About the importance of smells in the spiritual and church life of people. Frankincense, what is it and how to use it at home

Lebanese cedar resin, in addition to its pleasant fragrance, has many useful characteristics.

Where does incense come from, what is it and what is it used for - people have long found answers to these questions. After all, the resinous substance is inseparable from the religious rituals of most cultures, although it has found wide application not only for church needs.

To characterize this natural product and understand what incense is, you should get acquainted with its source.

The hot, dry climate of desert Arabia proved most suitable for a tree like Boswellia. It is also called Lebanese cedar.

Place of growth - territories with specific conditions of the Arabian Peninsula. Also found in East Africa.

A similar resin is produced by another tree growing in China, India and Vietnam - the red pear (Protium serratum). The plant is actively used in the creation of incense due to its aroma, which is almost identical to the substance in question.

Pay attention! Natural oliban is a rare thing. For mass trade, counterfeits or substitutes are often used, for which dyes and flavors are added to regular resin.

The resinous substance was obtained from a tree and was highly valued. The number of cedars has decreased greatly, so they were classified as an endangered species. In the Middle Ages, Europeans became closely acquainted with an aromatic substance brought from the East. In Latin they called it olibanum (olibanus) and began to actively use it in religious rituals.

Where do you get incense from?

The French urgently asked the Arabs what incense was made of. In Europe, they immediately appreciated the overseas curiosity and wanted to grow trees en masse.

Despite all the desire, this was impossible in those days, just as it is now. The substance is released only by Lebanese cedar. The nomadic Arabs noticed that if a cut is made on this tree, the olibanus begins to appear.

The resin had a strong aroma, and after a while it hardened in the form of small pieces. Their color was light - pink, yellow, sometimes with a white tint.

When the dried resin is ground, it easily turns into powder. Then they set it on fire, like, for example, church incense, the use of which creates that same fragrance.

Properties

In terms of chemical composition, aromatic olibane consists of different elements. It contains boswellic acid, named after the type of tree. There is a substance olibanoresen, gum, cymene, terpene.

All components are volatile, but the resin does not completely dissolve in the liquid. Incense as a substance becomes softer under the influence of temperature. The higher it is, the sooner a fire occurs.

The smoke from oliban releases its own compounds, which affect the psycho-emotional state of a person so much that they can induce trance or euphoria.

For most people, oliban is not only not harmful, but even useful. Volatile substances in smoke stimulate the immune system, disinfect the air, and have a beneficial effect on nervous activity. The use of incense helps get rid of insomnia, anxiety, and nervousness.

Smell

The aroma of incense is recognizable and sweet, a little cloying. Unfortunately, the photo is unable to convey this smell, which has spicy, tart notes.

The resinous substance is combined with other aromas and essential oils, for example:

• pine,
• neroli,
• rose,
• lavender,
• eucalyptus,
• orange,
• myrrh,
• sandalwood

Also, as part of a perfume composition, it enhances all shades of aromas that are classified as floral. Olibanum often acts as a perfume fixative. The resin itself does not have a strong odor, but due to its gradual and uniform evaporation, it is used in perfumery.

This scent plays a big role for religious people. They believe that the way incense smells helps the spirit become attuned to the divine. In addition, it promotes cleansing from negative, vain things, relaxes and gives the necessary concentration during prayer.

This attitude can be explained by subjective feelings, so many people doubt whether it can be believed. Sometimes the smell of resin has proven beneficial effects.

Areas of application

For what purpose is incense used, what it is and what effect the resin gives - it’s not easy to figure it out right away. There are several areas in which the substance finds application.

Religious purposes

Fragrant olibanum has found use among different cults and countries. It is believed that smoke during worship helps direct the prayers of believers to heaven, to God.

People praise the Creator and, in gratitude, light not only candles, but also olibanum.

Ritual use of resin is mandatory in Christianity. The clergy will tell you in more detail what incense contains and how it is used.

The substance is widespread in Buddhism and Islam. In pagan beliefs, it is customary to fumigate a room with smoke in order to remove creatures that harm people.

Therapeutic effect

Ancient doctors believed that olibanum could cure those possessed by demons and expel unclean spirits from the body. According to the ideas of that time, it was spirits that became the cause of illness.

Indian medicine still effectively treats inflammatory conditions such as arthritis with the help of the resin, which is added as part of potions for diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The substance is also included in some drugs with antitumor effects.

Physically, oliban calms the nervous system, making it easier for a person to fall asleep and ensure sound sleep. Inhaling smoke has a positive effect on the respiratory system.

Cosmetic effect

The essential oil obtained from the substance was valued as a means to prolong youth and beauty. It was rubbed into the skin, added to tinctures, ointments, creams, baths, aromatic compositions and perfumes.

Regular use helps regenerate the skin.

Ladies who use this product note that it can remove scars and acne. Oliban in the form of powder or essential oil promotes wound healing and smoothes out fine wrinkles. It is often added to facial moisturizers.

Use in church

It is rare that a ritual action is performed without censing. Clergymen turn to fragrant resin both on church holidays and on ordinary days.

Church incense is intended to:

1. Offer a prayer in the temple.
2. Strengthen your prayer appeal at home.
3. Clear a place of negative energy or sanctify it.
4. Set your thoughts in an elevated, solemn mood.
5. Read prayers for the departed.
6. Conduct funeral ceremonies.

