It combines several lamps of different designs and purposes. The largest chandelier in the temple is the chandelier - the central lamp. It is adorned with crystal, which helps to enhance the candlelight.

For an ordinary parishioner, a church chandelier is nothing more than a chandelier. Before the onset of the XVII century. in Russia, the central chandelier in all churches was called the choros, which was made of metal or wood and looked like a horizontally oriented wheel with candles or lamps. The choros in the church were hung under the dome on chains, or attached to the side walls.
Subsequently, the chandelier became a more perfect lamp in the church. It has entered church life since the 17th century. Church chandeliers began to be performed, including multi-tiered, while focusing on individual numbers - three, seven, nine, or twelve. But there is no definite meaning for the number of tiers of a church chandelier, because there is no exact number of ranks for divine heavenly beings, whose hierarchy is symbolized by tiered placement.

In the church, the chandelier is suspended under the central dome and usually has more than twelve lamps. But there are varieties of chandelier (called polycandil). They are located in side chapels or in small parishes and have seven to twelve lamps. Outwardly, the chandelier resembles a tree, in which brackets with lamps diverge from the central trunk (or rod). Below the chandelier is crowned with a sphere called the golden apple - it seems to grow right under the branches of the chandelier's base and symbolizes the fruit of heavenly wisdom and grace.

It turns out that the chandelier design unites the virtues of all the highest ranks belonging to the angelic host - the Seraphim, Cherubim and Thrones. Each of the church chandeliers is unique in its design and structure. The tiered rings can be decorated with, for example, an ornament consisting of leaves, flowers and shoots, or figures of angels and saints. At the same time, each of the structural elements carries a sacred meaning and therefore is performed especially carefully during work. Today, the main material in the manufacture of church chandeliers is copper alloys (usually bronze), as well as crystal, ivory, or natural stone.

Production and sale of chandeliers for the church

Chandeliers in temples always play a big role, because they are a source of light. In our workshops today you can order chandeliers of any size, which will surely become a worthy decoration of a temple or a small village church. Experienced craftsmen are ready to make chandeliers from various materials, both according to standard projects and according to sketches drawn by the customer. When creating, we will pay great attention to the quality of every detail, so our chandeliers will last a long time, delighting parishioners with their exquisite appearance and compliance with church canons.

In our company you can buy ready-made church chandeliers created by the most experienced craftsmen. In their production, traditional casting technologies are used, which allow us to make chandeliers that can decorate large temples, chapels, small village churches. We offer our customers chandeliers of various sizes, created taking into account canons and traditions. They are designed for a different number of lamps, different models can organically complement each other. All chandeliers are created on the basis of the best samples that adorn the famous temples of our country today.

A church chandelier (from French luster - shine) is, in fact, a secular name that combines a number of church lamps for different purposes, methods of attachment, symbolism, and construction. This name, instead of purely ecclesiastical terminology, appeared with the "light hand" of French craftsmen, who equipped the church central lamp - chandelier - with crystal decorations that enhance the light of candles.

There are side lamps of lampadaria and candelabrum, portable lampions, a large number of different forms of floor lamps, among which the ancient "wax" ("skinny candle", today made of wood or metal), decorated with skilful ornaments of images of saints, lamps installed in front of icons are of particular importance , and, of course, the seven-branched candlestick, located directly behind the throne in the altar and symbolizing the paradise world tree of life.

The design of each lamp is extremely closely related to church symbols and rituals. Thus, "seven churches, seven spirits of God" and the description in the Old Testament determined the number of candles and the stylistic shape of the seven-branched candlestick. And the complex twisted shapes of other lamps symbolize the "angelic host" and are subordinate to the "higher hierarchy".

For an ordinary layman, a church chandelier is a chandelier, or its more ancient form - choros. Until the 17th century in Russia, the central chandelier in churches and temples was a choros made of wood or metal in the form of a horizontally oriented wheel with lamps or candles. The choros were hung on chains under the dome of the church or fastened with chains to the side walls.

