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OUR EDUCATIONAL EDUCATION...What does the church smell like: the aroma that accompanies all church rituals
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?
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.
Vogue
(Vogue, French fashion) is a women's fashion magazine published since 1892 by the
Condé Nast Publications publishing house.
Circulation: 150,000 First issue of the magazine
- a public weekly created for wealthy New Yorkers -
was published in 1892
.
The names of most of the 250 shareholders
were published in the Secular Almanac; among them were Cornelius Vanderbilt (the first dollar multimillionaire), Stuyvesant Fish (CEO of the Illinois Central Railroad), Duke Percy Morgan and others. The new magazine was founded by Arthur Turnure, a young member of society from a wealthy family who already had journalistic experience, and Harry McVicar, whose great-grandfather Stephen Whitney was a large wholesaler. Turnure took over as publisher, and McVicar, who had studied art in Europe, became art director of Vogue.
At first the weekly consisted of 16 pages
, however, it was well printed and beautifully designed.
The cover featured one of the exquisite pictures made popular by Life magazine, which included humorous dialogue underneath. The price of one copy
—
ten cents
—allowed a person with average income to purchase the magazine and find out what was happening in society.
The weekly was positioned as a newsworthy, real magazine covering society, fashion and lifestyle. The first issue featured a story written by Thomas Jenvier, but the fiction did not find a permanent place in the publication. The magazine was well illustrated and featured costume designs, although, as one reviewer noted, the images of clothes worn by energetic people were not exactly fashionable in the conventional sense. Generally speaking, from the first issue it became clear that this was not just another magazine about women's fashion, but a discreet and respectable publication about fashionable New York. Despite its restraint, Vogue was a first-class magazine, and its respectability distinguished it from such sensational society publications as Town Topics. The magazine published
about theaters, concerts, art exhibitions and some new books.
In the 60s of the twentieth century
, under the leadership of editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland, Vogue has become one of the most influential fashion magazines.
The models who appeared on its pages - Susie Parker, Twiggy, Penelope Tree - became real celebrities. In the 70s, the magazine began to be published once a month.
The target audience of the magazine also changed - they were no longer housewives dreaming of a better life in the kitchen, but businesswomen rushing to work every morning. Thus, most of the magazine's articles changed topics.
Vogue's current editor-in-chief is Anna Wintour.
.
Since the beginning of her work at Vogue (since 1988), she has worked to maintain Vogue's reputation as the number 1 fashion magazine in the world. In addition, Wintour tried to expand the magazine's audience as much as possible, emphasizing that high fashion is accessible to everyone, and not just a select few. Thus, on the cover of the first issue of the magazine, published under her leadership, there was a full-length photograph of a model (most of Wintour’s predecessors placed only the model’s face on the cover) wearing faded jeans and a Christian Lacroix jacket embroidered with precious stones. In addition, during its collaboration with Anna Wintour, the company refused to work with models that were too young and too thin
, thereby introducing naturalness into the trend, rather than ostentatious model forms.
Vogue is published in 19 countries
: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Taiwan, Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom and USA.
Currently Condé Nast Publications also publishes
Men's Vogue (a fashion magazine for men), Teen Vogue (a magazine aimed at teenagers), Vogue Living and Vogue Entertaining + Travel (published in Australia only).
Chief editors:
- Edna Woolman Chase (1914-1951);
- Jessica Davis (1952-1962);
- Diana Vreeland (1963 - June 1971);
- Grace Mirabella (July 1971 - October 1988);
- Anna Wintour (November 1988 - present day).
The most influential magazine in the fashion world, a symbol of style and beauty, a standard of good taste and professionalism. Vogue combines fashion trends and modern history, fitting fashion into the cultural framework of the era.
Information sources:
- Vogue history.
- Vogue. Wikipedia.
- FASHION PEOPLE. Vogue magazine.
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 “fake” 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.
Why the smell of incense can make a person feel sick
There are two possible answers to this question. The first is religious. There is an assumption that if a person becomes ill from the smell of incense in a church, it means that demons live in him.
