The canonical consciousness of the ancient Church absolutely did not allow prayerful communication with heretics, Jews and pagans. This ban on prayer communication applied to both the living and the dead. As Archpriest Vladislav Tsypin rightly noted, “deceased Christians remain members of the Church, and therefore the Church offers its prayers for them as well as for its living members,” therefore, “The Church can, of course, perform funeral services only for those who belong only to it” [15, p. 322].
This can be clearly shown by comparing the above quotes from the non-statutory canon to the martyr Uar with the church canon from the service of Trinity Parental Saturday, placed in the Colored Triodion. In this liturgical sequence, literally every song of the canon notes that the Church remembers only baptized Orthodox people who ended their earthly life in faith and piety.
“Let us all pray to Christ, who has created remembrance of the dead this day from time immemorial, that by eternal fire I may deliver those who have fallen asleep in faith and the hope of eternal life” (Song 1).
“You see, you see, how I am your God, who established the limits of life with righteous judgment, and accepted all who have fallen asleep in the hope of eternal resurrection into incorruption from aphids” (Song 2).
“Christ, the sea of turbid life that has swam, into the imperishable life of yours, vouchsafe a refuge for those nourished by the Orthodox life” (Song 3).
“Fathers and forefathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers, from the first and even to the last, in good faith and good faith, remember our Savior” (Song 4).
“The ever-scorching fire, and the dark darkness, the gnashing of teeth, and the endlessly tormenting worm, and deliver all torment, O our Savior, all who are truly dead” (Song 5).
“From time immemorial, thou hast received, faithful God, every human race, grant unto thee forever, together with those who serve Thee, to glorify Thee” (Song 6).
“At Your terrible coming, O Generous One, set Your sheep at Your right hand, having served Christ Orthodoxy in Your life, and having come to You” (Song 7).
“Having first broken the shadow of death, having risen like the sun from the grave, create sons of Your resurrection, O Lord of glory, all who have died in faith forever” (Song 8).
“Of all ages, old men, and young babies, and children, and wet milk, male and female, God rest Him, which thou hast received faithfully” (Song 9).
In the Theotokos troparia of this service, in contrast to the non-statutory service to the martyr Uar, the Church asks intercession from the Most Pure Virgin Mary only for the faithful: “A sealed stream of living spring, you appeared to the Virgin Mother of God, having given birth to the Lord without a husband, you watered the faithful with immortality with water forever” (Song 8).
Lengthy and detailed petitions for the departed are read according to the Rule at Vespers on the Day of the Holy Spirit - especially in the third kneeling prayer placed in the Colored Triodion. But even in this all-encompassing prayer, exclusively Orthodox Christians are mentioned: “Hear us praying to You, and give rest to the souls of Your servants, our fathers and our brothers who have fallen before us, and others who are related in the flesh, and all of our own in the faith, and of them we create a memory now, for in You is the power of all, and in Your hand you contain all the ends of the earth.”
According to the Service Book, at the proskomedia commemoration is made “of all in the hope of the resurrection of eternal life and Your communion for the Orthodox departed.” The rite of the Eucharistic canon of the liturgy of St. John Chrysostom contains the following words: “We also offer to You this verbal service for those who have fallen asleep in the faith... and for every righteous soul who has died in the faith,” as well as the petition: “And remember all those who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection of eternal life.” At the Liturgy of St. Basil the Great, the primate prays in a similar way: “May we find mercy and grace with all the saints from the ages who have pleased You... and with every righteous spirit who has passed on in faith,” and in conclusion: “And remember all those who have fallen before us about the hope of the resurrection of eternal life.” About non-believers neither St. John Chrysostom, nor St. Basil the Great did not offer prayers, remembering the words of the Gospel: whoever has faith and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not have faith will be condemned (Mark 16:16).
The Holy Fathers acted in full accordance with the teachings of the Apostles: What communion of righteousness and lawlessness, or what communion of light with darkness, what agreement between Christ and Belial, or what part will I return with the infidel, or what undoing of the Church of God from idols? (2 Cor. 6:14–16).
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Metropolitan Macarius (Bulgakov) wrote: “Our prayers can act directly on the souls of the deceased, if only they died in the right faith and with true repentance, i.e. in communion with the Church and with the Lord Jesus: because in this case, despite the apparent distance from us, they continue to belong with us to the same body of Christ” [6, p. 456]. He cites an excerpt from Rule 5 of the VII Ecumenical Council: “There is a sin leading to death when some, having sinned, remain uncorrected, and... stiff-neckedly rebel against piety and truth... the Lord God is not in such, unless they humble themselves and become sober from their fall.” In this regard, Bishop Macarius notes: “Those who died in mortal sins, in unrepentance and outside communion with the Church are not worthy of her prayers, according to this apostolic commandment” [6, p. 450].
The decrees of the Laodicean Local Council clearly prohibit prayer for living heretics: “It is not proper to pray with a heretic or renegade” (Canon 33). “One must not accept holiday gifts sent from Jews or heretics, nor celebrate with them” (Rule 37). The same Council of Laodicea prohibits members of the Church from prayerfully commemorating the dead buried in non-Orthodox cemeteries: “Let the church members not be allowed to go to the cemeteries of all heretics, or to the places of martyrdom that they call so-called, for prayer or for healing. And those who walk, even if they are faithful, will be deprived of church communion for a certain time” (Rule 9). In his interpretation of this Rule, Bishop Nikodim (Milash) noted: “This rule of the Laodicean Council prohibits the Orthodox, or, as the text says, “church members,” everyone belonging to the Church, from visiting such heretical places for the sake of prayer and worship, since otherwise he can be suspected of an inclination towards one or another heresy and not be considered Orthodox by conviction” [10, p. 86].
In light of this, the ancient and widespread tradition of separating Orthodox cemeteries from others - German, Tatar, Jewish, Armenian - becomes clear. After all, the funeral prayer in cemetery churches and chapels is performed, according to the Service Book, for “the Orthodox who lie here and everywhere.” The Church does not pray for “the Gentiles who lie here.”
Likewise, the Church does not pray for suicides. The rule of St. Timothy of Alexandria, given in the Book of Rules, prohibits the church commemoration of those persons who “raise their hands against themselves or cast themselves down from on high”: “It is not fitting for such an offering to be made, for he is a suicide” (Response 14). Saint Timothy even warns the presbyter, who “must certainly test such cases with all care, lest he fall under condemnation.”
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It is noteworthy that while the Holy Fathers prohibit praying for living and dead heretics, they positively resolve the issue of the possibility of church prayer for apostates who, due to weakness and cowardice, did not withstand the test during persecution: “either those who suffered in prison and were overcome by hunger and thirst, or outside prison at the judgment seat, tormented by planing and beating and finally overcome by the weakness of the flesh.” “For such,” St. Peter of Alexandria decrees, “when some by faith ask for offerings of prayers and petitions, it is righteous to agree with him” (see: Book of Rules, rule 11). This is motivated by the fact that “sympathy and condolences with those who cry and groan for those who have overcome the feat... is not in the least harmful to anyone” [Ibid.].
Church canonical Rules do not allow the possibility of praying for heretics and pagans, but declare anathema to them and thereby deprive them, both during life and after death, of prayerful communion with the Catholic Apostolic Church.