When a person dies, the church holds a special vigil over the lifeless body. The vigil is traditionally called the parastasis or panikhida, both of which mean "a watch" or an "all-night vigil". The service is sometimes criticized for its supposed morbidity and gloom. They say that there should be more words of resurrection and life. The church feels that it's not a "final word" but a solemn contemplation upon death's tragic character, ant its horrid reality. All of the hymns of the funeral vigil meditate on the tragedy of death and the mercy of God, and the petition for eternal life for the person who has "fallen asleep." For the Christian, death is but a sleep, and bodies laid to rest in a cemetery are merely sleeping, in the expectation of resurrection. Another purpose of the funeral service is to lead the living to virtue and holiness by reminding them of death and preparing them for it. Most of the hymns point out that earthly comforts, beauty, and riches are God-given favors that should help us get ready for better and more permanent treasures still to come.
The funeral service begins with the chanting of Psalms 90 and 118, which set forth the blessedness of those who have lived. Then after "Alleluia" has been sung three times, it's followed by Troparia with the refrain "Blessed art thou, O Lord." The Troparia is followed by the singing of the funeral Canon, containing prayers for the departed; after the third, sixth and ninth Odes, the Little Ectenia is recited. After this, the Idiomela and the Beatitudes are chanted. Lessons are read from the Epistles and the Gospel, which speak of the resurrection of the dead, and give comfort to those that mourn over the vanity of all things. The most famous and final of the Orthodox funeral hymns is the prayer that the departed be eternally alive in "eternal rest." The service ends with the singing of Sticherae, which speak of the separation of the departed brother from his family and express that they should pray for him. This is the moment when the last kiss is given and the coffin is closed down; then "eternal remembrance" of the departed is proclaimed.
When the funeral service is concluded, the coffin is lowered into the grave, facing the East, to signify that the deceased is going towards the Orient of life everlasting, to await the second coming of Christ. While the coffin is being lowered, the prayers of the Litê are chanted. Then the priest casts earth crosswise upon the coffin, saying, "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and all they that dwell therein." He pours oil upon it, and if the departed received extreme unction in life, ashes are also scattered on it. Christian graves are dug either in a cemetery which surrounds a church, or within the church itself, to signify that they have been true to the church in life.
Orthodox funerals may seem gloomy, but they also hold out the promise of eternal life and resurrection at the return of Christ.