Sharing hope with the Faithful Departed

Cinerarium stone

On 15 May, the second Sunday of the Glorious Fifty Days following the Lord’s Resurrection, following the Divine Liturgy at the Church of Christ the Saviour, Bournemouth, Abba Seraphim and Archdeacon James visited the graves of departed members of the British Orthodox Church in the Wimborne Road cemetery and sang the Paschal Troparion at their graves. Abba Seraphim said, “They died in the hope of the Resurrection and the Scriptures tell us that the dead in Christ will rise first; so sharing that blessed hope, we cannot forget them but come to proclaim that Christ is Risen.”

The Bournemouth Church also has a cinerarium in its churchyard, where the ashes of departed members are reverently deposited. The large stone covering, which one passes on the way into the church, acts as a constant reminder of the Resurrection.