of the ancestors protected the housing and its inhabitants.And in Rome has a tradition of sometimes keeping a piece ashes of fathers in urnsin the form of stone or ceramic busts that stood in a special home sanctuary. Our Slavic ancestors before their Christianization, they also arranged a fiery funeral for the dead, and the ashes were placed in specially shaped pots. Then they were either buried in burial mounds or placed in wooden dominoes. on the tall poles. The Vikings, and the Celts, and many steppe peoples like the Huns or the same Mongols cremated the dead. All they were sure that the soul after the death of the body must be freed from the flesh by means of a purifying fire. Say, the wild views of the pagans? But the most complex religions - Hinduism and Buddhism - say the same thing. Their representatives also cremate the dead, thus releasing their souls. at will.

With modern monotheistic religions, the situation is more complicated:

1. Christian faith States that the body is a vessel and God's gift, which must be preserved even after death. Therefore, the burning of the deceased is undesirable for Christians, the Church does not approve of it. However, it does not prohibit, especially if there are some objective reasons. Moreover, Orthodoxy treats this method of burial with a fair amount of condemnation, while the Catholic and Protestant branches are more tolerant.
2. Representatives of Judaism consider the ritual burning of the deceased sin. Many priests say that it is better to occasionally visit the distant graves of relatives than to cremate the bodies for transportation. dust . Direct ban on the cremation among the Jews how would not, but this method of burial is not popular.
3. Here is Islam completely excludes cremation how ungodly and very sinful act. The funeral rite of the faithful is described in detail in the Koran and hadiths, it cannot be violated, because in this case sin will fall on both relatives and the soul of the deceased himself.

AT modern countries In the West and the Americas, cremation of the dead is a very popular method of burial. Very environmentally friendly, economical and approved by the authorities. Many cemeteries even simply do not provide sites for traditional burial in coffins - only for urn with ashes . For such a grave, less space is needed, and from the point of view of sannorm, it is much more preferable.In Russia, cremation is also gaining popularity. , especially in big cities. There Ashes can be buried in urns ordinary churchyards, or you can get a plot (even a family one) at the cemetery columbarium at the crematorium.

Permissivethe documents

on the Cremation is easy to assemble. Their kit should include: passport of the recipient of the service, stamped death certificate, order invoice on the funeral services and accessories. To obtain dust for a funeral (usually this can be done on the the other day after the cremation), special papers will also be needed. Namely: certificate of cremation; accompanying card for registration number ( indicating the date, time, place and name of the deceased); a receipt for paid services of a cemetery or columbarium or a statement about the burial of the urn in another place.

Usually, relatives are given an already issued urn - with surname, name, patronymic of the deceased and thus the registration number, which is indicated and on the card. Thus, any confusion should be practically excluded. Issuing dust usually in a ceremonial setting. On the this ceremony, in addition to relatives, other people can come - friends, neighbors, colleagues. But usually the case is limited to the family, so how the rest had already seen off the deceased during the memorial service. Everything is organized in a special funeral hall, where music is played, and urn installed on pedestal decorated with flowers.

A little abouturns.They are different, including the price. Simple standard ones (of all shapes and colors) are made of plastic. They are inexpensive - from 600 rubles to one and a half thousand. But many people want to buy something more interesting. They are offered the most different variants from wood, porcelain, metal alloys, enameled, stone, ceramic, etc. These models stand already more expensive - from 4 thousand and above - up to several hundred thousand rubles (if, for example, they are gilded or handmade). The upper price bar depends on the high cost of the material and the complexity of the design of the vessel. In any case, the so-called capsule (sealed plastic bag) with the ashes is placed in the urn.

Most burial traditions at cremation

remain unchanged. For example, the same farewell to the dead occurs in the usual way. A memorial service is most often organized right in the mourning room at the mortuary or crematorium - depending on where it is more convenient. These are mostly civil ceremonies, so how the funeral service is preferable after all in the temple. But sometimes it, in a shortened version, is organized in the same funeral hall. Usually there are no difficulties with the clergy. In the sense that they do not express their negative attitude to the chosen method of burial. And even more so, no one will refuse to sing the funeral of the baptized deceased.

The very burial of the ashesusually occurs on the day it is issued(unless transportation to another place or some other method of storage is expected urns ). Most common after cremationdustburied more or less traditionally. Can choose place in the columbarium- open (these are also called "Walls of Sorrow") or closed.In our country if possible, they still prefer to bury in the ground on cemetery. Grave for urns done less than traditional. But sometimes relatives want to put dust also in an ordinary coffin (it happens!). In this case, the grave, of course, needs a traditional one. By the way, Valentina Ivanovna asked me if I could whether she will put somewhere consecrated ground. I consulted with the priest about this, and he said that it was possible. If they are buried in a coffin - then in it, and if not, then - then in itself urn.

