Candles on the altar to St. Arsacius in Ilmmünster, Bavaria. Ilmmünster is a municipality in the district of Pfaffenhofen in Bavaria in Germany. Bavaria ( German:, with an area of 70553 Km² (27241 square miles and almost 12

Altar candles are candles set on or near altars for religious ceremonies. An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place Various denominations have regulations or traditions regarding the number and type of candles used, and when they are lit or extinguished during the services. List of Christian denominations (or Denominations self-identified as Christian) ordered by historical and doctrinal relationships

Altar candles may sit directly on the altar or be placed in tall stands to the side of or behind the altar. For safety, altar candles are secured in some type of candle holder which may be simple or elaborate. A candlestick, chamberstick, or single candelabrum is a holder for one or more Candles used for illumination rituals or decorative purposes To prevent wax from dripping, candles are often topped by a "candle follower", a short tube made of brass, glass or some other non-flammable material.

In the Roman Catholic Church

Closeup of an altar candle, topped by a brass candle follower.

In the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, candles are required to be placed on or beside the altar, at least for the celebration of Mass. The liturgical rite of the Church of Rome is called the Roman Rite. The Mass is the Eucharistic celebration in the Latin liturgical rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

Symbolism

To the three elements of a lit altar candle, some writers attached a symbolism related to Jesus Christ: the beeswax or other material symbolizing his body, the wick his soul, and the flame his divinity. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) For the rock song by Nirvana see Beeswax (song. Beeswax is a natural Wax produced in the bee hive of Honey bees of the genus The soul, according to many religious and philosophical beliefs is the self-awareness, or Consciousness, unique to a particular living Divinity and divine (sometimes 'the Divinity' or 'the Divine' are broadly applied but loosely defined terms used variously within different faiths and belief systems —

Regulation

For celebration of Mass, it is required that "on or next to the altar are to be placed candlesticks with lighted candles: at least two in any celebration, or even four or six, especially for a Sunday Mass or a holy day of obligation. If the Diocesan Bishop celebrates, then seven candles should be used". ^[1]

At the beginning of the twentieth century, complex rules governed the composition and number of candles to be used at Mass. ^[2] Lighted candles of the correct composition (beeswax, with no more than a minimal admixture of other material, and usually bleached) were considered so essential that, if before the consecration they happened to go out (quenched, for instance, by a gust of wind) and could not be relit within fifteen minutes, the celebration of Mass had to be abandoned, and some writers maintained that even if the candles could be relit within that time, Mass should in any case be begun again from the start. Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service usually religious Some of these rules were formulated only in the second half of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century. ^[2] The Roman Missal of the time continued to indicate merely that on the altar there should be "at least two candlesticks with lit candles" with a centrally placed cross between them (Rubricae generales Missalis, XX - De Praeparatione Altaris, et Ornamentorum eius). The Roman Missal ((Missale Romanum is the liturgical book that contains the texts and rubrics for the celebration of the Mass in the Roman Rite An Altar Crucifix is a Crucifix placed upon an Altar, and in Catholicism is the principal ornament of the altar which is often attached to or a central There is also a rule given in the same section of the Roman Missal - and still included even in the typical 1920 edition^[3] - that "a candle to be lit at the elevation of the Sacrament" should be placed with the cruets of wine and water to the Epistle side of the altar. In Christian liturgy the Elevation is the ritual of raising the Consecrated elements of bread and wine during the celebration of the

Eastern Orthodoxy

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, either candles or oil lamps are prescribed for use on the Holy Table (altar). The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world An oil lamp is a simple vessel used to produce light continuously for a period of time from a fuel source An altar is any structure upon which Sacrifices or other offerings are made for religious purposes or some other sacred place where ceremonies take place Traditionally, in the Orthodox Church only pure beeswax candles may be offered in an Orthodox church. An Orthodox church as a Church building of Eastern Orthodoxy has a distinct recognizable style among Church architectures History While These may be plain or bleached—in some places, bleached beeswax candles are reserved for the Paschal season (Easter). The Pentecostarion ( Greek: Πεντηκοστάριον Pentekostárion; Slavonic: Цвѣтнаѧ Трїωдь Tsvyetnaya Triod'

There will often be a matched pair of candlesticks to either side of the tabernacle, which are lit at any time the Holy Doors in the Iconostasis are opened. A Tabernacle is the fixed locked box in which in some Christian churches the Eucharist is "reserved" (stored In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis (the plural is iconostases) also called the Templon, is a wall of Icons and religious paintings In the Slavic practice, these candlesticks usually hold a single large candle; in the Greek practice, these may be five-branch candlesticks. See also Eastern Orthodox Church Structure and organization The Slavic Orthodox Church is organized in a hierarchical structure The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches Additionally, in the Slavic practice, there is usually a large seven-branch candlestick directly behind the Holy Table.

A Sanctuary lamp (usually oil, but sometimes wax) will also be placed either on the Holy Table, or suspended above it. A sanctuary lamp, altar lamp, or eternal flame is a light that shines before the altar of sanctuaries in many denominations of Jewish and Christian Traditionally, this lamp should be kept burning perpetually.

Some Orthodox Churches have adopted the habit (borrowed from Uniate practice) of placing a lit candle on a stand to the side of the Holy Table around the time of the Epiklesis. This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See In most Christian churches the epiclesis (also sometimes spelled epiklesis, since it is a transliterated Greek word is that part of the

Protestantism

Candles are placed on the altar in other liturgical rites of Christian Churches also. A liturgy is the customary public worship done by a specific religious group according to their particular traditions To avoid any appearance of imitating Catholic practices, some Protestant denominations forbid their use. As a Christian Ecclesiastical term Catholic —from the Greek adjective, meaning "general" or "universal"—is described Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation.

However, in Anglo-Catholicism, as in Anglicanism in general, candles are used frequently in churches. The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism (or sometimes possibly incorrectly High Church &mdashsee below describe people Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs

See also

• Worship
• Religious symbolism

References

External links

• Altar Candles article from The Catholic Encyclopedia