Funeral Ritual

The Sigma Nu Fraternity Funeral Ritual is to be used in the sorrowful occasion that a Brother has entered the Chapter Eternal. This is a public ceremony and any formal revisions to the ceremony are under the purview of the Sigma Nu Fraternity Ritual Committee. The ceremony may be accessed at the following link:

Funeral Ritual

The Chapter should not assume direction of the last service, or funeral, for a deceased Brother except on request of the immediate family, next of kin, or heirs who take their place. Upon receipt of such a request, prompt notice of the fact, and of the time and place for the service, shall be provided. If appropriate, pallbearers and other arrangements should be made in conjunction with the family, next of kin, or heirs.

In all circumstances, the Chapter should plan to use the Funeral Ritual in a solemn location, including, if appropriate, the room or hall in which the Chapter conducts its Initiation Ceremonies. It is also appropriate to conduct this ceremony at a funeral home as part of the visitation for the deceased Brother.

Due to the brevity of the ceremony, the Chapter may also consider some other ways to commemorate their deceased Brother, including through a gift to charity in his honor, an appropriate eulogy, and other readings.

Since this is a public ceremony, and appropriate Sigma Nu robes may be worn, the Chapter does not need to be opened to perform this ceremony. The officiants in the ceremony, the Eminent Commander and Chaplain, need not be the current officers of a Sigma Nu Chapter.

This ceremony is based on Judeo-Christian scriptures and traditions, as our Founders were Christians. If the family, next of kin, or heirs wish to modify any portion of this ceremony to be more in line with their particular faith tradition, such modifications are allowable, with the exception of the portions of the ceremony that are specific to Sigma Nu Fraternity, especially the third paragraph read by the Eminent Commander and the Committal led by the Chaplain, both of which are based on other ceremonies of Sigma Nu Fraternity.