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How to pray for a suicidal father?translated

October 8, 2026 · 1 min read

Reader question:

Hello, the priests answer my question differently about prayers for my father, who committed suicide at 57 years old. He came from an orphanage, he drank all his life, starting in the army. Before his death, we took him in for treatment, but it didn’t help. We wrote a petition for the funeral service. To console loved ones, as if he was insane. This was about 15 years after the funeral. I don’t write it in masses and memorial services. Is this correct or should I write it down?

Natalya

Priest's answer:

Archpriest Andrey EFANOV

Hello!

Dear Natalya, first of all, please accept my condolences on the death of your father. No matter how many years have passed, the death of parents, especially such a tragic one, is a grief for children.

Actually, alcoholism is not a disease in which suicide is an act committed in a state where a person is not responsible for his actions. Although, of course, being in a state of permanent binge drinking, a person loses control over his consciousness and is not fully responsible for his actions. But a crime committed in such a state does not exempt from responsibility, right? However, you can drink too much to the point of mental illness, but in the case of your father it was not...

Source: Журнал ФОМА  ·  Read the full story →
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