The resin used in temples can only be natural. Often it is made by monks according to special recipes, reciting it during prayer, sanctifying it. First, olibanum is ground to a powder, a little water and essential oils are added to it. Then it is dried again and the finished substance is obtained for church needs.

There are several varieties of resin, which differ in the intensity of their aroma and appearance.

The most valuable oliban (royal) is incense several times a year during significant holidays. It is also used when a bishop's service takes place. It is mandatory in every temple.

Take note! It is advisable not to extinguish the oliban, but to let it burn and go out on its own. The church canon allows extinguishing resin with blessed water. But they do this in extreme cases.

On ordinary days, altar incense is lit on the altar, recommended by the clergy for use at home. On holidays, the entire temple is burned with it. Lay people buy it in church shops. If there is a fast, they use a cell oliban. Monks are allowed to smoke it. It is more intended for use within a church environment.

Eating

Considering the beneficial properties of this natural product, some parishioners are wondering whether it can be eaten. This will not bring any benefit to the body.

The Arab population uses the resin as a natural replacement for toothpaste, because the bactericidal properties of the substance help kill germs. But Arabs have access to natural oliban, without additives or dyes.

Oliban that goes on sale is mostly unnatural. It contains a lot of artificial additives like talc. It is mixed with dyes and is often made at home.

The only advantage of such an oliban is the smell. This incense can be smelled and smoke inhaled.

Absolutely not suitable for consumption. It cannot be eaten or drunk in any form.

Having described in detail what it is - incense, the photos below will help you visualize it.

The specific species may vary in shape, smell and color. But most varieties of olibanus look exactly like this.

Useful video

Let's sum it up

The healing properties of incense are coupled with its important place in ritual ceremonies. Oliban pacifies and harmonizes a person on a physical and spiritual level. And its aroma is rightfully considered divine not only because of its richness, but due to its connection with the heavenly world.

The Christian religious system is designed in such a way that it influences all human senses. Studying it, it is extremely interesting to observe how natural receptors become conductors of Christian ideas, how they combine synergistically to achieve a single goal, with each showing its unique capabilities. The visual images of the cult have been studied most consistently. Sufficiently rich materials are associated with the world of sounds. Much less has been written about smells. The anthology “Aromas and Smells in Culture” does not highlight a single independent material on the problems of olfactonics of Christian worship. However, starting from the reflections on this topic of St. Ignatius Brianchaninov, St. Righteous John of Kronstadt, svmt. Seraphim Zvezdinsky, Fr. Pavel Florensky, A.F. Losev, and other Orthodox theologians, one can get some idea of ​​the semantic load of the olfactory components of the cult.

The smells of the church are: 1. Incense(in Hebrew – lot) – fragrant tree sap that hardens in air. It is collected from the plant cystus croticus (boswellia, family Burseraceae) - a thorny tree that grows on the island. Cyprus, Arabia, Syria, Palestine. In ancient times, it was considered one of the most valuable gifts that were presented to kings and nobles as a sign of special reverence: the presentation of incense by the Magi to the baby Jesus is evidence of recognition of his royal dignity (Matt. 2:11). It was used for incense in temples of various pagan religions. The first Christians used incense during rites of burial of the dead (according to the testimony of Tertullian). Currently mined mainly in India. Incense with additional aromatic additives is called incense. It must be assumed that incense in modern churches is carried out using various incense.

2. Miro- a special composition of fragrant substances for sacred anointing. According to the Old Testament regulations (Ex. 30, 23-25) it was composed of pure myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant cane (calamus), cassia and olive oil. In the modern Orthodox Church, myrrh includes about 50 components. The creation of the world is carried out by the highest hierarchy during Holy Week and is consecrated on Holy Thursday. After this, it is distributed throughout all dioceses. Confirmation is a sacrament in which the believer is given the Gifts of the Holy Spirit through the application of peace to various parts of the body. Anointing with holy myrrh is used during the consecration of churches.

3. Lamp oil (oil)– vegetable (primarily olive) oil, which is used for burning in lamps and for anointing believers. May contain aromatic additives (eg rose oil).

4. Wax candles– source of the faint odor of honey.

5. Other fragrances are not strictly regulated. For example, it can be added hyssop(hyssopus officinalis) into holy water for sprinkling. Festive rituals contain the smells of the living flowers(for example, on the Assumption of the Virgin Mary), tree branches and grass(on Trinity), etc.

6. We must not forget about the fragrance Holy gifts- in essence, the most important church aroma.

Some of these odors are canonized, others are not, however, even if in the church structure there are no unambiguous characteristics of aromatic substances, tradition regulates the use of certain odorous substances at the level of feeling. It would never occur to anyone to use strong, pungent odors that conflict with others.

The aromas of the church in a meaningful sense are in close interaction with all means of influencing the human senses. Smell and sound are especially closely related. This point is important for understanding both the music and the aromas of worship, so let us dwell on it in more detail.

It seems that music unfolds according to the principle of olfactory resource, as if overcoming the temporal direction of development. The main task is to create a kind of sound flicker in the temple space, providing a constant impact on the hearing of worshipers during the service and supporting them in a certain emotional state. In essence, the analytical ability of hearing, which is the main strength of this sense organ, is realized extremely poorly.

