Rules for human cremation. “Is it possible to transport an urn with ashes abroad?”

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They are based on the words of an early Christian church writer that he does not see any harm in burning, but, as before, they are accustomed to burying corpses in the ground. But Orthodox clergy say that when choosing cremation or burial, you should choose the option of keeping the body in a coffin.

The answer of the Christian church to the question why it is impossible to cremate is that cremation will not give the relatives of the deceased the opportunity to comfort and pray. Although this is also controversial issue. It all depends on the need for this procedure. The Church does not deny this process and does not forbid it, it simply tolerates such a manifestation.

Why Orthodox Christians are not cremated

Such a question is wrong. The Church does not forbid burning the body of a deceased person. For example, the Russian Orthodox Church disapproves of cremation, but nevertheless does not prohibit priests from holding all services for the dead before burning.

The Bible says what should be read, but nothing is specifically indicated on how to carry out the burial of the body of the deceased. Often in sacred writings it was said about the burial of bodies in caves or in the ground. And the phrase “he came out of dust and will turn to dust” is not about the method of burial, but about what the body turns into after death.

Different attitudes towards cremation are primarily due to a different understanding of the purpose human body or death. This can cause fear that in this way we can cause pain or disrespect for the body of the deceased.

Burial after funeral

When asked if it is possible to cremate Orthodox Christian after the funeral, you can answer positively. The Church allows all ceremonies to be performed after death before the burning of the body. That is why you can not think about the fact that the Orthodox funeral rites will not be held.

Regarding the method of burial, there are at least two different interpretations:

• Some consider the burning of the body as a belief in the world of heaven, where the soul moves with the help of fire instead of being buried in the earth.
• The latter say that the burial of a dead body in the ground is related to pagan rites. Thus, Christians who come to the graves to honor the memory of the dead are also taken from paganism.

Which method of burial to choose depends on the wishes of the deceased or his relatives. But it must be remembered that the most important thing will be the memory that you will keep in your heart about them.

The Lord is always with you!

Cremation - the burning of the body of the deceased in a special oven in the crematorium. This is a complex technological process, in which there are many subtleties and nuances. To understand whether it is needed, you need to understand the technology, take into account all the pros and cons.

So, let's figure it out.

Cremation Technology

In order to cremate the deceased, first of all, a crematorium is needed. The crematorium has a simple-looking brick oven covered with iron. At first glance, it seems that there is nothing complicated in its design, but it is not.

A cremator is a high-tech device filled with computer-controlled electronics.

The computer controls all the processes in the furnace - the temperature, it should be in the range of 860-1100 degrees Celsius, the removal of liquids and vapors, the supply of gas and air to the combustion chamber, the swirl of the flame, an additional burner that burns the body to the end.

Cremation takes up to several hours. The process of cremation occurs until the complete transformation of the body of the deceased into ashes.

Depending on the age, weight, and illness of the deceased, the burning time varies. So, for a person whose weight is from 90 kilograms, it takes less time than for someone who weighs 50.

People who had cancer are cremated for a long time - cancerous tumors burn very badly.

Cremation of people with tuberculosis also takes a long time - calcified lungs prevent the body from being burned quickly.

In no case should the process be accelerated by increasing the temperature or in other ways. Burning should be natural.

Cremation usually takes place in a coffin, which must be made of natural wood.

After burning, the ash pans are taken out, the ashes are cooled and collected. Then the ashes are laid out in a traditional urn or casket, and it is given to the relatives of the deceased.

Now they have time to think about where and how to bury the deceased, prepare for the funeral.

When is cremation performed?

Cremation is carried out in the following cases:

When there is no free space at the cemetery intended for burial.
When the features of the area do not allow traditional burial. A simple example is the city of Norilsk in Russia. Due to the characteristics of the soil, the coffins are "squeezed out" from the ground to the surface.
When people can't decide where to bury the body for a long time.
When cemeteries are closed to new burials. There is a shortage of free places in the cemetery.
They are also cremated based on the beliefs of the deceased. Many people during their lifetime ask relatives to be cremated. They cannot bear the very thought of being buried in a coffin under a layer of earth.
What to do with the ashes
The deceased is cremated, and the question arises: what to do with the ashes?

