How to Care for an Orthodox Icon: Cleaning, Light and the Lampada

To care for an Orthodox icon, keep it in a clean, steady place out of direct sun and away from heat and damp. Dust it only with a soft, dry cloth or brush, never water, sprays, solvents or polish. Light a lampada (vigil lamp) before it when you pray, never leave the flame unattended, and when an icon is worn out, never throw it away: give it to a church or burn it and bury the ashes.

Why an Orthodox icon is cared for differently

An icon is not a decoration. The Church venerates icons “by burning lamps and candles in front of them” and “by the use of incense,” and the Seventh Ecumenical Council decreed that they “should be kissed.” The honor is not given to the wood or the paint. As the OCA puts it, it “passes to the prototype”: to Christ, the Mother of God or the saint shown.

So caring for an icon is part of that honor. Russian parish teaching on azbyka.ru calls for a careful and reverent attitude toward icons, and says that neglect which damages one is a sin to bring to confession. The cleaning tips below matter. The reverence behind them matters more.

Where to keep your icons

Most Orthodox homes keep their icons together in one place, the icon corner or “beautiful corner.” Our guide to setting up an icon corner covers it in full. In short:

• Face east if you can. Azbyka.ru says icons are best placed on the east wall of a room. If windows or doors are in the way, another wall is fine.
• Keep them apart from secular things. The same page warns against placing icons right beside the TV or other electronics. It calls posters and wall calendars beside icons “completely unacceptable.”
• Leave room to stand and pray. There should be enough free space in front of the corner.

If you are starting a corner from nothing, the Icon Corner Set ($199) brings the icons of Christ and the Mother of God, a patron saint, a wall cross and a prayer rope together. Browse more at the beautiful corner.

How to clean an Orthodox icon, by type

Printed (lithographed) icons under glass

Our folding diptychs, such as the Christ (Zvenigorod Saviour) & Vladimir Mother of God diptych, the Christ Pantocrator & Our Lady of Kazan diptych and the St Nicholas & Guardian Angel diptych ($69 each), are printed icons under glass in a pine frame with velvet covers.

• Wipe the glass with a soft, dry, lint-free cloth.
• For a fingerprint, breathe on the glass or use a cloth barely damp with plain water, then dry it.
• Never spray cleaner onto the icon. It runs under the glass and stains the print.
• Lift dust from the velvet with a lint roller or a soft clothes brush.
• Keep a cloth just for your icons, never one used for floors or shoes.

Wooden mounted icons

Our wooden icons, from $29 to $39, carry an image with gold or silver-and-gold color on a wooden base, like the Mother of God & Christ wooden icon ($34) or the folding wooden icon of the Virgin Mary & Jesus Christ ($39). Dust them with a dry, soft cloth or brush. No water, no solvents, no furniture or metal polish: they can dull the gold color and lift the surface.

Hand-painted, egg-tempera and old icons

Do not clean these yourself. The Orthodox sisters of St Elisabeth Convent in Minsk say icons should be dusted only “with a thick, dry, soft brush,” no more than once a month. They warn never to wipe, rinse or polish a painted icon, even with a dry cloth, and to call a professional restorer for grime, fading or damage. Museum conservators treat old icons the same way: they “intervene as conservatively as possible.” If a family icon needs more than dusting, ask your priest to recommend an icon conservator.

Soot from lamps and incense

Over years, lamp and incense smoke leaves a dark film. Loyola University’s conservators note that candle flames “darken the surfaces with soot deposits.” On glass, a dry cloth handles light soot. On a painted icon, leave it to a restorer. To slow it down, trim the wick so the flame does not smoke, and keep the flame a hand’s width or more from the icon.

Light, heat and damp

Wood and paint move with heat and moisture. The convent’s guidance says icons should not sit close to radiators and heaters or in direct sunlight, and that sudden swings in temperature or humidity should be avoided. Loyola’s conservators add that wooden panels “may either crack or cause paint layers to crack and lift away” as humidity changes. In practice:

• No window ledge in full sun. Sun fades prints and dries wood.
• Not above a radiator, heater vent, fireplace or stove.
• Not in a steamy bathroom or beside the kitchen kettle.
• Choose an inside wall with a steady temperature.

The lampada: the Orthodox vigil lamp

The lampada, or vigil lamp, is a small oil lamp kept before the icons. Greeks call it the kandili. It may hang on chains in front of the icon corner (a hanging vigil lamp) or stand on a shelf. A glass cup holds the oil and a small wick held by a float or holder.

Why Orthodox Christians light it

St Nikolai Velimirovich gave eight reasons, printed by the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. Among them: because “our faith is light,” and Christ is the Light of the world. Because it recalls “the radiant character of the saint” before whose icon it burns. Because it is “our small sacrifice to God.” And because, just as the lamp cannot be lit without a human hand, our heart “cannot be lit without the holy fire of God’s grace.”

Oil, and when to light it

Olive oil is the traditional fuel of an Orthodox oil lamp. A St Demetrios parish handout asks for oil of “top quality,” because it is “an offering of love.” The same handout recalls grandmothers who lit their lamps on Saturday evenings and feast days, and mothers who lit them when someone in the family was traveling, sick or facing an exam.

Azbyka.ru says it is good to light the lamp at prayer, and on Sundays and feasts to let it burn through the day. Some families keep it burning always. Choose what you can tend safely.

Lampada safety

• Never leave a lit lamp unattended near curtains, dried palms, paper icons or anything that catches.
• Use a stable holder or a properly fixed bracket and chain.
• Trim the wick short; a tall flame smokes and blackens the icons.
• Top up the oil before it runs low, and keep the glass clean.
• Keep it out of reach of children and pets.

Consecration and care

Dusting a consecrated icon, moving it to a new home or carrying it on a trip is simply part of its care, and you need nothing special afterwards. If an icon has been badly damaged and restored, ask your priest whether it should be consecrated again. Read what Consecration is, or see how ours works. Many families also keep holy water at home in the icon corner.

What to do with a damaged or old icon

Abbot Tryphon, in a reflection republished by St Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, DC, is plain about it: “under no circumstance” can an old icon be “simply thrown away,” even one that was never consecrated. In order:

1. Repair it if you can. Re-glue a frame, replace cracked glass, or take a painted icon to a restorer.
2. Give it to the church. A worn-out icon can go to the church, “where it can be burned in a furnace.” Azbyka.ru gives the same Russian practice.
3. Or burn it yourself and bury the ashes in a clean, undisturbed place where no one walks: a cemetery, or under a tree in the garden.

A printed icon under glass, a paper icon or a card is treated with the same reverence. Remove the glass and frame first and burn only the image. Floating icons down a river was an old custom; azbyka.ru says it should not be done today.

If you are passing an icon on instead, see giving an icon.