www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Elaborate Chandeliers

It seems that, regardless of whether or not it harmonizes with the architecture of the building, just about every Orthodox or Greek Catholic church has a great big elaborate chandelier hanging from the ceiling (sometimes several).

What's the story behind that?

What would you spin, if you didn't have a chandelier?

Maybe it's a spinoff from the elaborate oil lamps in the ancient churches. Or maybe there was a sale on chandeliers? Who knows?

Hagia Sophia had an elaborate chandelier suspended under the dome. As one might expect, it used myriad small oil lamps, which had to be filled and trimmed periodically, as well as lit and extinguished. At Pascha, the vigil service begins with the church in darkness, but once the people reenter the church, it must be fully illuminated. To do this, while the people were outside, the chandelier would be lowered close to the floor, while dozens of acolytes would light the oil lamps, turning it so as to access each lamp in turn. The chandelier would then be hoisted back up to the ceiling, still spinning, when the people re-entered. Hagia Sophia was the trend setting church par excellence--what was done there was a la mode, and everyone copied it. Even though today we have electric bulbs in place of oil lamps, the chandelier still must spin. It would not be Pascha without that.

I didn't realize they spun. That I haven't seen.

I can tell you this much. When we attended Presanctified Liturgies during the Great Fast at our "alternative parish" about 2 miles away (Holy Spirit Byzantine Catholic Church) from our normal one (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist), I noticed that the chandelier at Holy Spirit did seem to have some movement to it, which scared my mother a bit, but I knew that it was only part of the tradition. However, at the Cathedral, even though it is a fancier chandelier, it doesn't seem to move at all (at least not noticeably). So maybe some chandeliers movement is more obvious than others.

At the Hage on Resurrection the priest knocks on the door for entry. The deacon inside replies back who is this King of Glory? As the doors are thrown open and people enter, all the lights including the large chandelier are swinging. It represents the gates of hades being destroyed by the light of Christ.

As we do the evening services the lights come on representing the Light of Christ who enlightens the whole world.