An urn with ashes can be buried in a cemetery, while making a place in any cemetery will be easier.

In many cities of the CIS, there are columbariums - special places for the burial of urns with ashes. They are both open - under the sky, and closed - under the roof. The indoor columbarium is convenient to visit in any weather. It is worth noting that the cost of a niche in a columbarium and a memorial plate covering the niche is much cheaper than a grave with a monument.

What religions say about cremation.

Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Shinto, offshoots of ancient and modern paganism are all religions that allow cremation.

Jehovah's Witnesses are not opposed to cremation.

Catholic and Orthodox clergy are ambivalent about burning. They strongly advise to bury a person traditionally, in a coffin, and the burial should be below ground level.

But, even despite such a categorical statement, the churches understand that in a modern densely populated city, there is physically nowhere to bury the deceased.

Quote from Wikipedia:

Currently, major Christian denominations allow cremation, based in part on the words of the early Christian ecclesiastical writer Marcus Minucius Felix: "We do not fear any harm in any manner of burial, but adhere to the old and better custom of burying the body." At the same time, Orthodox and Catholic clergy advise, if possible, to choose the method of burial, to bury the body in a coffin, as this is “more humane, more saturated with biblical symbolism, and generally more edifying and comforting for loved ones.”
The Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church did not recognize cremation as the norm of burial, however, the church will not deprive the commemoration of Christians, “for various reasons, who have not been honored with a burial in accordance with church tradition,” the draft document “On the Christian Burial of the Dead” says. Holy Synod in May 2015, in a special memorandum "On the Christian burial of the dead", he recommended that priests treat cremation as an undesirable phenomenon, but show indulgence to such facts.

Outcome

So, cremation is permissible for Christians and impossible for Muslims.

How to conduct a cremation in Almaty
If you, for some reason, decide to be cremated, be prepared for the fact that Kazakhstan does not have its own crematorium. Cremation will have to be in Novosibirsk, and it will not be cheap. But later you can save on burial.

Body preparation

The body must be embalmed. The process is detailed in

Cargo clearance 200

In order to carry the body to the crematorium, the following supplies will be needed:

The coffin in which the deceased will be cremated.
Zinc box. Only in it is it allowed to transport the deceased abroad.
Hearse, plane or train, for the delivery of cargo-200 to the crematorium.
Collection and execution of documents

To cross the border between Kazakhstan and Russia, as well as for the cremation itself, the following documents will be required:

• Stamp death certificate
• Help with SES
• Information about embalming
• Certificate of absence of extraneous attachments

All of these are on our list. ritual services. Ritual agency in Almaty “ Everlasting memory” will consult you free of charge at any time of the day. We will help you arrange all the necessary documents for cremation and transportation.

Is it true that diseases are due to psychological causes, what rationale does this idea have, and what makes it so seductive.

In 1923, the writer Katherine Mansfield, suffering from advanced pulmonary tuberculosis, noted in her diary: “Bad day.<...>terrible pain and so on. Couldn't do anything. The weakness was not only physical. To recover, I must heal my "I". This is the root of my not getting better. My mind doesn't obey me." Three years earlier, Franz Kafka, suffering from the same disease, wrote to Milena Yesenskaya: “My mind is sick, and lung disease is only an expression of my mental illness.”

If all diseases come from the nerves, then it is not the lungs that need to be treated for tuberculosis, but the diseased will. This is how thousands of quite prudent people reasoned for decades - until doctors discovered the causes of tuberculosis and learned how to effectively treat it with streptomycin and other antimicrobial drugs. Now it is difficult to find a person who would seriously believe that tuberculosis comes from internal conflicts or excessive passions.

Beliefs change, but much remains the same. For example, the belief that the roots of diseases must be sought in the human psyche.

