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Home Censer Tips from a Cypriot Family Tradition
What the video says
The speaker shares old Greek practices for using an Orthodox censer, taught by their mother, who learned them from their grandmother in the village of Patriki in Cyprus. The grandparents lived a modest life as shepherds in a simple clay house with a dirt courtyard. The speaker begins a prayer corner series to help viewers develop a deeper prayer life.
They explain lining the censer with aluminum foil, lighting charcoal, and using incense from an Orthodox monastery or church, especially when blessed. A family tradition holds that dried olive leaves are given to the priest to be placed near the holy altar for 40 days to receive a blessing, commonly done during the Lenten fast, after which the leaves can be burned at home.
The next episode will cover prayers said over the lit censer, how to properly cense the home, and what to do with the remaining blessed ashes.
Key moments
- 0:00 The practices were taught to the speaker by their mother, who learned them from their grandmother in the village of Patriki in Cyprus, where the grandparents lived modestly as shepherds in a clay house.
- 0:39 The speaker begins this prayer corner series hoping it helps viewers develop a deeper prayer life and connection to the Orthodox faith.
- 1:17 Line the inside of the censer with aluminum foil to protect it and make removing charcoal and ashes easier.
- 1:17 Light the charcoal, then use traditional Orthodox incense or dried olive leaves; the speaker prefers incense from an Orthodox monastery or church, especially when blessed.
- 1:48 A family tradition: dried olive leaves are brought to church and given to the priest to be placed near the holy altar for 40 days to receive a blessing, commonly done during the Lenten fast.
- 2:22 Once blessed, the dried olive leaves can be placed over the burning charcoal in the censer at home.
- 2:54 The next episode will cover the prayers said over the lit censer, how to properly cense the home, and what to do with the remaining blessed ashes.
A video opens the Prayer Corner series with instructions for preparing and using a censer at home. The practices come from the speaker's mother, who learned them from her own mother in the village of Patriki in Cyprus. The grandparents there lived modestly as shepherds in a clay house with a dirt courtyard, and the family passed the use of the thymiato down through the generations.
Main points
- The speaker begins the series to help viewers develop a deeper prayer life and connection to the Orthodox faith.
- Line the inside of the censer with aluminum foil to protect it and make removing charcoal and ashes easier.
- Light the charcoal, then burn traditional Orthodox incense or dried olive leaves; the speaker prefers incense from an Orthodox monastery or church, especially when blessed.
- A family tradition: dried olive leaves are given to the priest to be placed near the holy altar for 40 days to receive a blessing, commonly done during the Lenten fast, then burned at home.
- The next episode covers prayers said over the lit censer, censing the home, and what to do with the remaining blessed ashes.