Editing Last rites

{{Short description|Christian prayers and ministrations given before death}}
{{about|Christian ministrations to the dying. For last rites in [[Islam]], see [[Islamic funeral]] and [[Salat al-Janazah]]||Last Rites (disambiguation)}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
[[File:Last Rites ca 1600.jpg|thumb|Administering the last rites ([[Dutch School (painting)|Dutch School]], c. 1600)]]

The '''last rites''', also known as the '''Commendation of the Dying''', are the last [[Prayer|prayers]] and ministrations given to an individual of [[Christians|Christian]] faith, when possible, [[Dying|shortly before death]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Definition of THE LAST RITES |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the+last+rites |access-date=2024-02-10 |website=[[Merriam-Webster]] |language=en}}</ref> The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical [[Christian denomination]]s, such as the [[Roman Catholic Church]] and the [[Lutheran Church]].<ref name="ELCA2017"/> They may be administered to those mortally injured, [[terminal illness|terminally ill]], or [[Death row|awaiting execution]]. Last rites cannot be performed on someone who has already died.<ref name="Last Rites">{{Citation|last=Kerper|first=Rev. Fr. Michael|date=July–August 2016|editor-last=vonHaack|editor-first=Sarah J.|title=When can Last Rites be given?|url=http://faithdigital.org/parable/MAN0716|department=Dear Father Kerner|magazine=Parable|publisher=[[Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester|Diocese of Manchester]]|publication-place=Manchester, N.H.|volume=10|issue=1|pages=10–11|id=[[Intelligent Mail barcode #Data payload|USPS]] 024523|access-date=November 15, 2020|quote=The priest was correct: only a living person can receive a sacrament, including the sacrament of the sick.|archive-date=6 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506182109/http://faithdigital.org/parable/MAN0716/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Last rites, in sacramental Christianity, can refer to multiple [[sacrament]]s administered concurrently in anticipation of an individual's passing (such as [[Absolution|Holy Absolution]] and [[Holy Communion]]).<ref name="ELCA2017"/><ref name="AradAshleyChristDiemberger2018">{{cite book |author1=Dotan Arad |author2=Kathleen Ashley |author3=Martin Christ |author4=Hildegard Diemberger |title=Domestic Devotions in the Early Modern World |date=10 December 2018 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-37588-8 |page=86 |language=en}}</ref>

==Catholic Church==
{{see also|Viaticum|Anointing of the Sick in the Catholic Church}}

[[File:Death of princess maria amelia.jpg|thumb|[[Princess Maria Amélia of Brazil]] receiving her last rites, 1853]] 
[[File:Joseph T. O'Callahan gives last rites to an injured crewman aboard USS Franklin (CV-13), 19 March 1945.jpg|thumb|A Catholic [[chaplain]], Lieutenant Commander [[Joseph T. O'Callahan]], administering the last rites to an injured crewman aboard [[USS Franklin (CV-13)|USS ''Franklin'']], after the ship was set afire by a Japanese air attack, 19 March 1945]]

The [[Latin Church]] of the [[Catholic Church]] defines Last Rites as [[Viaticum]] ([[Eucharist in the Catholic Church|Holy Communion]] administered to someone who is dying), and the ritual prayers of Commendation of the Dying, and Prayers for the Dead.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/768/Anointing-or-last-rites.aspx| title = M. Francis Mannion, "Anointing or last rites?" in ''Our Sunday Visitor'' Newsweekly| access-date = 9 November 2019| archive-date = 16 July 2018| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180716001917/https://www.osv.com/OSVNewsweekly/Story/TabId/2672/ArtMID/13567/ArticleID/768/Anointing-or-last-rites.aspx| url-status = dead}}</ref>

The sacrament of Anointing of the Sick is usually postponed until someone is near death. Anointing of the Sick has been thought to be exclusively for the dying, though it can be received at any time. Extreme Unction (Final Anointing)  is the name given to Anointing of the Sick when received during last rites.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c2a5.htm|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church - The anointing of the sick|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref> If administered to someone who is not just ill but near death, Anointing of the Sick is generally accompanied by celebration of the sacraments of [[Sacrament of Penance (Catholic Church)|Penance]] and Viaticum.  

