Why weren't artists buried in the cemetery? Burial traditions in Rus', or who was buried outside the cemetery fence
Orthodox customs say: one should not acquire last resort suicides, unbelievers and unbaptized dead. The category of suicides includes those who died during a duel, in gang warfare, and people who achieved euthanasia. It is believed that believing dead people are not supposed to be near sinners doomed to hellish torment. The roots of such prohibitions lie not in Christian, but also in archaic-pagan traditions. In Rus' there were certain categories dead people whom strict regulations did not allow to be buried in a common cemetery.
Drowned
Drowning was considered Ancient Rus' unnatural, terrible and shameful death. It does not matter whether the person committed suicide or had an accident. By folk beliefs, the water represented the road to afterworld, the habitat of evil spirits: mermaids, mermen. According to the inhabitants of Rus', all drowned people were reincarnated in them. The water evil spirits were restless and tended to wander at night near rivers and ponds, scaring random passers-by. In addition, the “unclean” dead could alarm ordinary dead people who wanted to find peace in another world. The “respectable” dead could become angry from their unwanted proximity, which posed a danger to the living. Therefore, it was forbidden to bury drowned people in a common graveyard.
Suicides
To the very terrible sin from the point of view of Christianity they were treated extremely negatively even in pagan times. It was believed that suicides renounced the most valuable gift - life, and therefore committed a great crime against the human and divine world order. Residents of Ancient Rus' believed that people who voluntarily took their own lives could not find peace after death. Moreover, the cemetery land itself cannot accept suicides, since such dead people desecrate it. They also believed that the wrath of the earth would lead to natural disasters, famine, and pestilence. Misfortune befell the entire village and surrounding areas. If there was a drought, severe famine, plague or cholera epidemic, the “unclean” dead were dug out of their graves.
Killed or died under unknown circumstances
Those killed by robbers and those who died under unclear circumstances not in their home (on the road, on the street) could not be buried in a general cemetery. Violent, premature or suspicious death was regarded as punishment for grave sins. Such a death was called “brazen” and was considered a terrible curse.
Criminals and executed
Robbers, thieves, murderers and those executed were also not supposed to be buried next to ordinary dead. The listed categories of the deceased, who were banned, were considered literally the scum of society and could offend the memory of their ancestors. As usual, criminals and those executed were buried in a field, forest or swamp.
Actors, buffoons
The dead, who were engaged in acting during their lifetime, were also not very favored in Ancient Rus'. Despite the fact that the performances of buffoons and actors of traveling theaters were extremely popular, everyone understood that acting was an “undignified” profession. This was explained by the fact that the actor on stage lives someone else’s life, publicly depicts, or even glorifies the sins of another person. Such reincarnations were regarded as playing along with evil spirits.
The above-mentioned “outcast” dead were often buried in common graves, called “poor houses” or “houses of God.” They were located far from the churchyard and were deep pits into which bodies were dumped without any ritual. In addition, victims of epidemics were buried in mass graves due to the danger posed by their bodies. Newborns killed by their mothers also found their final refuge here. Suicides were often buried at crossroads or buried with logs, for example, in a forest thicket. As a result, suicide victims were called “hostages.”
The “unclean” dead, as was believed in the old days, joined the ranks of restless and dangerous spirits. Residents of Rus' were sure that there was nothing more joyless than dying without repentance and farewell to family, and then being doomed to eternal wanderings in darkness.
Explain why the actors were buried behind the cemetery? Why is it the other way around now?
Answer
The fact is that in the Middle Ages, acting was considered a disgrace for a believer. The Church strongly condemned the acting. And that is why they were not allowed to be buried in the cemetery, next to other dead. This attitude is easy to understand if you look at the Bible.
According to Christian dogma, God has endowed man with only one life, which she must live independently, individually, honoring God and the commandments. The actors, playing their roles, showed the life and character of their characters. It was believed that in this way the theater representatives “took” other people’s sins and lived someone else’s life.
Such a person was considered unworthy to appear before the eyes of God on Last Judgment, because during her lifetime she was a performer. And acting is a great sin, for which there is only one way - to Hell.
Another reason for such a burial of these “unclean” people was their lifestyle. After all, all the actors in the acting field led a rather depraved lifestyle and often violated the commandments of God. Moreover, they did not go to church and did not experience repentance.
Nowadays the situation has changed radically because acting work is as necessary as all the others. Modern life It is impossible to imagine without theater, cinema and music. Therefore, the church had to somewhat change its attitude towards actors. And the democratization of the world did not play a role in this last role. Now, on the contrary, people representing the entertainment industry are highly respected and buried with honors.
