church ritual of lighting candles and lamps are very ancient.Christians before the Gospel is not always fire burned for readability and as the embodiment of unity with the heavenly powers, like a particle of eternal fire of Jesus Christ.
divine symbol of fire
lighted candles before an icon - a tribute of love and respect for the Lord.In the homes of tsarist Russia before the faces of the saints are always rich or Kyoto burning lamps, which is a special light - it poured oil church.This is the name of the V century BC implied flammable liquid obtained from the olive trees.The second of its name - the firs.For thousands of years the church was used for the needs of the oil from the fruit of the tree only.It is clean, burns evenly without forming resins.Of course, one of the main purposes of burning oil lamps - clean the air from the pollution.But having strong healing properties of the oil is also capable of killing microbes.
church Fragrance oil
Generally, oiled the aromas.About himself and fills it with fragrant medicinal herbs as the best gift mentioned in the Bible.There is a special set of recommended herbs added to the oil for scent.Church oil, ie olive, is the highest standard - olive - and more commonly known as "wooden."Lantern is a lamp with a floating wick, to secure it in the majority of bowls is a partition.The significance of her life in the Russian says the number of sayings, poems and synonyms for the word - eleynik, zhirnik, Kaganets, svetiltse.Light the oil lamp - this is literally and figuratively refer soul to God.Extinguish it - means to finish the job.So the very church oil or the oil has acquired proverbs, sayings and legends about his miraculous.
value of oil in the sacrament of the Anointing
Consume oil church not only for lighting fixtures.One of its most important functions - the anointing, the greatest mystery of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, a sign of human transmission, which takes place over this ceremony, God's grace.The oil is part of the St. Miro - products for the anointing, which, except for the church of oil, are from 34 to 74 members.Due to the ancient rite of the origin of certain ingredients already known, but in the Orthodox churches, making the Chrism, priests try to minimally deviate from the divine prescriptions.Needless Church oil is always supplemented by a number of traditional spices - myrrh, sandalwood and frankincense (resin trees grown since ancient times in the Arabian Peninsula), backgammon - the roots of valerian plant family (he mentioned in his Song of Solomon), rose and other aromatic substances.The smell when burning lamp oil is obtained simply divine!Joining the new man of the Church begins the sacrament of baptism and the sacrament of Confirmation ends.Thus, the oil in the church ceremonies plays a major role.
Modern substitutes
in the Soviet Union in the years of atheism expensive olive oil for the church needs to write out of the countries where these trees grow, ceased altogether.The clergy were forced to use some substitutes who have been consecrated.This is now removed completely, but there is another - insistently offers modern substitutes.Chief among these is a liquid paraffin "liquid paraffin".By some measures, it is superior to church firs - the oil of divine origin.Yet his action in the combustion process is not fully understood.The rites of Orthodoxy liquid paraffin is often used, even though it violates the religious canons.Never use lamps for lighting technical oil of low quality, because it is related to the health threat of believers.