The order of the three is important and should be given in the order of Penance (confessing one's sins), then Anointing of the Sick, and finally the Viaticum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Michelle |date=29 December 2017 |url=https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/a-guide-to-the-last-rites|title=A Guide to the Last Rites|website=Catholic Answers |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604152211/https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/a-guide-to-the-last-rites |archivedate=4 June 2018}}</ref> The principal reason Penance is administered first to the seriously ill and dying is because the forgiveness of one's sins, and most especially one's [[Mortal sin|mortal sins]], is for Catholics necessary for being in a state of grace (in a full relationship with God). Dying while in the state of grace ensures that a Catholic will go to heaven (if they are in a state of grace but still attached to sin, they will eventually make it to heaven but must first go through a spiritual cleansing process called [[purgatory]]). 

Although these three (Penance, Anointing of the sick, and Viaticum) are not, in the proper sense, the Last Rites, they are sometimes spoken of as such; the Eucharist given as Viaticum is the only sacrament essentially associated with dying.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stolz |first1=Eric |title=Anointing of the Sick/Last Rites |url=https://stbrendanla.org/anointing-of-the-sick |website=St. Brendan Catholic Church |access-date=19 September 2022}}</ref> "The celebration of the Eucharist as Viaticum is the sacrament proper to the dying Christian".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dioceseofgallup.org/pdfs/sacramental_guidelines/ANNOINTING.pdf |publisher=Diocese of Gallup |title=Sacramental Guidelines |access-date=4 December 2010 |archive-date=24 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101124013001/http://dioceseofgallup.org/pdfs/sacramental_guidelines/ANNOINTING.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the [[Roman Ritual]]'s ''Pastoral Care of the Sick: Rites of Anointing and Viaticum'', Viaticum is the only sacrament dealt with in ''Part II: Pastoral Care of the Dying''. Within that part, the chapter on Viaticum is followed by two more chapters, one on ''Commendation of the Dying'', with short texts, mainly from the Bible, a special form of the litany of the saints, and other prayers, and the other on ''Prayers for the Dead''. A final chapter provides ''Rites for Exceptional Circumstances'', namely, the ''Continuous Rite of Penance, Anointing, and Viaticum'', ''Rite for Emergencies'', and ''Christian Initiation for the Dying''. The last of these concerns the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation to those who have not received them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Other Sacraments – St Patrick's Catholic Parish Mortlake |url=https://stpatsmortlake.org.au/sacraments/other-sacraments/ |access-date=2025-04-26 |website=stpatsmortlake.org.au}}</ref>

In addition, the priest has authority to bestow a [[Apostolic blessing|blessing in the name of the Pope]] on the dying person, to which a plenary [[indulgence]] is attached.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Armentrout |first=Don S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNM8AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA25 |title=An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church: A User-Friendly Reference for Episcopalians |last2=Slocum |first2=Robert Boak |date=1999 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-89869-211-2 |language=en}}</ref>

==Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches==
[[File:Prithastie ranennogo.jpg|thumb|[[Russian Orthodox]] priest administering the last rites to a soldier on the field of battle]]

In the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] and those [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] which follow the [[Byzantine Rite]], the last rites consist of the [[Sacred Mysteries]] (sacraments) of [[Confession (religion)|Confession]] and the reception of [[Eucharist#Eastern Orthodoxy|Holy Communion]].

Following these sacraments, when a person dies, there are a series of prayers known as ''The Office at the Parting of the Soul From the Body''. This consists of a [[blessing]] by the priest, the [[usual beginning]], and after the [[Lord's Prayer]], [[Psalm 51|Psalm 50]]. Then a [[canon (hymnography)|Canon]] to the [[Theotokos]] is chanted, entitled, "On behalf of a man whose soul is departing, and who cannot speak". This is an elongated prayer speaking in the person of the one who is dying, asking for forgiveness of sin, the mercy of God, and the [[intercession]] of the [[saint]]s. The rite is concluded by three prayers said by the priest, the last one being said "at the departure of the soul."<ref>{{Citation |last=Hapgood |first=Isabel Florence |author-link=Isabel Hapgood |title=Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church |place=Englewood, NJ |publisher=[[Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese]] |year=1975 |edition=Revised |pages=360–366}}</ref>

