Often, when visiting an unfamiliar temple, it can be difficult to navigate. There are many icons in the temple, but is there among them the image in front of which you wanted to pray? Ask temple officials or members for help. But if there is no one to tell you, you can take a closer look at the type of image and independently determine what kind of image it is.
To honor the celebrated event
If on this day an event is celebrated in the life of the Savior or the Mother of God, or the saint whose icon you want to approach, then in the center of the temple this image is usually laid out on a lectern. This icon is considered festive. If there is no separate icon of the event or saint commemorated on that day in the church, then a minea one is placed on the lectern, i.e. monthly icon. This saint or event will be depicted on it among all the saints and events of the given month. On Sunday, the image of the Resurrection of Christ is always located on the analogue.
Find the icon of the Virgin
There are many options for the image of the Mother of God. The types of iconography of the image of the Mother of God are divided into several groups.
Type "Affection" - in Greek icon painting this type is called "Sweet kiss". The Mother of God and the baby clung to each other with their faces, Christ embraces the Mother by the neck with his hand. Also, this type includes icons where the Mother of God is depicted alone. These are the icons of the Mother of God - Tenderness (Diveevskaya), Vladimirskaya, Donskaya, Pochaevskaya, Recovery of the dead, Feodorovskaya.
Type "Hodegetria" - from the Greek "Guide". The Mother of God is depicted frontally and points with her hand to the baby sitting on her other hand. At the same time, he blesses with his hand. These are the icons of the Mother of God - Iverskaya, Kazan, Smolensk, Three-handed.
The type "Sign" - from the Greek "Praying" - the Mother of God with raised hands, the half-figure of Christ in a youthful appearance is located in a sphere at the level of the chest of the Virgin. These are icons - the Sign of Novgorod, Korchemnaya, Kursk-Korennaya, Tsarskoselskaya.
Find the icon of the saint
To do this, you need to know who he is: saint, martyr, healer, apostle, saint, etc. Each rite of the saint has its own obligatory iconographic attributes. Clothing is one of the markings. For martyrs, the color of their clothes is usually red, and for reverends, the clothes are dark.
The apostles-evangelists are depicted as writing the Gospel, in the hands of the martyrs usually a cross or instruments of torture are depicted - a wheel, a sword, etc., doctors-non-silvermen are holding a vessel with medicines or a spoon, the pillars are depicted standing on a pillar.
It is advisable to know the portrait features of famous saints: for example, Nicholas the Wonderworker, Seraphim of Sarov, Panteleimon the Healer, George the Victorious, the Royal family are almost always recognizable.
You can pray and light a candle to your saint and / or several saints in front of the All Saints icon.
