Consecrated Items and Returns: Why They’re Final Sale

A consecrated cross or icon can’t be returned. Once our priest has consecrated it with holy water and the prayers of the Church, the item is final sale, and so is the Consecration. Two things stay covered even then: if it arrives damaged or is the wrong item, we replace it, and metal crosses and medallions are covered against defects. And for a cross, icon, medallion or prayer rope, you can cancel the Consecration by email until it has been performed.

This page explains why, what is covered, and how to decide before you order. The full policy is on our returns page.

Can I return a consecrated cross or icon?

No. Here is exactly what is final sale in our shop:

• Consecrated items: any cross, icon, diptych, medallion or prayer rope ordered with Consecration.
• Personalised items, such as the Printed Prayer Card with Your Names ($24), printed with the names you gave us.
• The Consecration itself, the personal video and the photograph, once the Consecration has been performed.

Everything else can be returned within 30 days of delivery for a refund. Email us your order number and what you want to return. We reply with instructions; please wait for them before you send anything. The refund goes back to your original payment method (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link or Klarna), and your bank may take a few business days.

Why is a consecrated item final sale?

In our Orthodox icon shop, Consecration is what sets a consecrated cross or icon apart from the rest. It is a liturgical rite of the Church performed over holy images. Its roots go back to the Old Testament, where God tells Moses to anoint the tabernacle “and all that is in it, and sanctify it” (Exodus 40:9, as azbyka.ru cites it). Physically the icon does not change. In the Church’s understanding it is set apart for prayer, as holy. You can read more in What Consecration is.

A holy thing is not merchandise

The Church has never treated sanctified things as ordinary property. Canon 73 of the Apostolic Canons forbids anyone to “convert to his own use” a vessel or veil “which has been sanctified.” The Seventh Ecumenical Council taught that the honor shown to an icon “is not directed to the wood or paint, but passes to the prototype (the person depicted)” (OCA). An icon is venerated and kissed. The Church’s prayer over icons asks that the faithful, looking at them, glorify God and strive to imitate the saints’ lives (azbyka.ru).

So a consecrated icon or cross does not go back on a shelf to be sold again. Restocking it would treat a holy thing as merchandise, and we won’t do that.

Even a worn one is never thrown away

The Church’s care for holy things shows most clearly at the end of their life. Abbot Tryphon, in a reflection published by Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Washington, DC, says an icon must never simply be thrown away. One beyond repair is taken to the church to be burned, and if that can’t be done, it is burned and the ashes buried where they “will not be sullied or disturbed.” In his words, “A holy item, even if it has lost its original appearance, should always be treated with reverence.”

Archangel Michael Orthodox Church in Ohio does the same: worn icons, prayer books, crosses and medallions are kept until a special fire can be made at the cemetery, and nothing holy goes into the garbage. Our guide to caring for an icon covers what to do with a damaged one.

And practically: the work has been done

There is a plain reason too. When the rite has been performed, the priest’s time, the holy water and the signed certificate are spent, and the parish’s share has been given. No sacrament is sold: the fee covers those costs, and the Consecration is the Church’s. None of it can be undone or used again.

What if I change my mind before it’s consecrated?

That depends on which item you chose. Consecration works in two ways in our shop.

Crosses, icons, medallions and prayer ropes are consecrated by our priest before they ship, commemorating the person you name. Until he has performed the Consecration, you can cancel it by email. We refund the Consecration, and the video or photograph if you added them. Orders with Consecration ship in 3–8 business days, so write to us as soon as you can.

Folding diptychs come from those our priest consecrated one by one before they left the workshop, each filmed with its number on a card. The number is on its box and certificate. Because the Consecration was performed before you ordered, there is nothing left to cancel, and a consecrated diptych is final sale from the start. It ships in the normal time. The same is true of a set’s consecrated diptychs, as in the Icon Corner Set, Complete ($349).

What is covered, even on final-sale items

Final sale does not mean you are on your own.

• Damaged or wrong items. Arrives safely or we replace it. Email us your order number and a photo, and we send a replacement, or refund you if we can’t. This applies to consecrated and personalised items too.
• Metal items. Crosses, medallions and chains are covered against defects for 1 year from delivery, and for life once we have verified the metal. If one fails, email your order number and a photo, and we replace or refund it. A silver-color crucifix ($39) is covered the same way whether or not you ordered it as a consecration cross, and so is a St Michael medallion ($49).

How to decide before you order

A few minutes of checking saves a lot of worry.

1. Check the saint. Make sure it is the right saint for the person, not just the right first name. The patron saint finder helps you find a patron saint by first name.
2. Check the name you give us. For a cross, icon, medallion or prayer rope, the certificate names the person commemorated. Give the recipient’s baptismal name, spelled as they use it.
3. Check the size. Our folding diptychs are 8 × 9.5 cm, small enough for a pocket or a bedside table.
4. Order the Consecration only if you’re sure. It is a $49 option you add, not part of the item’s price.
5. Ask us. If anything is unclear, write to us before you order. We would much rather answer a question than have you unsure.

We ship to all 50 states, Washington DC and APO/FPO addresses, with free shipping on orders of $99 or more (add-ons like Consecration don’t count toward the $99). Details are on our shipping page.

What if the person doesn’t want it, or it’s a duplicate gift?

It happens: a godchild gets two crosses, or a relative already has that saint. A consecrated icon can’t come back to us, but it doesn’t have to sit in a drawer. On azbyka.ru, a church reader answering the question suggests giving icons you can’t keep to people who need them, and an archpriest adds that many churches have no furnace for burning icons, so ask before bringing one in. You might pass it to a godchild, a friend who is newly Orthodox, or your parish, if your priest welcomes it. Our guide to giving an icon has ideas.

Why we work this way

We’re an Orthodox gift shop, and we would rather you never needed this page. If you’re choosing a Name-Day Gift Set ($149) or a St Nicholas diptych ($69), take your time, ask what you need to, and add Consecration when you’re sure. What has been set apart for prayer stays set apart. Everything else, we’ll make right.