Are icons bought in a church shop consecrated? On the consecration of icons and other objects
An invariable attribute of any Orthodox person is an icon. It symbolizes faith in the highest, protects from bad things. On the icons the masters depict the faces of saints, Mother of God, Jesus. First of all, the prayer is addressed not to the canvas with paints, but to the one who is depicted. The task of the icon is to create a kind of spiritual bridge through which a person can come to the Lord.
Since ancient times, icons have protected the house and owners from evil forces and helped in difficult situations. Spiritual culture, having passed through millennia, has shaped the spiritual world of a believer, and is reflected in the form of these works of art. A rite of consecration must be carried out over any icon. Using special prayers before consecration, the amulet receives the Lord's blessing, and at the end it is sprinkled with water. Speaking in in a general sense, the image of the saints becomes a mediator in prayer between earthly worlds and Divine.
Consecration of the icon
Consecration is considered a rite of blessing an icon, endowing it with prayer and spiritual strength.
The ordinary Christian often asks whether it is possible to sanctify a face at home. Here opinions differ. Some believe that a woman consecrated in a temple, a place prayed over by time, gains great strength, others are of the opinion that a priest with prayers is able to consecrate her in the house that she will protect. The second option is often followed when the iconography, for certain reasons, cannot be delivered to the church.
It is not necessary to consecrate an icon purchased from a church. But you need to know how to consecrate an icon bought in a store, otherwise it will not gain its power. Only after the ceremony can one venerate the image and pray.
The lighting ritual looks like this:
- the priest reads special prayers over the icon;
- “envelops” her in smoke from incense;
- sprinkles with holy water.
The whole process does not take much time.
Prayer for the consecration of the icon of the house
When illuminating hand-made images of saints, the process becomes more intimate and takes on a spiritual character. By giving his prayer to the image, a person mentally connects with higher powers, so to speak, enters into resonance with them. The prayer for the consecration of the icon of the house sounds like this:
“By the grace of the Most Holy Spirit and the sprinkling of this holy water, this image is sanctified and blessed: in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, amen.”
The phrase must be repeated three times. In this way you can also consecrate a cross on your body.
The consecration of the face of a saint is a very serious sacrament, and it must be approached responsibly. If a Christian believes in the power of ritual and the Lord, then it is better to consecrate the images in the temple by a priest. This is a prerequisite for family icons that are passed down through the family, or, for example, with the image of a person’s guardian angel. This image serves as a talisman for its owner and plays a special role in his life.
Some housewives are famous for their ability to embroider pictures. And, almost every believing family has a hand-embroidered image of saints. Such an icon has special meaning for its owner, since it was created from scratch, and after long work it acquired its beauty and it is also consecrated by the priest, sometimes as church utensils.
Many icon-making workshops or stores offer to buy images that have already been consecrated. But it won’t be superfluous to carry out this procedure again, being present in person.
The task of any image is to enrich the spiritual world of a person, to serve as a guide to the spiritual world. Every believer needs to know what prayer to read when consecrating an icon. It should not be perceived as a simple work of art. Behind the beautiful colors or canvases lies a deep world of philosophy and religion.
In ancient times there was no practice of consecrating icons. We find evidence of this from the VII Ecumenical Council, which says that icons are holy by the similarity of the image to the person depicted and by the inscription of the name, which confirms this similarity.
The need for a special rite of consecration arose only when the images themselves ceased to be “similar” in the original ancient understanding. That is, when they ceased to clearly express the holiness of the person depicted and the believers began to ask the clergy to do something to make the image holy.
The practice of sanctification arose first in the West. The ritual involved sprinkling the icon with holy water and reading a special prayer. However, the rite of consecration cannot make a sacred image out of an unsacred image. Because if a given image is not an icon in its style and artistic properties, it will not become an icon through sprinkling with holy water.
This means that the only understanding of the act of consecrating an icon is to perceive consecration as the acceptance of a given image by the Church, in order to certify by this consecration that the image is worthy (has necessary qualities), in order to be included in the liturgical life of the Church. But believers can really pray in front of this image to God and the saint, and this image will help correct prayer. At the same time, the priest must have a fairly good understanding of such issues, for which there are the disciplines “theology of the icon” or “Orthodox iconology (iconology).”
“According to this rite, which is contained in our missals, icons were not consecrated in the old days,” writes Archimandrite Zinon. It is called the rite of blessing, not consecration, and should be considered as the Church’s approval of this image, and not as some kind of sacramental act. After all, no one It will come to your mind, having bought a new Gospel, before starting to read it, it is not the substance that is venerated in the icon, but the person depicted. The inscription is necessary, as they used to say, in order for the spirit of the person praying to be established, that is, so that the person praying knows exactly who he is addressing. , because the iconography of many saints is similar."