There is an alternative rite known as ''The Office at the Parting of the Soul from the Body When a Man has Suffered for a Long Time''. The outline of this rite is the same as above, except that [[Psalm 70]] and [[Psalm 143]] precede [[Psalm 50]], and the words of the canon and the prayers are different.<ref>{{Citation |last=A Monk of St. Tikhon's Monastery |year=1995 |title=Book of Needs (Abridged) |place=South Canaan PA |publisher=[[St. Tikhon's Seminary]] Press |edition=2nd |pages=123–136 |isbn=1-878997-15-7}}</ref>

The [[rubric]] in the [[Book of Needs]] (priest's service book) states, "With respect to the Services said at the parting of the soul, we note that if time does not permit to read the whole Canon, then customarily just one of the prayers, found at the end of the Canon, is read by the Priest at the moment of the parting of the soul from the body."<ref>A Monk of St. Tikhon's Monastery, ''Op. cit.'', p. 153.</ref>

As soon as the person has died the priest begins ''The Office After the Departure of the Soul From the Body'' (also known as ''The First [[Pannikhida]]'').<ref>A Monk of St. Tikhon's Monastery, ''Op. cit.'', pp. 137–154.</ref>

In the Orthodox Church [[Holy Unction]] is not considered to be solely a part of a person's preparation for death, but is administered to any Orthodox Christian who is ill, physically or spiritually, to ask for God's mercy and forgiveness of sin.<ref name="Hapgood">Hapgood, ''Op. cit.'', pp. 607–608.</ref> There is an abbreviated form of Holy Unction to be performed for a person in imminent danger of death,<ref name="Hapgood" /> which does not replace the full rite in other cases.

==Lutheran Churches==
{{Main|Lutheran sacraments#Anointing of the Sick}}
In the [[Lutheran Church]]es, last rites are formally known as the Commendation of the Dying, in which the [[Priest#Lutheranism|priest]] "opens in the name of the triune God, includes a prayer, a reading from one of the psalms, a litany of prayer for the one who is dying, [and] recites the Lord’s Prayer".<ref name="ELCA2017"/> The dying individual is then [[anointing of the sick|anointed with oil]] and receives the sacraments of [[Holy Absolution]] and [[Holy Communion]].<ref name="ELCA2017">{{cite web |title=Liturgies for the end of life |url=https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Liturgies-end_of_life.pdf |publisher=[[Evangelical Lutheran Church in America]] |access-date=11 May 2021 |page=4 |language=English |date=2017}}</ref>

==Anglican Communion==
{{Main|Anointing of the sick#Anglican churches}}
The [[Book of Common Prayer (1928, England)|proposed 1928 revision]] of the [[Church of England]]'s ''[[Book of Common Prayer]]'' would have permitted [[Reserved sacrament|reservation of the Blessed Sacrament]] for use in communing the sick, including during last rites. This revision failed twice in the [[Parliament (United Kingdom)|Parliament]] of the [[United Kingdom]]'s [[House of Commons (United Kingdom)|House of Commons]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/CofE1928/CofE1928.htm|title=The Proposed Book of Common Prayer (1928) of the Church of England|publisher=Society of Archbishop Justus|last=Wohlers|first=Charles|access-date=10 May 2021}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Anointing]]
* [[Deathbed confession]]
* [[Deathbed conversion]]
* [[Excommunication]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Anointing of the Sick (Catholic Church)}}
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05716a.htm Extreme Unction] article in ''[[The Catholic Encyclopedia]]'' (1909)
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04660c.htm Preparation for Death] article in ''The Catholic Encyclopedia'' (1909)
* {{cite web
|url= https://www.ocp.org/en-us/blog/entry/last-rites-anointing-of-the-sick 
|title= Last Rites and the Anointing of the Sick
|access-date= 2018-07-27
|date= 6 March 2018
|first= Jethro
|last= Higgins
|publisher= [[Oregon Catholic Press]]
}}
*[http://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/how-we-teach/catechesis/upload/Sacramental-Catechesis-11-19-12.pdf Sacramental Catechesis: An Online Resource for Dioceses]

{{Catholicism}}
{{Lutheran Church}}

[[Category:Christian worship and liturgy]]
[[Category:Christian prayer]]
[[Category:Christianity and death]]
[[Category:Death customs]]