Maybe this "tradition" isn't so ancient -- and, quite frankly, the fact that I've had so much trouble finding out anything specific about it may be telling...
However, I always thought it was along the same lines as a twenty-one gun salute-sort-of-thing
There is an interesting paradox in the funeral of an Orthodox Christian priest -- while there is great pomp and splendor, to be sure, the priest lying in the coffin is dressed in his vestments, a Gospel and cross placed in his hands, and his face is covered. Thus, the statement is made both that one should honor those whom God has honored with ordination but that the true purpose of the man's life is not himself but the ministry of the Gospel.
Additionally, if one looks at the funeral texts themselves, there are references to the great "equalization" of death, e.g., looking at the graves and being theologically unable to tell who were the great and who were the lowly:
When we have acquired the world, then do we take up our dwelling in the grave, where kings and beggars are the same...
Where is the desire for the world? Where is the display of transient mortals? Where are the gold and the silver? Where is the multitude of household servants and their clamor? All are dust, all are ashes, all are shadows...
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What advice of yours is on my user info page?
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Maybe this "tradition" isn't so ancient -- and, quite frankly, the fact that I've had so much trouble finding out anything specific about it may be telling...
However, I always thought it was along the same lines as a twenty-one gun salute-sort-of-thing
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Additionally, if one looks at the funeral texts themselves, there are references to the great "equalization" of death, e.g., looking at the graves and being theologically unable to tell who were the great and who were the lowly:
When we have acquired the world, then do we take up our dwelling in the grave, where kings and beggars are the same...
Where is the desire for the world? Where is the display of transient mortals? Where are the gold and the silver? Where is the multitude of household servants and their clamor? All are dust, all are ashes, all are shadows...
I called to mind the ( ... )
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-j
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-j
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