Of course, one might think that the reason is to direct the analytical activity of hearing to the perception of the content of the text. However, this conclusion does not seem so obvious. Firstly, many church recitations are carried out fundamentally in such a way as to focus attention on the melody of the reading, and not on its content; secondly, in the most solemn moments, the chant becomes so complex and self-sufficient that the meaning of the text is not perceived at all, but the “flickering static” of the singing still turns out to be unshakable. And in general, the service is structured in such a way that the most important moments when the meaning of the words should really come through to consciousness (sermon, reading of the Gospel, some exclamations of the deacon, recitation of key prayers), intoned either without a musical component at all, or subordinating it to the meaning of the text.

One has to think that analytical capabilities are not used consciously, that this is precisely the task of the musical means of the cult canon. From a world view, this situation is understandable, however, there is also a psychological parameter. Why is it traditionally optimal for a person praying in church to have an impact on the senses that minimally involves intellectual activity?

The answer, it seems, lies not in the plane of analysis of the sounding material, but in the characteristics of the organ of perception itself - hearing. As is known, the nerve analyzers of the auditory organs are the strongest means of human adaptation in the world. Sounds act primarily at the physiological level, causing a certain emotional reaction, and only after that they can be processed rationally. This is what brings hearing closer to other non-analytical perception systems - smell and taste. The ancient forms of cult singing in Christian practice are undoubtedly organized similar to the methods of influencing these organs, which was well understood by medieval thinkers. “Melos received its name from the sweetness of honey (melle),” says Isidore of Seville. “The types of harmony are so numerous that neither thought is able to survey them, nor speech can easily explain them, but they all serve the ear and are created for its joy. The same is true with the sense of smell. Incense has its own smell, ointments have its own smell, rose flower beds have their own smell, shrubs, meadows, steppes, groves, flowers have their own smell, and everything that exudes a pleasant aroma and breathes sweet aromas - all this serves the sense of smell and was created for it. joy,” teaches Hugh of Saint-Victor.

However, neither in those centuries nor in modern times were such parallels taken into account in understanding the cult system. Thomas Aquinas emphasized that “the senses that are most effective in knowledge and being in the service of reason, namely sight and hearing, have a connection with the beautiful... When instead we are talking about other senses, we do not use the word “beautiful”, therefore we do not talk about wonderful tastes and smells.”

This attitude has affected the fact that in theology and the humanities there is relatively little reflection on non-analytical means of influencing a person, however, it is difficult to talk about the nature of the cult canon and not take into account their existence: the role of these means in the formation of the whole is too great.

Man accepts the heavenly presence with all his senses. God shares with the person who sacrifices from the abundance of his love in taste and smell. The sense of smell is “what shows our thought and disposition directed towards Him, due to the fact that through this sense we perceive fragrance,” says St. John of Damascus Fragrances symbolize the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. Paradise itself is filled with fragrances, as the great seer St. Ephraim the Syrian in his book “On Paradise”: “No matter how high heaven is placed, those who ascend there do not become weary, and those who inherit it are not burdened with labor. With its beauty it fills with joy and attracts those walking towards it, illuminates them with the brilliance of its rays, delights them with its fragrance.<…>Its colors are brilliant, its fragrances are wondrous, its beauty is coveted, its dishes are valuable.<…>There I saw the righteous exuding fragrant ointments from themselves, pouring out fragrance, adorned with flowers, crowned with delicious fruits.”

At all times, the air of the church possessed a specific beauty of service. Incense, having gone from the Old to the New Testament, has not lost its most important role in the spiritual life of the world.

The fragrance of incense permeates everything that surrounds it: walls, shrines, priests’ robes. The fragrance seems to be absorbed into psalmody and prayer. This reveals the words: “I am everything and in everything.” Fragrance is a state of heaven. This is especially visible in the ritual of incense and is well understood by theologians. “The deacon incense everything in order, not just burning incense, but sealing and sanctifying everything through prayer bringing and lifting it up to Christ with the prayer that the censer be accepted and that the grace of the All-Holy Spirit may be bestowed upon us,” says Blessed. Simeon of Thessalonica. Actually, the canonical text of the Liturgy speaks about this. At the end of the proskomedia there are the words: “We bring the censer to you, Christ our God, into the stench of the spiritual fragrance, which is received into your most heavenly altar, bestow upon us the Grace of your Most Holy Spirit.” There are other semantic shades of incense. For example, censing during the reading of the Apostle “was established as a sign of reverence for the upcoming reading of the Gospel and indicates that through the preaching of the Gospel the grace of the Holy Spirit, spilling out to all ends of the world, sweetened the hearts of people and turned them to Eternal Life.” Or in the prayer for the consecration of the fragrant potion it is said: “Fill their houses with every aroma, in this existence I will keep and protect all who burn incense and will deliver them from all enemy attacks” - i.e. the importance of incense smoke as a means of fighting evil spirits is emphasized.