Dear readers, on this page of our website you can ask any question related to the life of the Zakamsky deanery and Orthodoxy. The clergy of the Holy Ascension Cathedral in Naberezhnye Chelny answer your questions. Please note that personal matters spiritual nature It is better, of course, to decide in live communication with a priest or with your confessor.
As soon as the answer is prepared, your question and answer will be published on the website. Questions may take up to seven days to process. Please remember the date of submission of your letter for ease of subsequent retrieval. If your question is urgent, please mark it as “URGENT” and we will try to answer it as quickly as possible.
Date: 11/21/2013 20:27:54
Why before the actors considered sinners?
Protodeacon Dmitry Polovnikov answers
Why were actors and performers previously considered sinners and buried behind the cemetery fence?
Where does this information come from? When in Russia they buried actors for church fence? So that Shchepkin would not be buried in a Christian manner in the 19th century? Or Chaliapin? In our time, Vysotsky, Leonov, and many others who passed into another world had Orthodox funerals. Yes, acting is most subject to sin, the passions there are strangers, not our own, but we also know examples of highly spiritual acting skills teaching us Eternal values. Gradation is needed here. Today, many theater, film and stage workers do not hesitate to profess Orthodoxy. Tolkunova, Konkin, Mikhalkov, Bichevskaya, Tikhonov, Boyarsky, etc.
The negative attitude of the Church towards the theater, which was reflected in church canons, is associated with the Greco-Roman theater, the performances of which were associated with the pagan Greek and Roman pantheon of gods, which carried the message of paganism. Nice theater cannot in any way contradict Orthodoxy. But an actor, like no one else, is subject to passions and actions dark forces. But fighting the spirits of wickedness in high places is the daily action of every Christian.
In Orthodox worship, (now forgotten) near-liturgical actions (cave performances, procession on a donkey) have long been used, which bore the stamp of theatricality. The founder of the theater was. Moreover, in the choir of saints there is a holy actor Martyr Gelasius the Comedian.
Gelasius came from the town of Mariamnes near Damascus. He was the second most important actor in the troupe of comedians in Iliopolis of Phoenicia during the Great Persecution around 303. In one of the performances, he parodied the rite of holy baptism, playing the role of a neophyte, and was thrown by other actors into a bathtub with warm water to thunderous applause and laughter from the crowd of spectators. But by Divine grace, Gelasius emerged from the water truly transformed by a good change. When he was dressed in a white tunic, he exclaimed: “I am a Christian! When I was in the font, I saw the Glory, the radiance of which plunged me into fear, and now I am ready to die a Christian." Realizing that this was no longer a comedy, the audience, initially puzzled, rushed at him in rage and grabbed him by the white clothes, taken out of the theater and stoned. Christians carried the body of the glorious martyr to his homeland, where a temple was subsequently built over his grave.
Memory of St. Gelasia is found in the Byzantine Synaxari. In Russian Months Orthodox Church given memory not included.
Traditions Orthodox funeral imply that on cemetery land Suicides, atheists and even unbaptized dead cannot be laid to rest.
But these rules were not invented by the Orthodox Church. Long before the adoption of Christianity in Rus', there were strict laws that did not allow people of certain categories to be buried in public cemeteries.
Drowned
In ancient times and the Middle Ages, for any Russian, drowning was a terrible, contrary to nature, and even somewhat shameful death. didn't have of great importance whether the person himself drowned himself or whether an accident occurred to him. According to the inhabitants of Rus', all drowned people turned into mermaids after death, so they could not be buried along with ordinary dead people.
Mermaids were restless souls, they used to wander along the banks of reservoirs at night and scare random passers-by. With such a stormy afterlife, they could disturb the “respectable” deceased, who had every right to find peace after death.
Suicides
Even in ancient pagan times, suicide was viewed extremely negatively. Suicides committed the greatest crime against human and divine laws - they refused the gift of life. In Rus', it was believed that people who committed suicide could not find peace after death, just like mermaids.
In many areas there was even a belief: if someone buried a suicide or drowned person in a common cemetery, the entire village and surrounding lands could suffer great misfortune. In the old days, such dead people began to be dug out of their graves if there was a pestilence (plague, cholera) or a terrible famine.
Actors, buffoons
Deceased acting profession in Rus', too, they didn’t particularly favor it after death. At fairs, performances by buffoons and actors of traveling theaters were extremely popular. Residents of Rus' adored such performances and watched the acting with delight.
