a Vigil in the church, or it may arrive on the day of the funeral before the service. Historical precedence provides that if the corpse is a layman, the feet are to be turned towards the altar. If the corpse is a priest, then the position is reversed, the head being towards the altar. The earliest reference to this is in Johann Burchard's "Diary". Burchard was the master of ceremonies to Pope Innocent VIII and Pope Alexander VI. A little-known custom also exists that both before the altar and in the grave, the feet of all Christians should be pointed to the East. This custom is alluded to by Bishop Hildebert at the beginning of the twelfth century, and its symbolism is discussed by Guillaume Durand. "A man ought so to be buried", he says, "that while his head lies to the West his feet are turned to the East…" For clergy, however, the idea seems to be that the bishop (or priest) in death should occupy the same position in the church as during life, facing his people who he taught and blessed in Christ's name. In practice, facing the east is scarcely ever observed. Ceremony in the church The second stage is a cycle of prayers, the funeral Mass, and absolution. In the Tridentine Rite, candles are lit around the coffin, and they are allowed to burn throughout this stage. In the post-Vatican II rite there are no candles. Prayers The prayers offered are the Office of the Dead. Throughout the prayers, certain omissions are made. For example, each psalm ends with Requiem aeternam instead of the Gloria Patri. Mass for the Dead As in the case of the Office, the Mass for the Dead (Missa de Requiem) is chiefly distinguished from ordinary Masses by certain omissions. Some of these may be due to the fact that this Mass was formerly regarded as supplementary to the Mass of the day. In other cases it preserves the tradition of a more primitive age. The suppression of the Alleluia, Gloria in excelsis, and the Gloria Patri seems to point to a sense of the incongruity of joyful themes in the presence of God's searching and inscrutable judgments. In the early Christian ages, however, it would seem that the Alleluia, especially in the East, was regarded as especially appropriate to funerals, as Christians rejoiced that the deceased was now closer to