www.byzcath.org Forums Mysteries: The Life of Worship Icons & Iconography Kissing icons before receiving Holy Communion

Just wondering - in parishes where it is the norm to reverence the icon on the tetrapod on the way up to Communion, is it ALSO th ecustom for people to do so on entering and exiting the church?


Sharon

MOst people in my parish on entering the Church do the usual Orthodox "thing" Buy some candles and go to the Central Icon, the side icons to the Theotokos and Our Lord, venerate them and light the candles on the candlestand. Some also light candles at the Icon of the Crucifixion for the dead and at many different icons as part of entering the Church before the Liturgy.
When going up to Venerate the Hand Cross at the end of Liturgy, most people again venerate the icons.

Of course, this is something that might be more OCA custom.

Thus saith Sharon:

"Just wondering - in parishes where it is the norm to reverence the icon on the tetrapod on the way up to Communion, is it ALSO th ecustom for people to do so on entering and exiting the church?"

It is also the custom to venerate the Icon(s) upon entering and exiting the chuch at our parish.

In our mission, upon entering the church most folks venerate the icon on the tetrapod (and the other icons around the church as well) and place one or more lit candles before various icons. Most venerate the icon on the tetrapod just before receiving the Holy Mysteries as well. And most will again venerate the icons before departing.

I, personally, venerate the icons upon arriving and departing, but not before receiving. While I appreciate the reasons given by those who do, it just seems a distraction to me at that point. But, to each his own.

My question is, how prevalent is the custom of venerating the chalice (and the hand of the priest holding it) after receiving? This is the custom at the local OCA parish I visit, but I have never seen it in a Byzantine Catholic church.

-- Ed

At St. John Chrysostom BCC in Seattle, most of us venerate the chalice and a couple of us venerate the priest's hand.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Like most of you, I am accustomed to venerating the icons upon entering and exiting the church and also as I approach Holy Communion. In my understanding, this would not detract from the Holy Eucharist.

As I priest, I have rarely had anyone venerate the chalice or my hand at the time of receiving Holy Communion. I would be wary initially of this as I would not want to risk spilling any of the Holy Mysteries. It is not a common practice among Ukrainian Catholics in Manitoba.

father michael

Slava Isusu Christu!

When I attend Divine Liturgy at the Monastery of the Holy Cross in Washington, DC, we generally venerate the chalice and Father Joseph's hand, but that's the only place where I do so. I haven't seen it done in any of the other Eastern churches I've been to (not that there's been that many, probably half a dozen).

In Christ,
mikey.

In my parish, it is very common to venerate the chalice after receiving the Divine Mysteries. I have never seen it cause a problem. The deacon/servers holding the napkin simply lift it up and we kiss the base of the chalice. I have also seen this in a Greek Orthodox parish I would visit from time to time in college.

Our custom is similar to that described by Brian with regards to entering and exiting.

Hi Justin
Your parish was originally established as a Russian parish, was it not?

Michael

Yes, and all of our service books are either OCA or ROCOR. However, we currently have only 4 Russians in the parish, two of whom are actually Roman Catholic, and one who was born here and raised Ruthenian. So, we are Russian in tradition, not ethnicity.

Personal pious practices are a touchy area where it is difficult to influence change. They usually provide continuity and comfort to the worshipper.

I remember a priest who advised his congregation not to kneel during the Great Entrance, because the consecration had not yet occurred. He was told by an elderly parishioner, "I have knelt at the Great Entrance all my life, and I'm not about to stop now!" So much for trying to influence personal piety! The same problem would come up with some parishioners when trying to influence whether people reverence the icon on the tetrapod prior to communion, especially since they usually have time to do so before arriving at the Chalice.

I'd like to think that, for the most part, personal pious practice is just that, personal- a matter between the worshipper and God alone, but as for kissing the base of the Chalice itself, it would be a good idea to determine in advance if that is customary. I once did that in a Greek church, and startled the altar server who was unfamiliar with that practice. Fortunately for me, his priest was familiar, and let me kiss it.

Whoever included this in their posting makes avery good point that could be a separate thread.
most OCA (except on west coast) and other parishes have seats as do GC even in Slovakia. It seemed that it was an annoyance to "ushers" or whatever to are in one local BC parish here if I preferred to stand and they were constantly trying to direct me to a seat.Made me feel very self-conscious.

We just went to the Greek Festival here in Atlanta. They have a nice talk in the Cathedral about the icons, etc. I noticed, not only do they have pews, but they also have kneelers!! In the Cathedral! (Greek Orthodox)
denise

You must mean on Clairmont near Briarcliff Road. I have yet to see a GOA parish without pews. Even if they don't have kneelers it seems they all kneel during the epiclesis