In the Orthodox tradition, special attention is paid to the remembrance of the dead. 9 days after death: what it means and how to remember the dead. In this article we will tell you what 9 means after death, what the relatives of the deceased need to do, what rituals to perform and what funeral dishes to prepare. Failure to comply with traditions according to religious scriptures can deprive the deceased of heaven, and bring a grave sin on relatives

Why is it necessary to remember the deceased on the 9th day after death, and how to do it correctly

Relatives should follow traditions, because the 9th day after death has sacred meaning. In 9 days, the human soul completes its journey begun during life. She is still just looking for her way into a new world for her. Day 3 is the beginning of the afterlife, and 40 is its finale. But 9 is a very important day at the stage of the afterlife journey of the human soul.

9 is a sacred number. After all, for example, in the angelic hierarchy there are 9 ranks of angels. This is celebrated not only in honor of the deceased, but they also give honor to the angels, it is they who will defend him at the Heavenly Judgment. These are the lawyers of souls, they are the ones who turn to God for mercy.

On the 3rd day, the soul of the deceased is still not far from the living. She is accompanied at this time. Already on the 4th day he accompanies him through the gates of heaven. Until the 9th day he explores Paradise. Without yet knowing what the Lord will say, a person’s soul can know what awaits it in Heaven or Hell. In Eden, a person will rest from the pain that he received in earthly life.

What happens to a person's soul on the 9th day after death? The Lord commands the angels to bring the deceased to his throne. A person with fear appears before the Almighty for the first time. After a difficult conversation, he faces the road to Hell. After the 40th day, the heavenly court will decide further.

Why is it commemorated 9 days after death: from 9 to 40 days is the time of ordeal for the soul. Together with the angel she goes through some tests. These may be sinful temptations. If everything goes well and the soul can endure the test, then all its lifetime sins will be forgiven at the Heavenly Court.

How to help the soul of the deceased

What does 9 days after the death of a person mean - during this time the soul is busy looking for the path that it will follow next. It is very difficult to imagine what it will be like. Some people believe in the rebirth of souls after death? In literature you can find out that the reincarnation of souls occurs from 3 to 40 days. At this time, the soul is busy viewing and analyzing its mistakes. There is even an opinion that the soul itself can choose what its subsequent incarnation will be.

As they say in Orthodox literature, the righteous go to Heaven, the sinners go to Hell. But on day 9 the soul searches for its path. And it is precisely at this moment that family and friends must let the person go. No one says that the pain and suffering associated with loss can be forgotten. Any human loss is imbued with this. But it is the calming of the soul that is a great thing for the deceased.

And we need to pray, not cry. Through prayer, a deceased person can find peace, stop worrying about those who remain, and go where he is destined to go.

In Orthodoxy it is known that from days 4 to 9 the soul is shown Heaven, from days 9 to 40 - Hell. On the 9th day, the deceased completely forgets all the sorrow that he had in his worldly life. He forgets bodily pain. Sinners' souls repent at this moment. Why are 9 days celebrated after death: it is the prayer of relatives that is a huge support for the deceased person.

Prayers are also needed because the soul appears before the Lord for the first time on the 9th day after death. It is customary these days to order prayer services, remember the deceased, and read prayers for him. In a word, provide him with all possible help. In the church it is customary to ask for the soul of the deceased so that it can be added to the souls of angels. A relative can become someone's Guardian Angel. People believe that deceased relatives are always nearby and will always help.

How to organize a funeral

The wake on the 9th day after death must include kutya. This is a ritual and traditional dish for the funeral table. It is prepared not only for funerals, but sometimes also for holidays. For the funeral meal, kutya is made from wheat, sugar, and honey. There is also kutia made from rice and raisins.

What should the relatives of the deceased do on the 9th day after death?

