Anglican funerals

Anglican beliefs about death

Anglican belief about death rests on resurrection hope. The traditional burial service opens with Christ’s words ‘I am the resurrection and the life’, and the appointed reading is Saint Paul’s account of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

The Church of England frames the funeral as a message of hope: that death is not the end. Anglican teaching draws on the Bible and centuries of Christian tradition rather than one fixed statement of belief, so you'll find some variation in emphasis between parishes. What is constant is that the person who has died is entrusted to God, in sure and certain hope.

Anglican funeral ceremonies

A Church of England funeral can be asked for by anyone, for anyone they knew and loved. Neither the person who has died nor the person arranging it needs to have attended church, and a minister will take a funeral for anyone who lived in their parish.

The contemporary liturgy comes from Common Worship. Where a family prefers traditional language, the 1662 Book of Common Prayer service is still available. Services may be held in church, in a churchyard, at the graveside, at a crematorium chapel, in a cemetery or at a natural burial ground – and may be split between two of them.

Anglican funerals are familiar to most people in the UK, and nothing is expected of you beyond being there. Here's what to expect:

• Common Worship: The Church of England’s modern liturgy. The funeral service sits in its Pastoral Services volume.
• Book of Common Prayer: The traditional Anglican liturgy, standard in its 1662 form and still available where a family prefers older language.
• The committal: The farewell at which the minister says ‘earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust’.
• Commendation: Entrusting the person who has died to God, before the committal.
• Churchyard: The burial ground attached to a parish church, with a right of burial for parishioners.
• Faculty: Formal permission from the Diocesan Chancellor, needed for a memorial outside the diocese's own rules.
• Ledger stone: A flat memorial stone, permitted in a churchyard only where ashes are interred.
• Interment of ashes: The burial of ashes after cremation, usually a separate short service days or weeks later.
• Garden of remembrance: The area at a crematorium where ashes may be buried or scattered.
• All Souls’ Day: 2 November. Many parishes hold a candle-lighting service of remembrance near this date.

The cost of an Anglican funeral in the UK depends on the funeral director, the church, and the churchyard, cemetery or crematorium you choose. Most families choose a service in their parish church or at a crematorium, led by their minister. Church fees are set nationally by the Church of England and are separate from our own charges, as are cemetery and crematorium fees, which vary by location. A churchyard memorial is charged separately again and cannot be erected for six months. Your local Dignity funeral director can talk you through everything that is included, and the costs, so you can plan with confidence.

At Dignity, we’re here to support people of all religions and none. We can arrange Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Quaker, Orthodox, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist and Sikh funerals. Call your local funeral director today to talk about your needs.