The temple is a special place. You can come there just like that, in order to pray in silence and solitude. To escape from our noisy world with its endless rush and bustle. Pray in front of the icons, light candles. In general, at least for a few minutes, detach yourself from vanity. And catch a familiar and some kind of nagging smell. What does the old church smell like?

Incense accompanies the service

What it is? Incense for burning incense during worship. And one of the small answers to the question of what the church smells like. Frankincense is an aromatic tree resin.

Types of incense

There are several types of this incense:

1. Arabian incense. It is also called real. It grows, accordingly, in Arabia.
2. Somali incense. It has two more names - Abyssinian and African. The roots lie in Ethiopia and Somalia.
3. Indian incense. It grows, as the name suggests, in India. And also in Persia.

What does he look like

This aromatic resin comes in solid droplets. They all vary in size, are yellow in color and translucent.

Smell

The church smells of incense, and this is not surprising. For he takes part in all church services. Crying without incense is impossible. What does it smell like? The aroma of incense is sweet, with small hints of lemon.

Candle

One of the constant “companions” of worship are candles. And not only in the service they are assistants. When people come to the temple, they first buy a candle to place in front of the icon. Therefore, you can safely add the smell of candles to the smell of incense when thinking about what the church smells like comes to mind.

Types of candles

Church candles come in two types - wax and with an admixture of ceresin. Ceresin is not pure wax, but a waxy substance with various impurities. And how are these candles different? And this is discussed in detail in the next subsection.

Wax candle

What does the church smell like, what candles emit a delicate and pleasant aroma that you want to inhale again and again? Of course, wax. Wax is considered the purest substance. A candle is a small sacrifice to God from a person. Is it really possible to sacrifice something bad to God? No, He is supposed to give the best. And not as in the proverb well known to all of us: “You, God, are worthless to me.” And this attitude towards the Creator is fundamentally wrong. He does not forget to take care of us: he wakes us up in the morning, allowing us to see a new day, responds to our requests, helps and does not leave us in sorrow. Why don't we try to give Him the best?

Okay, let's leave the lyrics. Everything is always pure to God - this is a truth established from ancient times. Clean incense for worship, clean candles, clean oil. In general, everything is the best. Other candles contain impurities and cannot be called pure. In addition to religious motivation, there is also a purely everyday one. Wax does not pollute the air, it emits a pleasant aroma, and most importantly, it does not smoke to such an extent as to spoil temple frescoes and icons.

A candle is a symbol of the burning of human souls with faith. Symbol of soul fire. A visible sacrifice to God from His sinful servants. Someone will say that a wax candle is not cheap. Can sacrifice really be cheap? It is done from the heart. When a person does something from the heart, wants to give a wonderful gift to a loved one, for example, he does not consider the costs. A candle is much cheaper than some decoration for a loved one.

Ceresin candles

Unlike waxy ones, they consist of a waxy substance. And they are not clean. And due to the fact that ceresin candles are a storehouse of impurities, they are also not very useful for use.

What's wrong with these candles? First of all, they smell bad. And if now, answering the question “what does the church smell like?”, only pleasant smells are remembered, then after communicating with “counterfeit” candles they will disappear. And this is just the minimum of troubles. The worst thing is that these candles smoke a lot. And thus they spoil the beautiful temple paintings and pollute the icons.

Yes, they are cheap. But the quality leaves much to be desired. Why are they being sold, another person will wonder. Alas, the concept of benefit exists everywhere. And other parishes are not spared this word. We will not develop this idea in order to avoid condemnation. Let's just keep in mind that nothing better than wax candles has yet been invented.

Confirmation

Anyone who has participated in this sacrament at least once knows what the church smells like, except incense and wax. It smells like peace there. And thus, calm, serene, not tolerant of fuss, which is so lacking outside the gates of the temple. And myrrh - oil with the addition of various incense.

As a rule, the smell of this oil is very pleasant and delicate. When can you encounter him? At the moment of anointing. This happens at the evening service, when the priest draws a cross on the forehead of the parishioner in oil. This is a very rough explanation, but it is made so that it is at least a little clear what anointing is.

And the ritual is as follows: the believer venerates the festive icon standing in the center of the temple, closer to the pulpit. The priest, in turn, stands facing this icon, also in the center of the temple. After the person has kissed the icon, he approaches the priest. And he performs the rite of Confirmation. This aromatic oil is then rubbed all over your face.

