Scriptures:
Genesis 23:4 – I am a stranger and a sojourner among you. Give me possession of a burial place among you, so that I may bury my dead out of my sight.
Tobit 1:16-20 – I would give my bread to the hungry and my clothing to the naked; and if I saw any one of my people dead and thrown out behind the wall of Nineveh, I would bury him. And if Sennacherib the king put to death any who came fleeing from Judea, I buried them secretly. For in his anger he put many to death. When the bodies were sought by the king, they were not found. Then one of the men of Nineveh went and informed the king about me, that I was burying them; so I hid myself. When I learned that I was being searched for, to be put to death, I left home in fear. Then all my property was confiscated and nothing was left to me except my wife Anna and my son Tobias.
Matthew 14:12 – Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Matthew 27:57–60 – When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph… He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus… And laid it in his own new tomb…
Acts 8:2. – And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Deuteronomy 21:22–23 – And if a sin is committed in a man punishable by death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him on that same day—for cursed by God is everyone hanged on a tree—so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God gives you as an inheritance.
Jeremiah 8:1–2 – “At that time,” says the Lord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its rulers, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their tombs. And they shall spread them out before the sun, the moon, and all the host of heaven—which they loved, which they served, which they followed, which they sought after, and which they worshiped. They shall not be gathered nor buried, but shall become dung upon the face of the earth.”
Revelation 11:7-9 – When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves.
2 Kings 13:20–21- And Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land at the coming of each year. And it happened, as some were burying a man, that suddenly they saw a raiding party. So they cast the man’s body into the grave of Elisha. And when the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood up on his feet.
Church Fathers:
And so we afterwards took up his bones which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place; where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy, and to celebrate the birth-day of his martyrdom for the commemoration of those that have already fought in the contest, and for the training and preparation of those that shall do so hereafter. – Martyrdom of Polycarp, chapter 18
[SAID OF CHRISTIANS:] Whenever one of the poor among them passes from this world, each one of them gives heed to him, according to his ability, and carefully sees to his burial…. If any righteous man among them passes from this world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God. They escort his body as if he were setting out from one place to go to another nearby. – Aristides (c. 125, E), 9.276, 277.
We certainly buy no frankincense. If the Arabians complain of this, let the Sabaeans be well assured that their more precious and costly merchandise is expended as largely in the burying of Christians as in the fumigating of the gods. – Tertullian (c. 197, W), 3.49.
I on my side must deride [the pagan custom] still more, especially when it burns up its dead with harshest inhumanity, only to pamper them immediately afterwards with gluttonous satiety, using the selfsame fires to honor them and to insult them. – Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.545
Even this partial survival of the soul finds a place in the opinions of some men. And on this account, they will not have the body consumed by fire at its funeral. For they would spare the small residue of the soul. There is, however, another way of accounting for this pious treatment. Perhaps it is not meant to favor the relics of the soul, but to avert a cruel custom in the interest even of the body. For, being human, [the body] itself does not deserve the same end that is inflicted upon murderers. – Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.228.
It is on a like principle that embalmed corpses are set aside for burial in mausoleums and sepulchers—in order that they may be removed therefrom when the Master orders it. – Tertullian (c. 210, W), 3.565.
When there had been some agitation about places of burial for our dead, the cry arose, “No burial grounds for the Christians.” Yet, it came to pass that their own grounds—their threshing floors—were wanting, for they gathered in no harvests. – Tertullian (c. 212, W), 3.106.
[PAGAN ANTAGONIST, SPEAKING OF CHRISTIANS:] You reserve ointments only for funeral rites. You even refuse garlands for your sepulchers. – Mark Minucius Felix (c. 200, W), 4.179.
We do not, as you [pagans] believe, fear any loss from cremation. Rather, we adopt the ancient and better custom of burying in the earth. – Mark Minucius Felix (c. 200, W), 4.194.
You who seeks to be careful of the pomp of death are in error. As a servant of God, you should please Him even in death. Alas that the lifeless body should be adorned in death! O true vanity to desire honor for the dead! . . . What will the pomp benefit the dead man? – Commodianus (c. 240, W), 4.217.
We are not at all distressed by the assertion of [the pagan] Heraclitus . . . that “dead bodies are to be cast out as more worthless than dung.” . . . For in harmony with those laws that are based upon the principles of equity, bodies are deemed worthy of burial, with the honors accorded on such occasions. So far as it can be helped, no insult should be offered to the soul that dwelt within, by casting out the body like that of an animal. – Origen (c. 248, E), 4.553.
