christian-customsWe're still mapping where this idea was first discussed. Key passages and related ideas below.
Liturgical Candles & Lamps
Living flames before the altar, honoring Christ the Light
Liturgical candles and lamps are burned before altars, icons, and relics and during worship, offered as symbols of Christ the Light. The custom was already debated in antiquity, as Jerome's reply to Vigilantius shows. It remains central to Catholic, Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and high-church Anglican worship, while many Reformed traditions reduced such ceremonial lighting in the interest of simpler worship.
Key passages(3)
The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril · Cyril of Jerusalem
Very high
High
The Life of Constantine with Orations of Constantine and Eusebius · Eusebius of Caesarea
Moderate