The chandelier, which has become a part of Russian churches and temples since the 17th century, has become more perfect in the context of construction and symbolism. Church chandeliers are performed in single or multi-tiered, adhering to the significance of individual numbers in the arrangement of tiered systems - one, three, seven, nine, twelve, although there is no definite value for the number of tiers required in a church chandelier, since "there is no exact number of ranks of heavenly beings ...", the hierarchy of which is symbolized by tiered placement.

The chandelier is installed (suspended) under the central dome of the church and usually has more than twelve lamps, although there are varieties of it, called "polikandilo", placed in side chapels or branches, churches and equipped with seven to twelve lamps. In shape, the chandelier resembles a tree, from the central trunk-rod of which "vegetable" type brackets with lamps radiate, forming a tiered structure. Below the chandelier is crowned with a sphere - a golden "apple", which, as it were, grows under the branches of the chandelier and symbolizes the fruit of heavenly grace and wisdom.

Thus, in the construction of the chandelier, they try to combine the merits of the highest ranks of the angelic army - the Seraphim "flaming, or burning", Cherubim with their qualitative trait of "abundance of knowledge, or the outpouring of wisdom", Thrones, towering "above all the valley" and striving "into burning" ...

Each chandelier is unique in structure and design. The rings of the tiers can be decorated with an ornament of leaves, shoots and flowers, as well as with figures of saints and angels, and literally every element of the structure has a sacred meaning and therefore is performed with all care in accordance with the existing church idea of ​​the original. Alloys of copper (most often bronze), crystal, ivory or natural stone, replacing wax and wood in the manufacture of symbolic figures of saints and angels, continue to remain the main material for the manufacture of church chandeliers.

Most often, chandelier tiers made by casting or forging are strung on a strong metal rod suspended from the dome of a church or temple, and at the bottom there is traditionally a "golden apple" made of copper, which is given spectacular colors by galvanic gilding or patination. However, although structurally the chandelier may be somewhat different, depending on the creative potential of the project developers, structurally it is carried out in accordance with the established church canons.

The work on the manufacture of church chandeliers is extremely difficult, painstaking, long-term and requires not only an almost ideal understanding of church symbols, but also a clear coordination of the actions of diverse specialists of the highest qualification level in their field of activity. Most often, clergymen turn for help in creating a unique chandelier to the specialists of Restamp LLC, which is currently the leading representative of the St. Petersburg school of arts and crafts and bronze products on the consumer market.

Irina Redko
Photo by Andrey Radkevich and from the archive of Andrey Anisimov

Lamps and candles in the temple are not only lighting fixtures, but also a symbol of prayer. Why is the light turned off frequently during the all-night vigil, but never during the liturgy? Why is the choros, the main lamp of the temple, swinging during the Cherubim in the Greek Church? The archpriest, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Golenishchevo (Moscow), and the chief architect of the Association of Restorers, corresponding member of the Academy of Architectural Heritage Andrei Anisimov, spoke about what the light in the temple symbolizes.

Repentance and Jubilation

Everyone who is at the service noticed that at different moments of the service the temple is lit in different ways: now all the lamps are lit, now half, then all the lamps and even candles are extinguished. The archpriest, rector of the Church of the Life-Giving Trinity in Troitskoye-Golenishchev explains: “The All-night Vigil is a service of repentance, preparing us for the liturgy, when, having confessed our sins, we can accept the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ. And when a person repents, he should not be brightly lit. " According to the Ustav, the light is extinguished at the All-night Vigil at the Six Psalms, when the penitential psalms of David are read. On Mount Athos, it is generally customary to serve Vigil in complete darkness - this is the most convenient way to pray. Only one or two candles are lit, and then in the vestibule. The lamps there are lit only at the icon above the Royal Doors and at the central icon. And only on great feasts, at all-night vigil, the chandelier - the main lamp of the temple - is lit with all the candles, and only at a certain time: at polyeleos (when believers are anointed with consecrated oil), on praising psalms (psalms sung in the last part of Matins: “Every breath, yes praises the Lord ”) and singing of magnificence. According to Fr. Sergiy Pravdolyubov, “the word“ polyeleos ”has several meanings. Sometimes it is translated as “poly oil” - “many lighted oil lamps”. But I prefer the option "many merciful", and it is this meaning that reflects the refrain repeated many times during the polyeleos: “For in the age of His mercy. Alleluia. " Until the third canon of the canon, read after the polyeleos, all the lamps and chandeliers are shining, but by the third canto the candles and icon lamps are extinguished. Prot. Sergiy Pravdolyubov: “This is not because the holiday is over, but because, according to the Charter, a festive reading from the holy fathers or the history of the holiday is supposed to be at that moment. There is a change in the state of a person: he "switches" to listening, and then everyone again returns to prayer, the reading of the canon continues, but the candles are lit only when the Virgin's song begins - "My soul will magnify the Lord." Lighting candles and lamps at this very moment is a sign of our veneration of the Most Holy Theotokos. "

