Christ in the Gospel is called in the Gospel the Light of the World, the Light in the Enlightenment of the Gentiles, the True Light that enlightens every man, etc. Whoever follows Him, says the Gospel, will not walk in darkness (of error and vice), but will have the light of life, because in Him is life, and this life is light for men. The name of Christ as Light is quite appropriate to Him also because in Him alone lies the truth that guides man to salvation, which helps him to take the path of truth and to follow it steadfastly, just as the visible light does not allow the traveler to stray from the straight path.

It is this lofty thought about the truth contained in Christ, which enlightens the essence and life of man, that finds a decent image in the lamps that burn during divine services.

The light they pour out is for us a symbol of the great Light of the world, Jesus Christ, and should remind us that He gave Himself up to death for the sake of freeing us from the power of darkness, and by this self-sacrifice brought the human being into the realm of light, and that we have consequently become followers of the religion of light. Further, this light reminds us to stand firm in our faith in Christ, to be faithful disciples of the Light, and to strive that the light of faith should always fill and enlighten our spirits.

But the burning flame not only shines, but also warms us, which is why it can signify Christ's love for mankind and serve as a reminder that we, on our part, should cherish a love for the light of truth, which warms our souls, arouse in ourselves a reverence which, like a fire that rises to heaven, raises our thoughts to the throne of the Most High.

And when a person is in the heat of reverence, feels himself in the realm of light, then his soul is joyful and light, which is why lamps during divine services can also mean the joy of a reverently minded Christian, as Blessed Jerome explains. In general, the illumination of the church especially contributes to the arousal of a solemn, prayerful mood of the spirit in the coming ones. And in an ordinary worldly festival, we feel well disposed when it takes place in bright sunlight; but the illumination of the temple gives us even more joy - spiritual joy, and we feel ourselves more capable of praying to the Father of lights, when we stand before the altar, as it were a sky studded with stars.

Priestly blessing

It is known that the priest during the service in the church often blesses those who are present and praying; In the same way, he gives his blessing outside the church to someone who desires, who comes to him, or to whom he himself comes. Where do we get such a rite of blessing, and what does this priestly blessing mean?

It should be noted that some of the rites of Christian worship go back to the Old Testament times. Among such rites is the rite of priestly blessing. The Lord Himself, through Moses, commanded Aaron the high priest and his sons the priests to bless the people, and for this purpose He indicated special sayings: "So bless the children of Israel, saying to them, 'May the Lord bless you and keep you!' may the Lord look upon you with His bright face and have mercy on you! may the Lord set His face on you and give you peace! (Num. 6:22-26) - this is the command of God.

As for the power of the priestly blessing, it was indicated and testified to by the Lord Himself. Giving the priests the authority to bless the people, He adds: "So let them call on My name against the children of Israel, and I will bless them" (Num. 6:27); consequently, the priests, through their blessing, gave God's blessing to the worthy.

This Old Testament blessing for us, the sons of the New Testament Church, received power and significance from the time when our Saviour Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, on the Mount of Olives, on the day of His ascension into heaven, lifted up His hands and blessed the disciples (Luke 24:50). Imitating their Chief Shepherd, the Christian pastors also began to lift up their hands, to give blessings to people and to sanctify things with blessings. And since the pastors act by the authority and name of Jesus Christ, they began to put together their fingers for blessing so that the name of Jesus Christ would be depicted in their very folding; they began, in the likeness of the Old Testament priests, to lay the name of the Lord on the children of the new Israel and to bless the people of the Lord in His name (Sir. 45:19); namely: just as in the Old Testament blessing the name of Jehovah (Lord) was depicted by the folding of the priestly fingers, so the New Testament priests began to stretch out the index finger and bend the large middle finger with it, so that the letter I is depicted first, and the letter C is depicted second, and thus the name Jesus was inscribed under the title IC, and the big finger began to be placed across the smaller middle finger, through which the letter X is depicted, and the last small bend, which signifies the letter C, and so Christ happens under the title XC. With us, the Orthodox, the holy and salvific name of Jesus Christ is recalled in everything. Catholic priests and Lutheran pastors continue to put together their fingers when blessing, following the example of the Old Testament.

An Orthodox priest exalts the folded hand of the name, and it is worthy of note that he does not simply raise the grief in the likeness of the Old Testament priests, but with the outline of the cross. Why? - It is clear why: all the power of blessing and sanctification is given to us by the cross, for through the cross Jesus Christ accomplished our salvation, through the cross and the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross we became worthy of grace-filled blessings, and the love of God, crucified on the cross, gives them to us from the cross.

Sign of the Cross