Nine, forty, crescent/cross

[william ryan]

Svitlana Kobets says:

'The tradition of prayer for the dead on these days was
preserved in Eastern Orthodoxy, but not in the West. Thus in Eastern
Orthodoxy the living by their prayers can facilitate the soul's passage
through the toll-houses, while according to the Western traditions, the
souls of the dead are on their own.'

Not so. As a well-brought-up Catholic I pray regularly for the dead in the Mass
and in particular on All Souls Day. The Catholic practice is, as I have said in
my message to Genevra, clearly derived from the same source as the Orthodox, and
is roundly condemned as superstitious and without Biblical authority by
Protestant denominations (who regard Maccabees, the only Biblical reference, as
uncanonical). If the source is indeed the Apostolic Canons (which I cannot at
present check), then the Eastern and Western Churches do share the same fairly
early Christian tradition in the matter.

Nicephorus Callistus was not an early Christian writer but a Byzantine writer of
the 13th-14th century.

On the origin of the heavenly tollhouses (mytarstva) I should like to know more.
They are clearly not canonical. I have found references to St Basil the New, and
a quotation from Kiril of Turov. Do they arise from a literary conceit in a
religious writer or from some more folkloric source? They are a popular theme in
Old Believer illuminated manuscripts.

Will Ryan



Svitlana Kobets wrote:

> Dear Genevra,
>
> I'd like to expend a bit on Christina Sperrle's answer to your first
> question.
>
> > 1.What is the source of the Russian custom of commemorating a death on the
> > third, ninth, and fortieth days?
>
> 3rd day--Resurrection of Christ
> 9th day-- appearance of Christ to His Apostles and Doubting Thomas
> 40th day--Ascension of Christ
>
> The first full source of information about commemorating the dead
> (pominovenie usopshikh) is perhaps Postanovleniia apostol'skiie. Interaction
> (in quotation marks or without) between the living and dead is a big part of
> the Orthodox Christian tradition and service. 3, 9, 40 days and the day of
> death are the Christian days established for commemoration of the dead in
> apx. 2-3rd centuries. The tradition of prayer for the dead on these days was
> preserved in Eastern Orthodoxy, but not in the West. Thus in Eastern
> Orthodoxy the living by their prayers can facilitate the soul's passage
> through the toll-houses, while according to the Western traditions, the
> souls of the dead are on their own. There are 20 toll-houses, and it can
> take 40 days to get through. On the other hand liniar time does not
> necessarily work here.
>
> Actually, days commemorating the dead are established in all spiritual
> traditions, and very often they are the same. For the pagans, for example,
> these numbers are 3, 7, 9, 20, 40, 70. Jews have 3, 7, 14, 30, 40.
> (Khristianstvo, Entsiklopedicheskii slovar', M. 1995) This source also says
> that 40th day was the most important. It also gives a reference to the
> interpretation of an early Christian author, Nikifor Kallist and later on
> Early Russian death bills (sinodiki). Thus the death bill of
> Iosif-Volokolamsk monastery gives the following explanation:
> on the 3rd day the face of the dead changes
> on the 9th day the whole body (yet not heart) decomposes
> on the 40th day the heart decomposes
> It is very likely that the reference is to a mystical rather than physical
> body.
> In any case, I can hardly call the above an explanation.
>
> While Christina Sperrle's explanation of the symbolism of these numbers
> coincides with the official Orthodox doctrine, there is also an esoteric
> side to this story. After all, there are the same numbers in the Tibetan
> "Book of the Dead." There we find references to 3 postmortem states of the
> soul: that of the moment of death, of karmic haze, and of "awaiting the next
> incarnation." As we know, the text of this book contains instructions about
> how the soul is supposed to get through, which are read over the dead for 49
> days. In Eastern Orthodoxy the text of Psalter and prayers of the living
> play the same role. They facilitate the passage of the soul to Heaven. 3, 9,
> 40 are supposedly the most critical days on this path, so at those times
> prayers of the living are of utmost importance.
>
> > 2. I am told that the association of 40 and the death commemoration has
> had
> > a negative effect on the celebration of one's 40th birthday in Russia. Is
> > that association common?
>
> Never heard anything like that. 40 is a big number, "kruglaia data." If
> anything, it's good.
>
> > 4.  The Orthodox cross is sometimes seen with its base at the bottom of a
> > semi-circle (crescent?, grail?). I have been told that the semi-circle
> plus
> > the cross represents Islamic Turkey and the Orthodox victory thereover;
> and
> > also I have been told that that explanation is ridiculous, that the
> > semi-circle is a grail "graal'" to collect blood at the base of the cross.
> > Is either explanation at least in the ball park?
> You are quite right, it signifies Orthodoxy's triumph over Islam.
>
> Best,
> Svitlana Kobets
>
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--
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W. F. Ryan, MA, DPhil, FBA, FSA
Warburg Institute (School of Advanced Study, University of London)
Woburn Square, LONDON  WC1H 0AB
tel: 020 7862 8940 (direct)
tel: 020 7862 8949 (switchboard)
fax: 020 7862 8939
Institute Webpage  http://www.sas.ac.uk/warburg/
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