Prayer corners

[Justin Frank]

Christ is among us!

I thought it would be nice to start a thread about prayer corners in the home - thoughts, anecdotes, related quotes, suggestions, etc...

I am still a catachumen, but have taken the step of constructing a prayer corner in my my modest "efficiency" apt. The only prayer corner I have seen is the picture posted on the Orthodox Church entry on the Wikipedia website. It's very beautiful, but doesn't appear to be in a corner, actually. I don't know which is more common, but I decided to build mine in a corner ( I am fortunate that I have an available corner that faces east.) I tapped a nail directly into the corner and hung a cross on it, it looks good there, almost as though it is floating in the corner. I hung an icon of Christ to the right of the corner and one of the Theotokos on the left, both blessed by my priest. I placed a small table in the corner and my prayer book and bible are resting in top of it.

I'm not intending to boast about my corner, if I seem to be boasting, please forgive me and pray for me. I only want to explain what I have done, and open a conversation. Any communication on this topic will be greatly appreciated...

[Robert Hegwood]

It is my understanding that an icon corner/home altar should face east if possible. If that is not possible or practical for the room in question then the corner or wall for it should be the most prominant place easily seen when entering the room.

In my bedroom I have an icon corner but in my den/dining room I have an home altar. Since I live in an appartment I don't want to put holes in the wall so use a couple of baker's racks for my icon shelves and set my icons and home worship paraphenallia on them...with three shelves it gives me a bit of an iconostasis effect.

[Cyprian (Humphrey)]

Glory to God for all things!

May God bless you richly in starting off your prayer corner. I don't think I actually have any advice that needs to be listened to, certainly not without checking with your spiritual father first!

I've seen many variations in prayer corners, so I don't think there are many "rules". It's more like there are principles that one tries to accomodate within ones ability. The constraints of space and architecture sometimes alter things.

If one could have a prayer space in the, or one of the, eastern corners that is great. Sometimes it works out more aesthetically pleasing to be an eastern wall, nather than a corner (that's what I have). The principle is that we prefer to face east when praying since that is the direction of sunrise. Sunrise is seen as an "icon in nature" of the resurrection. But if you've got a space that would be perfect for a prayer space, but just doesn't face east, I wouldn't worry too much. You could have a "liturgical east" that just might not correspond to the geographic east. :-)

With regard to placement of icons, one could follow roughly follow the general order seen on your church iconostasis (Christ to the immediate right, the Theotokos to the immediate left, and other saints in decreasing rank). If, however, you have one icon in the centre, Christ is naturally going to be place pre-eminently there (sometimes within an icon of the Theotokos and Child). It would be a bit weird to see a central icon of one of the saints, and Christ off to the side of that (but, if they're gifts of differing sizes, do the best you can).

I don't know if any of this helps or not, but just think of the two principles of: a. preferring to face east; and b. Christ figures centrally.

I wonder if people would be interested in sharing photos of their prayer corners/areas?

But feel free to ignore what I have to say.

the unworthy,

Br Cyprian

[Herman Blaydoe]

FWIW, here is my Prayer Corner:

Herman's Prayer Corner (http://www.monachos.net/forum/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=256)

St. Herman is in the center. I also have dirt from his grave on the table as well as relics from the garment of St Nectarios, along with Holy Water and Oil. I have ***** willows and palms from Palm Sundays past in a vase on the floor.

Herman

[Andrew]

In my room when I go back home, I have all my icons up on my Western wall (I wish I had them on the Eastern one, but there isn't much room for them).

In my dorm I can't put nails into the wall, so I have all my icons on my desk flat againts the table, with my Romanian icon of the Theotokos surrounded by my other icons... my patron Saint Andrew to Her right hand, an icon of the Trinity to Her left, with an icon of the face of Our Lord underneath that. Underneath the icon of the Theotokos is an icon of the Forerunner, and flanking him are Saint John the Wonderworker, Saint Seraphim, Saint Justin Popovich, Saint Silouan, and a few others. On the wall adjacent to the desk I have pictures I've printed out of Elder Joseph, Elder Sophrony, and Matthew the Poor, along with an image of the Judgement, and two icon postcards from Holy Archangels Monastery. I have some oil of Saint John the Wonderworker and a bottle of Holy Water near all of this... it takes up a lot of room. I wish I could put up all this on my wall, but oh well. I like hearing about other people's prayer spaces :)

[Paul Cowan]

Herman:
I would love to see your prayer corner, but apparently do not yet have sufficient priveldges on Monachos to view it. My loss. Perhaps one day I will. Do you have this available on your public viewing section?

[Mary]

Herman:
I would love to see your prayer corner, but apparently do not yet have sufficient priveldges on Monachos to view it. My loss. Perhaps one day I will. Do you have this available on your public viewing section?

This is most amusing. I do not have sufficient priveledges to veiw Herman's prayer corner either! I wonder if that's because I was coveting his disclaimer! Have you been trying to steal it too, Paul? =)

Mary.

[Justin Frank]

This is most amusing. I do not have sufficient priveledges to veiw Herman's prayer corner either!...

Mary.

Niether do I -

?

[Marie A.]

Neither do I. Is there any way we can "fix" it so we can see his icon corner?

[Herman Blaydoe]

OOPS! Mea culpa. I figured out how to make it public vice private. Hopefully it works now.

Sorry!

[Nina]

OOPS! Mea culpa. I figured out how to make it public vice private. Hopefully it works now.

Sorry!

No need to apologize, you made it even more intriguing! :)

Great job with the Prayer Corner!

P.S Can you tell me please what do the stars (****), you used on the post above, mean?

[Marie A.]

Thanks! I can see it now. It is very nice. Maybe I'll try to post one of mine later. I use our piano to lay out my icons since no one plays it and it is the best place in the house to have it.

[Herman Blaydoe]

No need to apologize, you made it even more intriguing! :)

Great job with the Prayer Corner!

P.S Can you tell me please what do the stars (****), you used on the post above, mean?

The stars are the result of the automatic editing of this site, I guess to prevent obscene language. I was trying to name the branches of the bush that the Slavic tradition substitutes for palm leaves, from the family Salicaceae (Willow Family) (http://www.borealforest.org/shrubs/shrub44.htm), also called catkins.

[Robert Rager]

Here's my Icon Corner. Now all I have to do is find room for my most recent icon, The Holy Unmercenaries.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/NJRob/iconcornercopy.jpg

[Cyprian (Humphrey)]

Thanks so far to all who have shared. I know I came up with the idea of posting photos and have not done so myself.

That's because I just got a digital camera that I can do it with and promptly broke it. It's in for repairs, and I promise to post my icon corner as soon as it is back.

[Archbishop Lazar]

Roger, don't forget an icon of the three women who founded the tradition of Unmercinary physicians, but are not portrayed in most of the icons, which for some reason portray only the male unmercenary physicians.

[Bob Kovacs]

Is it acceptable to use a Latin Cross with gold corpus in between two icons instead of a traditional 3 bar cross. I got a nice one which is made in Italy. I also got two very nice icons from Skete.com. And plan to get more.

http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9767/2006762vy1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/6773/t19qo3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/5858/j76rp3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Justin Frank]

Here is a photo of my prayer-corner. Space is pretty tight in my little studio apartment, so I moved it from an actual corner to a small wall that faces east. It's probably the most central location in my apartment, so I think that is a plus. The palm and willow are from Pascha '07. I noticed my spiritual father has some placed in much the same way in his office, so I thought it would be ok to do likewise in my prayer-corner. Any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated -

[Florianos]

God bless!!

I think it would be nice to have a vigil lamp burning( with oliv oil ) unceasingly burning in front of the icons and also incence burning!! It is an important and very old tradition to burn beeswax candles and olive oil lamps for God and the saints!!
I also would have a blessing handcross for venerating,kissing and blessing!!

In CHRIST

[Herman Blaydoe]

I think no criticism is necessary. It looks like a perfectly fit place to pray, humble and respectful. We don't have to have a full-blown iconostas. It obviously has prominance without dominating the room. As long as it works for you then it is perfect.

[John King]

Maybe I am unconventional, but I have my icons around the house rather than in a prayer corner. I have Christ Pantocrator by my front door, The Mother of God upstairs, my patron (St John the Apostle) in my home office (I work at home), a smaller Christ Pantocrator in my dining room together with some favourite saints.

I find that when I am busy, and going around the house, the icons remind me always to stop for a moment and say a prayer, several times each day. Similarly, Christ by my front door means I always remember to say a prayer on leaving the house, and Christ in the dining room means never forgetting to pray before a meal.

[Herman Blaydoe]

Many Orthodox Christians have icons in every room, that is not so unconventional. It is just that a prayer corner provides a nice focal point. Traditionally, when one enters an Orthodox Christian house, they would reverence the icon corner first. It is also the place for the priest to start for house blessings. It is the "altar" of the home church, but it certainly does not mean that icons can't be in other places as well!

[Effie Ganatsios]

FWIW, here is my Prayer Corner:

Herman's Prayer Corner (http://www.monachos.net/forum/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=256)

St. Herman is in the center. I also have dirt from his grave on the table as well as relics from the garment of St Nectarios, along with Holy Water and Oil. I have ***** willows and palms from Palm Sundays past in a vase on the floor.

Herman

Beautiful Herman.

Here in Greece, we have icon corners in each house. These consist of a special box that fits into a corner of a wall facing east, with a glass door in front. We place our special icons in this box - I have one of the Theotokos that my husband's auntie gave me after she visited Jerusalem. There is a brass chain with a brass or crystal cup used for the holy oil in front of the icon box. There is a gadget that allows us to pull this down, fill it with oil, light it and then lift it up again. In our Icon box we also place the laurel and bay leaves from the services for Christ's entrance into Jerusalem each easter, we add flowers from the epitaphio and also one perfect red Easter egg. Some women keep these boiled eggs for years and the yolk becomes a yellow stone.

We say our prayers morning and night before this icon corner.

A lot of apartments and houses here are built with plaster icon boxes - these are especially lovely. If your house doesn't have one though, carved wooden ones can be bought from shops that sell church items.

In my mother's time, the icon corner was more like the one in your picture, with a ledge built into the wall at eye level. Above this ledge there would be an icon box with a glass door - larger than the one we have now - and women would crochet lace - the finest they could make - to screen the box window with the icons in it. The cup of oil would be placed on the ledge, refilled and lit every night just before the nightly prayers.

Effie

[Effie Ganatsios]

Maybe I am unconventional, but I have my icons around the house rather than in a prayer corner. I have Christ Pantocrator by my front door, The Mother of God upstairs, my patron (St John the Apostle) in my home office (I work at home), a smaller Christ Pantocrator in my dining room together with some favourite saints.

I find that when I am busy, and going around the house, the icons remind me always to stop for a moment and say a prayer, several times each day. Similarly, Christ by my front door means I always remember to say a prayer on leaving the house, and Christ in the dining room means never forgetting to pray before a meal.

John, icons can be placed wherever you want them, not just in the icon corner. I love what you describe in your second paragraph. I have a small, precious icon of the theotokos in my bedroom, and have another large one that my cousin who is a monk, sent me from Aghios Oros - Holy Mountain, next to my front door. The design of my house is an open plan design, so I am lucky enough to have to go past this icon to get from the bedroom, bathroom, computer and TV area to the rest of the house, which means continuously all day long.

I often stop and say a little prayer and think about Her.

You say you also say a prayer on leaving the house. We always cross ourselves when we leave the house in the morning, or when we start on a journey. This is not superstition as some might think but, as you say, a reminder of who we are and who is in control of our lives.


Effie

[Effie Ganatsios]

Here's my Icon Corner. Now all I have to do is find room for my most recent icon, The Holy Unmercenaries.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/NJRob/iconcornercopy.jpg


Lovely icon corner Rob. The cross, in particular interested me because my mother inherited a similar one from her mother, who inherited it from her grandmother. My mother recently sent it to me. It is minus one arm and the colour of the bottom of the cross suggests that my mum tried to clean it or something, but it is so old and has such a beautiful incense aroma (how to explain this aroma I don't know) that I cherish it and have placed it in my icon box.

She also sent me a tiny cross - pale yellow in colour and made of some unknown natural material that I think might be mastic or resin or some other similar material. This tiny cross has beautiful hand carving on it (I can't imagine how this was done) and is as old as the wooden cross.

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous posts is that all icons not bought from monasteries or churches are given to our priests and returned in 40 days after being blessed. My mother told me that our gold crosses should also be given to our priest for 40 days but I have to confess that I haven't done this. Our Baptismal crosses don't need to go through this procedure because they were blessed when we were christened.


Effie

[Nina]

Yes, I agree with John. Dispersing icons all over home is better and does not seem very cluttered and distractive if someone has lots and lots of icons in the icon corner. Even an iconostasis has a harmonious number and placement of icons. Also I do not know if this is true for all but at least in the tradition I know there are always religious objects in all areas of home.

Always there is the central place which is the prayer corner. When first entering a dwelling there is a cross (but it can also be an icon of Christ, or Panagia holding Christ). In the dining room there is usually the Last Supper icon, or the Philoxenia (Hospitality) of Abraham and Sarah. In the kitchen there is an icon of Saint Euphrosynos the cook.

In the bedrooms there are always crosses (over head) and there are the icons of the patron saints, and/or icons of Christ and Panagia. A couple keeps also their wedding crowns in a case in their bedroom (over head). Children in addition to the cross, and the icon of Panagia and Christ, and patron Saint can have in their bedroom the icon of the guardian angel. I also have heard a great idea about a baby's crib: gluing some small icons on the crib mobile, so when it rotates the baby can look at many Heavenly Faces. :)

In addition to favorite icons and patron saints, a family can have also icons of saints that are related to some trade, profession etc. in which the family is involved. For instance the students, or people of academia should have in their study the icon of the Three Hierarchs; a pilot, or driver can have the icon of Saint Christopher, Saint Nicholas etc.; a physician can have the icon (icons) of the saints who were physicians; a painter the icon of Saint Lukas the Apostle and so on. For cooks it is easy because they already have St. Euphrosynos' icon in the kitchen.

Also in the car there can be a cross, icon of Christ, or Panagia holding Christ, or Saint Christopher carrying Christ.

I was reading in a book of a Saint/Elder who commented that the TV/entertainment area have replaced the icon corners at homes in our times, by being the central focus in the living areas of the family.

P.S The icon of the Holy Trinity, the icon of Christ (and if Panagia is holding Christ this icon also) and the Cross should always be higher than any other icon on the same wall/room.

[Father Anthony]

While I do not want to make this a boast by any means, I would like to make this little contribution to this thread. One of the first things I was taught about living as an Orthodox Christian was that each has a "church in the home" or icon corner. When I still young and living with my parents, that was limited to my room and a little area set up with a couple icons, a lamp, prayer book, etc. This was done before I made the final step to enter the church, and has always reminded me of the presence of God and His saints in my home and in my life.

Now that I live on my own, I have icon corners set in each bedroom, my studio, my living and dining room and my kitchen. It is a reminder to pray, a reminder as to conduct myself, and a visible witness to the faith to all that may visit. The icons are not decorations, but carefully chosen witnesses that I have testimony to in my life through their intercessions. Some represent milestones, others I identify with and look to their lives as a witness to model my own lifestyle after. In society today, many are afraid to exhibit that they are Orthodox Christians. They are afraid to witness their faith. When surrounded by the Lord, His mother, and the saints, it gives us a witness and a goal to live our lives by.

My icon corner reminds me to pray, to talk to God and express through prayer that which is good in my life and that which is troubling me. It reminds me to read his word, and it also reminds me to keep in touch with the church through the sanctoral calendar. What each places in their church in the home (icon corner) depends on the individual and their devotion to different saints. How elaborate or how simple depends on you, but as long as you have as the center Christ (an icon of our Lord, a Cross, or an icon of the Theotokos), His word (the bible), and a guide to talk with him and worship (a prayer book), you have started to build your church in the home. Now be faithful to Him and make Him a part of your daily life, thus living the life He has called us all to live.

I'm sorry for my jumbled thoughts.

In IC XC,
Father Anthony+

[M.C. Steenberg]

I do think there is a difference between the practice of having icons located throughout one's home -- above the bed, over doors, in the kitchen, at the entry, etc. -- and the practice of developing an icon corner, or 'home church', which is something different.

The former is the fruit of the desire to see the life of the Body of Christ in every function of day-to-day life, in every space of the home. The latter is the focal point for the prayers offered in the home - the 'chapel' of the house at which the household (whether one or a family) fathers regularly for prayer.

INXC, Matthew

[Nina]

I do think there is a difference between the practice of having icons located throughout one's home -- above the bed, over doors, in the kitchen, at the entry, etc. -- and the practice of developing an icon corner, or 'home church', which is something different.

The former is the fruit of the desire to see the life of the Body of Christ in every function of day-to-day life, in every space of the home. The latter is the focal point for the prayers offered in the home - the 'chapel' of the house at which the household (whether one or a family) fathers regularly for prayer.

INXC, Matthew

Yes, of course.

[Effie Ganatsios]

A lovely post Father Anthony.

And, of course, as Mathew Steenberg reminded us there is a difference between various icons throughout the house and our icon corner which is the focus point of our prayer life. As I said I sometimes say a short prayer in front of the Panayia Portaitissa miracle working icon I mentioned before, but morning and evening prayers are always said in front of our icon corner, looking up at the iconostasis. This is also where our priest stands when he comes to bless our house.

Effie

[Peter S.]

I do think there is a difference between the practice of having icons located throughout one's home -- above the bed, over doors, in the kitchen, at the entry, etc. -- and the practice of developing an icon corner, or 'home church', which is something different.

The former is the fruit of the desire to see the life of the Body of Christ in every function of day-to-day life, in every space of the home. The latter is the focal point for the prayers offered in the home - the 'chapel' of the house at which the household (whether one or a family) fathers regularly for prayer.

INXC, Matthew

I have one icon of Christ in the corner of my room which I pray to when I can,that means regularly in the mornings and evenings. But actually I have another icon of Christ which is my "favourite", in the same small room which I pray to too. This icon is more "personal" to me, since this is the icon it is most easy for me to see when I am sitting at my place in this room. This icon of Christ is my focal point in a way.

I watch this icon often and share some thoughts with him,that means have contact with Christ, and that is also a kind of prayer, as I have read it is, but I don't remember where or who said that...I think it was St. Seraphim of Sarov, among others.

And this kind of prayer is the one which I do most,more often than the guiding prayers I can pray in the morning and evening. So maybe I also can call this other icon-place an iconcorner in my room?? It feels like that for me.

Peter

[Paul Cowan]

Peter,

The Orthodox custom is to have the prayer corner facing east as the Sun (Son) rises in the east and as our churchs face east for this same reason. In my house, I don't have an open place that faces east except for the wet bar, which I will not make into an iconstasis. Not that there is ANY alcohol, we don't drink, but I don't feel it appropirate.

Instead, I have a corner picked out that technically faces WNW, that is perfect for me. I think it more important to


Matthew 6:6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

It is not for show for others. This is your private space to devote to God. If I can find our camera, I will post my corner today.

Paul

[Peter S.]

I just wanted to sa that I am praying more to the icon which is not in my icon corner. My entire room is my "home church", not only my icon corner. (And I have just one room.)

Neither I have an icon corner facing east but west, because it is not possible to have a corner facing east, but I have an icon facing more east.

Peter

[Effie Ganatsios]

Yes, we pray in secret, as we fast, it is all between ourselves and our God.

Icon corners were so personal in the past, they were usually in the main bedroom and women would pray in front of them in the evening, just before bed. They would tell the Panayia all about their days, ask Her for her help in everyday matters, even scold Her sometimes for not doing what was asked of Her. This sounds disrespectful but I believe that these women felt so close to our Theotokos that they regarded Her as a member of the family and did not hesitate to treat Her as such.


Effie

[Anthony]

Just going back to this thread, which I thought was very valuable, I have a couple of ignorant questions. I am at the moment beginning to get an icon corner together, having put most of my icons away for a while because of a problem with damp (not that I have many). I am using the top shelf of a set of bookshelves, until I maybe find inspiration in the local Ikea :).

1. Can somebody recommend any good Orthodox sites where you can order icons on-line. I would like in particular to take Nina's advice and put an icon of the Three Hierarchs in my office at university. (It might also prompt me to tidy the place up a little.)

2. Blessing of icons. I was originally told that this is not considered so indispensable in the Greek as in the Russian tradition - that icons were blessed, so to speak, by being used as icons. (This is rather contradicted by what I have read here.) Consequently almost all my icons are unblessed, most of them photograph icons that I was given and which I have put in frames. Is that a serious problem, and if so what should I do about it?

3. I used to include Bibles and similar in the same area. Several of these, especially the Bibles, are actually not Orthodox publications as such. Again, does this matter?

Thank you for any thoughts.

[Nina]

Just going back to this thread, which I thought was very valuable, I have a couple of ignorant questions. I am at the moment beginning to get an icon corner together, having put most of my icons away for a while because of a problem with damp (not that I have many). I am using the top shelf of a set of bookshelves, until I maybe find inspiration in the local Ikea :).

1. Can somebody recommend any good Orthodox sites where you can order icons on-line. I would like in particular to take Nina's advice and put an icon of the Three Hierarchs in my office at university. (It might also prompt me to tidy the place up a little.)

2. Blessing of icons. I was originally told that this is not considered so indispensable in the Greek as in the Russian tradition - that icons were blessed, so to speak, by being used as icons. (This is rather contradicted by what I have read here.) Consequently almost all my icons are unblessed, most of them photograph icons that I was given and which I have put in frames. Is that a serious problem, and if so what should I do about it?

3. I used to include Bibles and similar in the same area. Several of these, especially the Bibles, are actually not Orthodox publications as such. Again, does this matter?

Thank you for any thoughts.

Dear Anthony,

Yours is a cheerful post. Not different from other posts from you. I was giggling about some things but most about the IKEA comment.

A clarification for the rest of the friends here (because I know that you know it). What I said here, it is not my advise. I either read it in some Orthodox book, or learned it from spiritual father, or spiritual mother, or my family tradition (in this case I can not tell). Also if you refer to the posts about the patron saints to whom we pray for interceding to God about various problem, you will see that students and academics pray to the Three Hierarchs.

Anthony, I try to get icons from a monastery, or made in a monastery (or from a pious, faithful iconographer), because they are produced with love and prayer (this is what Elder Paisios the New of Mount Athos advices) and of course blessed. I remember a very dear spiritual person who advised: "There are many iconographers today. Some use incense, prayer,chanting, tears when making the icon (it meant the monastics, or pious, faithful iconographers). Some others are smoking, etc." (it meant those who consider iconography just like all other professions in the world).

For the rest, I am sorry because I do not know. And I do not think your questions are ignorant.

[Herman Blaydoe]

1. I recommend Skete.com (http://www.skete.com/). They have a very good selection, if you are looking for prints.

2. Real icons are an act of prayer themselves, prints or photographs of icons, not so much. If you are getting prints, and your priest is in the practice of blessing them, then no reason not to have it done. Never hurts to check with your priest regardless.

3. Things that are part of the Holy Corner itself tend to be "blessed" items, prayer books, relics, Holy Water, Blessed Oil, and such. Of course Holy Scripture, whether or not an official Orthodox publication, is never out of place. Beyond that, use your judgement and again, advice of your local priest.

My simple thoughts, such as they are.

Herman

[Nina]

In our days, people prefer to purchase their icons and other items from monasteries. They do so because they know that monks and nuns say the Jesus prayer while working and everything they do is blessed. When people visit a monastery and eat food cooked without oil, they find it very tasty and say:
- I haven’t eaten such a tasty dish even in the best restaurant. How can it be so tasty when it is cooked without oil?
When the cook of a restaurant curses while he is cooking and never goes to church, how can the food be blessed? On the contrary, the monk is praying while cooking and his heart is filled with positive thoughts; he thinks that he is preparing food for earthy angels to eat. Moreover, when monks sit at the table to eat, they say a prayer to bless the food. How is it possible then for the food not to taste good?

Elder Paisios. Link (http://www.pigizois.net/agglika/paisios/on_prayer_paisios.htm)

[Constantine]

1. I recommend Skete.com (http://www.skete.com/). They have a very good selection, if you are looking for prints.

Herman

I would also recommend Uncut Mountain Supply (http://www.uncutmountainsupply.com/) as well as Not of This World Icons (http://www.notofthisworldicons.com/). There are others, too, but these are among my favorites.

I hope this is helpful.

Yours in Christ,
Constantine

[Andreas Moran]

Bishop Eirenaos said, 'have a place of prayer in your house. But there will be saints to whom you feel a certain attraction. Therefore, gather icons of these saints and place them about your house so that at all times you feel in their presence in your house. You could dedicate each room to a certain saint. But know this. Just as people come into and out of our lives, so certain saints will assume a special significance at certain times in our lives. So you can change the icons according to which saints are significant at certain times.'

[Kris]

1. Can somebody recommend any good Orthodox sites where you can order icons on-line. I would like in particular to take Nina's advice and put an icon of the Three Hierarchs in my office at university. (It might also prompt me to tidy the place up a little.)


I would recommend Come and See Icons (http://www.comeandseeicons.com/icons.htm). The icons are mounted very nicely (compared to what I've seen elsewhere) and prices (particularly with the current exchange rate) are very reasonable.

Not everything they have is that great, but I'm sure you'll find something you like.



2. Blessing of icons. I was originally told that this is not considered so indispensable in the Greek as in the Russian tradition - that icons were blessed, so to speak, by being used as icons. (This is rather contradicted by what I have read here.) Consequently almost all my icons are unblessed, most of them photograph icons that I was given and which I have put in frames. Is that a serious problem, and if so what should I do about it?


It's not a serious problem. It is the person depicted that ultimately matters, and the devotion you show them will certainly not go unnoticed just because the icons were not yet blessed.

That being said, it would certainly be preferable to take them to the church and have them blessed (Greek tradition normally involves leaving the icon in the altar for 40 days).



3. I used to include Bibles and similar in the same area. Several of these, especially the Bibles, are actually not Orthodox publications as such. Again, does this matter?


I think a normal Bible would be perfectly acceptable. Just think of the number of Orthodox churches that use the KJV or RSV for liturgical use. They're not Orthodox publications.

Something more specifically non-Orthodox, such as a study Bible, might be a different issue.

[Anthony]

Thank you Nina, Herman, Constantine, Andreas and Kris for this sound and valuable advice, and links to online sources.

Anthony

[Sophronia]

The website Iconofile.com lists many good Orthodox iconographers from whom you may commission a handpainted icon. Although reproductions laminated onto boards are acceptable and widely used these days, having at least one good icon painted by hand would be a great blessing. Much prayer and spiritual effort as well a technical goes into it I assure you, as I am an iconographer myself.

1. Can somebody recommend any good Orthodox sites where you can order icons on-line. I would like in particular to take Nina's advice and put an icon of the Three Hierarchs in my office at university. (It might also prompt me to tidy the place up a little.)

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

1. Can somebody recommend any good Orthodox sites where you can order icons on-line. I would like in particular to take Nina's advice and put an icon of the Three Hierarchs in my office at university. (It might also prompt me to tidy the place up a little.)