Incense is extremely important in the symbolism of the Liturgy. According to N. Gogol: “... as in the home life of all the ancient eastern peoples, ablutions and incense were offered to every guest at the entrance. This custom passed entirely to the heavenly feast - to the Last Supper, which bears the name of the liturgy, in which the services were so wonderfully combined God along with a friendly treat for all...” You can also quote the words from the sermon of Pope John Paul II during the Coptic liturgy of “censer prayer”: “rising waves of incense smoke, like the human spirit, ascends to heaven, a spirit breaking out of everyday life, in aspirations to know the meaning of one’s existence and to merge with God.<…>The waves of incense, constantly rushing into the sky, carry with them our prayer to God, coming from the very depths of our hearts. The incense is accompanied by raising our hands to heaven, expressing our thirst for God and at the same time calling on Him to look upon people and things, desires and aspirations.”

Smch. Seraphim Zvezdinsky talks about smells in an even more sublime vein, considering the Liturgy itself as an image of the Divine aroma: “... the women who followed Christ - Mary Magdalene, Salome and others - after the burial of Christ the Savior, prepared aromas in order to anoint the Most Pure Body of the Lord the next day . My friends, my beloved, my flock, these aromas have survived to this day, we smell their fragrance, we experience their comforting power; these aromas are the Divine, secret, great, wonderful, beautiful, healing, revitalizing, most precious, most holy Liturgy. These are the aromas that the first followers of the Lord gave us... If it were not for this gift, we would have died in this world, full of uncleanness and all kinds of filth, we would have rotted alive in it, suffocated in the stench.”

Repeating small and great incense begins in the Holy of Holies - the altar of the church. Rising under the dome, mingling with the rays of the rising sun during the morning reading of psalms, and at the evening service sliding past the icon lamps and burning candles, the fragrant smoke of the censer turns the church into the image of a lost earthly Paradise. Paradise is lost, but the fragrance reminds us of heaven.

Smell plays an important role in the rites of Chrismation and Anointing. While performing each anointing, the priest says: “The Seal of the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Seal helps us feel the presence of the Spirit through the smell. Confirmation is a wonderful secret of the endless love of the Lord, who wants to clothe a person not only in the shining robe of salvation, but also in the fragrance of the Spirit. Incense replace the Glory of the Spirit: an invisible, but sensible mystery.

One cannot help but notice the smell of icons in the church. When you touch the icon, you feel its specific pleasant aroma. It is pleasant not only because the icon painters used natural paints, the best types of wood and linseed oil, covering the entire space of the icon. The smell of the icon is pleasant because it is close to the liturgical ritual and incense. The icon not only exudes fragrance. The icon breathes in the air of the church together with the believers. The icon lives. It seems that along with us - transient and carnal - stand our gifts brought to God. These gifts receive fragrances, thereby creating universal unity. The fragrances of icons invite a person to sanctify his life, to start living from the beginning.

Indeed, Christian worship is saturated with fragrances. As Fr. writes. P. Florensky: “Smells permeate the entire body, it floats in them, they flow and stream through it, as if through stretched muslin, the flow of air and the spiritual quality of the smell is then undeniable and obvious. And from these “ordinary” smells, like, for example , mint, incense, rose and so on - a direct transition to mysterious fragrances, in which their spirituality appears for all consciousness. This is the well-known fragrance of the saints...”

If we delve deeper into the texts of the Old Testament, we will find that the meaning of sacrifice in the Pentateuch looks precisely like the creation of a special kind of smell. “Offer it as a sweet aroma, a sacrifice to the Lord” [Exodus 29:41]. “Aaron will burn sweet-smelling incense on it” [Exodus 30:7]. “Take for yourself the best fragrant substances... It will be myrrh for sacred anointing" [Exod. 30:23-25], we read in the book “Exodus”. This is the very core of worship. Similar definitions are found wherever sacrifice is discussed.

Naturally, the question arises: why, given such a great importance of smells both in Scripture and in the practice of worship, the odorological aspect is so poorly represented in scientific works devoted to understanding the cult. When characterizing the liturgical canon, this aspect is in most cases treated as if it does not exist. In fact, apart from the rather lengthy discussions of Fr. Pavel Florensky, there are very few special works on this topic. Well-known works on odorology concern chemical, biological, medical, forensic, but not liturgical issues.

It seems that a lot can be explained by the trend of using incense in Western Christianity. As you know, Catholics use smells in church much more moderately than in Orthodoxy, and Protestants have almost excluded them from their everyday life.

The reason for this, one must assume, is that the rationalization of religion in the West makes forms of sensory influence irrelevant (the logic of the transformation of the musical and cult canon testifies to the same thing), and this, in turn, diverts attention from them in theological practice. Orthodox theology of recent centuries, when the cult process began to be subject to reflection, develops primarily in dialogue with Western confessions, within the framework of the issues that are relevant there.

This situation does not mean at all that the odorological aspect of the canon is not worthy of independent study. On the contrary, in our opinion, it should be considered first in a series of temporary parameters of the Christian cult. “When we smell, we make the most direct contact with the outside world...,” writes American odoologist R. Wright, “a more direct connection with the environment is difficult to even imagine.”<...>

Descartes' "cogito ergo sum" (I think, therefore I exist) was originally supposed to look like "Olfacio ergo cogito" ("I smell, therefore I think"). Obviously, this property of smell is of exceptional importance for the cult, since "going back to of one or another stage of the mountain ascent, the empirical descends from there no longer empirical, but noumenal, by the grace of the All-Holy Spirit of God” (P. Florensky). Here we have the opportunity to pose theological and ontological questions on the plane of the sensual.