As a matter of the greatest importance, if the bodies of the martyrs and others are not buried, a considerable risk is incurred by those whose duty it is to perform this function. – Letter from the church in Rome to Cyprian (c. 250, W), 5.281.
They took the bodies of their fellow saints on their upturned hands and on their bosoms and closed their eyes and shut their mouths. And carrying them in company, they lay them out decently. They clung to them, embraced them, and properly prepared them with washing and with clothes. – Dionysius of Alexandria, (c. 262, E), 6.109, as quoted by Eusebius.
No one can fittingly describe the cruelty of this beast [i.e., Rome] that . . . not only tears in pieces the limbs of men, but also breaks their very bones and rages over their ashes—so that there will be no place for their burial. As though those who confess God aimed at this: that their tombs would be visited, rather than that they themselves may reach the presence of God. What brutality it is! What fury, what madness! To deny light to the living and earth to the dead! – Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.147.
The last and greatest office of piety is the burying of strangers and the poor…. We will not allow the image and workmanship of God to lie exposed as a prey to beasts and birds. Rather, we will restore it to the earth, from which it had its origin. And even in the case of an unknown person, we will fulfill the office of relatives…. For in what does the nature of justice consist more, than to render to strangers through kindness whatever we would render to our own relatives through family love? – Lactantius (c. 304–313, W), 7.177.
To all these charities, Marcellus added yet larger deeds of piety. With a large band of his own household, he went to oversee the burying of the bodies of those [captives] who had died on the march. He secured an appropriate burial for as many of them as he could find, in whatever condition. – Disputation of Archelaus and Manes (c. 320, E), 6.180.
In the funerals of the departed, if they were faithful in Christ, accompany them with singing. For “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” [Ps. 116:15]. – Apostolic Constitutions (compiled c. 390, E), 7.464.
But when the brethren were urging him to abide with them and there to die, he suffered it not for many other reasons, as he showed by keeping silence, and especially for this:— “The Egyptians are wont to honour with funeral rites, and to wrap in linen cloths at death the bodies of good men, and especially of the holy martyrs; and not to bury them underground, but to place them on couches, and to keep them in their houses, thinking in this to honour the departed. And Antony often urged the bishops to give commandment to the people on this matter. In like manner he taught the laity and reproved the women, saying, ‘that this thing was neither lawful nor holy at all. For the bodies of the patriarchs and prophets are until now preserved in tombs, and the very body of the Lord was laid in a tomb, and a stone was laid upon it, and hid it until He rose on the third day.” And thus saying, he showed that he who did not bury the bodies of the dead after death transgressed the law, even though they were sacred. For what is greater or more sacred than the body of the Lord? Many therefore having heard, henceforth buried the dead underground, and gave thanks to the Lord that they had been taught rightly. – Athanasius, Life of Anthony, chapter 90
This emperor then, going up to Daphne used to weary Apollo, praying, supplicating, entreating, so that the events of the future might be foretold to him. What then did the prophet, the great God of the Greeks? “The dead prevent me from uttering,” says he, “but break open the graves, dig up the bones, move the dead.” What could be more impious than these commands? The Demon of grave-robbing, introduces strange laws and devises new methods of expelling strangers. Who ever heard of the dead being driven forth? Who ever saw lifeless bodies ordered to be moved as he commanded, overturning from their foundations the common laws of nature. For the laws of nature are common to all men, that he who departs this life should be hidden in the earth, and delivered over for burial, and be covered up in the bosom of the earth the mother of all; and these laws, neither Greek, barbarian, Scythian, nor if there be any more savage than they, ever changed, but all reverence them, and keep them, and thus they are sacred and venerated by all. But the Demon raises his mask, and with bare head, resists the common laws of nature. – John Chrysostom, On St. Babylas, chapter 2
“In time of persecution, the public executioners lay hold of the bodies of the martyrs, they scourge them, and tear them to pieces. Does it make the executioners’ hands holy because they lay hold of the body of holy men? Heaven forbid! The hands which grasped and held the bodies of the holy ones still stay unholy. Why? Because those executioners did a wicked thing when they laid their hands upon the holy. And will those who handle and outrage the writings of the holy ones be any more venerable for this than those who executed the martyrs? Would that not be the ultimate foolishness? If the maltreated bodies of the martyrs do not sanctify those who maltreated them but even add to their blood-guilt, much less could the Scriptures, if read without belief, ever help those who read without believing. The very act of deliberately choosing to maltreat the Scriptures convicts them of greater godlessness.” – John Chrysostom, Against the Jews. Homily 1