Sooner or later, this question arises for everyone who acquires an icon or receives it as a gift. And really, how to properly arrange it in the house in order to offer prayer to the Lord and not break any sacred laws? After all, prayer is a kind of sacrament, and any sacrament should be performed in the appropriate place, and not anywhere. How to properly hang icons in city apartments or private houses?
Instructions
Step 1
The best place for the icon in the house is the red corner. It is here, according to tradition, that the iconostasis, spiritual literature, candles or lamps and a cross are located. The red corner of the house is the wall opposite the entrance to the building. This location is no coincidence, everyone who enters can bow to the images without looking for them for a long time in all corners. It is better that the space near the iconostasis is free and allows all family members and guests to stand up for prayer at the same time.
Step 2
The altar is located on the east side, it is also necessary to place icons in the house so that the worshiper faces the East. However, if you do not have a suitable place for the images in the eastern part of the apartment, you can hang them anywhere else. It is important that this is not a remote corner, into which sunlight does not fall, but a wall, which the icon will decorate and make it even brighter. You can hang the icon either on a regular nail or set it on a special shelf next to other icons. If there are many icons in the house, you can make a special iconostasis for them. The main thing is that the process of collecting images does not turn into ordinary collecting. After all, their purpose is completely different, and there is no connection between the number of icons in the house and the piety of its inhabitants.
Step 3
You should not install icons among books on shelves, as well as in the shelves of cabinets, mixed with cosmetics, figurines and photographs of relatives. Also, you cannot hang icons next to the toilet or alongside paintings and other works of art. Remember that an icon is not a beautiful painting or just a picture. The purpose of the icon in the house is to preserve reverence and faith, as well as sacred protection. It is possible to place icons in the bedroom of the spouses, despite the mistaken idea of many that this is sinful.
