November 17, 1999
The Pious Pastors
of the Holy Diocese of Denver
Beloved in the Lord,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. (John 12:24)
As all of you know, the Orthodox faithful observe the pious and time-honored custom of bringing to the church plates of boiled wheat (kollyva), typically mixed with other sweet ingredients, to be used in the Memorial Services offered for their loved ones.
Whenever they do, the priest should chant the Memorial Service" (for example at the end of the Liturgy after "Blessed be the name of the Lord..."), which begins with the Evlogitaria for the Deceased and the Hymn "Among Your saints give rest ...," followed by the Troparia commencing "Among the spirits of the righteous ..." The plate of kollyva is always placed on an appropriate table in front of the Icon of Christ, and the Memorial Service is chanted there, or the table can be placed in the center of the Solea.
Although some of you sing all the funeral evlogitaria at a Memorial Service, this is incorrect. Only four are sung: the first and the fourth, as well as the two after "Glory to the Father..." and "Now and ever...;" viz., "The choir of saints ...," "Give rest , O God ...," "Glory... The three-fold radiance ...," and "Now and ever... Rejoice ...."
When the relatives or friends of one fallen asleep ask that prayers be offered for the repose of the soul of their loved one, but no kollyva is brought to the church, the priest simply chants the Trisagion Service, which begins with the Troparion, "Among the spirits of the righteous ..." The Memorial Service (beginning with the Evlogitaria and "Among Your saints give rest ...,") is not to be chanted if there are no kollyva.
You cause ... plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart. (Psalm 103:14-15)
Throughout my many years in the priesthood I have encountered many unusual requests from parishioners. I remember one time when a widow wanted me to spread the kollyva on her husband's grave.
Recently I have heard of another strange phenomenon that has to do with a combination of kollyva and baked bread being used together for certain Memorial Services.
As you all know, the boiled wheat is used to symbolize the resurrection of the dead, while loaves of bread are used as a thanksgiving. Accordingly, the faithful observe the tradition of bringing five loaves of bread Ð together with wheat, wine, and oil Ð to the church for use in the Artoklasia Service offered as a thanksgiving to God for special blessings received or for feastday celebrations.
Bread obviously does not represent the resurrection of the dead since the wheat seed is ground into flour which is used to bake the bread. The boiled wheat seed in kollyva retains its shape and form, whereas the ground wheat flour is used to prepare the "bread to strengthen man's heart." As such, bread symbolizes joy and thanksgiving.
Perhaps the isolated instances of using a combination of kollyva and bread began in a church which had only one table for special occasions, and often an Artoklasia Service was offered for the health, welfare and salvation of the living, followed immediately by a Memorial Service for those fallen asleep. It may have been that the faithful in that church confused the two services and developed the unusual and incorrect custom of bringing loaves of bread along with kollyva for Memorial Services.
I encourage each of you to teach your faithful about these services which our Holy Church provides to give us an opportunity to offer thanksgiving to our loving Lord with the Artoklasia Service and with the Memorial Services to beseech His loving mercy upon the souls of those fallen asleep.
We do not conduct Memorial Services with loaves of bread but only with kollyva. Likewise, we do not conduct a Memorial Service, but rather the Trisagion Service when no kollyva are present.
Finally, when you chant "Everlasting be your memory ..." you do not address the dead person or persons by saying "your memory" No human being can guarantee his memory to be eternal. The "Everlasting be your memory " is a prayer to God, asking God to keep the person's memory eternal. Therefore it would be "his memory" or "her memory" or "their memory."
In this period of forty days preceding the Nativity Feast, may the Lord continue to bless each of you as you prepare to celebrate His holy birth and as you labor in His service for the enlightenment and salvation of His people.
With Paternal Blessings,
+Metropolitan Isaiah
Presiding Hierarch
of
the Diocese of Denver