What is a censer used during church services, what is its purpose and history, appearance and types - answers to such questions will interest not only children, but also adults.
Description and purpose
Church censer is an integral attribute of the service held in the Orthodox Church. Many parishioners see him during the church ceremony, but do not know exactly what the censer is, what its purpose and symbolic meaning is.
The censer in Christianity is an important element of church utensils, which has been used during prayers since ancient times.
The censer consists of 2 halves: coals and incense are placed in the lower bowl, and the upper one is a lid, in shape it looks like a dome of a church with a Christian cross. On both sides chains are attached to the censer, for which it can be suspended in the temple. Quite often they have bells in the form of balls, inside of which metal cores are placed. During the passage of the priest and the swaying of the censer, they emit a melodic ringing. In Christianity, it is generally accepted that lighting incense and incense in it signifies an offering of bloodless sacrifice to God.
Symbolic meaning
The burning of victims existed in ancient times, starting with pagan rituals. In Orthodoxy, the Lord God himself, as described in the Old Testament, ordered Moses to conduct a special sacrificial rite, consisting of sacred fumigation with aromatic substances. Having come to worship Christ, the magi brought gifts, among which was incense.
The Evangelist John the Theologian saw in Revelation in the Temple of Heaven a little angel carrying a golden censer. Fire, according to the interpretation of the Holy Fathers, plays the role of a warming and burning substance, which symbolizes the Divine.
In Christianity, it is generally accepted that lighting incense and incense in it signifies an offering of bloodless sacrifice to God. The burning coals in the censer signify the divine nature of Jesus, the coal itself - his earthly, human nature, and frankincense means the prayers of ordinary people that they say, turning to God.
In some prayers, the Blessed Virgin is called the Incense Censer. The censer itself personifies the image of the Virgin, which contains Christ within herself, with her help, the fragrance of Christ ascended to the whole Orthodox world. The incense ritual denotes a power that disperses evil spirits and gives the glory of God.
Ancient censers
The censer in the church in modern Orthodoxy is considered a traditional subject, but it did not always exist. Initially, Christians used simple rituals, and the use of incense was considered a tradition of ceremonies among Jews or Gentiles.
In Jewish worship, censing took place only in the Jerusalem temple, when, with the help of a special golden scoop, incense was poured on the coals in a large stone altar in the sanctuary. In the days of Herod, such a scoop was replaced with an object similar to a frying pan.
In a pagan ritual, incense was also burned in a stone altar, where coals were previously laid and a fire was lit. For worship at the cemetery, clay or bronze containers were used with a hollow handle attached, through which air flowed to inflate the coals.
In rich homes in ancient times, there was a tradition of having incense burners in which fragrant incense burned. These were bronze bowls, standing on high legs, the shape of which was borrowed from Egypt. Similar incense burners were present in the homes of the Roman nobility, where they were suspended on chains and were portable.
Censer in the Christian religion
During the Roman Empire, Christians were persecuted for not wanting to burn incense in front of a portrait of the emperor, because they denied his divinity.
Already in the second half of the 5th century, Christians knew what a censer was, and held a solemn ceremony with it, similar to the modern procession. The very first censers were a bronze bowl or a low cylinder with handles without a lid. For rich people, censers were made of silver and gold, reminiscent of the shape of architectural buildings with windows designed for air passage and tracking fire. Stationary censers were installed near the altar on a pedestal. Censers with chains began to appear from the 6th century, when censing in the church became an important part of the ritual of worship.
In Ancient Russia censers with chains were common, starting from the 11th century, about which records in the charters of ancient temples and monasteries have been preserved. From the 15th century The censer began to be made in the form of a temple in association with the image of Jerusalem. Most often, such jewelry was made in royal workshops, and then presented to monasteries and temples. They were decorated with gold, stones, enamels, etc.
Censer Rules
Censorship i.e. the passage of a clergyman with a censer during a church service always happens in front of sacred church objects: icons, the temple itself, as well as other church attendants and parishioners.
Church rules clearly state what is put in the censer and in what cases it is used. Censing is complete, in which they go around the entire space of the church, and small, when only the altar, the iconostasis and the parishioners standing in front of them burn. In response to censing, according to the tradition of Orthodoxy, parishioners should bow.
During home prayer, katsey have long been used, the so-called manual censers, but now they are used only by bespopovtsy.
How the censer is kindled
The priest in the church conducts the entire ritual and knows how to burn a censer: a small piece of charcoal is placed inside it, and incense is placed on top. In the process of burning incense, an aromatic substance is released.
Frankincense is a wood resin with a specific aroma; when it is burned, incense smoke is formed, called incense. Even in the Old Testament, Yahweh ordered the people of Israel to donate aromatic fragrances to him and indicated their special composition, which consists of several substances, including wood resin "Lebanon", collected from trees in eastern countries.
Incense tree grows in the southwestern regions of Arabia, on the slopes of the mountains. Resin is collected from incisions made on trees in late winter and early spring. Emerging, the juice hardens in air, then it is removed in a dried form. Thanks to this, the state has become the center for the procurement of this product, which is acquired by all the churches and churches of the world.
Types of church censer
In modern Christian churches, there are two types of censers:
- a closed bowl on chains that are attached to the handle - is intended for use by priests in the process of worship;
- "Cell" or manual censer having a handle on the side.
By the appearance of the censer ceremonies, there are festive, everyday and demanding. The required censer is used during the service, at the request of believers, it is smaller in size and does not have bells. The bishop's censer is used in cathedral churches and decorated with bells. The censer shape symbolizes the image of the temple, which is crowned by the Orthodox cross.
Modern censers are made from a wide variety of materials: brass, cupronickel, metal with coinage and gilding. Such church utensils can be made manually, using jewelry gilding, decorated with enamel, carved elements, painting and precious stones.
Interesting Facts
The largest church censer in the world is called “Botafumeiro”, which means “emitting smoke” in Spanish. It is located in the Cathedral of St. James in the city of Galicia (Spain), weighs about 80 kg, is suspended by ropes from the ceiling. 40 kg of coal and incense are placed in it. To begin the process of incense incense, it must be set in motion and rocked to a speed of 60 km / h, which requires the strength of 8 people.
In October 2017, the Prime Minister of Russia D. Medvedev signed a decree on the rules for using censers in order to enhance fire safety in churches and temples of various faiths. They stipulate the daily rate of flammable substances that can be stored in the church premises, and sets the distance between flammable materials and an open flame source (at least 1.5 m). A rule is prescribed for installing a lighted censer solely on a non-combustible base.
For people who attend religious services in a modern church, knowledge of what a censer, its symbolic meaning and history will help to understand the rules and rites of Orthodoxy.