How to worship icons in Church, how to them to kiss Bashny.Net

This question, while seemingly of its surface simplicity seems to bethe priest, Andrey Chizhenko placed seconds is very difficult.

What lies on the surface, it would seem that you could raise, like a dry autumn leaf of the lake, to check is the tip of the iceberg the multi-ton, leaving deep in the depths of history, ancient traditions, social customs and, of course, in the depth of the human soul and heart.

After the fire of iconoclasm, blazing in the Orthodox East for almost a century during the VIII – beginning of IX century and claimed thousands of lives, too, seems to have begun with a trifle – raised icon a little higher, so that the people did not get, and then have the paint cut and eat instead of the drug.



Understand, dear brothers and sisters, with all my heart do not want the Orthodox Church turned into a ritual dance: went in, crossed himself three times here, then three times here, and then put the three candles, then then CE. And that's all. Frightened and trembling, that God forbid not to break anything, not to break the invisible webs that are drawn on the temple: go there – here do not go, then wait, turn around. And because the inspector kind of harsh there, all show detail.

The result is geometrically formal cage some place in the service where the soul is driven into a corner, from which it is very difficult to get out, and scared there shaking, and you step afraid to do too much in the temple as severe inspectors do not doze. You turn around and feel their strong views. Where is the love? There is a Statute, there is etiquette, there are rules of conduct. But love, no fear of some only, and that's all.

In the end, people simply afraid to go to the Church because of the harshness and obscurity feels, and love and mercy there.

Quote from a sermon of Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh, said at one diaconal ordination in 1966: "the First deacons were set in order to be an expression of the merciful love of the Church. The Church is a mercy; the Church is love, and nothing else; if it becomes something else, it ceases to be the Church in its entirety. This love must be discerning, it must be deep, it must be personal, specific".

Because neither the Bishop, neither priest nor svetnica nor Sexton is not entitled to shield from the man of God. After all, the Church and the Orthodox Church are the communion of the soul with the living God. And nothing should interfere with this. Everything in the temple is obliged to contribute to this: and the Holy icons, the prostrations and censing, and Holy water, and singing, and the reading of prayers.

Even the Sacraments of the Church – the essence of grace the means which are perches the ladder by which man, with God's help, climbs to the sky. You never want to forget. And you can never do from Church bylaws or from a local temple and parish traditions of the finished idol. It is a profound mistake, which, unfortunately, is very common... All this is not an end in itself. This tool is the boat for travel on celestial spiritual water to the Almighty.

And these items need to go to temple worship. About what we say and the Holy fathers. Remember the fourth act of the seventh Ecumenical Council on the veneration of the Holy icons: "...to use the scenic images that they can come to the recollection and remembrance of the prototype and be made partakers of a consecration."

In this dogma almost directly says that the Holy icons – is fertile means that visually, emotionally, artistically, and, finally, spiritual impression through the eye to ascend to the prototype, i.e. to God, to be sanctified from Him, partakers of His light.

On this issue I wanted to say exactly that. Not to give a dry manual, but rather a living feeling, a trembling in his chest. Need to find life in God, and not entangled in the web of external moves and characters.



Of course, there are certain rules that must be followed. So, for example, three times to be baptized when entering the Church we should honor the Holy Trinity. But this should not be a dry form, but our living confession of faith in the Holy Trinity – the father, the Son and the Holy spirit. With these thoughts, feelings and aspirations we triple cross before entering the temple.

Our next mandatory step is the Church's icon or the icon of the feast at the Central lectern to the Church. Usually we have a triple cross with small waist or bows. By tradition, twice before kissing the image, once after.

Great post usually before the icon of Christ or a Crucifix placed prostrations. But it also should not be a purely mechanical action. We clearly need to understand what it's doing.

The icon of the feast is the symbol of the event that in a given day or over a long period of time the Church lives. Usually occasion, especially the twelve – is the event underlying the Divine plan of salvation of mankind. Because logically, mentally and spiritually we must experience the joy that through the kissing of icons and worship have become partakers of the feast, as partakers of his own salvation realized by God.

Temple the icon of the Saint at the Central lectern is a symbol of what the Saint of God dwells in the Church and is its patron Saint. Because kissing her temple the way we like to greet a good friend living in the house of God, and ask him the assistance of prayer and intercession before the Lord.

Where then to put the candles, some icons to kiss or before what images to put the earth (are baptized, then touch forehead to the ground, kneeling), or waist (are baptized, and then pull the fingers of the right hand floor), or small bows (cross and slightly tilts his head and torso) is your own business. Usually candles are also put for the repose of the dead on a special metal table with many small candlesticks and a Crucifix – eve (canonice).

Of course, there are some limitations, if the temple is worship. It is advisable to come before the service starts and put candles, kissing icons, so you do not make a fuss and to concentrate on the service that is made specifically for us and should be for the soul's journey to God. Then our heart will become like a hollow vessel into which flows the word of God seocious and saving.



But the cases are different. I, for example, not being a priest, ran the temple before work, which already was the divine Liturgy, lit candles, five or ten minutes listening to the service, asking the Lord's blessing for the day. This Church was corrected daily.

If the temple is worship, and you came on my need to put a candle, try to be as unobtrusively as possible so as not to disturb the worshipers.

I would also like to say a few words about the situations, when brought to the temple shrines, relics for example. Then there are large crowds. If you see a long queue, do not make unnecessary movements, for example threefold prostrations: crossed himself, kissed the Holy relics and walked away. Because of you hundreds of people who also want to venerate the Shrine.

Make prostration to mentally, inside of his heart, and to pray to a Saint to ask him for help in any of your business and you can stand in a queue or moving away from the little ark with the relics.

 

 

Empress Alexandra: On marriage and family life. Record, 1899,Elder paisios of the Holy mountain: a Parent's blessing is the greatest legacy for the children

In a word, dear brothers and sisters, let us remember that our main task in the Church – to learn to talk with the living God, and all the rest should not interfere with this, but to help. And everything that happens in the temple, we must be right: not as an end in itself, but as the grace of the needed funds, helping to nurture a love for God and neighbor.

As he said his Beatitude Metropolitan of Kyiv and all Ukraine Volodymyr (Sabodan): "the Main thing in fasting is not to eat each other". That's the same in the temple for worship, and in our daily life the main thing is not to eat each other but to help each other: with God's help, to rise from one degree to another, connecting with God and with his neighbor in the conciliar unity of brotherly love.

 

Priest Andrey Chizhenko Placed Seconds

 

P. S. And remember, only by changing their consumption — together we change the world! ©

Source: matveychev-oleg.livejournal.com/4482211.html