St Isaac of Syria Skete (http://www.skete.com/) takes orders for painted icons.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Sieglinde McGinnis]

Glory to Jesus Christ! I was searching through this thread for advice and ideas and I am happy to find that someone else, at least, has had the idea to dedicate different rooms in the house to different saints, for this is my desire and plan. For instance, over the piano I would like to have St. Romanus the Melodist, and as I am a tailor by trade I plan to put St. Tabitha in both my fitting area and my work room. (This reminds me to see if Lydia the seller of purple cloth in the New Testament is venerated as well by seamstresses and tailors?) I have found that since beginning to pray at the icon corner it is much easier to keep to a practice of regular prayer, and as the corner is centrally located in my home we are continually called back to think of Whose we are and this fosters continual prayer.

[Olga]

Hello Sieglinde

Lydia the seller of purple is not recognised as a saint by the Orthodox Church, though she may be so in the Roman Catholic church.

[Sieglinde McGinnis]

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Thank you for this bit of information, Olga. I wonder, then, who is the St. Lydia whose icon can be found at OrthodoxIconsOnline? There was no informational paragraph that I could see......forgive the ignorance if I am being unnecessarily dense....

[Michael Stickles]

Glory to Jesus Christ!
Thank you for this bit of information, Olga. I wonder, then, who is the St. Lydia whose icon can be found at OrthodoxIconsOnline? There was no informational paragraph that I could see......forgive the ignorance if I am being unnecessarily dense....

Don't worry - you're not being dense at all. The whole thing can easily get confusing. For example, the icon at OrthodoxIconsOnline bears a striking resemblance to icon for St. Lydia of Philippisia at the OCA website. I found a page (http://www.geocities.com/macedoniaisgreece/STLYDIA.html) that identifies "Lydia the Philippisia" as the Lydia of Acts (and claims veneration for her by the Greek Orthodox Church), but the icon shown there is similar to the one the OCA site identifies with Martyr Lydia in Illyria, who lived in the early second century. Also, I found no other page online that makes this identification (or any other) for Lydia of Philippisia, so caveat lector - let the reader beware. (I did find one other page (http://www.holytrinitypgh.org/ministries/saintlydia/) that identifies Lydia in Acts as St. Lydia of Philippi, but Acts says that while she met Paul just outside Philippi, she was actually of Thyateira).

ComeAndSeeIcons (http://comeandseeicons.com/pc/pc36.htm) does have an icon specifically for the Lydia mentioned in Acts, but they have other icons for persons whom I have never seen any other icon for (such as King Josiah of Judah), so I'm not sure if that means anything. The website of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, on their history page (http://www.thyateira.org.uk/index_files/history.htm), simply says that "the Church today honours her as the first known European Christian" with no mention of any commemoration day (while four martyrs of Thyateira mentioned in the very next paragraph do have their commemoration day noted).

After reading all that, I'm confused too, so you have company :-).

In Christ,
Mike

[Olga]

I was recently called upon to research the life of St Lydia, to compile a booklet of the life of the saint, troparia, kontakia and prayers, in time for a child's baptism. I came across the icon of Lydia at comeandsee Mike refers to, but, in any of the resources I have of lists of saints, calendar listings or saints' lives, (English, Russian/Slavonic or Greek), this Lydia was not present. I suspect the iconographer who painted the seller of purple as a saint did so out of honest ignorance, confusing the woman in Acts with one of the other two saints Lydia of antiquity (of Philippi - May 20 - and of Illyria - March 23). Interestingly, for all the other icons of saints on this site, a feastday is given on the page of each icon. There is no feast date for the page where this Lydia is featured.

[Jonathan Michael]

Some very beautiful icon corners on this thread, and interesting comments. I'd always been taught that churches faced east because that was the direction of Jerusalem, not because it was the direction of the rising sun; so much for British education! The information for me is useful because I live in China and might otherwise have been praying towards the west, the direction of Jerusalem.

My icon corner is here:

http://eastbyz.blogsome.com/2007/10/06/icon-corner/

The shelves in my apartment instantly seemed like the right place for an icon corner as soon as I moved in. The positioning of the icons seemed natural to me, though I hope I haven't done anything disrespectful. It seemed very normal to place the icon of Christ central and on the top shelf, with the Theotokos to the left. The icon of the synaxis of the archangels should probably be lower, and if I am blessed with an icon of the trinity (which the icon resembles) or an icon of John the Baptist, I will change the arrangement. It also seemed natural to have the crucifix free, not hanging, so that I could venerate it more easily. No candles or incense, as these are hard to find here, and I am uneasy about using the (outwardly very similar) incense used in Buddhist temples.

By the way, the Port Arthur icon of the Theotokos contains an image of God the Father. The icon is very famous, especially in the Russian church (I got it from the Church of the Dormition, on thegrounds of the Russian embassy in Beijing), but I had also heard that depictions of God the Father were not allowed in worship. Advice would be welcome, though I don't wish to derail the thread.

[Michael Stickles]

I had enjoyed seeing other's icon corners, so thought maybe we could get this thread going again. Here's our main one:
85

We put it in the living room, where it's one of the first things you see upon entering. The low table makes it easy for the younger boys to venerate the icons, and it's the center for our family's morning devotions. The drawer is where we keep the holy water from Theophany, and the table has a shelf (out of sight below the picture) where we keep prayer books and such. The poster at the top has the various names of Christ from the Bible, but as we gather icons of our name saints the poster will get moved to make room for them.

My wife and I also have small prayer corners (using icon cards instead of wooden icons) in the rooms where we do our morning and evening prayers. My thanks to all the previous contributors to this thread - several of the comments and ideas were quite useful as we went about setting up ours.

A thought on candles - we had read that the best options for the light were an oil lamp (kept continually burning) or beeswax candles. We didn't want to try to do a continually burning oil lamp, given the fire hazard (both because of rambunctious smaller children and because our cats occasionally like to get up on the table). As for beeswax candles, I don't know of anyplace in our area that carries them. However, our local Hallmark store has started carrying olive oil candles, so that's what we use now.

In Christ,
Mike

[Andreas Moran]

At the monastery here, Elder Sophrony didn't allow oil lamps to be kept lit in cells because of the fire risk.

[Nina]

I had enjoyed seeing other's icon corners, so thought maybe we could get this thread going again. Here's our main one:
85

We put it in the living room, where it's one of the first things you see upon entering. The low table makes it easy for the younger boys to venerate the icons, and it's the center for our family's morning devotions. The drawer is where we keep the holy water from Theophany, and the table has a shelf (out of sight below the picture) where we keep prayer books and such. The poster at the top has the various names of Christ from the Bible, but as we gather icons of our name saints the poster will get moved to make room for them.

My wife and I also have small prayer corners (using icon cards instead of wooden icons) in the rooms where we do our morning and evening prayers. My thanks to all the previous contributors to this thread - several of the comments and ideas were quite useful as we went about setting up ours.

A thought on candles - we had read that the best options for the light were an oil lamp (kept continually burning) or beeswax candles. We didn't want to try to do a continually burning oil lamp, given the fire hazard (both because of rambunctious smaller children and because our cats occasionally like to get up on the table). As for beeswax candles, I don't know of anyplace in our area that carries them. However, our local Hallmark store has started carrying olive oil candles, so that's what we use now.

In Christ,
Mike

Mike that post and icon corner are so beautiful! Oh, ok I will say it! I have tears now.

About beeswax candles, there are churches that have them (you can smell the candles and notice the difference or ask the person) but not all churches have beeswax candles. In several churches I have visited in my state there is only one (a more traditional one) that has beeswax candle - oh by the way I can buy some and send them to you and Celinda if you would like.

Other than that I have seen on monasteries' sites. Many monastics support themselves by producing candles and it is actually a good deed to buy it from churches and monasteries (at least as my family taught me). There are a couple of sites on line that actually I have been meaning to order from, but did not need candles as of yet since I get supplies whenever I am in monasteries. Oh saying this I remembered that the candles I have right now are from the monastery of the Holy Protection in PA, I did not order them though since they have no website, but got them last time I was there.

You can burn the candles when you pray, or when you are alone and reading a spiritual book, or if you have a particular thanksgiving, or problem and if you are in the room and plan to be awake I do not think there would be a problem. But with the kitties and the active children you are right that it can be dangerous :).

Jonathan, your icon corner is so beautiful too. I think you did not make any mistake in the positioning of the icons... not that I know much... and I like how you said that you were cautious for using incense from the Buddhist temples.

About the Holy Trinity, I do think that it is Orthodox to use the icon "The Hospitality of Abraham" - Olga is the expert about such issues so she will give very worthy advise about it. But I have seen that icon in churches and homes. Actually I have that icon too, and it is the smallest icon I have and I feel embarrassed since it is so little, but I love it and move it all over the place all the time and sometime feel guilty since I feel I am not reverent enough by moving the icon so much.

[Effie Ganatsios]

As for beeswax candles, I don't know of anyplace in our area that carries them. However, our local Hallmark store has started carrying olive oil candles, so that's what we use now.

In Christ,
Mike

Beeswax candles are sold here in monasteries - the nuns usually keep a few bee hives. Beeswax candles are traditional but an added advantage is that they cleanse the air in your house, whereas commercial candles pollute the air. I believe you can order them online from monasteries in the US.