The inscription of the name of a saint is similar to the naming of a baby. In ancient times it was done not by an icon painter, but by a bishop, thus certifying that the icon was executed canonically correctly. Now this action has been replaced by the rite of illuminating the icon, after which we have no doubt that the face of a specific saint is looking at us, to whom we can pray, which means that the work becomes an icon.
Thus, in our time, icons began to be consecrated to confirm the holiness of what is depicted. Actually this action can be understood as evidence from the Church that the one who is inscribed is canonically correctly depicted, which means the icon is genuine. It is important to remember that before consecration the icon must be treated with the same reverence and respect as after. By consecrating any other object, we invoke the grace of the Holy Spirit. An icon is holy only because the Lord, the Mother of God or saints are depicted on it.
During religious rituals, believers, being in front of their chosen icon, can perform many different actions. These include, first of all, the following: placing candles, worship, application and prayer. Their implementation allows people to establish a spiritual connection between the earthly and heavenly worlds so that the Lord God can hear their used appeal, providing all kinds of help. However, it is important to understand that any shrine existing in the temple can produce extraordinary benefits only if it is consecrated in advance.
The consecration of an icon involves the performance of a church ceremony, the main participation of which is holy water and the reading of special prayers that endow the icon with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Only after all these actions, carried out by the clergy, will the consecrated icons in the church acquire higher power, turning from artistic images at the shrine.
Story
In history Ancient Rus', the process of consecration of icons was recorded for the first time after colossal liberal reforms, which were held in Russian Orthodox churches in the mid-17th century AD. Since 1650, to receive grace from the Holy Spirit, priests began to use a rite specially designed for this procedure.
For some shrines, there are special ranks, the text of which differs from each other. This is typical for the following icons:
- Trinity;
- Christ;
- Mother of God.
The consecration procedure itself can take place at any time. But most often this set of ritual actions occurs after the morning service. And the most common time that is set aside specifically for the consecration of icons in the church is holidays and Sundays.
Purchasing icons
Some people believe that purchased items depicting the Virgin Mary or Jesus Christ are originally sacred images. And therefore, it is not at all necessary to consecrate them, since they are initially sacred due to their origin. However, for people who still try to stick to the old Orthodox traditions, the additional Blessing of the priest will only increase confidence in the higher power of the icon, consecrating the icon correctly according to religious canons.
Many people consecrate icons at home, first inviting a priest to their home. Those who are wary of this kind of undertaking independently read a prayer and sprinkle the new icon with holy water.
The importance of the ritual
The consecration of icons is important for Orthodox culture and religious believers in general.
It allows you to bless the artistic biblical images depicted on the canvas.
Consecrated icons become fully recognized canons of the church. In addition, the spiritual connection with God becomes strong and people are heard.
Many people also perform a consecration ceremony for the premises or after purchasing a new car. Moving to new apartment, people may be disturbed by a negative atmosphere, causing various worries. And in this case, consecration using prayer and holy water can restore the energy balance of the house, giving the interior warmth and a cozy atmosphere. During this church ceremony, children will be comfortable learning lessons in a consecrated room, and adults will be able to carry out their household duties.
It is best to consecrate an apartment or house on Thursday.
To perform this procedure, the first thing you need to do is light candles in the church and read the following prayer in front of them:
Wonderworker Nikolai, bless me to cleanse the apartment and drive out demonic power from it. Let it be so. Amen.
The canonical Orthodox icon shows us a world transformed by the grace of God. An icon is not a realistic image. Using special techniques, special colors, and in symbolic form, the icon painter conveys a different, spiritual reality - the reality of the Kingdom of God. If we see the image of a saint on an icon, we are not just looking at a portrait of a Christian who lived in a certain era, despite the fact that portrait resemblance is inherent in the iconographic image. On the icon we see the image of a person, changed, purified, ennobled by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
The icon shows the spiritual appearance of a person, and is always turned to the praying person standing in front of it, because, like a saint, he remains in the spiritual world in unceasing prayer. The icon was created for prayer; its meaning is revealed only through prayer.
The chosen ones of Christ, who have acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit in earthly life, stand before the throne of God in eternal joy and bliss in the other world. In our lives, saints of God are spiritual intermediaries between God and people. The saints, especially those close to us in time, are well aware of all the difficulties and sorrows of earthly life. Out of love and compassion for people, they pray to God himself, for those who ask for their help.
The saints of God, for their special Christian feat, patience and humility, received many gifts from God: healing the sick, helping the suffering, consolation and admonition. Everyone knows that St. Nicholas the Wonderworker helps on the road and in travel. Students from first-graders to undergraduate and graduate students pray to St. Sergius of Radonezh. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, St. Sergius helps in understanding science and passing exams. In St. Petersburg there is a tradition of asking St. for help in many problems. blzh. Xenia of St. Petersburg is the patroness of the city and intercessor of all believers.