However, a purely associative approach also works. As V. James noted: “The organ, ancient bronze, frescoes, marble and colored glass serve to decorate the temple. They create a favorable atmosphere for our prayerful worship. They like incense and praises..." Of course, this does not create any superfluous meanings.

Due to the fact that Christian odorology is poorly developed, today we have to admit the absence of even the most general methods for considering the odorological aspects of the canon. Essentially, we know only the basic substances (and even then not in full) that are used in worship. So far, neither the reasons for the selection of these particular substances, nor the principles of their compatibility, nor the relationship with other canonical means in the process of service are clear. Biblical and pathological odorology has not been developed at all, which is extremely important for understanding the nature of the Christian cult.

In other words, there is a problem, without the development of which further comprehension of the nature of the cult canon, at least in its temporary positions, in our opinion, is difficult.

NOTES:

1. Aromas and smells in culture. – M., 2003. Certain information is collected in reference publications, for example, the Illustrated Complete Biblical Encyclopedia (M., 1991). The brochure is devoted directly to the problem under consideration: Lesovichenko A., Likan S. Issues of Christian odorology. – Novosibirsk, 2003. There is a book: Albert J. Odeurs de saintete. La mythologie chéretienne des aromates. - P., 1996.

2. About this: Lesovichenko A. European musical and cult canons. – Novosibirsk, 2004.

3. Western European musical aesthetics of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. – M., 1965. – P. 174.

4. Ibid., p. 300.

5. Ibid., p. 304.

6. St. John of Damascus. An accurate exposition of the Orthodox faith. – M., 1998. – P. 103

7. St. Ephraim the Syrian. About heaven. -

8. Quoted from: All-night vigil. Liturgy. – M., 1982. – P. 77

9. Ibid., p. 80

10. Breviary. – M., 2000. – P. 508-509

11. Gogol N.V. Reflections on the Divine Liturgy. – M., 1990. – P. 25-26

12. John Paul II. Unity in diversity. – Milan-M., 1991. – P.196-197.

13. Svmch. Seraphim Zvezdinsky. Liturgy. Sermons delivered in the temple of the Diveyevo Monastery. – M., 2002. – P. 70].

14. Florensky P. Philosophy of cult // Theological works. – M., 1977. – P. 209-210.

15. Wright R.H. The science of smell. – M., 1966. – P. 122.

16. Florensky P. Cit. worker, p. 213.

17. James V. Diversity of religious experience. – M., 1910. – P. 448.

The temple is a special place. You can come there just like that, in order to pray in silence and solitude. To escape from our noisy world with its endless rush and bustle. Pray in front of the icons, light candles. In general, at least for a few minutes, detach yourself from vanity. And catch a familiar and some kind of nagging smell. What does the old church smell like?

Incense accompanies the service

What is it? Incense for burning incense during worship. And one of the small answers to the question of what the church smells like. Frankincense is an aromatic tree resin.

Types of incense

There are several types of this incense:

1. Arabian incense. It is also called real. It grows, accordingly, in Arabia.
2. Somali incense. It has two more names - Abyssinian and African. The roots lie in Ethiopia and Somalia.
3. Indian incense. It grows, as the name suggests, in India. And also in Persia.

What does he look like

This aromatic resin comes in solid droplets. They all vary in size, are yellow in color and translucent.

Smell

The church smells of incense, and this is not surprising. For he takes part in all church services. Crying without incense is impossible. What does it smell like? The aroma of incense is sweet, with small hints of lemon.

Candle

One of the constant “companions” of worship are candles. And not only in the service they are assistants. When people come to church, they first buy a candle to place in front of the icon. Therefore, you can safely add the smell of candles to the smell of incense when thinking about what the church smells like comes to mind.

Types of candles

Church candles come in two types - wax and with an admixture of ceresin. Ceresin is not pure wax, but a waxy substance with various impurities. And how are these candles different? And this is discussed in detail in the next subsection.

Wax candle

What does the church smell like, what candles emit a delicate and pleasant aroma that you want to inhale again and again? Of course, wax. Wax is considered the purest substance. A candle is a small sacrifice to God from a person. Is it really possible to sacrifice something bad to God? No, He is supposed to give the best. And not as in the proverb well known to all of us: “You, God, are worthless to me.” And this attitude towards the Creator is fundamentally wrong. He does not forget to take care of us: he wakes us up in the morning, allowing us to see a new day, responds to our requests, helps and does not leave us in sorrow. Why don't we try to give Him the best?

Okay, let's leave the lyrics. Everything is always pure to God - this is a truth established from ancient times. Clean incense for worship, clean candles, clean oil. In general, everything is the best. Other candles contain impurities and cannot be called pure. In addition to religious motivation, there is also a purely everyday one. Wax does not pollute the air, it emits a pleasant aroma, and most importantly, it does not smoke to such an extent as to spoil temple frescoes and icons.

A candle is a symbol of the burning of human souls with faith. Symbol of soul fire. A visible sacrifice to God from His sinful servants. Someone will say that a wax candle is not cheap. Can sacrifice really be cheap? It is done from the heart. When a person does something from the heart, wants to give a wonderful gift to a loved one, for example, he does not consider the costs. A candle is much cheaper than some decoration for a loved one.