Psychosomatics is a word that is used to denote the unity of bodily and mental functions in mammals of the species Homo sapiens . Psychological factors influence the occurrence of diseases, and diseases have the opposite effect on the human psyche: even the most conservative representatives of official medicine will not argue with these simple statements.

But a person who is convinced that “all diseases are from nerves” sometimes goes much further. He will associate stomach and duodenal ulcers with self-dislike, arthritis with indecision and refusal to act. Adherents of alternative medicine can explain any, even the most serious disease, with psychological causes. How, then, to separate truth from fiction, and real medical facts from empty statements?

"Everyone creates their own disease"

Louise Hay and Liz Burbo are some of the most famous advocates of the idea that our thoughts and beliefs are main source our psycho-emotional and physical ailments(in Russia their work continues, for example, Valery Sinelnikov). They even developed tables in which specific diseases are correlated with certain psychological states. Parkinson's disease, according to Hay, arises from fear and the desire for control. Adenoids in children appear when they feel that their parents do not love them. “Anger, resentment and resentment accumulated over time literally begins to eat into the body and becomes a disease called CANCER,” she writes in her most famous book, Heal Your Life.

And this belief has quite serious (and sad) consequences. A person who is convinced that his heart ailments are caused by the rejection of joy is more likely to repeat to himself “I enjoy the flow of joy through my mind, body, life” (as Hay advises), instead of turning to a cardiologist in a timely manner. It is no coincidence that alternative medicine is the most attacked by many scientists and professional skeptics. Even if the treatment offered by alternative "healers" is harmless in itself, it can cost you your life by ignoring real medical problems.

Let's take just one example. Many people know that Steve Jobs nine months after being diagnosed, he refused surgery to remove pancreatic cancer. Instead, he went on a diet, tried nutritional supplements, acupuncture and other alternative therapies. When he nevertheless lay down on the operating table, it was already too late: metastases had spread throughout the body, and the doctors could not save him. Arthur Levinson, a friend of Jobs and a colleague at Apple, later reasoned: “I think Steve is so passionate about the world being a certain way that it makes it be that way. Sometimes it doesn't work. Reality is cruel." Cancer does not obey our beliefs, no matter how positive and harmonious they are. Any disease is capricious. She can't be influenced by mere persuasion.

When Susan Sontag discovered that she was suffering from cancer, she decided to write an essay that would rid this disease of moral and psychological overtones. In the 1970s, many believed that cancer was caused by certain psychological characteristics patients: suppression of emotions, dissatisfaction with close relationships, pain from a recent separation. She compared the disease to tuberculosis, which has also been associated with specific psychological complexes and "passions". Even earlier, the plague was endowed with such characteristics. In the XVI-XVII century, in London suffering from an epidemic, there was a belief that " happy man immune to infection." When real treatments were found, these fantasies quickly became a thing of the past. The same thing happened with tuberculosis, and in time, perhaps, it will happen with cancer.

But no matter how far progress in medicine has gone, the mass belief in the psychological nature of diseases does not go anywhere.

On the one hand, there are real grounds for this belief. The influence of chronic stress on the occurrence of many diseases has been proven by multiple studies. Stress weakens the response of the immune system and makes the body more vulnerable to a variety of diseases. In this case, doctors resort to the “weak point theory”, according to which, against the background of stress, those organs and systems that are genetically weakened in a particular patient fail first of all. But, as Sontag notes, “the hypothesis of an immunological response to emotional shocks is unlikely to be identical with, or support, the idea that emotions cause disease, much less the proposition that certain emotions cause certain diseases.”

There is no direct link between illness and mental states.

Belief that the source of disease is certain states psyche, goes deep into the past. Even at the time of Plato and Socrates, the Greek physician Hippocrates argued that the state of the body is closely related to the temperament of a person. Anger causes asthma, lethargy causes disorders gastrointestinal tract, melancholy - diseases of the heart and brain. But Hippocrates still did not exaggerate the importance of psychology: he considered the imbalance of fluids (humors) inside the body to be the main source of disease. Humoral theory has shaped Western medicine for centuries, until more effective theories and appropriate treatments were found. In the time of Hippocrates, many things were forgivable. But today, the notion that cancer is caused by unspoken grievances can only be explained as cynicism or stupidity.