What to serve

• Kutia is not a simple dish; everything that is prepared for 9 days after death carries a sacred meaning. Seeds in kutya are the birth of a new life. It symbolizes the resurrection of man in the afterlife.
• Sugar, honey, jam are a symbol of sweet life after death. Kutya is consecrated in the church. But if this is not possible, then it’s okay. You can sprinkle it with holy water or simply read a prayer over it.
• What is served 9 days after death: jelly or compote at the funeral table - this is also a mandatory dish. Any porridge can be on the table; sometimes pancakes and pies are prepared so that the filling is sweet.
• Fish dishes can also often be found at the funeral table; sandwiches with fish, sprats, herring and other fish snacks are approved. Borscht and noodles can be served as a first course. For hot kuru, roast.
• A feast on a sad occasion begins with. You can read it both aloud and silently. The first dish served is kutia.
• Alcohol is prohibited. Although there is drinking at any wake, traditionally there shouldn't be. Drunkenness is a sin; indulging in sin at a wake can harm the soul of the deceased. According to the same sign, you should not carry alcohol to the cemetery.
• You should not put a lot of food on the table, because gluttony is a sin. The table needs to be modest, without frills and pathos. Eating doesn't matter. The important thing is that people gathered to remember the person, and not to indulge in gluttony.
• But even if you rid the funeral table of luxury, then everything must be calculated so that there is enough for everyone. People come uninvited and therefore it is better to have a little in reserve. What remains after the funeral table should be distributed to the poor. Products should not be thrown away under any circumstances.

Is it worth inviting guests?

• On the ninth day, people are not invited to the wake; they are called uninvited. This means that people come to remember the person themselves if they want. It is not recommended to invite people to the funeral. People should come and remember the deceased themselves.
• According to tradition, there must be relatives, people who washed the deceased, those who made his coffin, and grave diggers. If all this was done by people from ritual services, then the tradition loses its relevance.

How to behave at a wake

You cannot laugh, have fun, or talk loudly at the table. What they say on the 9th day after death is that you cannot remember the deceased from the bad side, his unseemly actions, addictions. It’s either good or not good about the deceased.

Until the 40th day, a decision will be made about whether he is in Heaven or Hell, so the negative will be on the negative side of the scale, and this will directly lead to a terrible sentence.

The appearance of those who come should also be appropriate. Women's heads should be covered, preferably with a scarf, and their hair should be tied up. Men must remove their hats when entering the premises. Black mourning is worn only by family and friends.

What should relatives do on day 9?

The first 9 days after death, how to spend them for relatives. The work of relatives will benefit the deceased in his next life or help him get to heaven - here who already believes in what. What happens on the 9th day after death: people and angels unite so that the deceased goes to Paradise. Memorial days are not just a formality. This is the time when the living helps the one who has died.

Go to church

What do they do for 9 days after death - going to church is mandatory. There you need to order a prayer service and light candles for the repose. Pray at the icons, asking for mercy for the deceased, so that God and the angels would be favorable to him. Of course, you can say prayers at home, but a prayer service is still a necessary trip to church. Not only relatives can read prayers; friends and acquaintances can also pray for the repose of the soul; the more people pray, the more favorable the decision of the Heavenly Court will be. You can pray to God, or you can pray to any saint.

Visit the cemetery

• How to remember on the 9th day after death: by lunchtime you need to go to the grave of the deceased and visit him. Clean it up, take away the trash. Adjust the wreaths, pick fresh flowers. If you have a lamp, light a candle in it. Don't chat, don't shout. Remember the deceased with kind and good words.
• A funeral in a cemetery is bad form, as ancient omens say. You shouldn’t do this, even priests talk about this. You cannot drink alcoholic beverages. Do not harm the soul of a deceased person.
• For 9 days after death, you should not leave alcohol on the grave in the cemetery; you should not leave shot glasses or glasses filled with alcohol. Pouring alcohol onto the mound is prohibited. You can leave sweets or other treats, grains for the birds to peck. Baked goods can be distributed to strangers in exchange for their souls.

Remember the deceased

When talking about the deceased, you need to say only good and kind words, remember his good deeds and actions. Now the Lord listens very much to what they say about a person. Negativity will only ruin everything. There is no need for bad words, they can do harm. Speak only kind things.

On this day you need to give alms to the poor. It can be anything: money, things, food. You can give away what is left after the funeral table. In the house you need to put and light a lamp, put a glass of water and put a piece of bread. Tokens of attention are placed near the portrait of the deceased, and the portrait is tied with a black ribbon. On the 9th day, you can remove the curtains from the mirrors, leaving them only in the room of the deceased.

How is the ninth day after death counted?

• How to count 9 days after a person's death is quite simple. The first day is the day the person died, no matter whether it was morning or late evening. The main thing is before midnight. This day in a year will be a year. This is how we count all the days.
• A common mistake is to count 9 days after death. For example, a person died on the 18th, we add 9, but 27 is not the ninth day. The ninth day will be the 26th.
• This date does not depend on when the person was buried. Usually buried on the 3rd day. But various circumstances may push back this date. But days 9 and 40 do not change their number. The count is kept only at death.
• If a person died during Great Lent, what do believers who observe fasting do? At this time, if day 9 falls on a weekday, it must be moved to the next weekend.

