The church ceremony of lighting candles and lamps is very ancient. Christians always had a fire before the Gospel, not for ease of reading, but as the personification of unity with the heavenly powers, as a particle of the eternal fire of Jesus Christ.
Divine Symbol of Fire
Lighting a candle in front of the icon is a tribute to love and respect for the Lord. In the residential buildings of Tsarist Russia, icon lamps were always burning in front of the faces of saints or rich icon cases, which were a special lamp - church oil was poured into it. This name from the 5th century BC meant a flammable liquid obtained from olive trees. Its second name is firs. For thousands of years, the oil from the fruit of this tree alone has been used for the needs of the church. It is environmentally friendly, burns without residue, without forming tar. Of course, one of the main purposes of a burning lamp is to purify the air from filth. But the oil, which has strong healing properties, is also capable ofkill germs.
Church Oil Flavors
As a rule, aromas are present in oil. About him and about the fragrant healing herbs filling him as the best gift, it was said in the Bible. There is a specially recommended set of herbs added to fir trees for smell. Church oil, that is, olive oil, is of the highest standard - Provencal - and more common, known as "wood". The icon lamp is a lamp with a floating wick; most bowls have a partition to fix it. The number of sayings, poems and synonyms for this word speaks about its meaning in Russian life - an oleinik, a fat man, a kagan, a lamp. Lighting a lamp is literally and figuratively turning your soul to God. Putting it out means finishing the job. So the church oil itself, or oil, was overgrown with proverbs, sayings and legends about its miraculous power.
The Importance of Oil in the Mystery of the Anointing
Church oil is used not only for lighting lamps. One of its most important functions is anointing, the greatest Sacrament of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, a sign of the transfer of God's grace to the person over whom this rite is performed. Oil is part of the Holy Myrrh - a product necessary for chrismation, in which, in addition to the church oil itself, there are from 34 to 74 elements. Due to the antiquity of the rite, the origin of some ingredients is no longer known, however, in Orthodox churches, when making the Chrism, clergy try to deviate minimally from divine recipes. Samochurch oil is always supplemented with a number of traditional incense - myrrh, sandalwood and frankincense (the resins of trees that have been growing on the Arabian Peninsula since ancient times), nard - the roots of plants of the valerian family (he was mentioned in his Song by Solomon), rose and other fragrant substances. The smell when burning lamp oil is simply divine! The communion of a new person to the Church begins with the Sacrament of Baptism and ends with the Sacrament of Confirmation. Thus, oil plays a dominant role in the church rite.
Modern substitutes
In the Soviet Union during the years of atheism, expensive olive oil for church needs was completely discontinued from the countries where these trees grow. The clergy were forced to use some substitutes that had passed the rite of consecration. Now this problem has been completely removed, but another one has arisen - modern surrogates are persistently offered. The main one is vaseline oil, "liquid paraffin". In some respects, it surpasses church oil - oil of divine origin. However, its effect in the combustion process is not fully understood. In the rites of Orthodoxy, vaseline oil is often used, although this violates cult canons. It is strictly forbidden to use poor quality technical oil to light lamps, because this is associated with a threat to the he alth of believers.