What diseases can be explained by psychology

The word "psychosomatics" itself appeared only in the 19th century, and the classical theory of psychosomatic diseases arose already by the middle of the 20th century. One of the founders of this approach, psychoanalyst Franz Alexander, in 1950 gave a list of seven major psychosomatic diseases, which generally remains true to this day. This is the so-called "Chicago Seven":

essential hypertension;

peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;

rheumatoid arthritis;

hyperthyroidism (thyrotoxicosis);

bronchial asthma;

ulcerative colitis;

neurodermatitis.

Modern medicine does not deny that these diseases often occur against the background of stress and negative psychological experiences. But it is impossible to consider psychology their only cause. So, for the occurrence of a stomach ulcer, at least important component in most cases is a bacterium Helicobacter pylori.

Another type of disease that modern psychosomatic medicine deals with is disorders that lack a physiological substrate with the undoubted presence of negative symptoms. The symptoms can be very different: pain in different parts body; disorders of the gastrointestinal tract; skin rashes; uncontrolled seizures and headaches. It is believed that irritable bowel syndrome has a psychosomatic nature - one of the most common gastrointestinal diseases in the world, which affects approximately 15-20% of the adult population of the planet. But in last years Scientists find evidence that certain types IBS is an autoimmune disease that occurs in people who have had a bacterial intestinal infection.

Syndrome chronic fatigue, or myalgic encephalomyelitis, a disease that is now undergoing a similar revision. Previously, this syndrome, the victims of which lack energy even with minimal exertion and often find themselves isolated from society, was considered one of the varieties of hysteria. Patients were encouraged to undergo a course of psychoanalysis in order to work through repressed emotional traumas, which are allegedly expressed in a breakdown and other physiological symptoms. The causes of this disease are still unknown (although there are suggestions about the viral nature of CFS). But it is very well known that neither psychotherapy, nor antidepressants, nor " positive attitude' do not help to get rid of the disease.

The state of consciousness and psychological attitudes have great power over bodily functions. This proves the effectiveness of the placebo mechanism and its reverse side - the nocebo. In 2007, a resident of the American city of Jackson, who participated in a clinical trial of an antidepressant, had an argument with a girlfriend, swallowed the remaining pills and was taken to the hospital with tachycardia and dangerously low blood pressure. When the trial organizers reported that the patient was in the placebo group and was taking pacifiers, all symptoms resolved within 15 minutes.

Consciousness is bodily, and the body is perceived psychologically. Stress is not just a set of sensations in our head. This is a specific physiological process that affects the functioning of internal organs. But apart from psychological reasons, most diseases have many others - diet, lifestyle, environmental conditions, genetic predisposition and accidental infections. These are usually the main reasons.

The need to explain diseases through negative emotions and psychological attitudes speak more not about diseases, but about the explanatory and the level of knowledge of his era. When people knew nothing about bacteria and antibiotics, they had every reason to consider the plague as God's punishment, and tuberculosis as the result of unrestrained passions. Any disease, by definition, has a psychological dimension. How our body behaves influences internal state and way of thinking, and the internal state affects the body.

What makes this way of explaining so seductive? First, its relative simplicity. “You have an ulcer because you can’t digest someone” - say this, and life will become simple and understandable. It is much more difficult to talk about the interaction of bacteria with internal environment body, diet, lifestyle, stress and many other physiological mechanisms. Secondly, the psychological explanation gives the illusion of control over the disease. Accept your emotions, learn to control internal conflicts- and the disease does not threaten you. Needless to say, happiness has never been a sufficient reason for immortality.

In most cases, it is better to get rid of psychological explanations in medicine and look at physiology first. Sometimes a disease is just a disease, without any hidden meanings and subtexts.

