About us
Sveta Gora-Mt. Athos Christian Orthodox Funeral Home has been family-owned & operated since its consecration on July 15, 2000. It is founded on principles of providing our community with a dignified Christian Orthodox funeral service, in accordance with centuries old Christian Orthodox traditions & customs. Our services are always based on high quality, value and compassion.
Our unique and personalized services are designed to meet individual budgets and needs, whether immediate assistance is needed or if planning-ahead is conducted. Families have the ability to opt for one of the many available cost-saving pre-planning options.
We specialize in handling funerals from anywhere in the United States to any cemetery in the greater Chicago land area, or, with our own personnel in Serbia, to any cemetery in the former Yugoslavia or any other country in Eastern Europe. A funeral in the old country, including air transportation, is often less expensive than the burial and the cemetery costs in the United States.
Sveta Gora-Mt. Athos Christian Orthodox Funeral Home is certified as a “Known Shipper” by the TSA (U.S. Transportation Services Administration) and most major international airlines, easing the process of holding services outside the United States.
Praying for the dead in the Christian Orthodox Church is based on our belief in life after death and the Resurrection. The Orthodox Christians believe that the love of our dear departed is not broken after their passing, and this is the reason the Orthodox Church continues to pray for its members even after they enter eternal life.
Individual memorial prayers are rendered for the departed on the third, eight, and fortieth day, six months and one year after death, and annually thereafter.
On the third day after death the soul begins it journey through rigorous interrogations called “Mitarstva” or “Toll Gates.”
On the eight day after death, angels approach the soul and accompany it at its journey the throne of God.
On the fortieth day after the separation of the soul from the body, the interrogations of the soul is ended. The soul received temporary judgment, after which it is rewarded by temporary joy or punishment until the Second Coming of our Lord on Earth and until the Final Judgment by the Son of God over the World. On the fortieth day we pray to the Lord to be merciful to the soul and to reward it with blessed life and joy.
The sixth month memorial for the dead is observed in order to beseech the Lord to lessen the sufferings and magnify the joy of our deceased relatives or friends.
The annual memorial. Every year we remember the day of our physical birth into the world, therefore, we should also remember the day of the death of our loved ones. That is their spiritual birth into a new spiritual life. It is their spiritual birth into the heavenly kingdom. Usually, on this day, Christian Orthodox erect and bless a monument at the grave site. Every Orthodox monument should have the sign of the holy Cross engraved on it.
In our holy Orthodox Church one day of the week – Saturday – is dedicated to the dead. We should pray for our dead every Saturday, except on Great Holidays. Every Holy Liturgy, except on Great Holidays, we commemorate the deceased during “proskomidia”: oblation, great entrance and during special Litany for deceased.
The Holy Orthodox Church assigned several days of the year strictly for memorial services. Those days are: