why do churches have graveyards?

Answer 1

Short walk after a funeral, maybe? Or the fact priests can go and pray over the dead whenever they like.

Answer 2

In many places Churches were community oriented. This means they served like rec centers, meeting halls, and yes even as maintainers of graveyards. If you go back even 50 years private owned graveyards or government run graveyards were very scarce. In some cities you will find Catholic graveyards with sections set aside for other denominations or even religions. In smaller communities you can find communal graveyards that were almost like private graveyards but owned by several Churches acting together.
Most larger cities had a "Potter's Field" where the poor or unidentified could be buried at no charge, these were city run.

So yes, the short answer is so that they could bury their dead.
The reason for using church land was it was not private, it was not likely to be sold, and it was considered almost as common property to everybody.

Answer 3

Ironically, not all the churches have graveyards, and I think some of the church (such as in St.James Church in Ayala Alabang) has graveyard mostly beside the church for they have to an easier way to visit the graveyard of their relatives, friends, etc. especially in all souls day.

Answer 4

long ago, people used to pay the church to help cut down the time they would spend in purgatory when they died. As the church was being paid for the souls of these individuals to be forgiven 'pre-heaven' the church used to bury the individual on consecrated grounds whilst they waited out their time, this stopped the soul from obtaining more sin. It was about this time when grave goods stopped being included in burials as all goods worth any money then went to the church. This is why the church became successful and very rich.

Answer 5

In Medieval times, people believed that when you died and were laid to rest in the Earth, you entered what they called Purgatory. A somewhere place between life and heaven. They also believed that everyone would go to heaven on the same day, at some point in the future and that the gateway to heaven lay somewhere above the alter inside the church. In order therefore, to ensure a quick entry into heaven, people were buried in the church yard [grave yard] which would enable them to climb up on the alter and gain access to heaven. Richer folk could afford burial sites closest to the church, poorer folk had to be buried further away and the paupers in unmarked graves. All however had to be buried in hallowed ground.

Answer 6

There was a time when there was limited transportation. Even in the horse and buggy days it would have been difficult for everyone to follow to a burial site that was far away. It made it easier for loved ones to have the service at the church and be able to visit that site. Remember, the church was the local meeting place. So, everyone knew where to go.

Answer 7

The most ancient faith all the way back to the early church was that the dead are still members of the body of Christ (the Church triumphant versus the church militant) and therefore still very much alive but with Christ. Therefore by being buried around the church they were still visibly (by grave markers and by their remains) present, could be visited and could be prayed for. This was long before the latest medieval development of the doctrine of purgatory in the Western Catholic Church. So it's really about communion; the bond in Christ between the living and the dead until the Last Judgement and the day of the general resurrection.

Answer 8

it's so people can bury their dead on consecrated ground. up until the end of the 19th century people were still buried in church graveyards but because of overcrowding, separate cemeteries had to be built outside the cities. in most rural communities the dead are still buried in the church graveyard.

Answer 9

It's traditionally believed the dead should be buried in a holy place. In the olden times there was no place holier then a church, so it made sense to bury the dead there. its not a widely practiced tradition these days but some churches still bury their dead on the grounds.

Answer 10

To bury people that want to be buried in there church, alot of people prefer it if they are religious!

Its from the old days as well when they didnt really have graveyards, you were buried in your local church!!

Answer 11

It was done like that in Europe - It makes sense, the services were done in the church, and church grounds were consecrated. All christians were buried there unless they were criminals or too poor to pay for it.