Candles In Worship – Part III

Since ancient times at hierarchical (bishop) services, special candle-holders have been used. The faithful reverently bow their heads when blessed by the Bishop with the dikeri (representing the two natures of Christ) and the trikeri (representing the Holy Trinity). Candles are also lit during the celebration of the Holy Eucharist (Liturgy/Mass).

Holy Baptism is celebrated with the priest fully vested and all the candles lit. Three candles are lit before the baptismal font as a sign that the Baptism is accomplished in the Name of the Holy Trinity; and the person to be baptized (if an adult) and the sponsors hold lit candles in their hands during the procession around the font as an expression of joy at the entry of a new member into the Church of Christ.

At the betrothal ceremony, the priest hands the couple lit candles before they enter the church to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony, throughout which they hold the lit candles as a symbol of their profound love for each other and of their desire to live with the blessing of the Church.

At the Sacrament of Holy Unction, seven candles are lit around the vessel of Holy Oil as a sign of the grace-bestowing action of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. And when the body of a deceased person is brought in the church, four candles are placed about the coffin to form a cross to show that the deceased was a Christian. During the funeral service, as well as memorial services, the faithful stand with lit candles as a sign that the deceased’s soul has left this world and entered into the Unwaning Light of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

During the Vespers portion of the Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts, the priest blesses the congregation with a lit candle and censer, proclaiming: “The Light of Christ illumines all!” On the Eve of the Nativity of Christ and the Theophany, a lit candle is placed before the festal Icon in the middle of the church to remind us of the birth and appearance on earth of Christ Our Savior, the Giver of Light. At all Divine Liturgies, lit candles are carried in procession at various parts of the service.

Thus candles and lampadas are lit at all church services with a wide variety of spiritual and symbolic meanings; for it is God Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness, [and] Who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:6). So too, lit candles in the church are also an expression of the worshippers’ adoration and love for God, their voluntary sacrifices, and their joy of the spiritual triumph of the Church. The candles, by their burning, remind one of the Unwaning Light which in the Kingdom of Heaven makes glad the souls of the righteous who have pleased God.

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