A small flame before an icon is easy to overlook. For Saint Nicholas of Serbia (Velimirović) it was not a mere custom, but a confession of faith. Bishop, missionary, and confessor of the twentieth century, he spoke to people who carried the weight of war, loss, and doubt, and answered their questions with the language of the Gospel rather than theory.
In this short letter he replies to a simple question: why do we light a vigil lamp before an icon? His seven brief answers reveal what this little flame says about Christ, about the saints, and about the hidden life of the heart that stands praying before God.
- First, because our faith itself is light. Christ said: “I am the Light of the world” (John 8:12). The light of the vigil lamp reminds us of that Light with Which the Saviour illumines our souls.
- Second, to remind us of the bright, holy character of the saint before whose icon we light the lamp, for the saints are called children of light (John 12:36).
- Third, to reproach our dark deeds, evil thoughts and desires, and to call us to the path of the Gospel light, that we may more zealously keep the commandment of the Saviour: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works” (Matthew 5:16).
- Fourth, that it may be our small offering to the Lord, Who gave Himself wholly as a sacrifice for us: a little sign of great thanksgiving and of our love for Him, from Whom in our prayers we ask life, health and salvation, which only His boundless heavenly love can give.
- Fifth, to drive away the powers of evil, which sometimes attack us even during prayer, turning our thoughts away from the Creator. For the powers of evil love darkness and tremble before the light, especially the light that serves God and His saints.
- Sixth, to stir us up to self‑sacrifice. As the oil and wick in the lamp burn in obedience to our will, so may our souls burn with the flame of love, in all sufferings obedient to the will of God.
- Seventh, to remind us that, just as the lamp cannot be lit without a human hand, so our heart, our inner lamp, cannot be kindled without the holy fire of Divine grace, even if it were filled with every virtue. Our virtues are the fuel, and it is the Lord Who sets it alight with His fire.
From *Missionary Letters*
Translated by the Catalogue of Good Deeds
Sources: https://obitel-minsk.ru/lutschije/2024/07/vera-nasha-est-svet