By the way, sometimes dustthe deceased is buried not in one, but in two (or more!) Places. This is quite possible during cremation, although does not conform to the canons of most religions. I have heard more than one story on this subject from quite reliable sources. For example, a friend of my cousin died a couple of years ago. Native sister the deceased lived in the USA for a long time, got married there. She insisted on the cremation just because wanted part dust take with you to Cincinnati and there bury . And some more acquaintances a piece of the cremated remains of their dead son buried at home on the dacha near Moscow, where they lived almost constantly. The rest of the boy's ashes rest on one of cemeteries in the family grave.

Wake after cremation

no different from those who spend after traditional funerals. After all, the meaning remains the same: the farewell of the soul, a tribute to memory, the unity of people in the days of sorrow. Therefore, relatives and friends sit down for memorial tables and on the day of farewell to the deceased (this is usually the 3rd day after his death), and then on the 9th, 40th days and on the years. By the way, now some crematoria offer a convenient service: organizing a memorial meal in a cafe at their ritual complex.

Howdecorate the grave with an urn

Whether there is a fundamental difference compared to conventional burial, depends on the rules and cemeteries. If it is ordinary and does not provide for special areas for urn , then the territory is allocated the same as for everyone. And you can also arrange it as usual: make a fence, put big monument, break a flower garden, etc. Butin special urn areas or in cemeteriescolumbariums often have special standards. The allocated territories themselves are smaller, their fencing is usually not provided (or only a low plinth is allowed), and monuments and tombstones are allowed in a certain size, shape, and sometimes even colors. In general, standardization reigns in everything.

If the urnneed to be transported for burial to another city or even country, then it will be easier to organize it than the transportation of cargo-200. After all, packed in a capsule dust no longer dangerous from a sanitary point of view. He is carried in the same way as the usual luggage, taking with him the death certificate of the deceased and a certificate of cremation issued by the crematorium. For transportation of urnsby train, plane and across the border you will also need a certificate of non-insertion of foreign objects into urn issued by the ritual service, and a certificate from the SES on non-obstruction of transportation and confirmation of the quality of soldering urns . For overseas travel you will need to take care of permission for burial in the desired country (it is issued at the consulate) and translate all documents in a foreign language.

Non-traditional burial methodsdust

are almost uncharacteristic for Russia. The maximum that relatives occasionally allow is scattering ashes in some beautiful place. Most often they choose the one that the deceased himself loved: the edge of the forest, the river, the sea, the meadow. It happens that this is done even in different places, in parts. Wealthy people they even hire helicopters for such purposes in order to capture a larger area. In How many it costs them, I don't dare to guess.

Still abroad came into vogue anonymous burial dust. It is scattered over the so-called meadow of memory, which is a picturesque lawn created just for such purposes. These glades are now hosting many European cemeteries.

Recently, another trend has been strengthening:store bins at home. That is, in reality, for example, on the chest of drawers, mantelpiece or special pedestal. For this, they even order especially beautiful urns - with paintings, carvings, inlays. People carry such arks and vessels everywhere with them in case of moving. Apparently, this is the main point of such a decision - to leave dust yourself. Although one of our English acquaintances explained that she should always keep at hand urn with ashes dead husband because she loves to talk to him. In the evenings, she tells him about what happened to her during the day, consults. She says that he even answers her. Not out loud, of course, but so. Mentally.

What is storage ashes at home! This is old, but there are more amazing innovations. For example, paintings painted with mixed paint dustrelatives. Some more wear ashes on his chest in special pendants. Also, multi-colored crystals are made from it, which are then set in jewelry. And recently, a new service has appeared in one of the European tattoo parlors: they offer ash tattoos, into which the body of a loved one has turned.

It's up to you, but I still don't understand such things. As for me, then dustthe human must go into the ground - period. Even after cremation, since it is so convenient and preferable for someone. Even in the West, free from many complexes, people still prefer to bury what is left of the dead, namely in the ground. Although cremation there, according to statistics, is chosen almost in ninety percent of cases. But for the main part of the inhabitants of Russia, traditional funerals are closer. We still have a lot of open spaces, there is where to bury according to the Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish and other rites. Therefore, I consoled this neighbor’s friend, of course, with information suitable for her, but I myself hope that my son will personally bury me how supposed to. No fire, straight to Mother Earth.