At the liturgy, the light is never extinguished: “The Liturgy is the most solemn, the greatest service,” explains Archpriest. Sergiy Pravdolyubov. - According to the Charter of St. Sava the Sanctified The Liturgy is rather short in time, no more than an hour and twenty. But here it should be borne in mind that the liturgy ended the divine service, which lasted all night. If we serve the All-night Vigil from eight in the evening - we had it in church - and finish at ten in the morning, then the Liturgy is perceived as a short solemn chord at the end of the entire prayer. And the end of the prayer is full of sounds, full of triumph, full of light; the liturgy deserves such light, because Christ is Light, "the Sun of righteousness, Christ our God." The Liturgy is never sad, even during Great Lent it is joyful and solemn. "

The joy and exultation of the festive liturgy on Athos is expressed by the swinging of the main lamp - the Horos. This happens on big holidays during the singing of the Cherubic song. “Horos,” says architect Andrei Anisimov, “is an ancient form of the main lamp in the temple. Horos is a large ring on which there are lamps or candles. (In Russia, in recent centuries, the choros has replaced the chandelier, on which candles or light bulbs are arranged in tiers.) By itself, the choros looks simpler than a chandelier, but when the whole system, consisting of several choros begins to work, it is beauty, fireworks, celebration, jubilation. " ...

The One Who Leads the Light

According to Andrey Anisimov, "the light and organization of the space of the temple with the help of light is the task of the church architect." The temple consists of three parts: the vestibule, the central part and the altar. In the narthex, initial bows are made, repentance begins, everyday cares and worries are postponed. “Therefore, it is customary to make the porch dimly lit, without large windows and with a minimum number of lamps and candlesticks for candles,” says the architect. - In ancient churches (for example, in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin), in the central part of the window, there are walls not lower than the second tier and in the drum of the dome. This is due to the fact that the temple in the vertical dimension is divided into several levels, they are clearly visible in the painting: saints, a number of angelic ranks, the image of Christ the Almighty. And the light in an Orthodox church can only come from a transformed person, angels and God, so the windows are made no lower than the level of the paintings of saints, angels and the Lord. " In addition, as Andrei Anisimov explains, ancient temples had very thick walls. The light penetrating through the narrow windows from above was reflected from the huge slopes (in ancient architecture they were called dawns) and scattered throughout the temple much better than if it came from the windows below.

The second source of light in the temple is the altar. The altar is an image of paradise, it is facing east, symbolizing the coming of Christ, from where the sun rises. “However,” Andrei Anisimov clarifies, “the ancient temples are not oriented strictly to the east. If you look at the plans for the excavations of the Kremlin, Novgorod, any ancient city, you can see that all the temples are located in different ways. The reason is not that there was no compass. In most cases, the justification for the location of the altar is the sunrise on the patronal feast day. After all, the place of sunrise changes depending on the season. Therefore, they built so that on the patronal feast the sunrise in the east fell on the side of the altar. It turned out that the temples, the patronal feast of which falls on the summer, are shifted to the north, for the winter - to the south. "

The light that enters through the windows of the altar also illuminates the temple. The worshipers see the sun's rays cutting through the incense puffs. “In the ancient temple, the window to the east was never obscured with stained-glass windows, the icon of the Resurrection of Christ was never illuminated with electric light! - says Fr. Sergiy Pravdolyubov. - Sunlight should pass unhindered through the eastern window of the temple and illuminate not only the See, but the Shroud, which is in the middle of the temple during Holy Week. After the night burial service, in the morning, during the liturgy, when the Lenten black vestments are replaced with white ones, at this time the sun's rays penetrate the altar through the clouds of incense and fall on the Shroud. The Sabbath Gospel is read and "Rise, God ..." is sung. There is no substitute for the participation of sunlight. For about eighteen years I served the night service on Holy Saturday, and we were all very glad that our window was not obstructed by stained glass and the sun was participating in our worship. "

