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The Official Journal of the Cremation Society of Great Britain and the International Cremation Federation (ICF)
Pharos International, founded in 1934, publishes:
Our readership includes most crematoria personnel in the UK, private and public sector management, manufacturers, funeral directors, libraries - in fact, everyone involved, or just interested, in cremation both nationally and internationally.
Pharos International also circulates in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Haiti, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mauritius, Namibia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,Thailand, Trinidad, United Kingdom, United States of America and Zimbabwe.
First published in 1934, Pharos's title has changed as follows:
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Published: Annually - latest edition 2017
Price: £36.00 each incl. red, black or blue binder and p+p.; £32.00 each insert only incl. p+p; £7.00 binder only incl. p+p
Contents: Statistics of cremations in Great Britain since 1885; Addresses of crematoria listed by county, indicating whether publicly or privately owned, and showing number of cremations carried out in each in previous year and since opening.
To purchase the latest Directory of Crematoria, please complete our order form.
Published: Monthly - by email
Price: Free of charge
Our monthly news review brings together the latest news from within the bereavement sector, conveniently, by email, to your inbox. It brings updates on Government consultations, changes in legislation and news articles relevant to the sector.
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Price: £5.00 each incl. p+p.
Contents: A listing of pet crematoria in the United Kingdom and Channel Islands (for England arranged by county) showing addresses and telephone and fax numbers, useful web pages, opening hours, facilities available, and type of animal catered for.
To purchase the Directory of Pet Crematoria, please complete our order form.
Price: Free of charge
Written on the occasion of the Cremation Society's Centenary celebrations in 1974, the text of this publication is also available on this website.
Controversies about the retention and use of body parts removed at post-mortem examinations led, in 2004 in England and Wales, to the passage of the Human Tissue Act. Removed parts - indeed whole bodies - however they are dealt with, are ultimately, 'disposed of', to use the term in the now repealed Anatomy Act and Regulations. People were agreed that disposals should be 'respectful', 'sensitive', 'proper', 'decent', 'acceptable', 'culturally appropriate' and so on. Yet few, if any, attempts had been made to tease out the criteria according to which a particular disposal could be adjudged to be, for example, 'respectful'; it tended to be assumed that the meaning of the term was self-evident. In an increasingly multi-cultural society rites of passage, such as weddings and funerals, are becoming more individualised. Those operating crematoria and cemeteries and arranging funerals are faced with requests complying with which can make them uneasy. The Cremation Society devoted the central day of its three day Conference in 2004 to a seminar examining the question: 'What is respectful disposal? Speakers were asked to examine both how one can go about determining criteria for respectful disposal as well as what those criteria might be. They were also asked to examine whether one term, such as 'respectful, if defined, could bear the weight that might be placed on it. If, for example, disposal should be dignified, sensitive, or reverent, would it be sufficient to require simply that it be respecful? Could a disposal be respectful without being dignified, sensitive or reverent? If so, should it need to be dignified, sensitive or reverent in addition? Contributions were made by a philosopher, anthropologist, historian, theologian, sociologist, pathologist, embalmer and from those who draft codes and guidelines, arrange funerals, manage crematoria, cemeteries and mortuaries, and from the bereaved and those helping them. This publication contains the papers delivered to the seminar.
Price: £6.00 each incl. p+p.
Contents (24pp)
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Published: 1986
Price: 35p each plus p+p.; Orders of 50 or more 30p each plus p+p.
Contents (12 pp.)
It is now more than twenty years since the Catholic Church began to modify its strict laws concerning the cremation of its members. Yet many, many Catholics are still not clear about the position of their Church with regard to this matter.
This need not surprise us because, apart from the occasional article in the Catholic press, which a great many Catholics never read, or features in learned periodicals not normally addressed to the general public, there is nothing of a popular nature in print giving a clear, balanced and well-informed treatment of cremation vis-a-vis the Catholic Church to which they can turn.
The first document on the matter issued by the Vatican on 8th May, 1963, instructed the bishops to discourage cremation for the members of their flock. One bishop in England, who has since retired, admitted to the writer of this pamphlet that before the Church relaxed its law on cremation his cemetery used to make a profit, but that after the relaxation the cemetery began to lose money.
Catholics have a right to be given the up to date teaching of their Church on cremation and this teaching should be made available to the faithful in general.
As with members of other faiths there will always be Catholics who would never choose cremation. Others would like to do so but do not because in their ignorance they still think that they are forbidden by their Church to make this choice. It is for these and for all who are concerned and connected with the disposal of the dead that this pamphlet has been produced.
British Crematoria in Public Profile
Author: Douglas Davies
Published: 1995
Price: £4.13 each incl. p+p.
Contents (52pp incl. bibl.)
Author: Hilary J. Grainger
Published: 2006
Price: £35.00 plus £5.00 p+p.
Contents (519 pp incl. gazeteer, bibliography and index)
Subjects discussed at Post War Conferences of the Cremation Society
