The icon shelf is an ideal place to store images of saints and other paraphernalia of the Orthodox faith. With its help, you can compactly arrange images, candles, lamps and prayer books, allocating a separate place for these items that will not interfere with the household and take up the missing space. There are different shelves for icons, they differ from each other in configuration, size, capacity and material from which they are made.
Do I need an iconostasis at home?
Of course, believers need it, because they probably have images of various saints, but it is not always possible to allocate a worthy place for such relics. Icons most often stand in sideboards, on shelves with books, or are completely hidden in a closet. The shelf for icons is not something new and unprecedented for parishioners of churches. Our great-grandfathers also equipped a small prayer space in their homes. The icons were placed in the corners, decorated with embroidered towels, bouquets of dried ears of corn and flowers.
In the access zone of any family member there were always small shrines, on which miniature images and a bible, prayer books, candles or bottles of water consecrated in the church were placed. There is nothing strange in this, because in the old days people prayed every day in the morning and in the evening, and it was important for them to have a separate cozy corner for this, where they could concentrate entirely on communion with God. This special place was a shelf for icons: angular, straight or kiot. Nowadays, more and more people are converting, so these light traditions have become popular again.
What are the shelves for icons?
There are two fundamental differences between the shrines. They can be straight or angled. A straight shelf for icons is hung on a flat wall, it takes up quite a lot of space, and this must be taken into account when choosing a location for it. Corner, as the name implies, is attached at the junction of the walls. This makes the shelf as compact as possible, but at the same time very roomy.
Also, the iconostases differ in the number of tiers. Shelves can consist not only of one plank - they are two-, three- and even four-tiered. The height between the “floors” is usually different, which makes it possible to place faces of different sizes on the shrine. The shelf for icons is usually made of several types of wood: the body is made of alder or linden, and the sculptures are made of oak and ash. The color of the iconostasis directly depends on the type of material from which it is made, as well as on its outer covering.
Where can I get a goddess?
Families whose members managed to keep the custom of visiting churches on holidays and weekends probably left not only various ancient church attributes, but also ancient shelves for icons. A photo of one of them is presented a little higher. This deity was made by real craftsmen several hundred years ago and clearly demonstrates the religious and cultural heritage of our ancestors. Now these are no longer produced, they can only be bought from someone. But modern masters also make real masterpieces, which are in no way inferior to their ancient counterparts in quality and aesthetics.
The easiest way to buy a goddess is in specialized stores located at churches. There you can also purchase various ritual accessories made according to all Orthodox canons. The corner shelf for icons among believers is most in demand because of its compactness, although other types of them also find a worthy place in the homes of parishioners.
There is another option - making a deity according to individual parameters. Such work can be done by a person who is well versed in carpentry. The final result depends on his skill and ability, as well as on the availability of special tools for woodworking.
Do-it-yourself making is possible?
In fact, a shelf for icons can be anything. This is not necessarily a multi-tiered product with carvings, bas-reliefs and turned balusters. It is quite acceptable to use as a goddessthe simplest wooden hanging shelf, which almost any man can cut out on his own.
Such a product consists of guides, which are attached with dowels and self-tapping screws to the wall, and directly to the shelf itself. Guides are two strips with grooves that are connected to each other at an angle. They can be cut with a circular saw - this is the fastest and most convenient way. But if there is no such mechanism at hand, an ordinary hand file will do. The joint of the planks with grooves is made either smooth, then the parts are cut at the right angle with the help of a miter box, or studded.
The very same corner shelf for icons can be made of glued boards, MDF or chipboard with a thickness of 12 to 20 mm. Experts recommend cutting it out not by eye, strictly maintaining a right angle in the bow of the canvas, but by making preliminary measurements, since the walls in houses do not always converge at an angle of 90 degrees. When the required dimensions are determined, they need to be transferred to the workpiece and cut out the shelf with a jigsaw, after which it can be inserted into the guides.
How to decorate a shelf?
Corner shelf for icons often contains a variety of decorative elements and additions. If the master can make them, then his product will turn not just into a convenient and practical place for storing religious paraphernalia, but will become its worthy frame.
The most logical and simple design option for a shelf is carving. Masters use forcutting down various religious symbols:
- crosses;
- letter designations;
- floral ornaments;
- geometric patterns.
Another method of decoration is finishing blanks with metal plates, on which patterns are applied using a special embossing technique (basma). It is very problematic to make such a decor on your own. Most often, the basis for basma is a straight shelf for icons. Corner iconostases are also decorated in this way, but selectively and only in small fragments.
Differences in corner shelves, their sizes
There are several variants of such iconostases. They differ in height, design and additional attributes. A standard corner shelf for icons has a width of 63 cm and a depth of 33 cm. The height directly depends on the number of tiers in the product and its decor.
Usually the shrines are open to the eye, but there are models equipped with small drawers. They can store miniature items, such as pectoral crosses or small icons inlaid with precious metals. There are also completely closed iconostases, the shelves of which are hidden behind hinged doors.
The right place to retire
Where is it better to place a shrine? A straight shelf for icons will not fit into every interior, because it will catch the eye of everyone in the room. If there is not a lot of space in the house and its owner does not have the opportunity to allocate a separate room for prayers,it is better to opt for the corner iconostasis. You can hang it in the bedroom, in the living room and even in the kitchen, because people often pray before eating. The shelf itself is attached high enough, but not under the very ceiling, but so that you can easily take something from it.