Effie

[M.C. Steenberg]

In the above, it was said:

Beeswax candles are traditional but an added advantage is that they cleanse the air in your house, whereas commercial candles pollute the air.I wanted to comment briefly on this, as it's a claim that's appeared in the forum before. Just to say that it's not quite right: beeswax candles don't cleanse the air, and in fact do contribute pollutants to it, just like any burning flame. What makes them more pleasant, in this regard, than petrolium-based candles is that they 'pollute naturally' -- i.e. they are burning natural ingredients, and the pollutants they give off are natural byproducts; whereas petrolium-based candles give off fumes that include a whole host off additional chemical ingredients. Further, beeswax candles have a honey smell to them, so they perfume the air faintly, which to many people becomes a scent intimately and immediately associated with prayer.

But just to be clear: perfuming is not the same as cleansing!

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Nina]

But just to be clear: perfuming is not the same as cleansing!

INXC, Dcn Matthew

:D I read in the book 'Perfume' that the French do not agree.

[Effie Ganatsios]

In the above, it was said:
I wanted to comment briefly on this, as it's a claim that's appeared in the forum before. Just to say that it's not quite right: beeswax candles don't cleanse the air, and in fact do contribute pollutants to it, just like any burning flame. What makes them more pleasant, in this regard, than petrolium-based candles is that they 'pollute naturally' -- i.e. they are burning natural ingredients, and the pollutants they give off are natural byproducts; whereas petrolium-based candles give off fumes that include a whole host off additional chemical ingredients. Further, beeswax candles have a honey smell to them, so they perfume the air faintly, which to many people becomes a scent intimately and immediately associated with prayer.

But just to be clear: perfuming is not the same as cleansing!

INXC, Dcn Matthew

Father Matthew, the nuns I buy my candles from told me that beeswax candles cleanse the air, and that's why I wrote it.

Effie

[Effie Ganatsios]

I got this information from http://www.tahoma-clinic.com/beeswax.shtml

"After the nuns left, I did a bit of my own research to see if I could turn up any scientific evidence on bees-wax's effects. Although scientists still don't know all the intricacies of the complex molecules in beeswax, there's at least a partial explanation for the healthful action of burning beeswax candles. According to entomologist Bill Reno, burning beeswax produces negative ions.1 Negative ions are nature's air purifiers, cleaning the air of dust, mold, bacteria, viruses, and other pollutants."

effie

[Michael Stickles]

Effie beat me to the research on that one :-). That's the same thing I found at several other sites (I also looked for "debunkers", but found none).

The candles we're using have no parrafin or other petroleum products. They're 100% olive oil (well, except for the small amount of oils used for the fragrance and color), so I would imagine they'd burn with similar byproducts to an olive oil lamp.

Mike

[Nina]

There is no need for debunking if it is on www.care2.com. And it is:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/brilliant-beeswax-candles.html

[Michael Astley]

Oh, how lovely! A thread on icon corners!

I have a small diptych of the Saviour and the Mother of God in front of my computer and a copy of the San Damiano (http://www.mhtbrooklyn.org/images/San%20Damiano%20Cross.JPG) Cross (approx. 20cm in height) on the wall behind my bed.

My prayer corner is here (http://newmartyr.org.uk/images/SOF/PICT0748.JPG). There's a better one here (http://newmartyr.org.uk/images/SOF/PICT0749.JPG) and you can see detail here (http://newmartyr.org.uk/images/SOF/PICT0751.JPG) and here (http://newmartyr.org.uk/images/SOF/PICT0750.JPG).

There are a few unconventional things about it. Firstly, it faces west. While I am a great supporter of the Christian tradition of praying towards the east, my bedroom makes such a positioning of my icons quite impossible, sadly. On the left wall, there is a 3-D Rood in the middle at the top. It isn't iconographic but I rather like it and have had it for some years. To the right is detail from the Transfiguration icon, and further right is a copy of the Christ of the Isles (http://orthodoxengland.org.uk/coi.htm) icon. To the left of the Rood is Agia Sofia, with Faith, Hope, and Charity*, and to the left, the Mother of God, the Healer. To the extreme left is a print of St Basil the Great that was given as a present. In the middle is a copy of an icon of the Holy Archangel Michael done by my godfather. On the right wall are St Andrew, St Benedict, and St Bertelin, and at the bottom, the icon of the Church.

*When I first set this corner up, I foolishly thought that the icon depicted attributes of God, hence the placement of it. I now know more about the iconographic tradition and am rather embarrassed but it has somehow managed to remain there. I now realise that Ss Sophia, Faith, Hope, and Charity, were real people. I suppose the confusion arises in part from the fact that the Greek Agia can be rendered into English as either Saint or Holy, because we silly English people have two words that mean the same thing but are used differently. :-)

I have my incense burner on the little table, as well as some oil of the sick, a mortar and pestle for my incense, numerous icon cards and some office books with their music, and bottles of water - one from St Winefride's well, one from a spring near St Bertelin's shrine, and one with water from Theophany.

In the guest bedroom, I keep another icon of the Mother of God, and I usually try to find and print one of the patron Saint of my guest, which I place in there along with the troparion, a prayer book, and a votive light. I do not even mention it to them and am completely unontrusive. Not all of my friends are Christian but even the one who aren't tend to appreciate the effort. And who knows what may come of such a thing when a person is left alone, to his own devices, with icons and a prayer book?

I recently got a copy of this (http://www.firebirdvideos.com/pamphlets/Joy%20of%20All%20Who%20Sorrow.JPG) icon of the Mother of God: the Joy of all Who Sorrow, which is very meaningful to me, but I'm not quite sure where to put it.

Finally, hoping that you're not all fed up of being bombarded by my links, here (http://newmartyr.org.uk/images/SOF/catprayer.jpg)'s a photo to make you go 'awwwwww'.

In Christ,
Michael

[Nina]

:D The picture with the cat made me go awww. But what icon have you got there with the ship on the fourth here, sir! You should have just sent this when I was asking you if you were not Orthodox. :P

Beautiful corner by the way and churchy like.

[Jen G.]

I found this an interesting thread as it is as the issue of where to move our Icon corner to is one I've been thinking about lately.

We live in a pretty tiny house (by American standards at least) and have an akwardly configured living space that quadruples as kitchen, dining room, living room, and office. We are reconfiguring the rooms in our house in the hopes of adding a fourth member to our family - which meant that we had to move a desk out of the room that was our office so it could become a bedroom. Unfortunately, the only place available to put the desk was our former Icon corner.

Now the choices are between moving it to a western wall that is visible, but awkward for praying (front entry with not much space), a place that is less visible, but has room for the whole family (down the hallway near the bedrooms), or having several small icon corners throughout the house with no single 'main' one. None of the alternatives are optimal.

[Theodoros]

Our prayer corner is our most valuable spot in the house. We used a spare bedroom and I purchased a glass cabinet with 6 shelves to place all of our icons in. We have a lot of icons! The cabinet is in the eastern corner of the room. To the left of the cabinet, we've placed an icon of the Theotokos (on the left) an icon of Christ, and then an icon of St. Irene Chrysovalantou. Above Christ's icon, we have a wooden cross (not too big). Finally, we have another icon with a night light that is constantly lit.

It's a very peaceful room. Perfect for prayer and reflection.

In Christ-Theodoros

[Justin Farr]

Xristos Anesti!

I have an updated icon corner as of tonight! :thumbsup: I got some wood and paint and modpodge, right? I printed icon prints, cut the wood accordingly, painted the wood, then modpodged the icons on! So I added a whole slew of icons to my icon corner. I'm quite excited about it! :D Here are the pictures!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2533112822_22c29b2cc8.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2533114116_df96696362.jpg
Mother Mary of Egypt, Ss. Stephen, Justin Martyr, Seraphim of Sarov, Moses the Black, soooo many!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2532298995_b27332edcf.jpg
More saints! John Chrysostom, Mary and Martha, etc.! I kinda did this thing where Jesus is creating the universe and the animals, then a drastic change under there where He is all the way in Hades! So I thought that was pretty spiffy. Then I kind of did a "life story" from Annunciation to Ascension and then Pentecost and the bottom row has different miracles and events.

w00t! I'm so excited! ^_^

[Effie Ganatsios]

Justin, in the past I always wondered why Orthodox churches had so many images of all the saints painted on the walls and ceiling. I now understand better. I sometimes look at these paintings/frescoes and think about what I am looking at. And, they comfort me. They show a continuity in Orthodoxy.

Your prayer corner has it's icons and also everything else that you need to pray. And while you are praying, seeing these icons can keep you focused on what you are doing. Images help our minds to expand and to seek the truth behind rituals, etc.

It has become the fashion here in the last 20 years or so for the modern young to acquire icons and put them up on one wall in their houses - usually the living room where they will be seen. The thing that is missing though is a sense of reverence. There are no lamps or prayer beads, or bibles under these icons. They are not places where you light a lamp and pray. They are there only for show.

The above observation is very general and, happily, does not apply to the majority here.

Thank you for posting these photos. Off topic : how do you post a picture in a message? Do you need a website and a URL address to do this?

Effie

[Deanna Leonti]

Hi Justin,

I think you did a Great Job!

Thank You and I appreciate your talent.

