Saints for the Dying and a Good Death
Orthodox Christians pray at every service for “a Christian ending to our life, painless, blameless and peaceful.” St Barbara is asked to keep us from a sudden death without Confession and Communion. The Archangel Michael and the Guardian Angel accompany the soul as it leaves this life. The Mother of God, who fell asleep in peace surrounded by the apostles, is asked for a peaceful death for those we love. When the end is near, the family calls the priest, reads the canon for the departing, and keeps the icon close by the bed.
The saints the Church turns to
The Archangel Michael
Asked for a peaceful death and help for the soul after death.
8 November (21 November on the Old Calendar).
The Guardian Angel
Asked to accompany the soul after death.
8 November (21 November on the Old Calendar).
St Barbara the Great Martyr
Asked for a Christian end and to receive Holy Communion before death, and against a sudden, unprepared death.
4 December (17 December on the Old Calendar).
The Mother of God
Asked for a peaceful Christian death.
Dormition, 15 August (28 August on the Old Calendar).
In our shop
- Patron saint & Guardian Angel diptychs — the angel and the saint whose name the dying person bears.
- Icons of the Mother of God — wooden, gold-tone and silver-tone.
- St Barbara icon (coming soon)
How Orthodox Christians pray for this
The family calls the priest for Confession, Holy Communion and Holy Unction while the sick person can still receive them. At the bedside they read the canon for the departing, light the lamp before the icon, and place the cross in the person’s hands. After death the Psalter is read, and the Church serves memorials on the third, ninth and fortieth days.
Have it consecrated by our priest before it reaches you — Consecration, $49.
Questions
Who is the patron saint of death?
Orthodox Christians pray to St Barbara against a sudden, unprepared death and to the Archangel Michael, who is asked to help the soul after death. Catholics usually name St Joseph as patron of a happy death; that devotion is Western.
What should I bring to a dying Orthodox relative?
Call the priest first. Then bring their patron’s icon, a cross, and a prayer rope for those keeping watch.