The purpose of this publication is to expand the understanding of cremation as a modern method of burial, which is rapidly developing almost all over the world. Greatest development it received in Japan, UK, France, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Among the many rational considerations leading to the cremation of the dead, the priority is precisely the hygienic aspect, primarily the protection of sources drinking water and lack of land for classical burial. Harmful effect cemeteries on The groundwater much more than society assumes. It is not only about the environment, but also about the economy. The costs of burials in crematoria are 20-25 percent cheaper compared to burials in the ground.

We asked the General Director of the Novosibirsk Crematorium to tell us how the cremation process is carried out. A.M. Kravchuk.

For Russia, the process of cremation is not yet the usual way of burial. That is why certain knowledge is needed about the essence of the processes taking place in a cremation oven, as well as an understanding of the entire procedure for this new type of burial for Russians.

I confess that I myself had to work hard in order to comprehend the basics of cremation processes in all the subtleties. When I first saw the stove, which is half the size of an ordinary metal garage, I thought that I could quickly understand the technology and focus on the ceremony, the organization of the farewell ritual itself. It was there, in the spiritual sorrow of people, as it seemed to me then, that my main worries would be. But when I began to delve into it, I saw the most complex computer stuffing, I realized that it was only in appearance that the oven looked small.

Stories modern cremation over 100 years. Many scientists around the world have worked on this problem. Despite the seeming simplicity of the furnace design, cremation itself as a technology appeared to me as a capacious, high-tech biological engineering process, sequentially controlled by electronics.

But everything is in order. The cremation process returns to nature the bodies of the deceased after preliminary burning in a cremation oven. To turn a human corpse into a handful of burnt white bones that easily turn into ashes requires a very high temperature, 860-1100 degrees Celsius. Such a temperature is easier to achieve by burning not solid fuel, but gas, which can provide the temperature necessary for burning a corpse. It is not enough to achieve a high temperature, one must also achieve that the corpse is burned not in a flame of fire, but in a stream of hot air. In this case, there will be a guarantee that the remains will not mix with the combustion products of the fuel.

The combustion chamber is made of refractory bricks; it is larger in size than the largest coffin. In order to explore and comprehend the structural details, I myself repeatedly climbed into this very combustion chamber. Being in the oven, represented everything physical processes that occur during combustion: how is the supply of gas, air; what creates pressure; from which nozzles and at what moment hot air is injected; due to which the fiery whirlwind occurs; where do the combustion gases go? how the afterburning of the remains is carried out with the help of an additional burner.

The process of cremation should be carried out until the complete mineralization of the organic mass, subject to strict separation of the ashes of the individual deceased. It is completely unacceptable to speed up the process by exposure to higher temperatures, by dividing the bodies, or by raking hot residues.

Dead bodies differ from the point of view of cremation by the age of the deceased, by the time elapsed between death and cremation, by the drugs used for long-term illnesses leading to death, and by weight.

A classic example of influence long-term treatment the cremation process is difficult to burn the calcined tissues of those who died from tuberculosis. During my acquaintance with the work of crematoria in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Minsk, Milan, Cologne, Rome, in many Czech crematoria, the staff frankly shared their experience with me. For example, the oven workers told me about their observations: the cremation of the fatter dead proceeds very quickly, like matches flare up the bodies of drug addicts. Conversely, the bodies of those who die of cancer burn 20-35 minutes longer. I myself have repeatedly watched the cremation of cancer patients through the peephole of the furnace. It is interesting that the tissues affected by the tumor do not actually burn, or burn, but with a completely different one - with a blue, radiant flame, as if it is not a body, not an organic tissue that is burning, but something completely different. It is not for nothing that doctors today are increasingly talking about the informational nature of cancer and other systemic diseases.

There is a special hole in the wall of the chamber to drain the liquid evaporating from the corpse. The organs of the human body contain a lot of fluid: lungs - 79%, liver - 74%, kidneys - 81%, brain - also 81%, etc. All this liquid high temperatures the furnace turns into steam, which is why from an adult weighing 60-65 kg after burning, only 2-2.5 kg of ash and burnt bones remain. In addition to the bodies of the dead, coffins, their equipment and clothes of the deceased are also burned.

