Today, more and more people are feeling they have a vocation to pray for the dead. Although praying for the dead has continued uninterrupted in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, the Reformation all but stopped this form of prayer in the Protestant tradition. Now, in the Anglican church, both prayer and liturgy are evolving so that praying for the dead is more widely performed. Individuals who have had psychic experiences involving dead friends, relatives, or others may feel particularly called to pray for them as an expression of their love.
In this book, Rev Dr Meg Gilley explores the history of praying for the dead within the Anglican church, and reflects theologically on the meaning of praying for the dead today. She then provides a selection of prayers that individuals or groups could use for praying for the dead.
This insightful book provides a sound grounding in the theology and the practice of praying for the dead. It will be of interest and use for those who are just beginning to explore this subject, as well as those who have been praying for the dead for some time.
About the author
Meg Gilley is a retired priest living in Durham. During her first career in the NHS, she completed a PhD on collaboration between health and social services. When she left the NHS, she was Chief Executive of Darlington Primary Care Group. She was ordained deacon in 2000 and priest in 2001, and spent 20 years serving in parishes in the Diocese of Durham. She retired in April 2020, during the first Covid lockdown.
In retirement, she discovered a vocation to pray for the dead, which led to this work. She is a full-time carer for her husband, a retired academic historian, who has Parkinson's, and walks with him in the shadow of death.
