Lamp

The oil lamp (kandela or lychnia) burning before an icon is one of the most characteristic elements of Orthodox piety, both in churches and in homes. Its theological significance: the lamp images the prayer that burns continuously before God, the uncreated light that the icon participates in, and the faith of the one who lit it. The Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany includes the lighting of the lamps as the Lucernarium (lamp-lighting) at Vespers. St. Seraphim kept a perpetual lamp burning before the icon of the Theotokos in his cell.