An inseparable operation of the technological process in crematoria is the processing of ashes before laying in the urn. Ash pans with ash removed are cooled in the furnace space. Traditionally, urns are made in the form of a goblet, a vase with a lid, caskets, bowls, they are made of marble, granite and other natural stone, ceramics, synthetic materials, have religious symbols, decorated with floral or geometric ornaments.

You can bury the urn with the ashes the very next day after cremation, if the place has already been determined. But the relatives and friends of the deceased have the opportunity after cremation without haste to find the best place and convenient time of the year for burying the urn with ashes. For eleven months, it can be left for storage in the crematorium, and only on the twelfth, if it has not yet been received, are reminded responsible person from relatives and friends of the deceased about the need for her burial.

The advantages of the columbar type of burial include the low cost of the niche and the memorial plate covering the urn placed in it. In addition to open columbariums, there are also closed ones. The indoor columbarium is convenient for visiting the burial place in any weather at any time of the year. However, in Lately more often they resort to burying urns with ashes in cemeteries in the graves of relatives, which is also inexpensive.

After the end of the ceremony, the coffin is moved to a mobile platform and with the help of special device fed into the combustion chamber. There is a small hole in the door of the chamber, a “peephole”, through which you can monitor the combustion process, which is controlled by a computer. In order to avoid any possibility of mixing the remains, each deceased who was brought to the crematorium is registered, and a firebrick number or a metal plate with a number is placed on the coffin. When the burning ends, the number is found with the ashes, so it is impossible to mix the remains of different deceased.

In conclusion, I would like to add that I recently returned from my third trip abroad to the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, where I did an internship, got acquainted with the experience of European crematoria, and learned to work with TAVO equipment, which will be delivered to Novosibirsk in June. I was present at the laying of the Novosibirsk furnace. Today it has already taken on a finished shape, the lining of the walls has been completed. The Czechs promise to finish its production by mid-June.

V.A. Tolokonsky, head of administration of the Novosibirsk region:

Back in my time as mayor, I carefully studied the issues of cremation. I was obligated to do this by the status of a giant city, which has accumulated many problems in the field of burial over a century of history. The city budget neither then nor now has reserves for significant multimillion-dollar investments. Fortunately, private investors have now appeared. As a basis, we took the cheapest and most efficient technology cremations based on European experience. When I was mayor, we received an offer from the Franco-Dutch company TAVO to supply cremation equipment. At our request, a business project for a crematorium was then developed. The budget did not allow it to be implemented.

To be honest, we considered many proposals from foreign and domestic manufacturers - there were more than ten of them. At the request of the consumer market department, these plans were collected by Siberian Fair, the organizer of the only funeral exhibition in Russia, Necropolis. They have a large database, extensive contacts with the whole world in this area.

Investors promise to open a crematorium at the end of 2001. Of course it won't replace traditional forms burials. One of the most important arguments in favor of cremation is its low cost, as well as environmental friendliness.

Novosibirsk - a city with a population of one and a half million - should have had a crematorium long ago, and Novosibirsk should have a choice: burial in the ground or cremation.

It is the duty of the living not only to take good care of their dead, but also to provide such environment so that the living can live safely.

S.B. Yakushin, President of the Exhibition Society "Siberian Fair":

I had the bitter experience of saying goodbye to a loved one more than twenty years ago, when my father died while visiting his eldest son in Leningrad. Mom, brother, sister - we all decided together then that we would cremate the father's body in order to bury the urn at the Pervomaisky cemetery in Novosibirsk. father was famous person in the area, he did a lot for Pervomayka. We were given a place on the main alley for the burial of the ashes. Then it was a "new", little-known form of burial.

