The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has ordered that prayer should be conducted to the departed on several occasions. This includes funeral services, the seventh, the twelfth, the thirteenth, the fourteenth, and the eighteenth (Teskar) memorial services. Prayer for the dead is a prayer offered to God that the dead might be released from the bondage of sin. This prayer enables the deceased to receive forgiveness of sin, mercy, and rest for the soul.  For the righteous it brings grace upon grace and joyous life.  It is through prayer that the dead and the living communicate. The living pray for the dead and the dead for the Living. (Enoch 12 : 34), because their souls are alive. (Matt. 22 : 31- 32)