Burial and Funeral Practices of Christians

In ancient times, the bodies of criminals and conquered enemies would be hung up in public places and dismembered as a way of showing ultimate hatred of those deceased persons. There was no greater way to express absolute hatred of a man than to desecrate his body by putting it on display for everyone to see and feel disgust toward. The Cathodox now inflict this ultimate form of disrespect on the bodies of the saints by putting their rotten corpses on display and cutting off all their limbs, as well as their head, and refusing to let it be buried. They tell people that this is how we must honor the saints, and they gaslight their followers into believing these dead bodies are miraculously preserved from decay.

On Mount Athos, the dead body of every monk is buried for 3 years, then exhumed, washed, decapitated, and its head put on display. They believe this is the most honoring way to treat fellow Christians. Both the Orthodox and Catholics believe that it is honoring to exhume corpses, cut them in pieces, and put them on display.

These Cathodox are such hypocrites that they’ll stress the necessity of burying bodies rather than cremating them, denouncing cremation as a horrible perversion and an insult to the dead, but they turn around and desecrate the relics of the saints in their own way.

1:56 – “We have a catastrophic rise in cremation, which has nothing to do with the Christian faith. It’s a complete violation of all traditional Christian norms, of how you treat the body and how you love and care for the departed. It has a pagan origin, nothing to do with Christianity at all.”

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.

And Ju came to Jezrael; and Jezabel heard of it, and coloured her eyes, and adorned her head, and looked through the window. And Ju entered into the city; and she said, Had Zambri, the murderer of his master, peace? And he lifted up his face toward the window, and saw her, and said, Who art thou? Come down with me. And two eunuchs looked down towards him. And he said, Throw her down. And they threw her down; and some of her blood was sprinkled on the wall, and on the horses: and they trampled on her. And Ju went in and ate and drank, and said, Look now, after this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter. And they went to bury her; but they found nothing of her but the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands. 36 And they returned and told him. And he said, It is the word of the Lord, which he spoke by the hand of Eliu the Thesbite, saying, In the portion of Jezrael shall the dogs eat the flesh of Jezabel. And the carcase of Jezabel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezrael, so that they shall not say, This is Jezabel. – 2 Kings, 9:30-37

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:

Polycarp of Smyrna

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

Aristides of Athens

[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.

Athenagoras

But what need is there to speak of bodies not allotted to be the food of any animal, and destined only for a burial in the earth in honour of nature… – Athenagoras, On the Resurrection of the Dead, Chapter 8

Clement of Alexandria

What is voluntary is either what is by desire, or what is by choice, or what is of intention. Closely allied to each other are these things — sin, mistake, crime. It is sin, for example, to live luxuriously and licentiously; a misfortune, to wound one’s friend in ignorance, taking him for an enemy; and crime, to violate graves or commit sacrilege. – Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 2, chapter 15

Tertullian of Carthage

Examine yourselves on this point! How often do you rage furiously against the Christians, partly in response to your own feelings, partly out of respect for the laws? How often, too, has a hostile mob, without consulting you, attacked us on their own initiative, with stones and torches in their hands? Why, with the very fury of Bacchanals, they spare not even the corpses of Christians, but drag them from the repose of the grave, from that resting place, as it were, of death; although they are already changed and by now rotting in corruption, they cut them into bits and tear them limb from limb. – Tertullian The Apology Chapter 37

When, then, we read, Go, my people, enter into your closets for a little season, until my anger pass away, we have in the closets graves, in which they will have to rest for a little while, who shall have at the end of the world departed this life in the last furious onset of the power of Antichrist. Why else did He use the expression closets, in preference to some other receptacle, if it were not that the flesh is kept in these closets or cellars salted and reserved for use, to be drawn out thence on a suitable occasion? It is on a like principle that embalmed corpses are set aside for burial in mausoleums and sepulchres, in order that they may be removed therefrom when the Master shall order it. – Tertullian the Resurrection of the Flesh chapter 27

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.

Minucius Felix

[PAGAN ANTAGONIST, SPEAKING OF CHRISTIANS:] You reserve ointments only for funeral rites. You even refuse garlands for your sepulchers. – The Octavius of Minucius Felix, Chapter 12

Do you think that, if anything is withdrawn from our feeble eyes, it perishes to God? Every body, whether it is dried up into dust, or is dissolved into moisture, or is compressed into ashes, or is attenuated into smoke, is withdrawn from us, but it is reserved for God in the custody of the elements. Nor, as you believe, do we fear any loss from sepulture, but we adopt the ancient and better custom of burying in the earth. – The Octavius of Minucius Felix, chapter 34

Commodianus

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.

