[[Memorial Services]] (Greek: '' '''Μνημοσυνα''' ''(memorial) or ''' ''Παραστάς'' ''' (wake), Church Slavonic: '' '''паннихида, panikhída''' '') are special prayer services offered for the benefit of the departed.

According to the ''[[Apostolic Constitutions]]'', memorial services may be held on the 3rd, 9th, and 40th day, and on the completion of a year from the day of death. These prescribed times are still observed in most Orthodox places. For the memorial service, [[Kollyva]], a ritual food of boiled wheat, is often prepared and is placed in front of the memorial table or an icon of Christ and is blessed by the priest afterwards. Considering the fact that in the Orthodox Churches of the diaspora a memorial service with the participation of the congregation must be held on a [[Lord's Day|Sunday]], the 40th day memorial service is the one universally observed although by necessity, it may not be held exactly on the 40th day. Needless to say, the Orthodox people may give the names of their departed to be mentioned by the priest in the [[Eucharist]] at any time.

Another kind of memorial was the gathering on the graves of the dead or in the church(funerals), and the serving of meals afterwards known as ''"makariai"'' (meals in memory of) that are still held by many in the church hall following burial. In addition, it is also customary for the priest to pour wine, oil, and some of the Kollyva on the grave site, following memorial services in church.