It's so easy to commit sins

Let us remember how Krug sings: “The old church smells of wax, I can’t remain silent. It’s so easy to commit sins...”.

What's next, who will remember? “But it’s not easy to atone.” The long-deceased singer very accurately noted. Sin enters us in tons, and leaves us with great difficulty, barely. And how do we atone for our sins? First of all, repentance. And not only in words. We came to confession, listed our sins, the priest read a prayer of absolution over us and...? And went on sinning. Do the same things you repented of. What is the point of such a confession, the question arises.

The meaning of confession is true repentance. And it implies renunciation of sin. Rethinking your own life, when a person comes to the realization that everything! I don’t want to live like this anymore and do this and that. This is the meaning of repentance, in avoiding sin and voluntarily abandoning it.

When we sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness, then we want to make at least a small contribution to God. And we wonder what we can give to the One who gives us everything? Light a candle, pray from the heart, thank you from the heart. This is quite possible for everyone.

Superstitions

Sometimes a person is perplexed: although I’m not in church, it smells like incense. Indeed, this rarely happens. There is no need to be afraid of this. In fact, the body sometimes tends to wishful thinking. The so-called "program glitch". Let's say someone hasn't eaten sausage for a long time and really wants to eat it. And it seems to him that the apartment smells of sausage, although there is no trace of it in the refrigerator, and no one can cut it at the moment. This is a game of the body, do not pay attention.

It's the same here. People begin to panic and attribute supernatural explanations to this. Even to the point of warning of one's own demise. All this is nonsense, the real one. You should not look for mystical meaning in something where there is none.

In general, there is no need to connect the church and mysticism. God will never give a person what he cannot bear. As one nun said when people began to talk to her about being afraid to see or hear something otherworldly: “Well, keep your pocket wider.”

Pointless and merciless

The husband comes home and the wife greets him. She catches a strange smell and thinks: “Why does my husband smell like church? Oh, bad luck. Something will happen. He will probably die.”

Or maybe the spouse went to the nearest church after work to light a candle. He hadn’t been there for a long time, he was drawn there. Is your husband an unbeliever? I went into the store and ran into some guy. And this guy turned out to be an altar boy. And I was already saturated with the smell of church. So I slightly impregnated my husband. So, dear ladies, there is no need to bury your spouse ahead of time and start stressing yourself out. There is always an explanation for everything. And it’s better to approach the other half with a question about his last places of visit than to rack his brains over it.

And briefly about what not to do. It's believing old wives' tales. Sometimes you go into a temple, and there, by the candlesticks, are sharp-eyed grannies. They see everything, they notice everything. And they begin to hiss after him: “You took the candle with your left hand, that damned one. You can’t light candles with your left hand, it’s a sin. And you can’t approach the icon in trousers, God will punish you. And he rattles with his heels, like an unclean hooves.” Sounds familiar, right? So, the politics of these grandmothers has nothing to do with Orthodoxy. What are they doing at the temple then, being absolutely illiterate in this matter? They notice the shortcomings of others and teach them about life. You should approach this with humor, but under no circumstances should you be scared or think anything stupid.

Another smell

It is intangible and cannot be felt with the nose. Only with the soul. What else does the church smell like? Calm and serenity. It’s like in our parents’ house, where we are welcomed and loved. Where you can completely relax, feel safe and trust your loved ones. It’s the same in church, only there we trust the Lord God himself.

Let's summarize

So, we found out that the old church smells of wax, incense and peace. Let's remember again what it is.

Wax is an environmentally friendly material obtained as a result of the work of bees. The wax is used to make real, fragrant candles for religious services.

Frankincense is an aromatic tree resin. It is used as the main attribute during censing, and therefore in the service. For censing is carried out during worship. There are three types of incense: Arabian, Somali and Indian. Its smell is sweet, with delicate hints of lemon.

Miro - oil with incense. Used at services to perform the rite of Confirmation.

Conclusion

From the article we learned what it smells like in a church. We received brief information about the types of incense and candles, what myrrh is, and what it is all used for. We also took into account that superstition and faith are completely different things. We gained knowledge about evil church grandmothers.