From time immemorial, Russian people have known that in difficult, insoluble circumstances one must pray with all one’s soul to one’s beloved saint or one’s heavenly patron and surrender everything into the hands of God. Many of us have this experience of incomprehensible resolution of problems through prayer to the saints.
Consecration of the icon
As for the consecration of icons, modern Church There are opposing opinions. Some clergy, based on the experience of the Middle Ages, believe that an image painted strictly according to iconographic canons represents embodied holiness. The Lord is holy - which means His image, created by the icon painter in prayer and with blessing, is also, undoubtedly, holy and worthy of worship. The name of God is holy, and every image is accompanied by the writing of the name. Therefore, no additional consecration is required.
Nowadays, the ancient traditions of icon painting, dating back to the works of the great Andrei Rublev, Daniil Cherny and other icon painters, are being successfully revived. If you have purchased an icon painted according to the old canons, you can place it in your home and pray in front of it without resorting to an additional rite of consecration.
At the same time, in modern Russian Orthodox Church There is a special rite for the consecration of icons. The rite of consecration of icons consists of reading special prayers and sprinkling with holy water. In practice, this ritual began to be used after the Schism and spread during the Synodal period.
Today it is customary to consecrate old, restored icons as a sign of the Church’s blessing on prayer before the found image. Embroidered icons are also blessed. Sometimes priests recommend consecrating an icon purchased in an antique store or given as a gift. New icon from a church bench you can immediately place it on the wall or on a shelf and pray in front of it. If there are doubts, and for some reason you want to consecrate the purchased icon in the temple, you should consult with the priest and do as the priest bless. In any case, there is nothing reprehensible in the rite of consecration of icons.
Where do they place icons of saints in the house?
Icons in the house of a believer can be located in all rooms, in the kitchen and in the hallway. Icons should be placed on the eastern wall, since Christians pray facing east. but if this is not possible due to the layout, it is permissible to place the icons where there is enough free space. It is important to remember that in the interior of an apartment, icons should be separated from secular paintings, decorative panels and other decorations. The icon is placed in the apartment to pray before it. 
Prayer before the icon of a saint requires certain conditions - silence, concentration. Therefore, you probably shouldn’t place icons in walk-through rooms, where children usually play, as well as in areas of the house cluttered with things, furniture, and other things. Prayer presupposes the presence of free space, order and silence.
Practice shows that it is most convenient when all the icons are placed somewhere in one place, on a shelf or rack, where a person usually reads morning and evening prayers, and generally prays. This corner creates a special prayer atmosphere; nothing reminds you of everyday activities or distracts you. But individual icons of saints can be placed above the work desk, above the child’s school corner, as well as in the dining room or kitchen where the family has lunch.
All Orthodox Christians venerate holy icons. On the icons, icon painters depict the faces of holy people, the Mother of God and Jesus Christ. Thanks to icons, it is easier for us to pray. We pray not to the canvas, paints and board, but precisely to the person who is depicted. The tradition of honoring icons was approved at the VII Ecumenical Council. The rite of consecration is performed over each icon that will be used in spiritual life.
This rite provides for a sacred rite in which the priest reads several prayers for consecration and sprinkles holy water on the image. The ritual lasts 10-15 minutes. Only after this can one pray and venerate the icon. Now the grace of God works through her.
If you buy an icon in a temple or monastery, then in most cases they have already been consecrated and you do not need to perform this rite again. Before putting a church item up for sale, the heads of church shops invite a priest to consecrate the new product. Be sure to ask the seller if the images you want to buy are blessed.
Of course, in secular stores there is no such invitation from a priest. Therefore, having bought an image in a store, you should come to the temple and ask the priest to perform the necessary rite. In villages and small towns, churches are opened on Saturday and Sunday mornings, as well as on days church holidays. In the city, large temples are open every day until lunch. Focus on this time.
Upon entering the temple, first cross yourself and venerate the icon on the central lectern. Next, ask the elder or the seller of the church shop with your request. In any case, there will be a person on duty in the central part of the temple. The priest is mainly located in the altar.
Icons can be consecrated in homes. Pre-arrange with the priest so that he comes to your house. Very often the rite of consecration of icons is performed with other rites and sacraments. For example, you need to consecrate a building. The priest comes to you and can perform several church rituals: and church items.
How to treat unconsecrated icons
The task of the icon is to serve the spiritual growth of a person. It must be used for church purposes only. But the realities of human life show that icons or paintings depicting saints can be painted different people for various purposes. For example, some artists exhibit paintings of saints at their exhibitions. We also see a lot in magazines and newspapers. How to deal with such images? Of course, they are not ecclesiastical because they are not sanctified. The very image of holy personalities on any material requires respect on the part of a believer. We do not use such icons for prayer, but we treat them with neatness.
