Icon corner

The icon corner, sacred corner or red corner, (εικονοστάσι - meaning red, bright-shining, or beautiful corner) is a small Christian worship space prepared in the homes of Eastern Orthodox, Greek-Catholic, Eastern Lutheran and Roman Catholic Christians. It has pre-Christian roots and also appears in homes of Rodnovers. The analogous concept in Western Christianity is the home altar. The Book of Acts and the Epistles of the Apostle Paul record that in the early Church, Christians used to meet in the homes of the faithful. (, , , etc.) This tradition of the House church continues to this day in Eastern Christianity. The home is considered to be a microcosm of the Church. The parents (both the husband and the wife) are the "clergy" of the house church, and the children are the "laity". The wedding ceremony ("crowning") is analogous to Ordination, and the house is blessed with a rite that is based upon the Consecration of a Church. Once a year, the priest will come to bless the house with Theophany Water. An Orthodox Christian is expected to pray constantly. According to Bishop Kallistos Ware, "[I]n Orthodox spirituality, [there is] no separation between liturgy and private devotion." Thus the house, just like the Temple (church building), is considered to be a consecrated place, and the center of worship in the house is the icon corner. An icon corner is normally oriented to face east. It is often located in a corner to eliminate worldly distractions and allow prayer to be more concentrated. Here is where the icons that the family owns should be located, normally including at least icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and the Patron Saint(s) of the family. An oil lamp normally hangs in front of the icons. The careful trimming of the lamp to keep it burning at all times is interpreted as symbolic of the attentive daily care faithful Christians should take over their souls.