Conclusion

Every person should know how funeral and memorial rites occur. 9th day after death, what should relatives do, this knowledge is unwanted. But no matter how sad it is, everyone will have to face this. Therefore, you will have to engage in rituals, no matter how sad and bitter it may be. But it’s also not easy for the deceased person, and you can ease his fate with your right actions.

Video “Why the dead are remembered on the 9th day”

Funeral service for 9 days after death, what is prepared and how to conduct it? For Orthodox Christians, commemoration of the dead occurs on the ninth and fortieth days after death. Why?

The clergy answer this question in detail. According to church canons, the time from the moment of repose directly to the ninth is called the design of the “body of eternity.” During this period, the deceased is taken to “special places” in heaven. And in the world of the living, relatives and clergy conduct various funeral ceremonies.

What happens in the first 9 days after death?

In these very first 9 days after death the deceased can observe the people around them, see and hear them. Thus, the soul forever says goodbye to life in this world, to life on earth, gradually losing these opportunities and thereby moving away from the world of the living. Therefore, it is no coincidence that memorial services are ordered on the 3rd, 9th and 40th days. These days represent special milestones that every soul passes when leaving our world.

After the nine-day mark, the soul goes to hell in order to see the torment of unrepentant sinners. As a rule, the soul does not yet know what kind of fate is in store for it, and the terrible torment that will appear before its eyes will have to shake it and make it fear its fate. But not every soul is given such a chance. Some go straight to hell without worshiping God, which occurs on the third day. These souls delayed the ordeal.

Ordeals are posts where souls are detained by demons, or they are also called the princes of ordeals. There are twenty such posts. Demons gather at each one and expose to the soul all the sins it has committed. At the same time, the soul does not remain completely defenseless.

Guardian angels are always nearby in these difficult moments.
The Guardian Angel represents to the demons the good deeds of the soul that are opposite to sins. For example, generous assistance can be pitted against accusations of greed. Blessed Theodora, whose authority deserves attention, testifies that most often people get stuck in ordeals because of adultery. Because this topic is so personal and shameful, people are often sensitive about having to talk about it in confession.

And this sin remains hidden, thereby erasing the entire confession. Therefore, demons win the war for their lives. No matter what actions you have committed, no matter how ashamed you are of them (this also applies to your intimate life), you must fully confess to the priest, otherwise the entire confession will not be counted.

If the soul does not go through all the ordeals, demons take it straight to hell. There she remains until the Last Judgment. Relatives and friends of the deceased can soften the fate of his soul with prayers, so it is better to order a commemoration in the church.

On the third day, the soul that was able to go through the ordeal goes through the worship of God.

Then she is shown all the beauties of paradise, in comparison with which earthly joys simply fade. The happiness that becomes available to a person in heaven is incomparable to anything. That's what the saints say.

Pure and beautiful nature, as it was before the fall of man, the fulfillment of all desires, righteous people who are all together, everything you can dream of - this is paradise. In hell there is none of this and all people are alone.

On the ninth day, the soul is brought down to hell as a spectator.

Having been in paradise and seen the righteous there, a person realizes that he deserves hell more than heaven because of his sins, so the soul awaits with great trepidation the period of 9 days after death. Prayer is very important here, with which loved ones help the soul. It is important to acquire a close connection with the soul of the deceased so that the verdict is rendered in favor of the Holy Place. You should order a service in the church so that your loved one has support from you.

Also at this time, you can think about how to arrange the burial site, for example, choose a granite monument.

9 days after death - commemoration of loved ones

First 9 days after death very difficult for the soul of a deceased person, so help your loved ones, order a memorial in the church, and you will feel easier and calmer for your loved one and the soul of the deceased will be calm and peaceful. Not only church prayer is important, but also your personal one. Ask your father for help. He will help you master the special rules for reading the Psalter.

The custom of remembering loved ones at meals has been known since ancient times. Often, a wake is an occasion for relatives to get together, eat deliciously, and discuss business. In fact, people gather at the funeral table for a reason. Orthodox Christians should pray for those loved ones who have left the earthly world. Before starting a meal, it is necessary to perform a lithium without fail. This is a small rite of requiem, it can be performed by a layman. You can read Psalm 90 and Our Father.

