"Rest in peace" (Latin: Requiescat in pace (Classical Latin: [re.kʷiˈeːs.kat ɪn ˈpaː.ke], Ecclesiastical Latin: [re.kwiˈɛs.kat in ˈpa.tʃe])) is a short epitaph or idiomatic expression wishing eternal rest and peace to someone who has died. The expression typically appears on headstones, often abbreviated as R.I.P. or RIP....
The phrase dormit in pace (English: "he sleeps in peace") was found in the catacombs of the early Christians and indicated that "they died in the peace of the Church, that is, united in Christ." The acronym R.I.P., meaning "rest in peace", continues to be engraved on the gravestones of Christians from several denominations, especially the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the Anglican Church.
In burial services of the Catholic Church according to the Tridentine Rite, which include the Requiem Mass, the phrase appears several times.
To satisfy a vogue for rhyming couplets on tombstones, the phrase has been parsed ungrammatically as:
This verse has been found inscribed in Hebrew on gravestones dating from the 1st century BC, in the graveyard of Bet Shearim. It speaks of the righteous person who died because he could not stand the evil surrounding him. A recapture of these words, read as "come and rest in peace," has been transferred to the ancient Talmudic prayers, in a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic of the 3rd century AD. It is used to this day in traditional Jewish ceremonies.