Church Candles – An Important Part of Religious Ceremonies
Church candles are one of the more important things that are used in church ceremonies and the Church religion. They are usually taken to represent many things about the Christian faith. For example, the Catholics hold the candle as representative of the body of Jesus Christ.
In most Christian baptisms, the candle is taken to symbolize the person’s passage into receiving and being baptized by the light of the Lord.
For weddings, the two candles that are lit by the couple’s mothers represent their union. These are only some of the important roles that candles have during worship and ceremonies.
The use of candles as a way for lighting the path of darkness has been imbedded in the Christian viewpoint as significant in an unbeliever’s transition into finding the Lord.
In addition to that, the candles not only stand for the guidance of the Lord, but also the Lord’s love.
The usage of church candles crosses all kinds of denominations. Most denominations usually have a preference into the kind of candle that they use for their church or services.
For example, Roman Catholic Church candles have to be strictly made of beeswax, at least 51% of it. If you go to an Orthodox Church, however, the candles should be made of 100% pure beeswax.
Beeswax is a pricey ingredient. Because of this, the stubs of these beeswax candles are usually recycled and made into new candles. On the other hand, some denominations only require that candles be organic.
Some churches like to us vegetable wax church candles. They like it because it burns efficiently and in longer times, apart from time, they are also cheap.
Using church candles haslong been a tradition for thousands of years. These same candles that are used in various activities and ceremonies today were also once used to celebrate equally important traditions in the past.
Let’s see how these candles were used in ancient times and how it has come to evolve through the years.
Originally, Egyptians used candles to conduct exorcisms, find treasures or perform other rituals. The use of church candles was not exactly a welcome thought to the Roman Catholic Church.
They were hesitant to use these since it was used mostly by pagan religion. However, when the 4th century came, they slowly became integrated into the Christian rituals became helpful.
Despite its admittance into the church, candles were still prohibited from being used in the altar because of the association it had with witchcraft.
It wasn’t until the Middle Ages when the church finally allowed church candles to be used in the altar provided they were blessed and cleanse. These candles were then also used as a way of blessing people, absolving sins, and casting out demons.
The candles usage has certainly treaded a long path. People have used these candles in so many ways for a very long time that its meaning has become amalgamated into our lives and special events that we celebrate. In addition, the church candles of today serve a great function in our faith and will continue to do so as long as we allow it to be.
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