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The Requiem Service/Hokehankisd is not only a custom but also a rule of the church. Forty days after the death of a member of the church, a Requiem is offered for the repose of his/her soul. This also ends the official mourning period and usually the grave of the departed is also blessed. After the Forty Days Requiem (Karasoonk), Hokehankisd may be requested annually on the Sunday closest to the date of death or, according to a more ancient custom, the day commemorating the saint after whom the departed was named. Requiem services may be requested at any time during the ecclesiastical year. They may however not be performed on the Five Major or Tabemacle Feasts (Daghavars) as Hokehankisd is penitential and the Feasts are dominical in nature. Likewise, Hokehankisd should not be performed on Dominical Feasts, i.e. Palm Sunday, Ascension and Pentecost. Although through the Requiem we are praying for our departed as a matter of love and respect, we cannot alter their state or the final judgment. What we do request through prayer is that the Lord remember our loved ones and judge them mercifully and with compassion.
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