Icon lamps and candlesticks

From a symbolic and functional viewpoint, the icon lamps and the candlesticks are paired or parallel cultic objects, like the censers and incense burners, although from a morphological viewpoint, the resemblances between them are not so obvious. They are both stands for a source of light, such as the oil, the wick, or the candles. According to the Christian dogmas, the light from the icon lamps and candlesticks symbolises the faith in God, “who gives life, warms the hearts and cleanses all evil,” inspiring lofty hopes, in antithesis with the dark, which means “despair and damnation”. At the same time, it also stands for the earthly life of men, which burns up and dies out all the time, just like the lights of the icon lamps and candles.

Unlike the icon lamps, the candlesticks have more complicated significances, in accordance with the number of arms and candles. Thus, the ones with a single arm symbolise the unity of the Holy Trinity; those with two arms, the double nature - of man and of God - of Jesus Christ; the ones with three arms stand for the Holy Trinity; the ones with seven arms stand for the gifts of the Holy Ghost, while those with twelve arms symbolise the twelve Apostles. The candlesticks with more than twelve arms are the chandeliers. They are circular and hang under the nave dome, symbolising the starry sky.

The icon lamps and candlesticks are made, just like the other cultic objects, of precious metals, of sumptuary shapes, with a large diversity of adornments which make them true works of art.

All the icon lamps and candlesticks at Putna Monastery are from the 18th century, skillfully wrought in silver.


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