:)

Deanna

[Paul Cowan]

Well done Justin,

The ivy adds a nice touch of "life" to the corner. Have you seen this icon? Christ: The True Vine (http://www.skete.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.display/product_id/138/index.cfm)

Paul

[Effie Ganatsios]

Paul, in Michaels post (no. 61) he has posted pictures of his icons. In one of the close ups Archangel Michael is holding what seems to be a crystal ball. I have seen this elsewhere.

Do you have any idea what this ball symbolizes?

Effie

[Olga]

Hello Effie

The round device held by Archangel Michael is not an orb (a sphere held by kings and emperors as a sign of earthly power and dominion), but a translucent disc. In most cases, there are three letters on this disc: X Δ K, Greek letters standing for Christ the Righteous Judge (Khristos Dikaios Kritis). This is a reference to the Archangel's role as commander of the heavenly hosts, and to the part he will play in the final battle between good and evil.

Other archangels may also hold a similar device, but the letters are usually not those I mentioned above, as these are specific to the Archangel Michael. Many Slavic icons have the word for holy (svyat) in abbreviated form within the disc.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Thanks Olga. As usual you know these answers.

I looked it up on Google but couldn't make sense of anything. Most of the sites were about foretelling the future, etc. and the icon of Archangel Michael was used as some sort of validation.

thanks again

Effie

[Julian K.]

Isn't your wall a bit too overcrowded? I mean, it's quite a miracle if your attention manages to slalom indefatigably through this panoplia of sacred imagery ...


Xristos Anesti!

I have an updated icon corner as of tonight! :thumbsup: I got some wood and paint and modpodge, right? I printed icon prints, cut the wood accordingly, painted the wood, then modpodged the icons on! So I added a whole slew of icons to my icon corner. I'm quite excited about it! :D Here are the pictures!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2179/2533112822_22c29b2cc8.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2533114116_df96696362.jpg
Mother Mary of Egypt, Ss. Stephen, Justin Martyr, Seraphim of Sarov, Moses the Black, soooo many!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2391/2532298995_b27332edcf.jpg
More saints! John Chrysostom, Mary and Martha, etc.! I kinda did this thing where Jesus is creating the universe and the animals, then a drastic change under there where He is all the way in Hades! So I thought that was pretty spiffy. Then I kind of did a "life story" from Annunciation to Ascension and then Pentecost and the bottom row has different miracles and events.

w00t! I'm so excited! ^_^

[Justin Farr]

Isn't your wall a bit too overcrowded? I mean, it's quite a miracle if your attention manages to slalom indefatigably through this panoplia of sacred imagery ...

I don't think so, no. For some, yes, this might be the case.

And next time, can you please use words that I do not have to look up and then try to form the appropriate analogy with? :P

[Effie Ganatsios]

I am rereading the book St. Nektarios The Saint of our Century by Sotos Chondropoulos. At the back of the book are a few pictures and one of the pictures is of this saint's prayer corner.

It is beautiful, with a large central picture of the Theotokos holding our Christ and many icons around it. St. Nektarios also had everything he needed on a dresser in front of his icons. It reminded me of Justin's prayer corner a little.

I will try and find a copy of this picture and post it in my albums section.

Effie

(15 minutes later)Sorry, I haven't been successful.

[Constantine]

Good morning, everyone.

I apologize if this has already been covered, either on this thread or another one, but I do have a quick question. Where may I acquire an icon stand or analoy? My family and I will be moving soon and our new home will have sufficient space for an actual icon corner. I recall seeing both stands and plans to make them online somewhere quite some time ago, but I simply cannot remember where. Any advice? Thanks in advance and have a great day!

Yours in Christ,
Constantine

[Anthony Stokes]

Good morning, everyone.
Where may I acquire an icon stand or analoy? My family and I will be moving soon and our new home will have sufficient space for an actual icon corner. I recall seeing both stands and plans to make them online somewhere quite some time ago, but I simply cannot remember where. Any advice? Thanks in advance and have a great day!
Yours in Christ,
Constantine


Constantine,
Here is a site about building your own analogion - http://www.saintinnocent.net/analoy.html

For purchasing one, you'll need between $600-$3,000. You can buy them from www.istok.net (http://www.istok.net) or http://www.easternchristiansupply.biz/

Happy shopping (or building),
Subdeacon Anthony

[Patrick Lee]

Can anyone provide me with instructions on how to use a vigil lamp. I thought it was pretty basic, but the float burned and the votive glass broke over night (when I went to bed, all was fine).

I suspect I might have had the float upside down, but am not sure.

[Herman Blaydoe]

Can anyone provide me with instructions on how to use a vigil lamp. I thought it was pretty basic, but the float burned and the votive glass broke over night (when I went to bed, all was fine).

I suspect I might have had the float upside down, but am not sure.

Make sure there is some water or wine in the bottom of the glass and that the flame does not directly contact the glass at any time.

The metal covering of the float should be facing up, the cork facing down.

Not seeing exactly what you are talking about that is the best I can do.

Herman

[Patrick Lee]

Make sure there is some water or wine in the bottom of the glass and that the flame does not directly contact the glass at any time.

The metal covering of the float should be facing up, the cork facing down.

Not seeing exactly what you are talking about that is the best I can do.

Herman

Yeah, I had it upside down. :(

Well, learned something new.

[Justin Frank]

how do you post a picture in a message? Do you need a website and a URL address to do this?

Effie, the easiest way I've found is to register for an account at a free hosting site like photobucket.com. Once your account is set up, it's very easy to upload your photos to your account. For each photo you upload, you will find an IMG code which looks something like this:

http: //i38.photobucket.com/albums/e144/effie/ prayercorner.jpg

Simply copy this code and insert it into forum posts or blog entries or myspace pages, and there your picture will appear. Easy as pie.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Thank you Justin. I am really hopeless at most of this stuff.

Thanks again.

Effie

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Mr Lee,

Just echoing what Herman has already written, do make sure that you put about a half-inch of water or wine (generally water) at the bottom of the lamp, with the oil on top. This is a 'self-extinguishing' mechanism: if (for example overnight) the lamp burns through all its oil, it will then reach the water and the flame will be extinguished. Without the water, a lamp that burns through all its oil will sometimes ignite the cork, or the long wick - which can be a fire hazard.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

[Nina]

Dear Mr Lee,

Just echoing what Herman has already written, do make sure that you put about a half-inch of water or wine (generally water) at the bottom of the lamp, with the oil on top. This is a 'self-extinguishing' mechanism: if (for example overnight) the lamp burns through all its oil, it will then reach the water and the flame will be extinguished. Without the water, a lamp that burns through all its oil will sometimes ignite the cork, or the long wick - which can be a fire hazard.

INXC, Dcn Matthew

Wow! I never knew this! Thank you Father!

Always I saw my mother and my grandmothers doing the same but I never asked why, therefore I did not know the reason behind it. And I never followed what they did! Again I am reminded that 'mother (and grandmothers) knows best'. A pity, I did not ask them for everything while they were alive and record all the things they told me.

[Paul Cowan]

There is a little chapel at Ournapolis at the end of the pier before you get on the boat to go to the Holy Mountain. In it is a candle box for prayers. i thought it odd it was full of water since it had gravel in the bottom. I thought the place had a leak, now I know better.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Filling the lamp with water half-way then, adding the oil is the normal procedure as Father Matthew has already said. I always use the little cork and metal float and put a little waxed wick in it.

You still have to be careful though. I have a brass lamp with a cover on it. These are the safest. A friend's mother-in-law - she was over 80 - nearly burnt the house down with her little lampada, and not seeing well enough to be careful. Thankfully only the kitchen was burned.

Nina,

The knowledge of our mothers and grandmothers is nearly lost, not just about lamps etc. but more importantly, lots of things concerning food, and especially health. It is such a shame.

Two examples : my grandmother suffered from migraines and she often fainted from the pain. My mother told me that when this happened a little old lady would be summoned and she did something to the back of my grandmother's neck. The pain would stop soon after. My mother has no idea what this little old lady did.

Leeches were used to lower blood pressure. You could buy them from somewhere apparently - they were bought to the house in little glass jars. These were used on the legs. A few years ago I read that scientists discovered that the saliva of leeches is a powerful medicine for the heart.

So much knowledge has been lost. Nothing was respected once the doctors took over. The ideal would have been to combine the new knowledge with the old, but this would have meant that doctors did not become the gods they think themselves to be.

Sorry, for the rant, but a doctor just destroyed one of our friends. He hasn't died but he won't ever recover from the incompetence of this arrogant surgeon.

Effie

[Patrick Lee]

Okay, next question from the prayer corner challenged:

I have the float (correctly this time, with water under the oil), with the wax wick inserted so that about half is sticking up. Its got a nice little flame, so I'm assuming that's correct. Do I need to do anything to the wick? Will it just burn up and then go out? Anything to watch out for?

Any other instructions/tricks/tips, would be appreciated.

[Paul Cowan]

In larger oil lamps, if you trim the wick in certain ways, you get certain flames. Not sure if it will work on such a small wick. You can use scissors to cut a V shape wick or an inverted V shape or trim it from outside corner down to a slant in either direction. All these will give you a different flame.