Ceresin candles

Unlike waxy ones, they consist of a waxy substance. And they are not clean. And due to the fact that ceresin candles are a storehouse of impurities, they are also not very useful for use.

What's wrong with these candles? First of all, they smell bad. And if now, answering the question “what does the church smell like?”, only pleasant smells are remembered, then after communicating with “counterfeit” candles they will disappear. And this is just the minimum of troubles. The worst thing is that these candles smoke a lot. And thus they spoil the beautiful temple paintings and pollute the icons.

Yes, they are cheap. But the quality leaves much to be desired. Why are they being sold, another person will wonder. Alas, the concept of benefit exists everywhere. And other parishes are not spared this word. We will not develop this idea in order to avoid condemnation. Let's just keep in mind that nothing better than wax candles has yet been invented.

Confirmation

Anyone who has participated in this sacrament at least once knows what the church smells like, except incense and wax. It smells like peace there. And thus, calm, serene, not tolerant of fuss, which is so lacking outside the gates of the temple. And myrrh - oil with the addition of various incense.

As a rule, the smell of this oil is very pleasant and delicate. When can you encounter him? At the moment of anointing. This happens at the evening service, when the priest draws a cross on the forehead of the parishioner in oil. This is a very rough explanation, but it is made so that it is at least a little clear what anointing is.

And the ritual is as follows: the believer venerates the festive icon standing in the center of the temple, closer to the pulpit. The priest, in turn, stands facing this icon, also in the center of the temple. After the person has kissed the icon, he approaches the priest. And he performs the rite of Confirmation. This aromatic oil is then rubbed all over your face.

It's so easy to commit sins

Let us remember how Krug sings: “The old church smells of wax, I can’t remain silent. It’s so easy to commit sins...”.

What's next, who will remember? “But it’s not easy to atone.” The long-deceased singer very accurately noted. Sin enters us in tons, and leaves us with great difficulty, barely. And how do we atone for our sins? First of all, repentance. And not only in words. We came to confession, listed our sins, the priest read a prayer of absolution over us and...? And went on sinning. Do the same things you repented of. What is the point of such a confession, the question arises.

The meaning of confession is true repentance. And it implies renunciation of sin. Rethinking your own life, when a person comes to the realization that everything! I don’t want to live like this anymore and do this and that. This is the meaning of repentance, in avoiding sin and voluntarily abandoning it.

When we sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness, then we want to make at least a small contribution to God. And we wonder what we can give to the One who gives us everything? Light a candle, pray from the heart, thank you from the heart. This is quite possible for everyone.

Superstitions

Sometimes a person is perplexed: even though I’m not in church, it smells like incense. Indeed, this rarely happens. There is no need to be afraid of this. In fact, the body sometimes tends to wishful thinking. The so-called "program glitch". Let's say someone hasn't eaten sausage for a long time and really wants to eat it. And it seems to him that the apartment smells of sausage, although there is no trace of it in the refrigerator, and no one can cut it at the moment. This is a game of the body, do not pay attention.

It's the same here. People begin to panic and attribute supernatural explanations to this. Even to the point of warning of one's own demise. All this is nonsense, the real one. You should not look for mystical meaning in something where there is none.

In general, there is no need to connect the church and mysticism. God will never give a person what he cannot bear. As one nun said when people began to talk to her about being afraid to see or hear something otherworldly: “Well, keep your pocket wider.”

Pointless and merciless

The husband comes home and the wife greets him. She catches a strange smell and thinks: “Why does my husband smell like church? Oh, bad luck. Something will happen. He will probably die.”

Or maybe the spouse went to the nearest church after work to light a candle. He hadn’t been there for a long time, he was drawn there. Is your husband an unbeliever? I went into the store and ran into some guy. And this guy turned out to be an altar server. And I was already saturated with the smell of church. So I slightly impregnated my husband. So, dear ladies, there is no need to bury your spouse ahead of time and start stressing yourself out. There is always an explanation for everything. And it’s better to approach your other half with a question about his last places of visit than to rack his brains over it.

And briefly about what not to do. It's believing old wives' tales. Sometimes you go into a temple, and there, by the candlesticks, are sharp-eyed grannies. They see everything, they notice everything. And they begin to hiss after him: “You took the candle with your left hand, that damned one. You can’t light candles with your left hand, it’s a sin. And you can’t approach the icon in trousers, God will punish you. And he rattles with his heels, like an unclean hooves.” Sounds familiar, right? So, the politics of these grandmothers has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. What are they doing at the temple then, being absolutely illiterate in this matter? They notice the shortcomings of others and teach them about life. You should approach this with humor, but under no circumstances should you be scared or think anything stupid.

Another smell

It is intangible and cannot be felt with the nose. Only with the soul. What else does the church smell like? Calm and serenity. It’s like in our parents’ house, where we are welcomed and loved. Where you can completely relax, feel safe and trust your loved ones. It’s the same in church, only there we trust the Lord God himself.

Let's summarize

So, we found out that the old church smells of wax, incense and peace. Let's remember again what it is.

Wax is an environmentally friendly material obtained as a result of the work of bees. The wax is used to make real, fragrant candles for religious services.