Origen of Alexandria

We do not believe that souls pass from one body to another, and that they may descend so low as to enter the bodies of the brutes. If we abstain at times from eating the flesh of animals, it is evidently, therefore, not for the same reason as Pythagoras; for it is the reasonable soul alone that we honour, and we commit its bodily organs with due honours to the grave. For it is not right that the dwelling-place of the rational soul should be cast aside anywhere without honour, like the carcasses of brute beasts; and so much the more when we believe that the respect paid to the body redounds to the honour of the person who received from God a soul which has nobly employed. – Origen Against Celsus, Book 8, Ch. 30

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.

Cyprian of Carthage

And, as matter of the greatest importance, if the bodies of the martyrs and others be not buried, a considerable risk is incurred by those whose duty it is to do this office. By whomsoever of you, then, and on whatever occasion this duty may have been performed, we are sure that he is regarded as a good servant — as one who has been faithful in the least, and will be appointed ruler over ten cities. May God, however, who gives all things to them that hope in Him, grant to us that we may all be found in these works. – Cyprian, Epistle 2, section 3

Dionysius of Alexandria

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.

Lactantius

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.

Archelaus of Caschar

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.

Apostolic Constitutions

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.

Athanasius of Alexandria

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

Eusebius of Caesarea

“For they cast to the dogs those who had died of suffocation in the prison, carefully guarding them by night and day, lest any one should be buried by us. And they exposed the remains left by the wild beasts and by fire, mangled and charred, and placed the heads of the others by their bodies, and guarded them in like manner from burial by a watch of soldiers for many days. 60. And some raged and gnashed their teeth against them, desiring to execute more severe vengeance upon them; but others laughed and mocked at them, magnifying their own idols, and imputed to them the punishment of the Christians. Even the more reasonable, and those who had seemed to sympathize somewhat, reproached them often, saying, ‘Where is their God, and what has their religion, which they have chosen rather than life, profited them?’ 61. So various was their conduct toward us; but we were in deep affliction because we could not bury the bodies. For neither did night avail us for this purpose, nor did money persuade, nor entreaty move to compassion; but they kept watch in every way, as if the prevention of the burial would be of some great advantage to them.” In addition, they say after other things: 62 . “The bodies of the martyrs, having thus in every manner been exhibited and exposed for six days, were afterward burned and reduced to ashes, and swept into the Rhone by the wicked men, so that no trace of them might appear on the earth. 63. And this they did, as if able to conquer God, and prevent their new birth; ‘that,’ as they said, ‘they may have no hope of a resurrection,42 through trust in which they bring to us this foreign and new religion, and despise terrible things, and are ready even to go to death with joy. Now let us see if they will rise again, and if their God is able to help them, and to deliver them out of our hands.’”- Eusebius, Church History, Book 5, Chapter 1

Finally, after these terrible and various attacks upon them, they were all slain with the sword; and instead of being buried in the earth they were committed to the waves of the sea.”– Church History by Eusebius, Book 8, Chapter 7

After such treatment she manifested the noblest constancy at the judgment seat of the governor himself; and the judge condemned her to be burned alive. He also carried his rage against the pious to a most inhuman length and transgressed the laws of nature, not being ashamed even to deny burial to the lifeless bodies of the sacred men. – Church history by Eusebius, Martyrs of Palestine book 8 chapter 9

He was a Cappadocian by birth, and in his manner of life he was most circumspect, faithful and sincere, zealous in all other respects, and animated by the Holy Spirit himself. Such was the company which was thought worthy to enter into martyrdom with Pamphilus. 28. By the command of the impious governor their sacred and truly holy bodies were kept as food for the wild beasts for four days and as many nights. But since, strange to say, through the providential care of God, nothing approached them,—neither beast of prey, nor bird, nor dog,—they were taken up uninjured, and after suitable preparation were buried in the customary manner. – Church history by Eusebius, Martyrs of Palestine book 8 chapter 11

Cyril of Jerusalem:

But accommodating myself to such a person, and seeing the abundance of examples, I come then also to another type of repentance. For what opinion do you have concerning Nebuchadnezzar? Have you not heard from the Scriptures, that he was most impious, and most savage in his manner, and having the disposition of a lion? Have you not heard, that he brought out the bones of the kings from their tombs into the light? have you not known, that he led the people away captive? have you not heard, that he put out the eyes of the king, after having first shown him his children being slaughtered? have you not heard, that he seized the cherubim, I do not mean the spiritual and heavenly ones, but those that were made in the temple, those upon the mercy seat of the ark, from between which the Lord used to speak? – Cyril of Jerusalem, Second Catechesis to the Enlightened, chapter 17

