Saturday, October 12, 2024

Cremation and the Church... maybe?


To my considerable surprise, it appears that cracks have begun to appear in the Orthodox Church's longstanding prohibition of cremating the dead. The above image is from the website of the Serbian Orthodox cemetery in Colma California, where the faithful can be interred in columbarium.

3 comments:

Thomas said...

This segues to why I believe a singular Orthodox jurisdiction is mandatory for the US & Canada.

Stephen said...

I believe the Orthodox Church in Japan has long allowed for cremation, as is the custom there, longstanding due to that there has been, for centuries, no land in which to bury the dead. (have you ever seen what earthquakes and floods due to cemeteries?)

John (Ad Orientem) said...

Cremation in Japan is compulsory under law for almost everyone outside the Imperial Family.