In church I light the lamps in the windows behind the altar sometimes. The oil does burn out (sometimes burns up. smells like burnt oil in a fast food joint) and then the wick burns. Also if you change the oil the wick can burn out (or down to the metal) and need to be replaced. My priest taught me to insert the new wick into the metal holder and with my teeth, to crimp the underside of the wick so it does not slip down through the orifice (sp) and burn out too quickly. If we get build up on the end of the wick which looks like a black burning knob, I have to change it out with a new one.

Paul

[Nina]

Okay, next question from the prayer corner challenged:

I have the float (correctly this time, with water under the oil), with the wax wick inserted so that about half is sticking up. Its got a nice little flame, so I'm assuming that's correct. Do I need to do anything to the wick? Will it just burn up and then go out? Anything to watch out for?

Any other instructions/tricks/tips, would be appreciated.

Yes the nice little flame sounds good. I do not think you need to do anything to the wick (if it is the little kind). Part of it will burn and go out when the oil is finished. Do not leave the lamp where there are drafts, or opened windows, or AC fan.

Discard the used wick at a place that is not stepped on (like a flower pot).

[Andrew]

You want to trim the carbon buildup off of the wick every day (or every eight hours or so if it is continuously burning). Also, if the wick is maybe a little less than three quarters of a centimeter up, you will get a good little flame.

[Effie Ganatsios]

Yesterday morning while shopping I saw some beautiful glass lampadas that you hang from the ceiling in front of the icons.

The various colours in these glass lampadas (Murano?)are so beautiful. But also very expensive. Perhaps some time in the future I will be able to afford one. Beauty in all its forms is necessary in our lives but so is simplicity. If I didn't already own a brass lamp I would consider buying one of these beautiful lamps but one is enough.

I couldn't find a picture of the above lamps but I did find one of a Murano oil lamp that is quite cheap. It has a fibreglass wick that will last for years.

" How long does the lamp's wick last?
Our fibreglass wicks last for years since the lamp oil burns but the wick does not."

http://www.galaglass.com/store/glass-lamp-single-round-c-75-p-1-pr-16201.html

http://www.galaglass.com/store/glass-lamp-bubble-c-75-pr-16212.html

[Ryan]

I have two questions about icon corners:

Can an icon of the Crucifixion stand in for a Cross? (Wall crosses are expensive!)

Can an icon of the synaxis of the angels stand in for one's guardian angel?

[Nina]

Ryan, sorry that I do not know the answer to your questions, however I can suggest if you have an extra neck cross maybe you can place that above your bed? Also I have seen small icons of guardian angels, or other angels sold in monasteries and which were not expensive. Maybe some friend here will tell you the answer to what you asked.

[Olga]

Ryan, from an iconographic point of view, I cannot see any problem at all with having an icon of the Crucifixion in your icon corner instead of a wall cross. What is depicted on an Orthodox wall cross? Is it not Christ crucified? In some of the Slavic brass crosses, the Mother of God and Apostle John are there. So why would a wall cross be somehow "superior" in holiness or devotional usefulness than an icon, painted or printed, of the Crucifixion?

It is not what the crucifix is made of (wood or metal, painted icon or mounted print) which matters, but what it represents. If what is depicted in the icon or cross conforms to Orthodox theology and iconographic canon, then there's nop problem. To place undue emphasis on the "need" for a wooden or metal wall cross veers towards idolatry, in much the same way as some people zealously proclaim that the only "true" and "holy" icons are those painted with egg-tempera on wooden board, by monastics. (Sadly, such people do exist ....)



Can an icon of the synaxis of the angels stand in for one's guardian angel?


If obtaining an icon of a guardian angel is difficult, then I can't see why a synaxis icon is wrong. Don't forget that, though Holy Tradition tells us that archangels are second-lowest in rank of the heavenly hosts, the archangels Michael and Gabriel have been appointed as Taxiarchoi (Commanders-in-Chief) of all the angelic orders.

[Ryan]

Thanks Olga and Nina for your help. I think I read somewhere that Michael and Gabriel were actually Seraphim, but the title of "archangels" in their case was similar to how in the military Generals are still called "soldiers." Not sure how true this is.

[George Vatsis]

FWIW, here is my Prayer Corner:

Herman's Prayer Corner (http://www.monachos.net/forum/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=256)

St. Herman is in the center. I also have dirt from his grave on the table as well as relics from the garment of St Nectarios, along with Holy Water and Oil. I have ***** willows and palms from Palm Sundays past in a vase on the floor.

Herman

I realize this is going back a while in this thread, but what is the proper use of soil from saint's grave? Can the same be said of water?

[Herman Blaydoe]

I realize this is going back a while in this thread, but what is the proper use of soil from saint's grave? Can the same be said of water?

Well, I haven't used it for anything other than a closer feeling of "connection" with St. Herman. How does one "use" a relic? Haven't really thought about it actually.

Herman

[Vasiliki D.]

Here are some old images of my iconostasis in my room ... before anyone starts jumping to conclusions I am single and therefore quite comfortable with so many icons in my room :) and yes IF i was married I would carefully consider the quantity (perhaps one above my bed).

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPXVdAq8LI/AAAAAAAAAtU/ntunj-_sDsY/s512/PC130006.JPG[/URL]

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPWT92KLSI/AAAAAAAAAsw/wZbUA2A5W5c/s640/Photo0031.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPWDLYsvvI/AAAAAAAAAsc/jfgb4-YUxvI/s640/Photo0027.jpg (http://lh3.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPXVdAq8LI/AAAAAAAAAtU/ntunj-_sDsY/s512/PC130006.JPG)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPV7KoEHQI/AAAAAAAAAsU/JwTxFnXtl0k/s512/Photo0025.jpg

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPWKyDi7OI/AAAAAAAAAsk/EQXg941BRHs/s512/Photo0029.jpg[URL="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPWKyDi7OI/AAAAAAAAAsk/EQXg941BRHs/s512/Photo0029.jpg"] (http://lh4.ggpht.com/_gkoUB8Sxlg4/SiPV7KoEHQI/AAAAAAAAAsU/JwTxFnXtl0k/s512/Photo0025.jpg)

[Paul Cowan]

I realize this is going back a while in this thread, but what is the proper use of soil from saint's grave? Can the same be said of water?

I have heard of people taking soil from the grave of saints and mixing it in water and drinking it and being cured of their diseases.

[Nicolaj]

I have heard of people taking soil from the grave of saints and mixing it in water and drinking it and being cured of their diseases.

Yes and those who put the dried soil on their heads and repent, are able to do a better confession of their sins.

In Christ, Nicolaj

[George Vatsis]

Yes and those who put the dried soil on their heads and repent, are able to do a better confession of their sins.

In Christ, Nicolaj

Is the soil considered sanctified by it being near the saint? Sorry for all the questions, but I am not familiar with the use of relics, and I would like to understand their proper place.

[Herman Blaydoe]

Is the soil considered sanctified by it being near the saint? Sorry for all the questions, but I am not familiar with the use of relics, and I would like to understand their proper place.

That would be, yes. The ground is holy because it covered the resting place of the saint. The holiness of the saints imbues creation around them. We are not simply to save ourselves, but to reclaim all of fallen creation.

Herman

[Caleb Shoemaker]

I was very blessed to come across a beautiful icon of Christ Pantokrator at my friends' church's book store a little more than a year ago. In comparison to my other icons (the largest of which was 5 x 8) this one is gigantic. :-) It's probably a good 12" high at least, and so has taken the paces as the central icon (or will again when I have unpacked enough boxes to make room for it). I have a lovely hand made print of the Theotokos which is much smaller along with St. Nicholas along with Ss. Constantine and Helena and several icons that I printed from the internet (Beloved Disciple, Rublev's Trinity, Ss. Michael and Gabriel, The Bridegroom) and a St. Damiano Crucifix. (I also have a small nativity icon that I put up at Christmas time)

I love praying there. Heck, I love just sitting there! It used to be above my desk in an old apartment and I'd study there. My dear friend who introduced me to the Orthodox church called it a "foothold." I think that's a good word for it. Currently, I have a small paper fold of the Theotokos and Christ and a small candle on my dresser along with a little blue prayer book from an Orthodox priest that I received as a gift.

[Josh Sundheim]

Where would I find a fiberglass wick for my vigil lamp?

[George Vatsis]

This link from Effie shows where you can get a fiberglass wick.

http://www.galaglass.com/store/glass...-pr-16212.html

[Robert Rager]

Here's my Icon Corner. Now all I have to do is find room for my most recent icon, The Holy Unmercenaries.
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/NJRob/iconcornercopy.jpg
Time to update this
1589
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a74/NJRob/IconCorner6_10A.jpg)

[Paul Cowan]

Nicely done Robert

[Mark Harris]

Dear learned friends , I have searched the database but I do not seem to be able to find my answer there or on the internet so I raise this question: I too with my wife am creating an Icon wall and prayer area and wanted to know whether it is possible to get an unconsecrated Antimension for our prayer table?

[Cyprian (Humphrey)]

Forgive me, but why do you want an Antimension?

The antimension is (effectively) the Priest's licence to perform the Divine Liturgy (ie. once it has relics sewn in and signed by the Bishop). Basically, unless you're a Priest or a Bishop you have no use for one. It's kinda like purchasing Priest's vestments...

