It is worth going into a church shop or an Orthodox store, as your eyes begin to run up from the assortment. What is there, but the icons are apparently invisible. Big and small, expensive and not very. And they are all for sale. This is where the embarrassment begins: how is it so, is it possible to sell icons?
Let's talk about this in more detail.
Recalling the Gospel
Those who read the gospel will understand what is being discussed. If the article is read by those who never took It in their hands, now we will tell.
The gospel tells of the earthly life of Christ. And there is one point in this Book. When the Lord comes to the temple and sees merchants there, he overturns their tables, casts out oxen and pigeons, and also drives out the merchants themselves.
What does this have to do with the question of whether it is possible to sell icons? The easiest. The Lord said that the temple is the house of God. And selling utensils and cattle in it turned the temple into a robber den. That is, Jesus Christ, as we see, against the sale of anything in the temple.
Let's look at this situation from a different perspective. From the side of modern reality. Then we can definitely answer the question of whether it is possible to sell the icon and the consequences of the sale.
Why is it being sold in the temple?
People who do not recognize the temple often state that everything in the church should be free or for donations, but here is a fixed "fee". We will not go to your priests, they are deceiving the people.
To such a pompous statement is always tempting to answer, they say, go and try to deceive the current people. Or grandmothers - grandmothers are old, they have lived all their lives. Try - cheat. And now people are sophisticated, almost all have higher education, especially among young people.
But we were distracted. Let us return to our question of whether it is possible to sell icons, whether it is a sin, and why they sell it in temples.
The temple needs to be maintained. It only from the outside seems that everything is so simple. Parishioners came, bought candles, scribbled notes, so the priest’s salary came running.
This is all a lie. In addition to the priest in the temple there are Ponomari, serving behind a candlebox, cleaners. The church needs to be maintained, restored, repaired, heated and paid for electricity. In addition, in almost all churches there are Sunday schools, almshouses that help those in need, and other "sections" that require investments. That's why you have to sell church utensils for a certain price.
But what about the donations?
Can I sell icons? As we see, they sell in temples. Are there temples where donations are still costing, that is, there is no fixed price for anything? Yes, they exist in the villages. But they don’t sell icons either, you can file notes and put candles.
Can I embroider and sell icons?
If we figured out the sale of icons in the temple, now let's talk about private sales.
Can I sell hand-embroidered icons? Many now embroider with beads, and then sell their creations.
It is better to ask this question to the priest. Opinions on this subject vary. Someone like this "business" is sickening, but someone, on the contrary, supports it, believing that the seller glorifies God.
Home icons
Life can turn in the most unpredictable way. Suppose a man is left without money, and he has old house icons. Can I sell icons from home?
Very undesirable. But again, it is better to ask this question to the priest. There are different situations, and if selling an icon is the only way to earn money for food and keeping children, it is pointless to advise idly from the outside. Father knows better what to do in this case.
Why is it undesirable to sell icons? Home icons that have been handed down from generation to generation, prayed. They belong to the genus - this time. Secondly, trading in icons is not the best way out of the most difficult life situation. How can I trade in God, the Virgin and saints? It is one thing when we give an icon, but it is quite another when we sell.
On this account, everyone has their own views, so no one will solve such issues better than a priest.
Summarize
We talked about whether it is possible to sell icons. We outline the main aspects:
According to the Gospel, the Savior himself drove out of the temples selling in them.
In the current living conditions in the church you have to sell utensils for a certain cost for the maintenance of the temple.