Therefore, to summarize, I would like to say that you should not pay attention to all sorts of rumors that sometimes occur in the church environment. God sees everything: both our wax, clean candles, and our souls open to Him.

Many people associate incense with church rituals. However, the range of its application is much wider. It can also be used exclusively for domestic purposes and used at home. This is an interesting and unique substance that requires close acquaintance. Often, even people who are closely familiar with its smell do not know what incense actually is.

Incense: what is it?

The resin from which incense is made has special aromatic properties unique to it. The smell of incense is difficult to confuse with another. The resin itself is obtained from a plant of the cistus family, which mostly grows on the Arabian Peninsula.

The technology for obtaining the treasured substance is simple - an incision is made in the body of the tree, from which the liquid is collected. Then it needs to be dried. In general, incense obtained by any means is used. Some particles are torn off directly from the bark, others are picked up from the ground on which it dripped. Hence the division of incense by type:

1. ordinary,
2. selective

Each individual piece of resin is not very durable and can be ground into powder quite easily with the help of basic tools. In fact, the small crumbs obtained in this way are called incense.

Due to the very limited quantity of the parent plant, incense is considered a very valuable material. However, its history has very deep religious roots. It was sacrificed back in the days of paganism and people’s worship of many deities. In sacrificial rituals it was an alternative to animal blood.

Incense has earned this attitude due to its aromatic properties. The strongest smell came from the resin when it was placed on hot coals. The fragrant smoke rose and went into the very sky, to where the gods lived. So people gave them a sign and conveyed their requests.

With the advent and development of Christianity, the substance was borrowed and was also actively used in church rituals. Legend says that incense was among the gifts of the Magi for the birth of Christ.

Among the inhabitants of Ancient Rus', aromatic resin was revered as a means of repelling evil spirits and evil spirits. They fumigated homes with it, and small particles were always carried with them along with the pectoral cross. Faith in his magical power was (and still is) unshakable.

In addition, completely earthly healing and even rejuvenating properties were attributed to incense.

1. It was used to treat joint pain in Ancient Egypt by mixing it with other ingredients and rubbing it into the skin.
2. To slow down the aging process and smooth the skin from existing wrinkles, incense was added as an ingredient to various cosmetic masks.

The traditions are still observed today. The cosmetology industry uses resin for the same purposes, using new preparation recipes.

Kinds

Often, fumigating resin is divided into different categories according to the place of production. The most famous substance is produced on Mount Athos, in a monastery. Of the entire local assortment, Vatopedi is distinguished. It is believed that this church incense is one of the highest quality among all, explaining this with such properties as:

Ability for long-term storage;

Quite a long-lasting fragrance, even after stopping the fumigation procedure;

Deep, rich aroma.

To make this product, the highest quality aromatic oils are used, which, in turn, are divided into floral, woody, artificial and natural groups.

In general, recipes for incense made on Mount Athos are kept in the strictest confidence, so almost no one knows for certain the secret of the wonderful aromas that it possesses.

It is worth mentioning several other types of incense that are respected throughout the world.

Athenian incense. The name is directly related to the geographical location of its production. Unlike the above, it is made in private workshops. The main difference is in the concentration of aromatic components.

Jerusalem. A distinctive feature is the appearance of the resin. The local product is presented not in the form of small pieces that are familiar to the eye, but in the form of plates, the thickness of which does not exceed three millimeters.

Monasteries of Lebanon have also made their product famous by supplying the market with incense that has all the proper characteristics.

Production secrets have reached Russian craftsmen. Here production is established on the basis of traditions and recipes established on Mount Athos. Hence its aromatic and physical properties, which are especially valued in beneficial resins.

Although the principle of action is the same, dozens of varieties of incense are nevertheless distinguished. It also differs in price. Cheaper varieties have the same properties as expensive ones, but with much less impact.

Despite this, experts recommend that when choosing incense for use at home, rely on your own feelings and preferences. Each of the species is divided into several subspecies, and all this number of varieties has an individual aroma with special characteristics of the effect. Therefore, there is plenty to choose from.

You may be interested in an article about the benefits and harms of incense sticks. Also, in it we described which ones are better to choose and where to buy them.

Beneficial features

Cistus, a plant from which life-giving liquid is extracted, is listed in the Red Book as an almost exterminated plant and a rarity among the flora of the planet.