At the all-night vigil, the exclamation "Glory to Thee, who showed us the light" was associated precisely with the rising of the sun. “One traveler in the 19th century traveled to Athos,” says Fr. Sergiy Pravdolyubov, - and wondered why there were so many clocks around there, beating the time. It turns out that on Athos, the clock is measured every day in different ways - from sunrise to sunset. And if the all-night vigil was served too quickly and there was still time before sunrise, the stichera were specially added. According to the Charter, at this time a chant is sung, which is called “photogikon” - “light” in Russian. “Photoagogue” means “He who brings light”. A chorister comes out in the middle of the temple and begins to sing in a special melody exapostilarium, this is another name for the photohikon. And at this time the sun rises, whether over the sea or over the rocks. And when the sun fully rises, the priest raises his hands and says: "Glory to Thee, who showed us the light!" "

Candle or light bulb?

Chandelier or choros are the main lamps of the temple. In the Russian tradition, it is customary to depict a cross on the chandelier. On Athos, such ancient Christian symbols as a fish, a ship, a sail, an anchor, and a cross in a boat are still used to decorate the chandelier. All these symbols represent Christ, the Church. “The chandelier (from the Greek polykandēlos - consisting of many lamps) symbolizes the whole world, the entire cosmos,” explains Fr. Sergiy Pravdolyubov. "The lit chandelier is a sign of the participation of the entire people, all Orthodox Christians in the celebration."

In addition to the large chandelier, there are also side chandeliers, icon lamps by the icons and candlesticks with lamps, standing separately. The tradition of hanging lamps is different everywhere: among the Greeks, lamps hang above the face of a saint, in ours - below. There are various candlesticks: brass, wooden with sand ... Ancient candlesticks were wooden, exquisitely painted.

Today, in addition to natural light - the sun, candles and lamps - the temple consecrates electricity. Andrei Anisimov: “Of course, there is no such mystery in electric light as in sunlight or from candles, but it is all the more important to organize electric lighting delicately, without theatricality. When we design electricity, the priests and I figure out how they want to control the light. There is a variant of rheostats, when the light fades out smoothly and lights up smoothly. There is a variant of tier switching off the light: half strength, a third of the strength, and a quarter of the strength. We make choros with bulbs or lamps with LEDs - if the lamp is colored, it looks quite delicate. There are variants of combined choruses: there are electric “candles” on the ring, and pendants with multi-colored lamps hang below. But the main thing is to remember that the light in the church is not just a service function, but a symbol of joy and repentance, triumph and victory over darkness. "

,middle temple and pretense.

ALTAR

The altar is the most important part of the temple, it means the Kingdom of Heaven. Christian temples are built with an altar to the east - in the direction where the sun rises. If there are several altars in the temple, then each of them is consecrated in memory of a special event or saint. All altars in this case, except for the main one, are called side-altars.

The device of an Orthodox church

The altar is higher than the rest of the temple. The very word "altar" means an exalted altar.
Divine services are performed in the altar and the holiest place in the entire church is located - the saint throne, which is made either in the form of stone monoliths about a meter high, or of wood, in the form of a frame with a lid on top. The throne is dressed in two clothes: the lower one - linen, called katasarkia or srachitseya (symbolically represents the burial shroud of Jesus Christ - the shroud), entwined with a rope (rope), and the upper one - of brocade, called indity (indition), symbolizing the solemn garment of Jesus Christ as The king of glory.

THRONE

The Sacrament of Holy Communion is celebrated on the throne. It is believed that Christ is invisibly present on the throne, and therefore only priests can touch him. Always rely on the throne antimension, altar gospel, altar cross , tabernacle , monstranceandlamp ... Particles of holy relics are placed in the throne in a special ark.
In cathedrals and large churches, a canopy in the form of a dome with a cross (ciborium) is installed over the altar, which symbolizes the sky, and the altar itself is the earth on which Jesus Christ suffered. In the center of the ciborium above the throne, a figurine of a dove is placed, which symbolizes the descent of the Holy Spirit.
The place behind the throne at the eastern wall is considered the holiest place even on the altar, it is specially made a little sublime and is called “ A high place”. A large seven-branched candlestick and a large altar cross are traditionally located on it.