At the same time, everyone was well aware that any actor was engaged in an “undignified” craft. He transforms into another person and thereby flirts with evil spirits. Only one fate could await such a sinner - burial behind the cemetery wall.
Killed
If a person was killed in the forest by robbers or he died under unclear circumstances somewhere along the way, on the street, and not at home, he also could not be buried in a general cemetery. Premature, violent or somehow suspicious death was considered a punishment for serious sins. She was called "insolent" and was perceived as the greatest curse that could befall a mortal.
Criminals and executed
Thieves, forest robbers, murderers and those executed also did not have the right to lie in the ground next to “decent” citizens. Criminals were considered the scum of society. By their very presence in the common graveyard they could offend the memory of their ancestors. The robbers were usually simply buried somewhere in a field, forest or swamp.
All of the listed categories of people belonged to the “rejected” dead. They were buried in common graves, called wretched houses, or God's houses. The latter were located far from the general cemetery and were huge pits where bodies were simply dumped in a heap without observing any ritual. Newborns killed by their mothers were also buried in divine houses.
Numerous victims of epidemics (moras) also found their last refuge in mass graves due to the danger posed by their bodies. Suicides and drowned people were also often buried at crossroads or buried with logs somewhere in the thicket of the forest. Because of this tradition, such dead bodies were called “pawned,” that is, literally pawned with logs.
It was believed that the deceased who were taken hostage joined the ranks of evil spirits, turning after death into restless and dangerous spirits. Residents of Rus' believed that there was nothing worse and more bitter than dying like this, without repentance and farewell to your family, and then being doomed to eternal wanderings in darkness.
Dear readers, on this page of our website you can ask any question related to the life of the Zakamsky deanery and Orthodoxy. The clergy of the Holy Ascension Cathedral in Naberezhnye Chelny answer your questions. Please note that it is better, of course, to resolve issues of a personal spiritual nature in live communication with a priest or with your confessor.
As soon as the answer is prepared, your question and answer will be published on the website. Questions may take up to seven days to process. Please remember the date of submission of your letter for ease of subsequent retrieval. If your question is urgent, please mark it as “URGENT” and we will try to answer it as quickly as possible.
Date: 11/21/2013 20:27:54
Why were actors previously considered sinners?
Protodeacon Dmitry Polovnikov answers
Why were actors and performers previously considered sinners and buried behind the cemetery fence?
Where does this information come from? When in Russia were actors buried behind a church fence? So that Shchepkin would not be buried in a Christian manner in the 19th century? Or Chaliapin? In our time, Vysotsky, Leonov, and many others who passed into another world had Orthodox funerals. Yes, acting is most subject to sin, the passions there are strangers, not our own, but we also know examples of highly spiritual acting that teach us eternal values. Gradation is needed here. Today, many theater, film and stage workers do not hesitate to profess Orthodoxy. Tolkunova, Konkin, Mikhalkov, Bichevskaya, Tikhonov, Boyarsky, etc.
The negative attitude of the Church towards the theater, which is reflected in the church canons, is associated with the Greco-Roman theater, the performances of which were associated with the pagan Greek and Roman pantheon of gods, which carried the message of paganism. A good theater cannot in any way contradict Orthodoxy. But an actor, like no one else, is subject to passions and the actions of dark forces. But fighting the spirits of wickedness in high places is the daily action of every Christian.
In Orthodox worship, (now forgotten) near-liturgical actions (cave performances, procession on a donkey) have long been used, which bore the stamp of theatricality. The founder of the theater was. Moreover, in the choir of saints there is a holy actor Martyr Gelasius the Comedian.
Gelasius came from the town of Mariamnes near Damascus. He was the second most important actor in the troupe of comedians in Iliopolis of Phoenicia during the Great Persecution around 303. In one of the performances, he parodied the rite of holy baptism, playing the role of a neophyte, and was thrown by other actors into a bath of warm water to the stormy applause and laughter of the crowd of spectators. But by Divine grace, Gelasius emerged from the water truly transformed by a good change. When he was dressed in a white tunic, he exclaimed: “I am a Christian! When I was in the font, I saw the Glory, the radiance of which plunged me into fear, and now I am ready to die a Christian." Realizing that this was no longer a comedy, the audience, initially puzzled, rushed at him in rage, grabbed him by his white clothes, took him out of the theater and stoned him. Christians carried the body of the glorious martyr to his homeland, where a temple was subsequently built over his grave.
Memory of St. Gelasia is found in the Byzantine Synaxari. This memory is not included in the Months of the Russian Orthodox Church.