In its original form, resin is a very expensive and almost unavailable product. More and more often it is now made using coniferous trees - cedar, spruce and others. This does not prevent incense from remaining the owner of a large number of beneficial properties:

Excellent in treating joint disease, rheumatism, arthritis;

Helps fight colds;

Has a beneficial effect on the skin, eliminating various rashes and inflammations;

Used to treat urinary tract diseases;

Helps strengthen the immune system;

Successfully fights diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, disorders, ulcerative manifestations;

Has a positive effect on the nervous system, calms;

It has a good effect on the functioning of the brain in general. Added to some memory enhancing medications;

Has antiseptic properties;

In some cases it serves as an expectorant;

It is even found in cooking, as an aromatic additive to some drinks.

Taking into account the huge list of incense’s abilities, it is actively used as an indispensable component of some preventive, medicinal and cosmetic products:

tinctures,

cosmetical tools.

Its aroma continues to be appreciated widely. Experts even subjected it to study, and in terms of its effect, they equated the substance used in fumigating premises to narcotic drugs, explaining this by the incredible energy charge that occurs in the body when inhaling the fumes.

The charge is so strong that a person begins to experience increased vigor, nervous tension is dulled, until complete peace. A person relaxes under the tide of a wave of pleasant sensations.

Excessive inhalation of smoldering resin can even lead to euphoria. The effect will be maximum if the process is accompanied by a small amount of alcohol. In this, experts see the danger of miraculous crystals. In addition, it turned out that their combustion products can cause an allergic reaction. It can be very difficult: with suffocation, dizziness and even memory loss.

How to use incense at home

Nevertheless, at home, church incense is used as a flavoring agent. To do this, it is not necessary to carry out church rituals in the home using censer and other elements.

All you need is some kind of brazier and coals, you can even take an ordinary spoon. It is important to maintain the required temperature so that the pieces of the substance smolder and smoke.

You can use incense at home every day; there are no restrictions on this, it all depends on your needs and the body’s reaction to incense. However, if you remember the advice of ancient monastic healers, you can find some recommendations on this matter:

In case of illness, you need to inhale incense for 2 minutes, maybe a little less. Naturally, through the nose. It is also necessary to incense the entire apartment.

The monks recommend putting about 2-3 small pieces of incense in a censer with coal. You should start censing with icons, of course, while reading a prayer to the Lord, the Mother of God or the saint to whom you are addressing. Afterwards you need to fumigate the entire apartment, reading the prayer “May God rise again,” and then the patient.

If the patient himself fumigates the room with incense, then there is no need to additionally fumigate himself. In this case, place the censer and calmly inhale the aroma for several minutes (2-3).

It is believed that incense purchased in church is the most beneficial and dangerous for evil spirits.

Resin can be added to the censer as needed. There are varieties of incense that burn out faster. The secret of the procedure is that the lower the temperature of the heated resin, the finer the smell.

Which type of incense to choose for your home?

As mentioned above, it all depends on your needs. But according to an unspoken church rule, each type of incense is suitable for certain events, depending on their solemnity and the richness of the aroma of the resin. The brighter the fragrance, the more solemn the moment.

Among the most popular types:

“Bishop” is the most expensive type. It has a bright and rich bouquet of aromas. It is often used in church services on major holidays.

“Altar” - also has a good bouquet, but is not as solemn as the view above. Used in church for daily incense and on simple holidays.

“Cell” - this incense is usually used by monks for burning incense in their cells. It has a restrained, faintly expressed aroma.

Which incense helps with which disease?

To help you navigate the variety of incense varieties, we decided to make a small list: which variety to use in which case. Information taken from an Orthodox website. So:

* On mobile devices, the table may not fit into the viewing area, but it scrolls perfectly horizontally.

That's basically all. We have covered what incense is, its beneficial properties, varieties and types. And the choice, in any case, is always yours.