Kutia is the first dish, which is actually eaten at the funeral. It is usually prepared from boiled wheat or rice grains with honey and raisins. The grain is a symbol of resurrection, and honey is the sweetness that the righteous enjoy in paradise. Kutya should be consecrated during the funeral service with a special rite; if this is not possible, it should be sprinkled with holy water.

The desire of the owners to provide everyone who came to the funeral with a tasty treat is understandable, but it does not exempt them from observing the fasts established by the Church. On Wednesday, Friday and, accordingly, during long fasts, eat only permitted food. If during Lent the funeral service falls on a weekday, it should be moved to Saturday or Sunday.

The pagan custom of drinking at graves has nothing in common with Orthodox customs. Every Christian knows that what brings joy to our deceased loved ones is prayer for them and the piety we bring, and not the amount of alcohol we drink.
At home, during the funeral meal, after the funeral service, a small glass of wine is allowed, which will be accompanied by a kind word addressed to the deceased. Do not forget that this is a completely optional thing at a wake. But other alcohol should be avoided altogether, as it will distract from the wake itself.

In Orthodoxy, the first to be seated at the funeral table are the poor and the poor, old women and children. You can also distribute the deceased’s belongings and clothes. You can hear many stories about cases when relatives' alms helped the deceased, and received confirmation of this from the afterlife. Therefore, you can help the deceased by giving your savings to alms in order to benefit the soul in the afterlife.

The loss of a loved one can change your worldview, help you gain the desire to become a true Orthodox Christian, and take your very first step on the path to God. Start now to cleanse your soul and confess, so that in the afterlife good deeds will prevail over sins.

Even in works of scientific content related to the exact sciences, it is easy to find disagreements in theories and exceptions to accepted rules, and in matters of faith and religion, there are more than enough differences in interpretations and explanations of traditions. Thus, finding the only correct remembrance of 9 and 40 days after death simply does not exist. Below you will find answers given by various representatives of the spiritual world, as well as interesting facts and very important tips.

Version of representatives of the Sretensky Monastery

Why is the 9th day celebrated after death?

On the ninth day, the deceased is remembered in order to honor the 9 orders of angels, who, being servants of the King of Heaven and our representatives to Him, intercede with Him for pardon of the deceased person. It is believed that from the third to the ninth day, the soul of the deceased resides in the heavenly abodes, where it:

1. She forgets her former sorrow that she had to leave her body and the ordinary world.
2. She realizes that she served God so little while on earth, she reproaches herself for this and grieves.

On the ninth day, the Lord sends Angels to bring the soul to worship. Before the throne of the Lord God, the soul trembles and is in great fear. At this time, the Holy Church, in prayers for the deceased, asks the Almighty to make a decision to accept the soul of her child. From days 9 to 40, the soul goes to hell, where it observes the torment of sinners who do not deserve forgiveness, and trembles with fear. That is why it is so important to spend the ninth day in remembrance and prayers for the deceased.

Why is the 40th day after death celebrated?

The history and tradition of the Church say that 40 days is the period necessary for the soul to prepare to accept help and the Divine gift from the Heavenly Father. The number 40 appears repeatedly in church traditions:

• After a 40-day fast, Prophet Moses talked with the Lord on Mount Sinai and received the tablets of the law.
• On the 40th day, Jesus Christ ascended to heaven after His Resurrection.
• The Israelites wandered for 40 years before reaching the promised land.

Church representatives took all the facts described above into account and decided to hold a memorial on the 40th day after death. With their prayers they help the soul to ascend the holy mountain of Heavenly Sinai and see the Lord God, achieve bliss and find itself in the company of the righteous in heavenly villages.

In 9 days, after worshiping the Lord, the Angels show the soul hell, in which the souls of unrepentant sinners suffer in torment. On the 40th day, coming to the Lord for the third time (the first time the soul comes on the 3rd day), the soul receives a sentence: a place is assigned in which it will remain until the Last Judgment. This is precisely why church commemorations and prayers are so important on this day; they help to atone for sins and allow the purified soul to enter Paradise with the saints.

Useful information

How do you count 9 days from the date of death?

