Welcome to Ask the Church, our series where we seek to answer your questions about church worship, practice, or theology in around five minutes.
Today’s question is about praying for the dead.
Does it do any good? Is it permissible?
What Scripture Says (and Doesn’t Say)
At the outset, I want to mention our lone biblical reference that touches on this topic.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul is talking about the resurrection of the dead, and in passing he refers to the practice of people being “baptized on behalf of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:29).
It’s not exactly about praying for the dead, but it’s a somewhat related idea. Unfortunately, Paul doesn’t comment on the practice—he just mentions that it is happening. I wish he had told us more, but we’re left with very little to go on.
Prayers for the Dead and the Doctrine of Purgatory
The practice of praying for the dead grew out of the medieval understanding of purgatory.
In that system, there was thought to be a separation between the forgiveness achieved for us in Jesus’ work on the cross and the temporal penalty that still needed to be paid for sin.
The belief was that even though a person’s forgiveness and eternal life were secure in Christ, some measure of penalty remained to be paid—either in this life through suffering and penance, or after death in purgatory.
In that framework, if you have a relative in purgatory, praying that their time of purification might be shortened is a very natural thing to do, and it made perfect sense.
The problem is that the Anglican church rejects that understanding of purgatory.
We believe that all the penalties of sin have already been paid by Jesus on the cross. There is no remaining penalty to work off on the other side of death (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 10:14).
So, if no one is waiting in a place of suffering to pay off a penalty for sin, praying that such a process would be “sped up” simply doesn’t make sense.
Based on this understanding of the Gospel, the Anglican church rejects purgatory in the medieval sense—and therefore rejects prayers for the dead in that same sense.
What We Pray Instead
That’s why in our Prayers of the People, when we mention the dead in the final petition, we pray “in thanksgiving” for them.
We are not praying that their suffering would end or that their time in purgatory would be shortened. Instead, we are giving thanks to God for their lives, their example, their witness, and the way they loved us and followed Him.
That’s prayer about the dead—but not prayer for the dead.
It’s prayer in thanksgiving to God for their lives.
So, in a certain sense, that’s the quick answer:
No, Anglicans do not pray for the dead in the medieval sense, because we do not believe in purgatory in that medieval sense.
The Burial Service: A Pastoral Exception
There is, however, one place in our liturgy where we find something that might sound like a prayer for the dead—and that’s in the burial service.
If you look at the Anglican burial liturgy, you’ll find several prayers that say things like,
“God, receive this person in mercy. Let them enter into everlasting life.”
At the moment of death and burial, we pray that God would keep His promise with this person, receive them in mercy, and welcome them into the Kingdom of Heaven.
These are not prayers in the sense of purgatory—they’re not asking that a penalty be paid off—but rather pastoral prayers offered to God at the moment of loss: “Lord, receive them in mercy.”
An Ancient Practice
That kind of prayer is almost as old as the Church itself.
We see examples of it as early as 100 AD—Christians crying out to God, “Receive them in mercy.”
Whether or not such a prayer changes God’s disposition toward the person, we don’t know. But it is a practice the Church has sanctioned from the beginning, and it’s a deeply natural one.
When someone dies, our hearts instinctively cry, “Oh Lord, receive them in mercy.”
And when a person’s faith was unclear, that instinct is even stronger.
If someone dies with a strong and clear faith, we can say with confidence, “They are with the Lord.” But when someone we love dies whose faith was not quite so clear, to cry out to God, “Lord, have mercy on them as they come into Your presence” is a natural and Church-sanctioned way of handling their moment of death.
Honest Prayer Before God
We don’t know whether such prayers change God’s disposition toward the person.
But we are permitted to pray honestly before God, trusting His mercy. Even if we don’t know exactly what to say, we can still cry out to Him.
That’s what the prayer for the dead in our burial service is:
“Lord, receive them in mercy. Have mercy on them. Treat them kindly.”
It’s simply the natural cry of the heart when someone we love dies.
It’s not surprising that this practice has existed in the Church for almost its entire history.
Two Different Things
So, it’s important to separate two very different ideas:
The medieval prayer for the dead, based on purgatory—asking God to speed up someone’s payment of a penalty.
The pastoral prayer at the moment of death—crying out to God to receive someone in mercy.
The first is rejected by Anglicans.
The second, the Church has always permitted and encouraged.
I hope this answer helps.
As always, if you have other questions, send them to steven@incarnationrichmond.org.
And now, go in the grace of our Lord.