Sretenskaya candle. Prayer for the sanctification of Sretensky candles

The Orthodox world celebrates the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 15. The water and candles consecrated on this day acquire absolutely special qualities. They help our prayers to find the grace-giving power that will help us to turn to God. All year they are carefully stored and used only in special cases. It is very important to remember that they can not help us by themselves. Sretenskaya water and candles acquire their healing properties only in combination with our faith and readiness to follow the commandments of God.

Ancient Law of the Jews

But first of all, let us turn to the event, in the memory of which the church established this holiday. From the Gospel we learn that on the fortieth day after the birth of the baby Jesus was brought to the temple, as required by the ancient Jewish law. He was waiting for the rite of consecration to God. At the door of the temple of the Virgin Mary with his son was met by an old man named Simeon. He was predicted to live to the day in which he would be able to see God, incarnated from the Virgin. With him was the same old, like him, seer Anna.

Having seen the Holy Spirit in the infant Jesus Christ of the promised Messiah, Simeon solemnly told his mother and all those present. This event marks the first direct meeting (meeting) of God with people. In addition, Simeon and Anna are Old Testament saints. Thus, there was one more meeting - the Old Testament and the New Testament of Jesus Christ. In memory of these events and set a holiday.

The Presentation of the Lord in the Orthodox Church

The Orthodox world celebrates this event on February 15, that is, forty days after the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. It belongs to the group of non-transient holidays, as it is celebrated every year on the same day. In Russia, the holiday is known since the X century. The word "acquisition" is Slavic and means "meeting". Church candles, consecrated on this day, are called sretenskih.

What is the difference between a Sretenskaya candle and that which every parishioner can buy in a church shop during all other days of the year? The only difference is that ordinary candles can always be consecrated, and Sretensk once a year - on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This is done by a special rank. In the orthodox trebnik, which every priest uses, a prayer is given for the consecration of Sretensky candles and all the text accompanying this rite.

Also, water is also consecrated on this day. It is curious that in the old days it was customary during the Sretensky service to consecrate water collected from thawed snow or from a drop. It was considered especially healing.

The day when winter and spring meet

In general, the feast of the Meeting of the Lord, symbolizing God's promised meeting with people, apart from the ordination ordained by the Orthodox Church, was always filled with elements of folk fantasy bordering on the vestiges of paganism. The fact is that in the old days in the villages the official church festival was perceived to a certain extent as a master's feast. Among the peasants, this day was a holiday of the first meeting of winter with the approaching spring, because it was celebrated in the last winter month, when the first signs of future heat were already appearing.

Folk customs on the feast day

On this day in the spring, funny fist fights were arranged. One group of soldiers was dressed in spring clothes, and another - in the winter. In the one who wins, saw the prediction of early or late spring. Mistresses on that day were fed with oats of their chickens, as it was believed that this would help them to swing well all year round. And the peasant children on the festive morning ran out into the street and asked the sun to bring spring as soon as possible. If it was looking out from behind the clouds, it was believed that their request would be executed.

Roman Holiday Roots

In the people's calendar, the Orthodox holiday The Lord's Creation is combined in the most bizarre way with an ancient holiday called the Gromnitsa. Probably, many people know this name. Unbelievable, but the holiday celebrated in Russia, goes back to the ancient traditions of Rome. The fact is that in the XVII century, Metropolitan Peter Mogila edited the text of the Treasurer, that is, the book on which services were held in the church. As a model, he used a Roman analogue, which described in detail the processions on this day with lit candles in their hands. Metropolitan, taking as a basis the described action, invested in Sretensk candles, the use of which has not yet entered into the custom, another washed away - the sanctification and purification of the world by the light of Christ.

In the minds of our ancestors, these candles were endowed with magical properties. It was believed that Sretenskaya candle can protect against all manifestations of hostile forces, including lightning and thunder. Hence the name of it - the loud-speaker. However, the Orthodox Church warns against the attribution of any magical or miraculous properties to the parishioners. It would be extremely frivolous.

Prayer is the path to Divine Grace

Not the candles themselves, but a warm and sincere prayer in their light can bring the desired benefits. The same applies in full to the Sretenskaya water. It is curative, but it will never be sold in pharmacies, since the fertile qualities of water are manifested only if there is a deep religious feeling in whoever resorts to it.

This should be understood and those who try without faith in God to use Sretensk candles. Their meaning is trying to translate into the plane of various modern-fashioned esoteric theories. For example, to neutralize the negative energy around us, they recommend using Sreten candles. A prayer addressed to God, and only she, can save all visible and invisible enemies of the human race - that is what the holy Orthodox Church teaches us.

The true sacrifice to God is our soul

In addition, it is necessary to understand that the sretens candle, like any other church candle, is first of all our sacrifice to God, that is, what we give free of charge, not hoping to receive equivalent compensation. In this case we are talking about the material sacrifice that we bring. We spend our own money and buy a candle on them. Here, and lies in wait for the temptation to reduce our sacrifice to a purely monetary equivalent. Simply put, buy for money the grace of God.

It seems to us that the more expensive a candle we put, the more we spent (invested) money, the closer we are to the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the deepest mistake. We forget that everything material that we have is given to us by God, that is, without our sacrifice belongs to Him. God does not need from us a sretensky candle, not the bills that we omit to the church circle, but our souls, our devotion and our love. Candles are just a symbol of the victim. They are certainly needed, but their light only helps us to adjust our consciousness to the perception of the invisible Divine light, to see which is the goal of the life of every true Christian. Sretensky candles, the use of which is undoubtedly beneficial, is still only a tuning fork that helps us tune in to the perception of the great Divine harmony.