Papamakarios Funeral Services Greece (2024)

FAQs

Papamakarios Funeral Services Greece? ›

Papamakarios Funeral Services undertakes the organization of funerals with respect to your religious customs and your financial capacity. We deal every funeral with dignity, trust, and consistency. We relieve you of any concern, as we take care of all the details.

We offer the cremation service from as low as 1400€. In our offices, we respect your right to decide how you would like to arrange the final resting place they would have wanted, based on your loved ones' preferences, religious or non-religious beliefs, and we offer the option of cremation.

A brief prayer service – or Trisagion – is held during a wake and performed by an Orthodox priest. Trisagion is a hymn that includes the invocation of God as holy three times. The service can take place either at the funeral home or in the church.

Today, Greek funerals draw some inspiration from the services that preceded them. Visitations typically take place the day and evening before the burial and serve as a time for family and friends to share stories and memories. Often, a priest will visit to hold a service where he will lead prayers and hymns.

Greek Orthodox funerals typically last about 60 minutes and mirror the Trisagion service, where readings, prayers, and hymns create a beautiful dialogue between God, the departed, and those in attendance.

You do not need permission from local authorities to scatter the ashes. When handling the ashes of your loved one, the ashes must be kept in a special urn. You must also make sure the ashes are either: kept in a designated space inside the cremation facilities or cemetery.

However, it still remains the most common practice in Greece, and has been for the past 1500 years. The widely accepted belief that the body is a temple of God reaffirms for many that burying it intact after death is the ideal way to prepare for the resurrection.

Greek Orthodox funeral attire

Men should wear dark clothing and ties, if possible, while women should also wear dark colors (although black is not necessary). The church typically suggests that both men and women cover their arms and legs, so wearing revealing clothing isn't recommended.

There is a memorial service hosted close to the 40th day after death. This will be hosted on a Sunday, likely during mass. Many families in the Greek-Orthodox tradition also hold a “Trisagion Service.” This is a brief service performed by a priest specifically for a person who died.

The mourning period

Candles and incense might be lit to signify the presence of a loved one, and the bereaved are encouraged to pray and reflect. A commemoration service will usually take place one week after the person has died, and then they'll recur after 40 days and then again at the 1-year mark.

Are Greek funerals open casket? ›

While this practice may vary from family to family, it is common in Greek funerals for there to be an open casket ceremony. While traditions can differ, mourners may be given a chance to: Bow before the caset. Kiss a cross placed on the chest of the departed (known as the Kiss of Peace and Anointing)

Funerals. Zoi se mas (ζωή σε μας): meaning “life to us,” this respectful way to express the idea that life goes on is used between members of a grieving family. Zoi se sas (ζωή σε σας): meaning “life to you,” this is said to the bereaved by those outside the family. Silipitiria (συλλυπητήρια): this means “condolences.”

Traditional Greek Funerals

Traditionally, Greek funerals are always held at the church where the deceased frequented, so it is common to send flowers to the church. The most common style of funeral flowers delivered are the circular wreaths.

The duration varies between denominations, but the formal proceeding of a typical Orthodox funeral service last between 45–90 minutes. This may be followed by a gathering of family and close friends.

Relatives of the deceased, primarily women, conducted the elaborate burial rituals that were customarily of three parts: the prothesis (laying out of the body (54.11. 5), the ekphora (funeral procession), and the interment of the body or cremated remains of the deceased.

Greek Beliefs about the Afterlife

Most ancient Greeks anticipated that the soul left the body after death and continued to exist in some form, but an expectation that good would be rewarded and evil punished in the afterlife was not central to their beliefs.

Cremation is now an organized and institutionalized option in Greece. Cremation is a choice for many people, which has not always been an easy option in Greece.

Therefore, we have no right to do with our bodies what we please. In addition to all of this, there is even a greater reason why cremation is contrary to our Christian faith. Simply put, it desecrates the body. Moreover, the so-called ashes from a cremation are not ashes.

Technical The ashes must be placed by the Cremation Centres and the cremation plants in a special container (urn), tightly closed. 2 Technical For the transfer of the ashes by transfer service providers, the ashes must be in a sealed urn and accompanied by a cremation certificate.

Direct cremation is the most affordable final arrangement. The direct cremation cost varies, but you should expect to pay between $2,000 and $5,000 depending on the city you live in and how much the funeral home charges.