John Chrysostom

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

“…And why say I, “when he is alive?” Not even when dead is he freed from the villainy of the robbers, nor has death power to set him in safety, but the evil doers despoil him even when dead, so dangerous a thing is wealth. For not only do they dig into houses, but they even burst open tombs and coffins. What then can be more wretched than this man, since not even death can furnish him with this security, but that wretched body, even when deprived of life, is not freed from the evils of life, those that commit such wickedness hastening to war even with dust and ashes, and much more grievously than when it was alive? For then, it might be, entering his storehouse, they would remove his chests, but abstain from his person, and would not take so much as to strip the body itself but now the accursed hands of the tombbreakers do not even abstain from these, but move and turn it about, and with much cruelty insult it. For after it has been committed to the ground, having stripped it both of its covering of earth and of that which its grave-clothes constitute, they leave it thus to be cast out. What foe then so deadly as wealth, which destroys both the soul of the living, and insults the body of the dead, not suffering it even to lie buried in the ground, which is common even to the condemned and to them that have been taken in the vilest crimes? For of them the legislators having exacted the punishment of death, inquire no further; but of these, wealth even after death exacts a most bitter punishment, exposing them naked and unburied, a dreadful and pitiable spectacle: since even those who suffer this after sentence and by the anger of their judges, do not suffer so grievously as these. For they indeed remain unburied the first and second day, and so are committed to the ground; but these, when they have been committed to the ground, are then stripped naked and insulted. And if the robbers depart without taking the coffin too, there is still no thanks to their wealth, but in this case also to their poverty. For she it is that guards it. Whereas most assuredly, had we intruded wealth with even so much as this, and leaving off to form it of stone, had forged it of gold, we should have lost this also. So faithless a thing is wealth; which belongs not so much to them that have it, as to them that endeavor to seize it. So that it is but a superfluous argument which aims to show that wealth is irresistible, seeing that not even on the day of their death do its possessors obtain security. And yet who is not reconciled with the departed, whether it be wild beast, or demon, or whatever else? The very sight being enough to bend even one who is altogether iron, and quite past feeling. Wherefore, you know, when one sees a corpse, though it be an enemy public or private whom he sees, yet he weeps for him in common with his dearest friends; and his wrath is extinguished with life, and pity is brought in. And it would be impossible, in time of mourning and carrying out of burial, to distinguish an enemy from him who is not such. So greatly do all men revere their common nature, and the customs which have been introduced respecting it. But wealth not even on obtaining this, remits her anger against her possessors; nay, it renders them that have been no way wronged enemies of the dead; if at least to strip the dead body be an act of persons very bitter and hostile. And nature for her part reconciles even his enemies to him then: but wealth makes foes of them that have nothing to accuse him of, and cruelly intreats the body in its utter desolation. And yet in that case there are many things which might lead one to pity, the fact of its being a corpse, its inability to move, and tending to earth and corruption, the absence of any one to help: but none of these things soften those accursed wretches, because of the tyranny they are under from their base cupidity. For the passion of covetousness, like some ruthless tyrant, is at hand, enjoining those inhuman commands and having made wild beasts of them, so brings them to the tombs. Yea, like wild beasts attacking the dead, they would not even abstain from their flesh, if their limbs were any way useful unto them. Such is our enjoyment of wealth; to be insulted even after death, and deprived of sepulture which even the most desperate criminals obtain.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 35 on 1 Corinthians

Let us therefore despise death, even if the time that demands it is not at hand; for we will be translated into a much better life. But the body is destroyed? And for this reason one should especially rejoice, that death is destroyed, and mortality perishes, not the substance of the body. For if you were to see a statue being melted down, you would not call what is happening destruction, but a better construction. Reason this way also concerning the body, and do not weep. For then one should have wept, if it remained in punishment. “But,” one says, “this should have happened without the bodies being destroyed, and that they should have remained whole.” And what would this have advantaged either the living or the departed? How long are you lovers of the body? How long are you riveted to the earth and gaping after shadows? Why, what good would this have done? Or rather, what harm would it not have done? For did our bodies not decay, in the first place the greatest of all evils, pride, would have continued with many. For if even while this is going on, and worms gushing out, many have earnestly sought to be gods; what would not have been the result did the body continue?

