Rest in peace (R.I.P.), a phrase from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

(), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, and

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

. It became ubiquitous on headstones in the 19th century, and is widely used today when mentioning someone's death.

Description

The phrase ''dormit in pace'' (English: " esleeps in peace") was found in the catacombs of the early Christians and indicated that "they died in the peace of the Church, that is, united in Christ." The abbreviation R.I.P., meaning ''Requiescat in pace'', "May he/she rest in peace" (present/subjunctive/active/3rd person/singular), continues to be engraved on the gravestones of Christians, especially in the

, and

denominations. In the Tridentine Requiem Mass of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

the phrase appears several times. Other variations include "Requiescat in pace et in amore" for "May he/she rest in peace and love" and "In pace requiescat et in amore". The word order is variable because Latin syntactical relationships are indicated by the inflexional endings, not by word order. If "Rest in peace" is used in an imperative mood, it would be "Requiesce in pace" (acronym R.I.P.) in the second person singular, or "Requiescite in pace" in the second person plural.

History

The phrase was first found on tombstones some time before the fifth century. It became ubiquitous on the tombs of Christians in the 18th century, and for

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

Anglicans, Methodists, as well as Roman Catholics in particular, it was a prayerful request that their soul should find peace in the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

. When the phrase became conventional, the absence of a reference to the soul led people to suppose that it was the physical body that was enjoined to lie peacefully in the

grave A grave is a location where a cadaver, dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is burial, buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of buria ...

. This is associated with the Christian doctrine of the particular judgment; that is, that the soul is parted from the body upon death, but that the soul and body will be reunited on Judgment Day.

Use in various religions

Irish Protestantism

In 2017, members of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland called on

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s to stop using the phrase "RIP" or "Rest in Peace". Wallace Thompson, the secretary of the Evangelical Protestant Society, said on a BBC Radio Ulster programme that he would encourage Protestants to refrain from using the term "RIP". Thompson said that he regards "RIP" as a prayer for the dead, which he believes contradicts biblical doctrine. In the same radio programme,

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Ken Newell disagreed that people are praying for the dead when they use the phrase.

Judaism

The expression "rest in peace" is "not commonly used in Jewish contexts", though some commentators say that it is "consistent with Jewish practice". The traditional Hebrew expression , literally 'may peace be upon him', is sometimes rendered in English as 'may he rest in peace'. On the other hand, some Jews object to using the phrase for Jews, considering it to reflect a Christian perspective.Shlomo Zuckier, "What Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Online Mourners Got Right and Wrong about Jews, Death, and the Afterlife", ''Mosaic: Advancing Jewish Thought''
September 25, 2020
/ref>

Image gallery

File:Requiescat ponaszymu.JPG, This Lutheran Christian grave reads "Rest in Peace" in the local Cieszyn Silesian Polish dialect. File:San Sebastián - Cementerio de Polloe 175.jpg, The epitaph R.I.P. on a headstone in a

churchyard In Christian countries, a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church (building), church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster S ...

of Donostia-San Sebastián File:R.I.P..jpg, Excerpt from gravestone in Święciechowa, showing R.I.P File:Ainhoa Croix1.JPG, This cross from 1720 bears the complete Latin phrase in its plural form ("Requiescant in pace") File:Early Christian Funerary inscription.jpg, This funerary tablet from 525 AD begins with the phrase File:Briton Rivière - Requiescat - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Requiescat'', oil on canvas painting by Briton Rivière, 1888, Art Gallery of New South Wales.

References

External links

{{TridentineLatinMass Death customs English-language idioms Modern Latin inscriptions Christian terminology Souls Peace in culture