all who pass by to enter and join in the funeral. Divine Liturgy for the departed In some Slavic traditions, Divine Liturgy takes place as usual, with the addition of special hymns for the departed. There are also special Epistle and Gospel readings for the dead, which vary according to the day of the week on which the funeral is served. There will also be a special ektenia (litany) for the departed, and at the end another Panikhida will be served around the coffin. Funeral service The funeral will usually begin immediately after the dismissal of the Divine Liturgy. The funeral service is called in Greek, Pannychis, meaning vigil, and it originally lasted through the entire night and into the next morning. Today, it has been considerably shortened, but it may still last around two and a half hours. Throughout the entire service, everyone holds lighted candles, and the censer is swung by the deacon or priest throughout much of the service. Because death is not defeat for a faithful Christian, the Alleluia is sung as part of the service, with special funeral verses. As mentioned above, there are five different funeral services, all of which have different outlines: Laymen—This is the most common form of funeral; it is used for all adult members of the laity and for lower clergy and deacons. It is the form detailed below. Children—Because young children are generally not held to be morally responsible for their sins, the funeral for a child has none of the usual penitential elements, or prayers for the forgiveness of the sins of the deceased. Monks—The burial of monks and nuns differs in a number of respects, most noticeably that there is no canon, but rather special antiphons are chanted in all the eight tones in succession, as if recalling the monastic's participation in the whole life of the Church. This funeral is used for all tonsured monks, and for hierodeacons. Some hieromonks (priest-monks) are buried using the monastic ritual. Priests—When bishops and priests are buried, their funeral is different from those of laymen or monks (a hieromonk may be buried either as a monk or as a priest). Because of their important role as preachers of the Word, the funeral for priests has numerous Gospel readings in it. These are usually read from the Gospel Book which has been placed in the coffin. Paschal—Because of the joy and