3- Why do Orthodox Christians use candles in worship?
Believers light candles during prayer for many reasons:
A candle is a source of light just as God is the ultimate source of light. In 1 John 1:5, the evangelist says that “…God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Since God is intrinsically light, it is unsurprising that light was the first creation as described in Gen 1:3. Even after the fall of man when the darkness of sin reigned over the world, God desired to be “an everlasting light” (Isaiah 60:19) to Israel – a prophecy eventually fulfilled by the incarnation of Jesus Christ. St. John begins his Gospel by saying, “In [Jesus] was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness…[St. John the Baptist] came to bear witness of the Light…that was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world” (John 1:4-9). Thus, candles are lit in church in order to remind worshipper that they are in the presence of God, the true Light.
There is historical precedent for lighting candles in worship. In the Old Testament, God commanded that a golden lamp stand be continuously lit in the tabernacle before the altar of incense and table of showbread (Ex. 25:37, 27:20). In the New Testament, it is mentioned in the revelations of St. John that there are also seven golden lamp stands in heaven (Rev. 1:20).
The lighting of candles is an apostolic tradition that was practiced during prayer because Light corresponds to the word of God. The Psalmist David prays saying “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” Hence, in Acts 20:8, it says that “There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together” while the Christians were gathered together. It is also mentioned in the Didascalia Apostolorum (Latin for an ancient document called the “Teaching of the Apostles”) that St. Jerome, a fourth century church father, said that the church lights the candles during the reading of the Gospel to show its joy with the shining Good News to all the world.
The light given off by candles reminds the believers that the church is the spiritual lighthouse to the world. Just as lighthouses provide navigational assistance and warnings to maritime pilots, the church illuminates the path of righteousness and the consequences of sin.
The church lights candles in front of the icons because the saints exemplify the teaching of Jesus Christ – “You are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14). The lives of the saints were consumed in hardship, calamity, and struggle, yet even though their lives were burning, they were a source of spiritual fervency, love, service, and zeal.