The second reason is quite banal - intolerance or allergy. In addition, the quality of the oil that is part of the incense can be very low, so its smell is disgusting.
In churches, the concentration of incense is most often very high. If you still want to endure the entire service, you can quietly go outside from time to time to get some fresh air. In many churches this is not prohibited.
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.
Blessing of Unction (Unction)
Unction. Photo by Yulia Makoveychuk
The sacrament of the Orthodox Church, through which healing is given by the grace of God of spiritual and physical ailments. In this Sacrament, when anointing the body with oil, the grace of God is invoked on the sick person, healing mental and physical infirmities. Unction is necessary in order to strengthen a person in illness and spiritually support him.
For it, the participation of several priests is desirable (hence another name - Unction), but only one is allowed. In the practice of the Russian Orthodox Church, unction is performed on everyone during Great Lent and the Nativity Fast. Usually they meet once a year. Unction can also be performed individually on a seriously ill person.
The composition of the anointing, which is consecrated during the Sacrament, includes olive oil and wine, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Oil symbolizes the mercy of God, wine – blood.
During the Sacrament, the priest anoints the forehead, nostrils, cheeks, mouth, upper chest, palms on the inside and outside. During the celebration of the Sacrament, it is customary to stand with a lit candle in your hands. When anointing with holy oil occurs, the candle is extinguished. Anointing is performed 7 times after reading 7 pairs of passages from the Gospel and the Apostolic Epistles. Afterwards, the priest places the Gospel on the head(s) of the person being consecrated and prays for forgiveness of sins.
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 started talking to her about being afraid to see or hear something otherworldly: “Well, keep your pocket wider.”
How to choose incense?
When choosing incense, you need to rely on your own feelings and preferences. Each species has several subspecies that differ from each other depending on the combination of aromas. For example, “Vatopedi” incense has as many as 15 varieties. In order to make the right choice, it is best to try burning incense yourself and “listen” to the smell.
It is also necessary to remember that the price of incense is determined by the quality and naturalness of the ingredients. The cheapest incense cannot have all the properties and depth of smell of an expensive one.
You can get acquainted with all the variety of varieties, aromas and packaging of incense in the Orthodox Word store, where the largest assortment of incense and natural resins in Russia is presented.
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: “I took the candle with my left hand, what a cursed woman. 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 his heels rattle like 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.
Why can a person suddenly smell incense?
To understand what higher powers might be trying to warn about in this way, it’s worth thinking about what the smell of incense is associated with. If with sadness, then the essence of the warning will be the same topic.
If a person associates incense with incense, after such a feeling he needs to make a talisman or buy it in a church store. This can be considered a warning. It tells a person to be more careful.
If the aroma of incense in your mind is associated only with church services, it is worth remembering your attitude towards them: whether the presence in such a place pleases you or tires you, saturates your soul with grace or induces sleep. Based on this, it is worth explaining what the smell of incense may represent.
Subject:
- Orthodoxy
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 is an incense oil. Used at services to perform the rite of Confirmation.
What are the benefits of the smell of incense?
Until a couple of centuries ago, large-scale use of hallucinogens was a standard basis of church traditions in the United States and Africa. Eastern priests of various cults chose a softer influence with the help of different incense. The most famous materials were frankincense and myrrh.
Frankincense oil is now used for medicinal purposes. However, any such actions should be carried out only with the permission of the attending physician. Before modern medicines were developed, doctors often used frankincense.
It is difficult to say whether its medicinal properties are very effective, but they say that:
- Frankincense essential oil has an antiseptic effect;
- Frankincense oil is beneficial in a shock situation;
- has a diuretic effect;
- Frankincense oil is taken as an expectorant;
- Frankincense can strengthen gums and hair roots.
Frankincense is often used for massage oils or taking an aroma bath - just one drop of oil is enough. It can also be used for internal treatment. For example, with a cough or cystitis.