ALTAR

There is a special table at the northern wall of the altar behind the iconostasis - altar ... The height of the altar is always equal to the height of the throne. On the altar, the ceremony of solemn preparation of bread and wine for communion or proskomedia, the first part of the Divine Liturgy, takes place, where bread in the form of prosphora and wine offered for the sacrament are prepared in a special way for the subsequent sacrament of the Bloodless Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ. On the altar is chalice (a holy bowl into which wine and water are poured, a symbol of the blood of Jesus Christ); paten (a dish on a stand for the sacrament bread, a symbol of the body of Jesus Christ); starlet (two connected criss-cross arcs installed on the diskos so that the cover does not touch the prosphora particles; the star is the symbol of the star of Bethlehem); copy (a sharp stick for removing particles from prosphora, a symbol of the spear that pierced Christ on the cross); a liar - a spoon for communion of believers; sponge for wiping blood vessels. The prepared communion bread is covered with a cover. Small cruciform integuments are called patrons and the biggest one is by air ... In parish churches that do not have a special vessel storage, sacred liturgical vessels are permanently located on the altar, which are covered with swaddling clothes during off-duty times. On altar there must be an icon lamp, the Cross with the Crucifixion.
At the southern wall of the altar is arranged sacristy - a storage room for rizes, i.e. liturgical garments, as well as church vessels and liturgical books.

KING'S GATE

In ancient Christian temples, the altar was always separated from the rest of the temple by a special partition. Behind the altar partition is kept censer , dikiry (two candelabra), trikiry (three-candlestick) and ripids (metal circles-fans on the handles, which the deacons blow over the gifts at their consecration).
After the great schism of the Christian Church (1054), the altar partition was preserved only in the Orthodox Church. Over time, the partition turned into an iconostasis, and its middle, largest doors became the Royal Doors, because through them Jesus Christ Himself, the King of Glory, invisibly enters in the Holy Gifts. Only priests can pass through the Royal Doors, and only during the service. Outside of worship and without vestments to enter through Royal gates only the bishop has the right to enter and leave the altar.
There is a special curtain inside the altar behind the Royal Doors - catapetasma, which, in the course of the service, opens in whole or in part at the moments of the service established by the charter.
Like the vestments of the clergy catapetasma different colors depending on the day of the year and the holiday.
The Royal Doors depict four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos. The icon of the Last Supper is placed above the royal doors.
To the right of the Royal Doors is the icon Savior, on the left - the icon Mother of God... To the right of the icon of the Savior is located south door, and to the left of the icon of the Mother of God - north door... These side doors depict Archangels Michael and Gabriel, or the first deacons Stephen and Philip, or the high priest Aaron and the prophet Moses. I call the north and south side doors the deacon's gates, since deacons most often pass through them.
Next, icons of especially revered saints are placed. The first icon to the right of the icon of the Savior (not counting the southern door) is called temple icon, i.e. it depicts a holiday or saint in whose honor the temple is consecrated.
If the iconostasis consists of several tiers, then icons are usually located in the second tier. twelfth holidays, in third icons of the apostles, in the fourth - icons prophets, at the very top, there is always a cross with the image of the crucified Lord Jesus Christ on it.

MEDIUM TEMPLE

Icons are also placed on the walls of the temple in large icon cases, i.e. in special large frames, as well as on lecterns, those. on special tall, narrow tables with an inclined lid.
Before the icons and lecterns stand candlesticks, on which the believers put candles.
The elevation in front of the iconostasis, on which the altar and the iconostasis are arranged, protrudes forward into the middle part of the temple and is called salt.
The semicircular ledge in front of the Royal Doors in the middle of the salt is called pulpit, i.e. climbing. On the pulpit, the deacon pronounces the litany and reads the Gospel, from here the priest preaches and the Holy Communion is given.
Along the edges of the Solea, near the walls of the temple, they arrange kliros for reciters and singers.
The kliros have banners.
The low table on which stands the image of the crucifix and rows of candlesticks is called cannon or eve... Before the Eve the funeral services are served - memorial services.