People often make the mistake of starting the countdown from the day after death. In fact, the countdown time should be the day on which the deceased left this world, even if this happened late in the evening (before 12:00). Thus, if a person died on December 2, then December 10 will become ninth day after death. Adding numbers mathematically (December 2 + 9 days = December 11) and starting counting from the next day after death is incorrect.

On the ninth day you can remove the veils from the mirrors.

On the ninth day after the death of the deceased, you can remove the veils from the mirrors in the house (in all except the bedroom of the deceased). It is noteworthy that hanging mirrors is a non-Orthodox tradition. These are echoes of an old Russian belief, which says that in the mirrors the soul of the deceased can get lost and not find the way to the next world.

On the ninth day, the wake should be modest.

Alcohol at a feast is optional, and according to the popular opinion of primordially religious people, it is a completely unnecessary attribute. In table conversation one should remember the good deeds and good deeds of the deceased. It is believed that every good word spoken about the deceased will be credited to him.

Hegumen Fedor (Yablokov) about the commemoration: Remembrance must be prayerful. This is often forgotten, reducing wakes to a feast, and wakes without sincere commemoration of the deceased have no meaning. Drinking at funerals and wakes is not only unnecessary, but also harmful for the deceased. There should be no alcohol on the table at all, or a minimal amount. Taking alcohol or drugs in these cases is not a tradition, it is an attempt by a godless person to hide, to escape from reality. There is no need to fill the entire table with dishes; the table should be modest. When gathering for a wake, people gather for prayer, for prayerful remembrance of the deceased, and not for the purpose of organizing a holiday of gluttony. An obligatory dish according to tradition is kutya, over which a special prayer must be read. For 40 days, you must avoid any mourning events; you can come to the memorial in any strict, non-seductive clothing.

Archimandrite Augustine (Pidanov) on traditions and superstitions: Nowadays, you can often come across superstitions skillfully disguised as traditions. Superstition is indifference, vanity, and a meaningless attitude towards faith. Firstly, some superstitions contradict the concepts and traditions of faith, and secondly, some superstitions simply do not leave time for faith in our lives. For example, at first glance, there is nothing wrong with a person covering a mirror. But a person burdens all his thoughts with the need to remember to cover the mirrors, not finding time to pray for the souls of loved ones. There shouldn't be any booze on the table, and don't be afraid that anyone will judge you. Everything depends only on you, whether you organize a wake for the deceased or a drinking party for the sake of relatives and friends.

Archimandrite Augustine (Pidanov) about the funeral service: The funeral service is nothing more than a prayer service, approved by the church as a farewell and farewell to guide people to another world. Many people mistake a funeral service for a ritual or tradition. In the process of carrying out the ritual, people try to make the incomprehensible understandable, but in fact, behind the form of the funeral service there is much more important and greater value for both the soul of the deceased and the living. To find answers to questions related to seeing off Christians on their final journey, you should contact the clergy directly. Only in this way can you avoid mistakes and conduct a funeral service, bringing the greatest benefit to the soul of the deceased, without wasting time on superstitions.

Please explain what the 3rd, 9th and 40th days after the death of a person mean. What is the soul of the deceased experiencing and where is it these days?

Priest Afanasy Gumerov, resident of the Sretensky Monastery, answers:

Our earthly existence is a preparation for the future life: “it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27). Posthumous experiences indicate that, freed from bodily fatness, the soul becomes more active. The tests that she undergoes immediately after separation from the body are of a spiritual and moral nature. Everything she did, good and bad, remains. Therefore, for the soul, from the very beginning of the afterlife (even before the Judgment), joys or suffering begin, depending on how it lived on earth. St. John Cassian writes: “the souls of the dead not only do not lose their feelings, but do not lose their dispositions, i.e. They are already beginning to anticipate hope and fear, joy and sorrow, and something of what they expect for themselves at the general judgment, contrary to the opinion of some infidels, that after leaving this life they are destroyed into nothing; they become even more alive and cleave more zealously to the glorification of God” (Interview 1, chapter 14). In the first two days, freed from the mortal body, the soul enjoys freedom and can visit those places on earth that were dear to it. But on the third day she ends up in other areas. The revelation given by an angel to Saint Macarius of Alexandria (who died in 395) is known: “When on the third day there is an offering in the Church, the soul of the deceased receives from the angel guarding it relief from the grief that it feels from separation from the body; receives because praise and offerings in the Church of God have been made for her, which is why good hope is born in her. For for two days the soul, together with the angels who are with it, is allowed to walk on the earth wherever it wants. Therefore, the soul that loves the body sometimes wanders around the house in which it was separated from the body, sometimes around the coffin in which the body is laid<...>And a virtuous soul goes to those places in which it used to do the truth. On the third day, the One who rose from the dead on the third day - the God of all - commands, in imitation of His Resurrection, every Christian soul to ascend to heaven to worship the God of all. So, the good Church is in the habit of making an offering and prayer for the soul on the third day. After worshiping God, He is commanded to show the soul the various and pleasant abodes of the saints and the beauty of paradise. The soul examines all this for six days, marveling and glorifying the Creator of all this - God. Contemplating all this, she changes and forgets the sorrow that she had while in the body. But if she is guilty of sins, then at the sight of the pleasures of the saints she begins to grieve and reproach herself, saying: “Alas” for me! How I fussed in that world! Carried away by the satisfaction of lusts, I spent most of my life in carelessness and did not serve God as I should, so that I too could be rewarded with this goodness<...>After considering all the joys of the righteous for six days, she is again lifted up by the angels to worship God. So, the Church does well by performing services and offerings for the deceased on the ninth day. After the second worship, the Lord of all again commands to take the soul to hell and show it the places of torment located there, the different sections of hell and the various torments of the wicked.<...>Through these various places of torment the soul rushes for thirty days, trembling, so as not to be condemned to imprisonment in them. On the fortieth day she again ascends to worship God; and then the Judge determines the proper place for her affairs<...>So, the Church acts correctly by making remembrances of the departed and those who have received Baptism” (St. Macarius of Alexandria. The Sermon on the Exodus of the Souls of the Righteous and Sinners..., - “Christian Reading”, 1831, part 43, pp. 123-31; “How to conduct soul for the first forty days after leaving the body, M., 1999, pp. 13-19).

9 days after death is a period during which the soul experiences many events and changes. What happens after the burial?

First 3 days

In the first 3 days, the soul is where it is important for it to be. For example, if a person was very attached to his body during life, he will be nearby. In the case where some people meant a lot to the deceased, he will spend his last time on Earth next to them. In fact, many documentaries talk about how some souls don't know what to do. Some start riding the subway and keeping an eye on relatives, others are trying to provide for the future of their children. Everyone, if possible, tries to complete earthly affairs or look at something that is very significant for the last time.

Worship God

Worship is performed repeatedly: on the day of death, then on the third day, on the 9th day after the funeral, 40 days after repose, and also immediately before the Last Judgment. People who go to hell perform worship even after the judgment.

From 3 to 9 days

After 3 and up to 9 days after death, the soul explores the beauty of paradise. She sees the abode that is prepared for her. However, people who were vain, did mortal things and walked in evil ways will not enter heaven.

ordeals

9 days after death, the ordeal begins. They last up to 40 days. After death, we are surrounded by our sins. Each of our bad deeds has its own “guardian” - a demon. When the soul leaves the body, these demons surround it. There are so many lawlessnesses and troubles that they cannot be counted. These are all the sins a person committed during his lifetime. Some people think that after death the soul ascends upward and nothing can stop it. But this is not so, because it is the forces of evil that own the space between earth and sky. The Mother of God prayed not to see evil demons after death when she was preparing for the Rapture. Therefore, the Lord personally came to guide Her soul. This is noted on the icon of Rapture. As is clear, demons come not only to “ordinary” people, but also to selected dying people.

9 days after death: before and after

Until the ninth day there is a period of feeding and formation of the “body of eternity”. Relatives and clergy begin to carry out memorial procedures. Until the 9th day, the soul sees the delights of heaven, and after that - the torment and horrors of hell. On day 40 a place is assigned. Over the course of nine days, the deceased gradually ceases to hear relatives and friends, and he can no longer see them. He can make all contacts only by using his senses of smell and touch.

Why are these days celebrated?

After death, the soul travels for 9 days and finds out possible places of its stay. Until the very end, she does not know what fate is in store for her. She is shown both the beauties and delights of heavenly life (for a much shorter period of time) and the terrible events that occur in hell. During this time, relatives can pray earnestly and ask for a better fate until the Last Judgment occurs on the soul of the deceased. The correct behavior of loved ones can help the soul get to heaven. Therefore, it is very important not to be lazy, but to go to church and order prayer services. You also need to devote time to this activity yourself. And it needs to be done correctly. You can get clarification from your clergyman.