Entering an Orthodox church, a believer sees many candles and lamps burning in front of the holy images. This practice of lighting candles in front of icons is now widely used in all Orthodox parishes.
A candle in the Orthodox sense is a symbol of human sacrifice to God. In addition, lighting a candle in front of a holy image has a certain meaning and carries a spiritual meaning. So, burning a candle reminds a person that his prayer should be "hot", uttered from a pure heart. At the same time, the thoughts of a believer should ascend "grief" - to heaven, in the likeness of how the flame of a burning candle necessarily ascends upward, regardless of the position in which the person holds the candle.
The practice of lighting lamps dates back to the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus, which is part of the Pentateuch, has evidence of God's command to Moses to introduce the practice of lighting lamps before the ark of the covenant, which contained the ten commandments. Such a regulation, according to the Old Testament, was to be "an eternal statute for generations" (Ex. 27:21). In addition, Jesus Christ in his parables symbolically spoke about lighted lamps, which symbolized a special burning. For example, in the parable of the maidens waiting for the bridegroom. Elsewhere in the Gospel, one can read that a burning candle is a source of light in a dark room, therefore human deeds should also be light in order to "illuminate" the gracious deeds of the surrounding world.
Candles are also lit in front of the holy icons as a sign of man's involvement in God, divine grace and holiness. That is why there should be no formal relation to the setting of candles in the temple. The process itself must be accompanied by prayer. You cannot light candles with a "cold" heart, following the accepted tradition, because in this case it turns into a ritual that is absolutely meaningless for a Christian.