In the second place, it would not be believed to be of earth; for if, its end witnessing this, some yet doubt; what would they not have suspected if they did not see this? Thirdly, the bodies would have been excessively loved; and most men would have become more carnal and gross; and if even now some cleave to men’s tombs and coffins, after that themselves have perished, what would they not have done, if they had even their image preserved? Fourthly, they would not have earnestly desired the things to come. Fifthly, they that say the world is eternal, would have been more confirmed, and would have denied God as Creator. Sixthly, they would not have known the excellence of the soul, and how great a thing is the presence of a soul in a body. Seventhly, many of them that lose their relations would have left their cities, and have dwelt in the tombs, and have become frantic, conversing continually with their own dead. For if even now men form to themselves images, since they cannot keep the body (for neither is it possible, but whether they will or not it glides and hurries from them), and are riveted to the planks of wood; what monstrous thing would they not then have devised? To my thinking, the generality would have even built temples for such bodies, and they that are skilled in such sorceries would have persuaded evil spirits to speak through them; since at least even now, they that venture on the arts of necromancy attempt many things more out of the way than these. And how many idolatries would not have arisen from hence? When men even after the dust and ashes, are yet eager in those practices.

God therefore, to take away all our extravagances, and to teach us to stand off from all earthly things, destroys the bodies before our eyes. For even he that is enamored of bodies, and is greatly affected at the sight of a beautiful damsel, if he will not learn by discourse the deformity of that substance, shall know it by the very sight. Yea, many of the like age with her whom he loves, and oftentimes also fairer, being dead, after the first or second day, have emitted an ill savor, and foul matter, and decay with worms. Imagine then what sort of beauty you love, and what sort of elegance has power so to disturb you. But if bodies did not decay, this would not be well known: but as evil spirits run unto men’s graves, so also many of our lovers, continually sitting by the tombs, would have received evil spirits in their soul, and would quickly have perished in this grievous madness. – John Chrysostom, Homily 34 on Matthew, chapter 4

“Joseph settled in Egypt along with his brothers and all his father’s contingent. Joseph lived to see the sons of Ephraim to the third generation. Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am at the point of death. God will watch over you carefully, and you will take my bones with you from here:'” (Genesis 50:22–25) Notice that, like his father, he too gives attention to having his bones laid to rest. Notice also that out of a wish to confirm their resolution and give them sound hope of return he firstly forecast the fact of their return and then said, ”’You will take them”‘: you will go home, he says, and “‘take my bones with you:” (Genesis 50:25) Now, it was not idly or to no purpose that he did this, but with these two purposes in mind: one, in case the Egyptians, when recalling his wonderful beneficence and being disposed to deify human beings, should make the good man’s corpse the occasion of impiety; and the other, so that they would be certain of returning without hindrance. In fact, if this had not been allowed, he would not have directed them to take the bones back with them. It was now possible to see the novelty and surprise in this, that the man who was feeding all of Israel in Egypt was to take charge of their return and conduct them into the promised land. – John Chrysostom, Homily 67 on Genesis

Augustine

But as for the burying of the body, whatever is bestowed on that, is no aid of salvation, but an office of humanity, according to that affection by which no man ever hates his own flesh. Whence it is fitting that he take what care he is able for the flesh of his neighbor, when he is gone that bare it. And if they do these things who believe not the resurrection of the flesh, how much more are they beholden to do the same who do believe; that so, an office of this kind bestowed upon a body, dead but yet to rise again and to remain to eternity, may also be in some sort a testimony of the same faith? – Augustine, On the Care of the Dead, chapter 22

Cathodox Condemning Themselves:

The Vatican’s Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo (“To Rise with Christ”), issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Pope Francis on August 15, 2016, addresses the burial of the deceased and the conservation of ashes in cases of cremation. This document reaffirms the Roman Catholic Church’s preference for traditional burial practices while providing guidance on cremation in light of increasing global trends, and after reading this, you’ll see how they turn around and completely desecrate the bodies of the dead:

3. Following the most ancient Christian tradition, the Church insistently recommends that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.[4]

In memory of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that illumines the Christian meaning of death,[5] burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.[6]

The Church who, as Mother, has accompanied the Christian during his earthly pilgrimage, offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of her grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory.[7]

By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body,[8] and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity.[9] She cannot, therefore, condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous ideas about death, such as considering death as the definitive annihilation of the person, or the moment of fusion with Mother Nature or the universe, or as a stage in the cycle of regeneration, or as the definitive liberation from the “prison” of the body.

Furthermore, burial in a cemetery or another sacred place adequately corresponds to the piety and respect owed to the bodies of the faithful departed who through Baptism have become temples of the Holy Spirit and in which “as instruments and vessels the Spirit has carried out so many good works”.[10]

Tobias, the just, was praised for the merits he acquired in the sight of God for having buried the dead,[11] and the Church considers the burial of dead one of the corporal works of mercy.[12]

The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased. Nevertheless, cremation is not prohibited, “unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine”.[14]