Prayer of the Third Day for the Deceased
Question:
Is it true that the priest comes on the third day to dismiss spirits, especially the lingering and rebellious spirits that do not want to go to their place, and drives them out by force as unclean spirits are cast out? And is it true that spirits take on ghostly forms to disturb people, and that they trouble them in the darkness?
Answer:
Know that the source of our Church teachings should be the Holy Bible, or the traditions of the Church, and the sayings of the holy fathers who are recognized as teachers in the universal Church.
Nowhere in the entire Holy Bible is it stated that spirits, after leaving the body, rebel against God and refuse to go to their place.
It seems that you are taking your information from proponents of the “spiritism” movement, who speak about lingering and rebellious spirits, or from ancient pagan beliefs and their myths. You should instead refer to the Holy Bible and its teachings.
The Holy Bible teaches us that the Lord said to the thief on the right: “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” The thief died that same day at sunset, meaning that his soul went directly to its place without lingering on the way.
If the priest’s prayers on the third day were meant only to dismiss evil spirits that did not go directly to their place, that rebel against God, refuse to go, remain, and disturb people, this would lead us to a dangerous claim:
That priests go on the third day only to cast out rebellious evil spirits. This would mean that their entering the house is an implicit admission that the deceased was a wicked, rebellious, and lingering person. In that case, the family might refuse the priest’s prayers on the grounds that their departed was righteous, or because such prayers would grieve them instead of comforting them, as they would imply that their loved one was among the wicked who will go to hell…
We go to homes on the third day to comfort people in their sorrow, not to tell them that their deceased was wicked and that we have come to expel his unclean spirit from their house so that it does not disturb them!
Moreover, if this spirit were unclean, wicked, lingering, and rebellious, and the priest casts it out by force, why would the Church have prayed for mercy for it on the day of the funeral? Would this not appear as a contradiction?
And if there are rebellious evil spirits that disturb people and need to be cast out, is this the general condition that applies to all the souls of believers, such that the Church establishes a general rite (the third-day prayer) for all?
Does it then assume that all the souls of believers are wicked and rebellious?
If these spirits are lingering, does that not mean they love their dwelling place and are attached to it, unwilling to leave it? Then how is it said that they take on ghostly forms and disturb the inhabitants of that place—who are their relatives, friends, and loved ones? Does this not also contain another contradiction?
Furthermore, do the souls of the wicked continue practicing evil deeds after leaving the body, not being satisfied with the evil they committed while in the body? We do not wish to give a quick answer to this now, but will leave it for another opportunity.
As for the idea that human souls take on ghostly forms to disturb people after leaving the body, this seems to come from sources similar to the stories of “ghosts” used to frighten children. We find no scriptural or theological basis for it, and we leave it to the discernment of the reader until we return to it later.
Has God left such freedom to spirits to act in evil? And also given them the freedom to go or not go to their place, either fulfilling the divine will or rebelling against it?
What about the souls of the wicked who died in places or situations where no priest was present to pray and cast them out? Do they remain as ghosts disturbing people, frightening them, and being a source of terror?
Is this Orthodox teaching? And what is the wisdom in that?
Why specifically the third day? And why would they remain disturbing people before that?
If the priest is delayed and does not cast them out on the third day, can he come on another day? Or do they leave on their own? Or remain until the fortieth day? Or until another time?
These questions have answers that are clear to the Orthodox, though they may require answers from the “spiritism” movement! We may return to them again later.
The concept of the transmigration of souls is a serious matter and does not agree with Orthodox theology. It is a remnant of pagan thinking and ancient Eastern religions.
As for human souls taking on ghostly forms to disturb people, this is even more serious.
It is a teaching that has produced generations of fearful people who are afraid of the dark and think that spirits trouble them in the darkness.
In pagan religions, people feared the spirits of the dead and even worshiped them to avoid their harm.
Thus, pagan thought—whether intentionally or not—has managed to merge human souls with demonic spirits in their effect.
An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III – in El-Keraza Magazine – Year Eight (Issue One) 7-1-1977
For better translation support, please contact the center.
