February 2

  “Let us celebrate the feast (of the Presentation) in a solemn way, illuminating the mystery of the day with lights.”

-St. Cyril of Alexandria

The custom of blessing candles on the Feast of the Presentation was introduced to fill the “needs of the people.” (I Prayer of the Blessing) Its introduction into our Rite was relatively recent, during the seventeenth century, but its roots reach venerable antiquity. As recorded in The Chronicle of St. Theophanes, Emperor Justinian I had issued an order in 541 A.D. that on the Feast of the Presentation, a candle-light procession be held throughout the city to implore Divine Protection against pestilence and the numerous earthquakes that plagued the city. And in answer to this holy gesture, God caused the pestilence and the earthquakes to subside. This gave rise to having similar processions on other occasions when the common welfare of the people was in danger.

These solemn processions, which eventually developed into Litia services in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, were later discontinued and limited only to the churches. The faithful , however, continued to use the candles as the means of Divine protection. This prompted the blessing of candles on the Feast of the Presentation which then were distributed to the faithful.

In homes, the blessed candles are lighted and placed before a holy icon in time of serious sickness or the threat of a storm to implore Divine protection, as the family is gathered in prayer. The blessed candle is popularly called the hromnicja” or ” hromnichka” from our Ruthenian word “hrom” (thunder), because it is used at the time of a thunder storm. It is also used by the parents to dispel the fear in children caused by darkness or thunder.

The blessing of candles on the Feast of the Presentation is closely related to the Gospel narrative, introducing Jesus as the “Light of the people” (Lk. 2, 32) The burning candle symbolizes the abiding presence of Jesus Christ in the midst of the Christian community as He, Himself, had promised :

“Where two or three are gathered in My Name, there I am in their midst.” (Mt. 18, 20) The burning candles also create a more prayerful atmosphere in the churches. They remind us that our prayers should come from a heart burning with love of God and they should be directed toward heaven, where God abides in the “inaccessible light.” In this manner, candles make a positive contribution to the fervor of our prayers. The burning of a votive candle in church, besides its sacrificial value (donation), has also a symbolic meaning, namely, the continuation of our prayers after we leave the church.

From this “‘intercessory” character of processions, the protective power was ascribed to the candles blessed on the Feast of the Presentation.

Therefore, at the present time, the faithful use them to implore God’s help in their every sickness and distress.