Frankincense is an aromatic tree resin. It is used as the main attribute during censing, and therefore in the service. For censing is carried out during worship. There are three types of incense: Arabian, Somali and Indian. Its smell is sweet, with delicate hints of lemon.

Miro - oil with incense. Used at services to perform the rite of Confirmation.

Conclusion

From the article we learned what it smells like in a church. We received brief information about the types of incense and candles, what myrrh is, and what it is all used for. We also took into account that superstition and faith are completely different things. We gained knowledge about evil church grandmothers.

Therefore, to summarize, I would like to say that you should not pay attention to all sorts of rumors that sometimes occur in the church environment. God sees everything: both our wax, clean candles, and our souls open to Him.

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Question No. 715

On the importance of smells in the spiritual and church life of people

Andrey Maslennikov , Russia
06/07/2003

Dear Father Oleg!
Thank you for your attention to the work of Father Sebastian. We greatly appreciate every opinion; it will help us in further work on the study of this odorological topic.
Best regards, Andrey Maslennikov.

Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:

I would like to add that you should devote more attention to the problem of smell, illuminated in the experience of the holy fathers of the Church. For example, mention that the great reverend fathers (for example, St. John the Great) had the gift from the Lord to distinguish sinful passions (including such as the love of money) by smell! After all, every passion has its own special evil smell. It would be nice to make a selection of extracts from the lives of saints, which talk about the appearances of demons to them, which were evidenced by a disgusting stench.

It was necessary to cite the teaching of the Church that one of the nine main torments of hell is an incomparable and indescribable stench or stench! And vice versa, that the appearances of the Lord, the Mother of God, holy Angels and the souls of holy people were always accompanied by indescribable fragrances. You can place extracts from the lives of saints (for example, St. Andrew Christ for the Fool's sake), which talk about their visits to Paradise and other heavenly abodes associated with the transfer of experiences of indescribable fragrances. After this, we can draw the obvious conclusion that sin, evil, passion, demons and hell are certainly accompanied by a disgusting stench or stench, and grace, virtue, Paradise, angels and saints are accompanied by indescribable and wondrous fragrances.

That the smell, through stench, serves as a punishment for the sinner, and through the fragrance (in this case, it is called aroma) - as a reward for the saint and the righteous. It is from this real and God-created pattern that fragrance through natural substances collected and refined by the labor of people is used in the services of the Church, as a symbol of that ineffable spiritual and natural holy fragrance that is characteristic of everything divine and heavenly. It should be emphasized that the Lord God, establishing the composition for myrrh and other church fragrances, strictly forbade the use of this composition anywhere and in any other way. This must be supported by reference to relevant Scriptures. Moreover, each holy saint of God has his own unique aroma, so one could determine by smell which saint he is and compile a kind of aroma of saints!

For the sake of spiritual safety, it is absolutely necessary and very important to convey the experimental teaching of the Holy Fathers about the counterfeiting of fragrant odors by demons.

Demons know very well the importance of smells in the spiritual and church life of people. Therefore, they maliciously use the composition of fragrances from substances stolen from God (for demons are not creators and themselves cannot do anything other than sin, theft, destruction and destruction) to try to seduce holy saints, novice ascetics and ordinary believers.

They do this during their visits under the guise of the Lord, the Mother of God (by the way, in the MP there is a common myth that, they say, demons cannot take on the appearance of the Mother of God, which is a lie and destructive delusion), holy angels and saints of God, in order to cover up their real stench and pass off the “fragrance” they composed as true and beneficial.

In this regard, it is appropriate to cite cases of mass seduction of many people from the MP by numerous “myrrh streams” from icons, photographs, packs of icons standing on a store shelf, paper icons folded in one row, etc. Such “myrrh-streaming” is very easily carried out by nosy demons. To do this, they prepare an oil-like odorous substance from natural substances (and they can do this better than people) and invisibly lower this “mirror” in various places of the icon or photograph they have chosen in order to seduce believers infected with false spirituality with its passion for various miracles and signs .

Of course, there are real blessed myrrh flows from the skulls, bones and relics of saints. But very rarely in the history of the Church they were from icons. An icon is a living spiritual reality, and the myrrh is inherent, although it is a shrine, but dead, sleeping or buried. Even the act of anointing in this great and necessary Sacrament of the Church has a funeral meaning. We die to a life of sin with Christ and are buried with Him in the waters of the baptismal font:

Romans 6:
3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we are united to Him in the likeness of His death, we must also be united in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 For he who died was freed from sin.
8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him,
9 Knowing that Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more: death no longer has power over Him.
10 For because He died, He died once to sin; and what he lives, he lives for God.
11 Likewise, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And by anointing we seal this burial or tomb for sin, so that it will never come to life in us. This is why we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we can live with God and in the fragrance of grace, and not in the stench of sin.

The very flow of myrrh from an icon, even grace-filled in origin, is not the main sign of grace or its manifestation through this icon, but only accompanying, while the presence of other more important signs and manifestations is necessary - true healings, expulsions of demons, consolation in sorrows, resolution of problems, strengthening in exploits, calls to repentance, contrition, crying, spiritual tears, etc.

Therefore, it is impossible to believe based on the mere fact of the outflow of “mirror”. At the same time, representatives of the true clergy must read a special prayer to cast out the demon before the myrrh-streaming icon, and only after that, if the myrrh-streaming does not stop, declare it a miracle or sign of God. In cases of icons streaming myrrh due to God’s action, this is a gracious, but formidable warning sign about the spiritual dying or death of a given church structure, monastery or temple.