Nevertheless, capitalism dictates that somewhere, there's someone who will sell anyone anything.

You could try here. (http://www.easternchristiansupply.biz/products.cgi/c98/c41/g14828)

[Mark Harris]

The honest answer is that I am not really sure why I felt I wanted one but it seems right that there is one.

[Father David Moser]

The antimension is essentially a cloth upon which is imprinted the icon of the taking down from the cross - the same as the epitaphios/plashchinitsa/shroud - with the name of the Church and the signature of the ruling bishop of the diocese on it and the relics of a saint sewn into it. It would not be proper to put an antimension, blessed or not, on a table that is not the Holy Table. If you did put one on a home altar table you would need to take care to place nothing on top of it as it is in itself an icon and this would be disrespectful (in the altar, the only thing that is placed on the antimension is the Gospel book when it is folded up and the Holy Gifts when it is open). Instead of an antimension, maybe it would be better to obtain an icon of the taking down from the cross .

Fr David Moser

[Jason H.]

http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy303/Ignatius_3/DSC01843.jpg

[Jason H.]

http://i802.photobucket.com/albums/yy303/Ignatius_3/DSC01844.jpg

[Yolanda]

1607
All Creation Rejoices in Thee

[Niko T.]

Earlier, there was a question about whether or not the Lydia of Phillipi in the Acts of the Apostles is considered a saint in the Orthodox Church. Though she is not mentioned in all of the Synaxaria, she is at the very least commemorated by the Church of Greece on May 20th (see the Greek text here: http://synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/3277/sxsaintinfo.aspx)

In the place where she was baptized by St. Paul in Veria (northern Greece) there is a large bapistry that has been built. There are two videos of the area here: http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/baptistery-of-saint-lydia-near-philippi.html. In the video they mention that apparently she was the first European to be baptized by the Apostles.

[Olga]

Earlier, there was a question about whether or not the Lydia of Phillipi in the Acts of the Apostles is considered a saint in the Orthodox Church. Though she is not mentioned in all of the Synaxaria, she is at the very least commemorated by the Church of Greece on May 20th (see the Greek text here: http://synaxarion.gr/gr/sid/3277/sxsaintinfo.aspx)

In the place where she was baptized by St. Paul in Veria (northern Greece) there is a large bapistry that has been built. There are two videos of the area here: http://www.johnsanidopoulos.com/2010/05/baptistery-of-saint-lydia-near-philippi.html. In the video they mention that apparently she was the first European to be baptized by the Apostles.

I had cause to research the life of Lydia, the merchant of purple, several years ago, and I can say that there was no reference in any Orthodox sources at hand (Greek, Slavonic, or other) of her being recognised as a saint. The only references to her being a proclaimed saint were from western sources. This would not be surprising, due to the great influence from the west on Greek Orthodox praxis in recent centuries.

As for Lydia of Philippi being the first European baptised, this honour seems to belong to Cornelius the centurion, who is mentioned several chapters earlier than Lydia in Acts, and who is commemorated on September 13:

From the Canon at Matins to the saint:

The Church from the nations received you as its holy first-fruits, and you enlightened her by your virtuous deeds, O inspired High Priest Cornelius.

Matins Synaxarion verse for Martyr Cornelius:

Cornelius you lead from unbelief, O Christ,
The first-fruits of the faithful of the nations.

Ode 7:

You have become the first-fruit of the nations, Cornelius, for you were the first to receive holy baptism and the grace of the Spirit, as before you the inspired Apostles.

Ode 8:

With uprightness of mind you sought with all your soul only the God who had appeared upon earth; therefore, inspired Martyr, you became the precious first-fruits of the nations and the vessel of the Spirit.

[Niko T.]

Thanks a lot for the information, Olga. I'm just mentioning some information that I've seen online.

According to the Greek Wikipedia page for "Λυδία η Φιλιππησία":
"She was recognized as a Saint with a Canonical Act of the Holy and Sacred Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarch during the Patriarchy of Athenagoras I on May 23rd of 1972."
(they reference the following page: http://www.cmkon.org/Athinagoras.htm)

And the baptistry of St. Lydia is actually in the Metropolis of Philippon, Neapoleos and Thasos, not Veria like I said before.

About St. Cornelius, though he is rightly recognized as the first Gentile Christian, he was from Caesarea of Judea. St. Lydia of Philippi, being from northern Greece, could be considered the first Christian of Europe.

[Jason H.]

Yolanda,

Is that the Protection of the Theotokos Ikon?

-Jason, a sinner

[Yolanda]

Jason

I don't know whether that is the Protection, but when i dwelt in darkness, the icon came round to keep me company, a friend gave it to me, she isn't Orthodox.

The icon of the mother of God ceased my sorrow.

Yolanda

[Olga]

Yolanda's icon is In You Rejoices All Creation , which is a quite different composition to the icon of the Protection of the Mother of God.

Example of In You Rejoices All Creation:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1239/996172016_4c30c3096c.jpg

The icon is an illustration of the hymn to the Mother of God of the same name, sung during the Liturgy of St Basil in place of It is truly meet :

All of Creation rejoices in you, Lady full of grace:
the angels in heaven and the race of men,
O sanctified temple and noetic paradise,
the glory of virgins, of whom God was incarnate
and became a child, our God before the ages.
He made your body into a throne,
and your womb more spacious than the heavens.
All of Creation rejoices in you, Lady full of grace:
Glory be to you.

Example of a Holy Protection icon:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2053/2233342738_5f47a12e07.jpg

A summary of the history of the feast, held on October 1 (except in the Greek church, where the feast date was changed to October 28 in the early 1950s):

This miraculous appearance of the Mother of God occurred in the mid-tenth century in Constantinople, in the Blachernae church where her robe, veil, and part of her belt were preserved after being transferred from Palestine in the fifth century.

On Sunday, October 1, during the All Night Vigil, when the church was overflowing with those at prayer, the Fool-for-Christ St Andrew (October 2), at the fourth hour, lifted up his eyes towards the heavens and beheld our most Holy Lady Theotokos coming through the air, resplendent with heavenly light and surrounded by an assembly of the Saints. St John the Baptist and the holy Apostle John the Theologian accompanied the Queen of Heaven. On bended knees the Most Holy Virgin tearfully prayed for Christians for a long time. Then, coming near the Bishop's Throne, she continued her prayer.

After completing her prayer she took her veil and spread it over the people praying in church, protecting them from enemies both visible and invisible. The Most Holy Lady Theotokos was resplendent with heavenly glory, and the protecting veil in her hands gleamed "more than the rays of the sun." St Andrew gazed trembling at the miraculous vision and he asked his disciple, the blessed Epiphanius standing beside him, "Do you see, brother, the Holy Theotokos, praying for all the world?" Epiphanius answered, "I do see, holy Father, and I am in awe."

The Ever-Blessed Mother of God implored the Lord Jesus Christ to accept the prayers of all the people calling on His most holy name, and to respond speedily to her intercession, "O Heavenly King, accept all those who pray to You and call on my name for help. Do not let them not go away from my icon unheard."

Sts Andrew and Epiphanius were worthy to see the Mother of God at prayer, and "for a long time observed the Protecting Veil spread over the people and shining with flashes of glory. As long as the Most Holy Theotokos was there, the Protecting Veil was also visible, but with her departure it also became invisible. After taking it with her, she left behind the grace of her visitation."

[Jason H.]

Olga,

Do you happen to know wherer I can find the Ikon In You Rejoices All Creation? It's such a beautiful Ikon.

in Christ,
Jason

[John Joseph]

Christ is with us!
So, i've been trying to set up my own chapel for prayer at my home, dose any anyone have and guidance, tips ,or anything like that?

[Father David Moser]

John, I moved this post to a thread that already deals with the same question. In addition to any comments you might receive it would be good to go back and look at the previous posts here - you will probably get a lot of helpful information.

Fr David

[Effie Ganatsios]

Our icon box is a very old one - nearly 42 years old - and an inexpensive one as we were counting pennies when we were first married. Everytime I look at it I feel the need to exchange it for a beautifully carved wooden icon box that I saw a few months ago in a shop.

I just cannot help feeling that this would be entirely inappropriate in addition to being a waste of money.

The older I get the more I want to surround myself with beautiful things. Am I just being a shallow, irreverent person?

In my icon box I have a couple of icons that were originally from Jerusalem, I have my grandmother's ancient wooden cross that she inherited from her own grandmother, I have a smaller, carved cross that is made from some sort of soft transparent stone (also from my grandmother). I have last year's Easter egg and a piece of the box plant that we were given on Palm Sunday last year. These are the things that are important so why is it that I want to keep them safe in a beautiful icon box? Vanity of vanities..............

Effie

[Michael 'Anthony' Cornett]

2311
Here's ours. The former 'entertainment cabinet' works wonderfully as a home altar/prayer corner. The pull down secretary desk serves as a great stash area for charcoal, incense, wicks, and Holy 'keepsake' box. The other half is serving quite nicely as a bookshelf, although I think I'll have to put another shelf in behind the doors below for another couple rows.

[Jeremy Troy]

Here is mine:

http://i1229.photobucket.com/albums/ee480/Jeremy_Troy/Photo0220.jpg