From literary works and from our own experience, we know that the church always smells of incense, that the fragrant smoke of incense accompanies solemn church ceremonies. A very old or hopelessly ill person is said to be on his last legs. Everyone knows the saying: “he’s as afraid as the devil of incense.” It used to be believed that incense warded off bad luck. A bag of incense was worn around the neck as a talisman; it was called an incense. In houses, an incense pot was placed in front of the icons - a small copper vessel in the shape of a ball with a cross on top. Incense has entered both everyday life and the sayings of the Russian people. Frankincense is an aromatic resin from evergreen shrubs called cistus. Their leaves are slightly covered with hairs. They secrete an odorous resin, which we call incense. The hairs can be single or collected in bunches. The delicate flowers of cistus with white, pink, and red petals are similar to rosehip flowers, and therefore the plant is sometimes called “rock rose.” It is surprising that the flowers of this aromatic plant have neither nectar nor scent. The cistus bush blooms in the morning. All the flowers open at the same time, but by mid-day their petals have already fallen. Bees, bumblebees, beetles, and flies flock to the flowers. It is curious that when they collect pollen, the stamens quickly, right before our eyes, bend outward and open the stigma for pollination. After 10-15 seconds, the stamens again assume a vertical position. By autumn, fruit boxes are already hanging on the bushes and swaying on long stalks. Mature capsules open with three or five doors and trihedral seeds, like buckwheat, spill out of them. If they fall on wet soil, they become covered with mucus and swell. When dry, the mucus firmly adheres the seeds to a lump of soil, legs, paws, fur of animals and birds. Cistus prefer dry, open, sunny places. They grow in the prairies and deserts of America, in light pine and juniper forests of the Mediterranean, in the Southern Crimea, in the Western Caucasus, in Iran, in Western and Central Asia. Some species of cistus grow in southern Sweden and even on the Kola Peninsula and northern Canada, where there are severe frosts in winter. The largest genus in the cistus family is the sunflowers. There are more than 100 species of shrubs or herbs. They got their name because their yellow, or less often white, flowers face the sun in clear, sunny weather and turn after it. In the Arabian and Egyptian deserts, where the sun mercilessly warms, the Cairo sunflower grows in the cracks of rocks, on sand and pebbles. With the onset of rains, large, flat, almost hairless leaves appear on it. Then shoots with completely different leaves appear in their axils. They are small, narrow, rolled up at the edges and covered with such a thick felt of hairs that they appear gray. In the most intense heat, the plant sheds these leaves. And when the rains fall again, it is all covered with small flowers hanging down on long stalks. All cistus are resistant to heat, and cistus seeds germinate especially well and quickly after fires. These are strange plants - fires promote their germination when others die in the fire. Animals do not touch their leaves, which are protected by thorns and a rather strong aroma. The fragrant resin of incense was highly valued in the last century as a medicine. It was used to fumigate the houses of those suffering from the plague. In the East and Egypt, fumigation with incense added solemnity to rituals and ceremonies. Nowadays, perfumers add incense to shampoos, creams and perfumes.

Knowing about its extraordinary properties, many people wonder how to use incense at home.

The oldest incense is incense, traditionally used during services in churches. Previously, this incense was valued even higher than gold.

Let's talk in more detail about the properties of incense and how to use it at home.

How to use church incense at home

Frankincense is a fragrant resin that the wise men brought as a gift to the newborn Jesus Christ. The oldest recipe was received from God by the Prophet Moses (book of Exodus, chapter 30, verses 30-38). It is used in churches during worship services.

Priests light incense on burning coals in a censer. When burned, incense is formed - fragrant smoke.

However, you can light incense at home. In addition, incense not only has sacred properties that help us turn to God, but also treats many diseases and generally improves human health.

The most common way to burn incense is with censers. But to use them you need coal, which makes this process a little difficult at home. It is easier to use a lamp with a spider, a special metal device.

At home, incense should be lit during prayer or to strengthen the general state of mind and maintain health. If you have a difficult state of mind, then by walking around the house with a censer, you will cleanse your home and fill it with a light and favorable smell.

How to light incense at home

Heated coal is placed in the censer; the easiest way is to heat it on a gas burner. Pieces of resin are placed on the side or on top of the hot coals, which heats up and begins to release aromatic smoke.

Be very careful with the coals so they don't spill, and don't use paper or plastic coverings.

To use a lamp, you need oil and a wick; the wick should be dipped in oil, threaded through a hole specially designed for this purpose and set on fire.

The fire will heat the metal spider, on which the incense will be located. The incense will warm up and begin to release fragrant smoke.

Why do you need incense candles at home?

Using incense candles at home is much easier than using a censer or lamp.