I still cannot forget the details of the solemn ritual in the Leningrad crematorium. My father is a veteran. Mom three times during the war years received a funeral for him, but never - in her soul - did not bury him, she believed that he was alive. And all three times he was reborn. The host of the ceremony, a professional artist-orator, began short story about the life of his father in simple and at the same time solemn words: “Today we say goodbye to the citizen of the USSR Boris Ivanovich Yakushin, an order bearer ..., a front-line soldier whom the enemy’s bullet could not defeat ...” Everyone sobbed quietly. They spoke with restraint, penetratingly, the atmosphere was reverent. We said goodbye to the father under the anthem Soviet Union. For some reason, my heart was light.

Before the coffin descended from the mourning hall into the hall of furnaces, the host asked all those present to go around the pedestal in a circle and right hand touch the head of the coffin.

My brother and sister and I were worried about my mother, we didn’t know how her heart would “handle” in the crematorium. But the ritual was planned and carried out in such a way that there was no place for loud crying, frantic howls, "throws on the coffin". Quiet, solemn, dignified, respectful. Largely due to the ceremony itself, my mother was able to calmly endure the farewell to her father in a Christian way.

Since then I have been an ardent supporter of cremation. At our exhibitions - first "RitualSib", and then "Necropolis" (for the past five years the exhibition has been held in Moscow) - we tried to promote the idea of ​​cremation as widely as possible. We collected cremators from all over the world. Today we know more than 20 manufacturers of cremation equipment. All of them exhibited their projects at exhibitions. It is no coincidence that a few years ago the Novokuznetsk mayor's office turned to us with a request to help them hold a tender for the best crematorium. Then the experts recognized the equipment of the Franco-Dutch company TABO as the best, which has a large production facility in the Czech Republic. The crematorium in Novokuznetsk is already in operation.

I have long wanted to build a crematorium in our city. I remember, for a long time I convinced the mayor I.I. Indina in the need for cremation in the Novosibirsk metropolis, where almost half a million hectares are occupied by cemeteries. Ivan Ivanovich is a deeply religious person, and Orthodoxy at that time took a tougher position on the issue of cremation. Once we were together in London. I persuaded him to visit the oldest crematorium in Europe, which more than a century. The trip to the crematorium made a deep impression on our mayor. We approached the urn with the ashes of the Russian ballerina A. Pavlova. Next to the urn is a small figurine of a ballerina. From the touchingness of the moment, which was expressed primarily in the dignity and respect for the memory of the departed, Ivan Ivanovich burst into tears. The comparison was not in our favor. “We bury industrially, we store them in the ground, as in an industrial base, we don’t save memory, we separate families in cemeteries. A crematorium in Novosibirsk must be built. Lost time! - said I.I. Indinok.

The infringed budget of the city did not allow construction to begin. But a lot of preparatory work has been done. New mayor V.A. Tolokonsky investigated this problem in all subtleties. In absentia, we held two tenders for the best cremation equipment at the mayor's office. Due to financial constraints and other greater social priorities, the crematorium project was shelved.

Attempts by the "Siberian Fair" at the exhibitions "Necropolis" to attract the attention of private capital to this project did not bring success. Private business reluctant to invest in projects with a payback period of 8-10 years. In addition, the funeral sphere is not very capacious - the entire turnover of the Novosibirsk funeral does not exceed 50-70 million rubles a year. This is a big illusion that the funeral is a rich area where you can get super profits. For big business, this is relatively little money to allocate a crematorium as priority project. In addition, the refund is extended in time. And a small and medium-sized entrepreneur - there are 15 firms on the funeral market of Novosibirsk - does not have free funds for large investments.

Today Novosibirsk has a unique chance to build a crematorium with the help of a foreign investor. Would unforgivable mistake don't take advantage of this.

Recently I talked on the subject of cremation with Bishop Tikhon of Novosibirsk and Berdsk. Orthodoxy, like Catholics, has noticeably softened its attitude towards cremation. Vladyka Tikhon, for example, does not see mockery of the body during cremation. “And if the drowned submariners were eaten by fish? Or people died in a fire? Won't their souls be resurrected?" Vladyka Tikhon answered my question about his attitude to cremation succinctly and simply.

