Rest in peace

"Rest in peace" (Latin: Requiescat in pace (Classical Latin: [rɛ.kʷɪˈeːs.kat in ˈpaː.kɛ], Ecclesiastical Latin: [re.kwiˈɛs.kat in ˈpa.tʃe])) is a short epitaph or idiomatic expression wishing eternal rest and peace to someone who has died. The expression typically appears on headstones, often abbreviated as R.I.P. or RIP or Rip.

Description

The phrase dormit in pace (English: "he sleeps 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 acronym R.I.P., meaning "rest in peace", continues to be engraved on the gravestones of Christians from several denominations, especially the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the Anglican Church.

In burial services of the Catholic Church according to the Tridentine Rite, which includes the Missa pro Defunctis (Requiem Mass), the phrase appears several times.

In modern ecclesiastical Latin, "requiēscat in pāce" is pronounced [rekwiˈeskat in ˈpatʃe], whereas in classical Latin it would be pronounced [rɛkʷiˈeːskat ɪn ˈpaːkɛ].

To satisfy a vogue for rhyming couplets on tombstones, the phrase has been parsed ungrammatically as:

Requiesce
cat in pace

A similar phrase in found in the book of Isaiah, 57:2:

...will come in peace, and they will rest in their beds, he who goes straightforward.

This verse has been found inscribed in Hebrew on gravestones dating from the 1st century BC, in the graveyard of Bet Shearim. It speaks of the righteous person who died because he could not stand the evil surrounding him. A recapture of these words, read as "come and rest in peace," has been transferred to the ancient Talmudic prayers, in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic of the 3rd century AD. It is used to this day in traditional Jewish ceremonies.

History

Although commonly associated with Christianity, the phrase is also used in Judaism. This ancient Latin inscription from 688/689 AD begins with a Latin version of the phrase. There is a menorah in the upper left corner and the Hebrew calendar date is in the lower right.

The phrase was not found on tombstones before the eighth century. It became ubiquitous on the tombs of Christians in the 18th century, and for High Church Anglicans, as well as Roman Catholics in particular, it was a prayerful request that their soul should find peace in the afterlife. 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. 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.

Other variations include "Requiescat in pace et in amore" for "May 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. In the common phrase "Requiescat in pace" the "-scat" ending is appropriate because this is a "hortatory subjunctive": "May he/she rest in peace."

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  This Lutheran Christian grave reads "Rest in Peace" in the local Cieszyn Silesian Polish dialect.

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  The epitaph R.I.P. on a headstone in a churchyard of Donostia-San Sebastián

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  Excerpt from gravestone in Święciechowa, showing R.i.p.

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  This cross from 1720 bears the complete Latin phrase in its plural form ("Requiescant in pace")

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  This funerary tablet from 525 AD begins with the phrase

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  Requiescat, oil on canvas painting by Briton Rivière, 1888, Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Linguistic analogues

Phrases in other languages:

• Afrikaans: Rus in vrede
• Albanian: U prehtë në paqe (P.N.P.)
• Arabic: ارقد في سلام‎‎ (Orqod si salaam)
• Arabic: الله يرحمه‎‎ (Allah yarHamhu) for males, and Arabic: الله يرحمها‎‎ (Allah yarHamha) for females (More common, less literary than the above).
• Azerbaijani: Allah Rəhmət eləsin
• Basque: Goian Bego (G.B.)
• Belarusian: Спачывай у спакоі (Spačyvaj u spakoi)
• Bengali: চির নিদ্রায় শায়িত
• Bosnian: Počivaj u miru
• Bulgarian: Почивай в мир (Pochivaj v mir)
• Catalan: Descansi en pau (DEP)
• Cebuano: Pahulay sa Kalinaw (PSK)
• Chinese: 安息 (Mandarin: Ān xī, Cantonese: ngon¹ sik¹, Hakka: sit ôn)
• Church Slavonic / Slavic: ([ˈt͡sarsvije nʲɛˈbʲɛsnoje], “Kingdom of Heaven [for him/her]”)
• Czech: Odpočívej v pokoji
• Croatian: Počivao/počivala u miru.
• Danish: Hvil i fred
• Dutch: Rust in vrede
• Esperanto: Ripozu pace (R.P.)
• Estonian: Puhka rahus
• Faroese: Hvíl í friði
• Finnish: Lepää rauhassa
• French: Repose en paix (R.E.P.)
• Georgian: ცხონდეს, ღმერთმა აცხონოს (“May God grant him/her eternal life”)
• German: Ruhe in Frieden
• Greek: Αναπαύσου εν ειρήνη ([anaˈpafsu en iˈrini])
• Hebrew: תהא נשמתו צרורה בצרור החיים‎ (Tehe nishmato tsrura bitsror hahayim) (תנצב"ה)
• Hindi: दिवंगत आत्मा को शांति (Hindi, India) {divangat Atma ko shanti}
• Hungarian: Nyugodjék békében
• Icelandic: Hvíli í friði (H.Í.F.)
• Indonesian: Beristirahat dengan Tenang (B.d.T.)
• Irish: Ar dheis Dé go raibh a (h)anam (Lit.On God's right may his/her soul be)
• Italian: Riposi in pacecode: it is deprecated (R.I.P.)
• Japanese: 安らかに眠れ (Yasuraka ni nemure)
• Konkani: ಸಾಸ್ಣಚೊ ವಿಶೇವ್(Konkani, India) {Sasnacho Vishev}
• Korean: 고인의 명복을 빕니다 (Goinui myeongbogeul bimnida)
• Kurdish: به ئارامی بمر یت‎
• Kyrgyz: Жаткан жери жайлуу болсун (Jatkan jeri jayluu bolsun)
• Latvian: Dusi mierā
• Lithuanian: Ilsėkis ramybėje
• Macedonian: Почивај во мир (Pochivaj vo mir)
• Marathi: मृतात्म्यास शांती लाभो {mrutatmyas shanti labho}
• Mongolian: Гүн эмэгнэл илэрхийлье (Gün emegnel ilerkhiiliye)
• Nepali: दिवंगत आत्माको चिरशान्तिको कामाना
• Norwegian: Hvil i fred
• Persian: روحش شاد‎‎ (Roohash shaad)
• Polish: Spoczywaj w pokoju,
• Portuguese: Descanse em Paz
• Romanian: Odihnească-se în pace
• Russian: Покойся с миром ([pɐˈkojsʲə sˈmʲirəm])
  • Pre-reform: Покойся съ миромъ
• Scottish Gaelic: Gus am bris an là (lit. Until the day breaks)
• Serbian: Почивај у миру.(Počivaj u miru)
• Slovak: Odpočívaj v pokoji
• Slovene: Počivaj v miru
• Spanish: Descanse en paz/Que en paz descanse (D.E.P./Q.E.P.D.)
• Swedish: Vila i frid
• Tagalog: Sumalángit Nawâ (S.L.N., “In heaven may [he/she/they] be”)
• Tajik: ҷояш ҷаннад шавад (dʒojaʂ dʒanat ʂavad)
• Tamil: பிரிந்த ஆத்துமா சாந்தி அடையட்டும் (Tamil, India) {Pirinta āttumā cānti adayattum}
• Telugu: వెళ్ళిపోయాడు ఆత్మ శాంతి (Telugu, India) {Veḷḷipōyāḍu ātma śānti}
• Thai: ขอให้ไปสู่สุคติ
• Turkish: Huzur içinde yatsın
• Ukrainian: Спочивай з миром
• Urdu: امن سے آرام‎
• Uzbek: Joying jannatdan bolsin
• Vietnamese: Hãy An Nghỉ
• Welsh: Gorffwys mewn hedd

See also

• Allhallowtide
• INRI Kreuzestitel
• List of Latin phrases