Alappuzha church revamps funeral tradition with eco-friendly shroud burials
by Sam Paul A. · The Hindu“For dust you are and to dust you will return,” reads Genesis 3:19. Embracing this biblical wisdom and recognising the environmental benefits of sustainable burials, St. Mary’s Forane Church at Pallipuram in Alappuzha has adopted shroud burials, completely abandoning the long-standing tradition of using wooden coffins.
The church under the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church witnessed the first shroud burial of a parishioner on November 1.
Church authorities termed it a meaningful move toward eco-friendly practices. It recently bought two steel coffins for use during funeral services. Upon the parishioner’s death, the body was placed in one of the coffins and brought to the church. After the funeral service, the body, wrapped in a cotton burial cloth, was removed from the coffin and placed in the grave without a casket.
Fr. Peter Kannampuzha, vicar of St. Mary’s Forane Church, Pallipuram said the decision to discontinue coffins in favour of shroud burials was made unanimously by parish members. “From November 1, we have stopped using wooden caskets,” said Fr. Kannampuzha. “Our primary goal is to promote environmental conservation, guided by the belief that burial should aid the return of humans- created from dust- to the earth. Since coffins contain large amounts of plastic, they do not decompose, which poses a major environmental concern. Our decision will also save trees,” the priest noted.
Further, all plastic items have been banned from the church cemetery. Church authorities said that apart from the body, only a piece of cloth and flowers would go into the ground. Shroud burial will decompose a body much faster, they said.
In 2022, St. George Church at Arthunkal in Alappuzha adopted shroud burials. The church, located in a coastal area, changed the burial customs after observing that bodies placed in coffins were not decomposing for years due to high soil salinity and plastic content in caskets.
Published - November 02, 2024 06:48 pm IST