Katalikiškų laidotuvių apeigos Kaune (XX–XXI a. sandūra)
ROMAN CATHOLIC FUNERAL RITES IN KAUNAS (AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH AND 21ST CENTURIES)

Summary/Abstract: This paper explores contemporary funeral rites in the city of Kaunas at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. This issue has not been studied before. It is a relevant issue, because the period has been marked by various changes: the site of funeral rites has moved from the home of the deceased to the funeral homes – public facilities, used by the majority of Kaunas citizens, where wakes take place, to cafes and restaurants, where memorial meals are served, the funeral services as such have become some kind of business. Another change is the use of the revised Funeral Rite. After the study of contemporary services for the deceased and their historical development, it has been determined that at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries a Libera (forgiving of sins) prayer as well as the Liturgy of the Hours for the Deceased, that had been cherished in the Church for long centuries, are no longer the part of the service for the deceased in the city of Kaunas. Libera has been replaced by other responsorial prayers, most probably because its austere text appears to be scary and its deeper meaning remains inaccessible for the contemporary Catholics. A Mass for the deceased in the churches of Kaunas is usually celebrated following the order observed in a certain parish with regard to the celebration of Mass, usually combining several intentions at a time. Bodies of the deceased are not carried to the church, and for this or other reasons only a small part of the relatives and friends of the deceased take part in the celebration of the Mass. A black colour has been abandoned in the liturgy for the deceased over the last 15–20 years and “katafalkas” (hearse) and “calūnas” (hearse cloth) as well as other sings of mourning in the church (such as black banners or bands) have dropped out of usage. Purple – a colour of grief and suffering – is used in the liturgy for the deceased. Funeral rites in Lithuania are renewed and ordered according to the Roman Ritual, reformed following the decision of the II Vatican Council and published by the order of Pope Paul VI. Liturgy Commission of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference has prepared a Lithuanian text following the typical Latin publication of Ordo Exsequiarum of 1969. The Lithuanian version was published in 2004. Funeral Rite no longer uses an expression “let us pray for the soul of the deceased N.” but replaces it with the “for the late N.” in the texts of prayers and gives much more attention to the family of the deceased. The study has revealed a shift in the outlook taking place in Kaunas at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries – much less attention is devoted to the soul of the deceased. It is possible, that for this particular reason concepts that denote a relationship of human being with the soul, such as budėjimas (burial vigil), šermenys (wake), lydėjimas (seeing off) have started to fade from the usage. A single term – laidotuvės (funeral), laidoti (to bury) – seems to be taking over, which in the p

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