Several years ago, the Orthodox and Catholic synods decided not to interfere in the affairs of the state: if for reasons of economic, sanitary and epidemiological expediency and taking into account the will of citizens, cremation is necessary, both christian churches decided to perform a funeral service for the dead before cremation. With the blessing of the Patriarch of Russia Orthodox Church Alexy II, Orthodox priests serve in all Russian crematoria.

There is no doubt that the opening of the crematorium is a new cultural, aesthetic, spiritual level in the funeral business of Novosibirsk. The opportunity for many families to remain together after death, in one family vault- columbarium, not to be buried on different cemeteries, V different cities according to the prescription. It's a decision and overdue social problem- removal of funerals from high-rise buildings that pose a danger to physical and mental health neighbors, by transferring the farewell ritual to special rooms in the crematorium.

I cannot help but recall other words of I.I. Indinka: “It would be necessary to build the House of Farewells on Red Avenue. A man lived in this city, multiplied its development with his work. Every Novosibirsk citizen has the right to count on the fact that on his last day the city will say goodbye to him on its main street.

I would like to hope that by the end of this year a crematorium complex with a columbar park and two farewell halls will be built in Novosibirsk.

A crematorium technician from the UK spoke about the secrets of her work and answered questions that people wanted to know about the last refuge of man. Many speculations about the work of crematoria have been dispelled, but many new details have emerged. For example, about what type of people burn faster than the smell in the room after cremation and whether crematoria really sell ashes.

The technician said that on average, the cremation procedure lasts a little over an hour, depending on the material from which the coffin is made. The bodies are burned at temperatures ranging from 800 to 1,000 degrees until only ashes remain.

Cancerous tumors make cremation longer, elderly or frail people also extend the burn time and burn more slowly than older people. big people With big amount fat. Very thin people do not a large number fuel, so it may take longer for them to be cremated.

An employee of the crematorium said that after the procedure, she does not smell anything special. Ashes consist only of burnt bones and a coffin. Muscles and tissues are completely destroyed during combustion.

The technician said that sometimes bits of bones still remain in the remains after cremation if they had a lot of calcium in them. Unburned piercings and rings are also common. Jewelry, she says, melts into small balls during cremation. They are not removed in advance from the deceased, unless relatives ask for it.

Once I was raking the ashes and after the cremation a book was preserved. We think it was a Bible with very tightly packed pages. Many years ago, funeral directors used bibles as pillows for the deceased.

The specialist also dispelled rumors that employees of crematoriums are selling human ashes (it is not clear for what purpose).

They (the remains that are given to relatives) are absolutely 100 percent from the correct ashes. An identification card is attached to the remains and remains with them until the ashes leave our crematorium.

When asked what human ash looks like, the crematorium employee replied that in most cases it looks like very fine gravel, and not like cigarette ash, as many believe.

The technician said that while the crematoria are "reasonably wide," there is a "limit" to the size of the body they can handle due to weight restrictions. Some "extremely big people"easier to bury" with a crane.

There are also force majeure situations. For example, pacemakers inside a person can sometimes explode. The expert also spoke about the preference in coffins. She dislikes cardboard and wicker ones because they are "too flimsy" and "create a lot of ash."

Speaking about her personal attitude to her work, the technician said that "when she realizes that she is the last person to touch the coffin of someone she loves, she feels very honored."

But I don't have any emotions because I didn't know this person. It makes me sad to see children or people my age, but I keep it to myself. This job makes me love life and live life to the fullest.

Recently, a rather extravagant "client" had to be received by employees of a crematorium in the Caribbean. There, a young millionaire who loved a beautiful life was escorted to last way very splendid. In the coffin, and the coffin itself was taken to the crematorium in a sports car.

And sometimes funerals can turn into real fun, no matter how cynical it may sound. This case was told by a resident of Australia, who recently buried his grandmother. She and her father wanted to beautifully scatter the granny's ashes over the ocean, but suddenly.