That is why one cannot rejoice in the myrrh-streaming of icons and charmingly take them as a sign of the presence of grace in the structure itself or in a given temple, thereby deceiving oneself and others.

It is interesting to point out the connection between the fragrant smell and the Cross of the Lord, both the authentic tree of the cross itself, and many of its copies or symbols, which should be worn with reverence by every faithful Christian on the chest, kept in homes and churches. The tree of the cross itself was made up of three non-rotting resinous trees of noble species: cypress, cedar of Lebanon and pine tree. Each of these trees is naturally sweet-smelling wood. This smell is even more pleasant in the three-part tree of the cross. To this natural fragrance was added the smell of Christ’s consecration and the fragrance of the great shrine.

In this regard, it should be noted, especially regarding the manufacture and wearing of body, intra-temple and dome crosses, that they should mainly be made from noble wood. We received the command about this from the Mother of God Herself. This command can be found in the description of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and the Tikhvin Monastery. Having appeared in reality together with Saint Nicholas of Myra to the sexton George, chosen from all the monastery brethren, the Most Holy Theotokos commanded that a metal cross should not be erected on the dome of the built church, but a wooden one, for My Son, the Lady explained, was not crucified on an iron cross, but on a wooden one! George fulfilled the order of the Queen of Heaven and the cross was replaced. It is interesting to note that later, when God allowed this monastery to burn to the ground, only two shrines remained unharmed on the ashes: the Tikhvin icon and this domed cross, which was made from the wood of the very oak on which the Most Holy Theotokos deigned to sit during a conversation with Georgiy.

This appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos was reflected in the “Conversation” icon. On it we see the Most Holy Theotokos sitting on the trunk of an oak tree (and the tree bent so that part of the trunk, where the Queen of Heaven sat, was located parallel to the ground, and the rest, with the crown, remained vertical. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is depicted standing near the Mother of God, and in front of Her - young man Georgy lying face down in a bow.

I quote a lot of information about the Cross of the Lord from memory from it.

Without this addition, your work on smells in Christianity loses a lot and looks incomplete.

From literary works and from our own experience, we know that the church always smells of incense, that the fragrant smoke of incense accompanies solemn church ceremonies. A very old or hopelessly ill person is said to be on his last legs. Everyone knows the saying: “he’s as afraid as the devil of incense.” It used to be believed that incense warded off bad luck. A bag of incense was worn around the neck as a talisman; it was called an incense. In houses, an incense pot was placed in front of the icons - a small vessel made of copper in the shape of a ball with a cross on top. Incense has entered both everyday life and the sayings of the Russian people. Frankincense is an aromatic resin from evergreen shrubs called cistus. Their leaves are slightly covered with hairs. They secrete an odorous resin, which we call incense. The hairs can be single or collected in bunches. The delicate flowers of cistus with white, pink, and red petals are similar to rosehip flowers, and therefore the plant is sometimes called “rock rose.” It is surprising that the flowers of this aromatic plant have neither nectar nor smell. The cistus bush blooms in the morning. All the flowers open at the same time, but by mid-day their petals have already fallen. Bees, bumblebees, beetles, and flies flock to the flowers. It is curious that when they collect pollen, the stamens quickly, right before our eyes, bend outward and open the stigma for pollination. After 10-15 seconds, the stamens again assume a vertical position. By autumn, fruit boxes are already hanging on the bushes and swaying on long stalks. Mature capsules open with three or five doors and trihedral seeds, like buckwheat, spill out of them. If they fall on wet soil, they become covered with mucus and swell. When dry, the mucus firmly adheres the seeds to a lump of soil, legs, paws, fur of animals and birds. Cistus prefer dry, open, sunny places. They grow in the prairies and deserts of America, in light pine and juniper forests of the Mediterranean, in the Southern Crimea, in the Western Caucasus, in Iran, in Western and Central Asia. Some species of cistus grow in southern Sweden and even on the Kola Peninsula and northern Canada, where there are severe frosts in winter. The largest genus in the cistus family is the sunflowers. There are more than 100 species of shrubs or herbs. They got their name because their yellow, or less often white, flowers face the sun in clear, sunny weather and turn after it. In the Arabian and Egyptian deserts, where the sun mercilessly warms, the Cairo sunflower grows in the cracks of rocks, on sand and pebbles. With the onset of rains, large, flat, almost hairless leaves appear on it. Then shoots with completely different leaves appear in their axils. They are small, narrow, rolled up at the edges and covered with such a thick felt of hairs that they appear gray. In the most intense heat, the plant sheds these leaves. And when the rains fall again, it is all covered with small flowers hanging down on long stalks. All cistus are resistant to heat, and cistus seeds germinate especially well and quickly after fires. These are strange plants - fires promote their germination when others die in the fire. Animals do not touch their leaves, which are protected by thorns and a rather strong aroma. The fragrant resin of incense was highly valued in the last century as a medicine. It was used to fumigate the houses of those suffering from the plague. In the East and in Egypt, fumigation with incense added solemnity to rituals and ceremonies. Nowadays, perfumers add incense to shampoos, creams and perfumes.