All you need to do is take a censer candle (it can be divided into parts if you don't want the smell too strong), light it, and after a few seconds blow out the fire so that the candle smolders.

With the help of smoke, a pleasant aroma of incense will spread throughout the room; the supplied candle can also be carried throughout the apartment.

The healing properties of church incense

First of all, incense has specific properties based on religious belief. But it also has medicinal properties that are widely used in medicine, for example, it strengthens memory and calms well.

In addition, the aroma of this resin rejuvenates the body, heals old scars, improves brain activity and gastrointestinal tract activity, and has anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effects. Therefore, in Rus', even in ancient times, incense was a folk remedy for all diseases.

Incense incense has a healing effect on patients possessed by demons. Like prayer, incense is a medicine more for the soul than for the body.

What to do with used incense

Under no circumstances should the pieces of incense and coal remaining after combustion be simply thrown away, since not a single consecrated thing should be trampled underfoot.

Remains of candles, shells from blessed eggs, paper from Easter cakes, etc. - clergy of Orthodox churches recommend burying these remains in a clean place where people do not walk, or pouring them out and throwing them into the river. You can also burn it.

Do the same with pieces of used incense. The most correct thing to do would be to lower the remaining tar and coals into a channel or river and let them float away. You can also put them in a special, inviolable, revered place, like a special casket.

Conclusion

If you're wondering where to get incense, the answer is very simple. In any Orthodox church there is a church shop where you can buy incense and the corresponding accessories for its use.

Question No. 715

On the importance of smells in the spiritual and church life of people

Andrey Maslennikov , Russia
06/07/2003

Dear Father Oleg!
Thank you for your attention to the work of Father Sebastian. We greatly appreciate every opinion; it will help us in further work on the study of this odorological topic.
Best regards, Andrey Maslennikov.

Answer from Father Oleg Molenko:

I would like to add that you should devote more attention to the problem of smell, illuminated in the experience of the holy fathers of the Church. For example, mention that the great reverend fathers (for example, St. John the Great) had the gift from the Lord to distinguish sinful passions (including such as the love of money) by smell! After all, every passion has its own special evil smell. It would be nice to make a selection of extracts from the lives of saints, which talk about the appearances of demons to them, which were evidenced by a disgusting stench.

It was necessary to cite the teaching of the Church that one of the nine main torments of hell is an incomparable and indescribable stench or stench! And vice versa, that the appearances of the Lord, the Mother of God, holy Angels and the souls of holy people were always accompanied by indescribable fragrances. You can place extracts from the lives of saints (for example, St. Andrew Christ for the Fool's sake), which talk about their visits to Paradise and other heavenly abodes associated with the transfer of experiences of indescribable fragrances. After this, we can draw the obvious conclusion that sin, evil, passion, demons and hell are certainly accompanied by a disgusting stench or stench, and grace, virtue, Paradise, angels and saints are accompanied by indescribable and wondrous fragrances.

That the smell, through stench, serves as a punishment for the sinner, and through the fragrance (in this case, it is called aroma) - as a reward for the saint and the righteous. It is from this real and God-created pattern that fragrance through natural substances collected and refined by the labor of people is used in the services of the Church, as a symbol of that ineffable spiritual and natural holy fragrance that is characteristic of everything divine and heavenly. It should be emphasized that the Lord God, establishing the composition for myrrh and other church fragrances, strictly forbade the use of this composition anywhere and in any other way. This must be supported by reference to relevant Scriptures. Moreover, each holy saint of God has his own unique aroma, so one could determine by smell which saint he is and compile a kind of aroma of saints!

For the sake of spiritual safety, it is absolutely necessary and very important to convey the experimental teaching of the Holy Fathers about the counterfeiting of fragrant odors by demons.

Demons know very well the importance of smells in the spiritual and church life of people. Therefore, they maliciously use the composition of fragrances from substances stolen from God (for demons are not creators and themselves cannot do anything other than sin, theft, destruction and destruction) to try to seduce holy saints, novice ascetics and ordinary believers.

They do this during their visits under the guise of the Lord, the Mother of God (by the way, in the MP there is a common myth that, they say, demons cannot take on the appearance of the Mother of God, which is a lie and destructive delusion), holy angels and saints of God, in order to cover up their real stench and pass off the “fragrance” they composed as true and beneficial.