LAMPS

Lamps occupy a special place in the line of church utensils.
Even in the Byzantine Empire, church utensils for illuminating churches were born, which are still made today: lamps, choros, chandeliers, church candlesticks and church chandeliers.
The most ancient lamps are lamps (or lompada), the dim light of which illuminated the ancient cave temples of the early Christians.
The lamp is a portable lamp (candlestick), which is carried in front of the priest and deacon during the small and large exits to the liturgy. Such a lamp is given to the bishop by a special clerk-lampadder (Greek primikiry) at his entrance to the church.
Even the ancient Greeks, to illuminate temples, hung lamps from wooden or metal hoops or hung them on chains stretched through the temple. The development of this method of hanging with a lamp led to the appearance of hanging lamps of more complex shapes: choruses, chandeliers and church chandeliers.
Earlier than chandeliers, church lamps are choros, which occupy an intermediate step in the evolution of church lamps between the lamp and the chandelier.
Horos has the form of a horizontally located metal or wooden wheel suspended by chains from the ceiling of the temple. Icon lamps or candles were attached around the entire circumference of the wheel. Sometimes a hemispherical bowl was installed in the center of the wheel, in which an icon lamp was also placed.
Later, the Choros evolved into bulky chandeliers, which over time were transformed into more elegant chandeliers. However, the chandelier is practically a chandelier, which, like choros, consists of numerous tiers of concentric rings. In the center of the chandelier there is a characteristic spherical "apple" made of gilded bronze.
Another type of luminaire used in temples is the multi-eternal floor candlestick which often contains many tiers or levels. A set or skinny candle is also used as a lamp.
One of the main candlesticks installed in the altar is the seven-branched candlestick, which symbolizes the Seven Sacraments of the Church and the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, bestowed on believers in the name of the deed of Christ, who atoned for their sins at the cost of his life.

So it came down to us device and decoration Orthodox church.

See also " Types of temple utensils", " Church vestments", "Types of church vestments ".

What are chandeliers for churches? These are several lamps of different purposes and designs, combined into one product. For example, the central lamp in the church, that is, the largest chandelier in the temple, is called a chandelier.

Such a chandelier is usually decorated with crystal, which enhances the candlelight. The bottom of the chandelier is crowned with a sphere called the golden apple. It symbolizes for believers the fruit of grace and heavenly wisdom.

In temples, chandeliers occupy a place under the central dome, and the number of its lamps starts from twelve pieces.

However, the chandelier also has its own varieties, that is chandeliers for the church also considered polykandila (the name of the varieties of chandeliers), often placed in small parishes or side chapels.

Such chandeliers outwardly very much resemble a tree trunk, from which brackets with lamps diverge to the sides, the number of which can vary from seven to twelve pieces.

Interesting that chandeliers for churches are unique in their structure and design. For example, tiered rings are decorated with figures of saints and angels, or the usual ornament of shoots, leaves and flowers.

But with all this, each of the painted structural elements has a sacred meaning.

Buy a chandelier for a church at a low price

Modernity in the manufacture of chandeliers uses materials such as ivory, crystal, natural stone and copper alloys (often, of course, bronze).

You should know that chandeliers play a major role in temples, primarily because of their primary function as a source of light. Modern workshops can make chandeliers of any size, and each such product will adequately decorate both a small village church and a large temple.

Experienced craftsmen make chandeliers from different materials either according to standard designs, or according to sketches drawn by the customer. The main thing when creating is the quality of every detail. Our company invites you to view the entire range and choose the most suitable chandelier for your temple.

Our company offers you ready-made chandeliers for churches, which were created by the most experienced craftsmen using traditional casting technologies. These products will decorate chapels, large temples and small village churches.

In our catalog we have models of all possible sizes for a different number of bulbs, but all of them were created taking into account traditions and canons. It is also interesting that any model can be a great addition to another model you like.

Our chandeliers were created with an eye to the best examples that have adorned the most famous Russian churches for decades.