One of the Savior's commands to Moses was to light a lamp with seven candles at every service. The glow of the candle fire symbolizes the divine light that dispels the darkness of ignorance. A lit candle denotes repentance and readiness to serve the Lord, love for him and the saints.
The tradition of putting candles in the temple is an ancient custom filled with divine meaning.
Main rules
The first thing you need to know: a candle is a small voluntary sacrifice to God, you need to acquire and put it in front of the icons with an open soul, sincere faith, pure thoughts. Only then the prayer, whether it is said in the scriptures or in your own words, will be heard and help will come.
Approaching the icon and the candlestick, you need to cross yourself twice with bows, light a candle and put it in a separate cell of the candlestick. Then you should turn to the face of the saint in prayer, after which you cross yourself again with a bow. Candles are placed in front of the images of the Savior, His Mother and other saints to whom you turn with prayer.
It is better to come to church before the start of the service, so as not to interfere with anyone and not to distract other parishioners later. You need to light a candle only from other candles, it is forbidden to use matches, lighters, and also bring candles with you. They must be purchased at the temple itself.
It happens that there are no empty spaces in the candlestick, in no case should two candles be put together. You need to put them in a special box, the clergy will light them after, when the cells are free.
Candles are put not only with some kind of request, but also with gratitude for help in something. If by the beginning of the service it was not possible to put candles on time, you need to wait until it ends and then turn to the saints, the Lord and the Mother of God.
There are a lot of people in churches and temples on holidays, so it is not always possible to personally approach the candlestick. In this case, you can pass the candle to other parishioners and indicate the place where to put it, sending a prayer afterward mentally, and crossing yourself.
Prayers for health and peace
When praying for health and well-being for yourself and your loved ones, you should call on the name of the saint in prayer, to whose icon candles are set.
To commemorate the dead in churches, eve tables are set, usually on the left side of the church, in front of the image of the Cross of the Lord. Such a table can be recognized by a rectangular candlestick with a Crucifixion. First, you need to put food in baskets so that the ministers of the church will remember the deceased with you, then go to the candlestick. Candles can be placed for everyone or for everyone. You should cross yourself 2 times, bow with a bow, melt the bottom of a lighted candle and put it in a candlestick. The candle should be straight. After reading a prayer, looking at the fire of a candle, you will remember the faces and speech of the departed, you do not need to hold back tears. Before a leisurely departure from the holy place, you should cross yourself and bow again.
In the church, candles can be placed in any candlesticks, there are temples where there are no eve tables and candles are placed in any candlestick, because prayer is considered the main thing.
It so happens that a person unknowingly confused the place and put candles for health on the eve table or vice versa. You don't need to severely punish yourself for this - everyone is alive with the Lord.
The candles are placed in the following order: first of all, the candles are put to the festive icon, which is located in the center of the church hall, then to the relics of the saint, if they are in the temple, then for health, and for peace.
