Words of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short form

Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.

In the 1662 Book of Common Prayer burial service, the priest says these words “while the earth shall be cast upon the body by some standing by”, and the sentence there runs on to “through our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our vile body”. The 1662 edition remains the official prayer book of the Church of England.

Because God has taken to himself the soul of the person who has died, we now commit the body to the ground: earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection. It is a single sentence that does two things at once. It names what is physically happening at the grave, and it places that moment inside a promise. The short form printed here stops at “eternal life”, before the clause about the “vile body”, which lands badly on families who have never heard it.

The words most people are waiting to hear at a graveside. Read at a funeral or memorial service. Themes: earth to earth ashes to ashes · the graveside · lowering · the traditional words · burial.

A Christian burial, especially Anglican, Episcopal, Methodist and other Protestant services, and families who expect the traditional words. Many people half-know “earth to earth, ashes to ashes” from films and other funerals. It suits a graveside committal and can be adapted at a crematorium. A church, chapel or crematorium may have its own committal form, so check with the funeral director before you rely on this one.

At the graveside, as the coffin is lowered or just after, or at the crematorium at the moment of committal. The officiant says it. Traditionally a family member or the officiant drops earth onto the coffin during “earth to earth”.

The text on this page is 53 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 25 seconds of reading.

• Replace “brother [or sister]” with the right word, and practice it until the change is automatic.
• If earth is being scattered, agree in advance who does it and on which words, usually “earth to earth”.
• Say “ashes to ashes, dust to dust” slowly and evenly. Do not let it become a chant.
• For a cremation, many officiants say “commit his body to be cremated” or “to the elements”. Confirm the wording with the funeral director.

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