How to handle icons An icon is primarily a sacred object. This is not a picture, an icon is a holy image,. helping a person to look into the upper world during prayer. In addition to reverent attitude, a person has a duty to preserve their physical nature.
Instructions
Step 1
It is best to keep the icons in the icon case. changes in temperature, humidity, dust deposits lead to cracking and debris of the paint layer. The primer and paint of icons is best preserved at a temperature of + 17- + 20 ° С, humidity 45% -55%. It is strictly forbidden to wipe the icon with any substances (even consecrated ones), they blur the paint layer. It is possible to remove dust from the icons if the paint layer does not crumble and it is better to do this with a very soft, dry squirrel brush.
Step 2
People without special education and skills should not cover the icon with paints, varnishes, oils. You should not repair the icon frame yourself, change the glass. There is a great risk by wrong actions, causing irreparable damage to the paint layer of the icon. This can only be done by a professional restorer.
Step 3
It is disastrous to put icons on the window or hang them under the window. Drafts and dampness are dangerous to the health of icons. Do not place icons in direct sunlight, near a battery, stove or table lamp. Warm air currents destroy the paint layer. It is inappropriate to place icons next to portraits of politicians and athletes. You cannot use icons to decorate the interior of the room. In some wooden houses, a grinder beetle lives, the insect can turn the wooden base of the icon into dust in a few years.
Step 4
Icons purchased outside the walls of the Temple must be consecrated, as well as old icons if it is not known their origin or after restoration when significant details of the painting were touched upon. It is not customary to kiss the face of the saint depicted in the icon; it is better to kiss the images of hands, feet and clothes. If the icon has become dilapidated and cannot be restored, in no case should it be thrown away. Better to take it to the Temple, where it will be burned in a church oven.