In this regard, it is appropriate to cite cases of mass seduction of many people from the MP by numerous “myrrh streams” from icons, photographs, packs of icons standing on a store shelf, paper icons folded in one row, etc. Such “myrrh-streaming” is very easily carried out by nosy demons. To do this, they prepare an oil-like odorous substance from natural substances (and they can do this better than people) and invisibly lower this “mirror” in various places of the icon or photograph they have chosen in order to seduce believers infected with false spirituality with its passion for various miracles and signs .

Of course, there are real blessed myrrh flows from the skulls, bones and relics of saints. But very rarely in the history of the Church they were from icons. An icon is a living spiritual reality, and the myrrh is inherent, although it is a shrine, but dead, sleeping or buried. Even the act of anointing in this great and necessary Sacrament of the Church has a funeral meaning. We die to a life of sin with Christ and are buried with Him in the waters of the baptismal font:

Romans 6:
3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?
4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we are united to Him in the likeness of His death, we must also be united in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;
7 For he who died was freed from sin.
8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him,
9 Knowing that Christ, having risen from the dead, dies no more: death no longer has power over Him.
10 For because He died, He died once to sin; and what he lives, he lives for God.
11 Likewise, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

And by anointing we seal this burial or tomb for sin, so that it will never come to life in us. This is why we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that we can live with God and in the fragrance of grace, and not in the stench of sin.

The very flow of myrrh from an icon, even grace-filled in origin, is not the main sign of grace or its manifestation through this icon, but only accompanying, while the presence of other more important signs and manifestations is necessary - true healings, expulsions of demons, consolation in sorrows, resolution of problems, strengthening in exploits, calls to repentance, contrition, crying, spiritual tears, etc.

Therefore, it is impossible to believe based on the mere fact of the outflow of “mirror”. At the same time, representatives of the true clergy must read a special prayer to cast out the demon before the myrrh-streaming icon, and only after that, if the myrrh-streaming does not stop, declare it a miracle or sign of God. In cases of icons streaming myrrh due to God’s action, this is a gracious, but formidable warning sign about the spiritual dying or death of a given church structure, monastery or temple.

That is why one cannot rejoice in the myrrh-streaming of icons and charmingly take them as a sign of the presence of grace in the structure itself or in a given temple, thereby deceiving oneself and others.

It is interesting to point out the connection between the fragrant smell and the Cross of the Lord, both the authentic tree of the cross itself, and many of its copies or symbols, which should be worn with reverence by every faithful Christian on the chest, kept in homes and churches. The tree of the cross itself was made up of three non-rotting resinous trees of noble species: cypress, cedar of Lebanon and pine tree. Each of these trees is naturally sweet-smelling wood. This smell is even more pleasant in the three-part tree of the cross. To this natural fragrance was added the smell of Christ’s consecration and the fragrance of the great shrine.

In this regard, it should be noted, especially regarding the manufacture and wearing of body, intra-temple and dome crosses, that they should mainly be made from noble wood. We received the command about this from the Mother of God Herself. This command can be found in the description of the Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God and the Tikhvin Monastery. Having appeared in reality together with Saint Nicholas of Myra to the sexton George, chosen from all the monastery brethren, the Most Holy Theotokos commanded that a metal cross should not be erected on the dome of the built church, but a wooden one, for My Son, the Lady explained, was not crucified on an iron cross, but on a wooden one! George fulfilled the order of the Queen of Heaven and the cross was replaced. It is interesting to note that later, when God allowed this monastery to burn to the ground, only two shrines remained unharmed on the ashes: the Tikhvin icon and this domed cross, which was made from the wood of the very oak on which the Most Holy Theotokos deigned to sit during a conversation with Georgiy.

This appearance of the Most Holy Theotokos was reflected in the “Conversation” icon. On it we see the Most Holy Theotokos sitting on the trunk of an oak tree (and the tree bent so that part of the trunk, where the Queen of Heaven sat, was located parallel to the ground, and the rest, with the crown, remained vertical. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is depicted standing near the Mother of God, and in front of Her - young man Georgy lying face down in a bow.

I quote a lot of information about the Cross of the Lord from memory from it.

Without this addition, your work on smells in Christianity loses and loses a lot and looks incomplete.