Can I hang icons over the bed

When placing Orthodox icons, many probably wonder: where should they be hung correctly? Does the church have any clear rules regarding this issue? Would it be disrespectful to hang them in the kitchen, at the front door? Can I put on the shelves?

Where to hang the icons: can they be placed in the bedroom

There are a number of recommendations where it is better to hang an icon. They will be given to you by any clergyman and ordinary parishioner who periodically visits the temple. So, imagine: we crossed the threshold of the home. Where, in theory, can a good Christian see icons? For example:

1. Initially at the entrance. It is important that the icon is within reach. That is not very high. Since the image should be kept clean. Above the door or opposite - it doesn’t matter.
2. In the kitchen, the icon is also appropriate. After all, believers pray before eating, and when we say a prayer, we automatically search with our eyes for the face that we are addressing.
3. In the bedroom, it is also quite appropriate. After all, people read prayers before going to bed. And they are baptized into their icons.

IMPORTANT! The red corner in urban apartments and the private sector should face east. But in fact, you need to focus on convenience. The layout of the current apartments is different from the internal structure of village huts in past centuries. If there is a hot heating pipe on the east side, then the safety of an old valuable rarity is in jeopardy. How can this be allowed?

Are there any bans

The Orthodox faith is very democratic. There are no rigid canons in terms of everyday moments. The world around is constantly changing. We do not plunge into the atmosphere of religious fanaticism when entering the church. On the contrary, we always find understanding and get an explanation of the phenomena that lead us into a dead end from a lack of knowledge in the field of divine teaching.

At prayer they are facing east. Therefore, it is recommended to make a red corner on the east side. But it is possible! There is no specific rule. As there are no clear restrictions: where you can make your own personal iconostasis.

Places not suitable for icons

The only thing any father will say about creating a house temple:

• icons on bookshelves with literature of a secular nature look inappropriate;
• on tables with makeup;
• next to photographs of household members - this is how you, as it were, equate yourself with saints;
• it looks very vulgar if their surroundings are paintings and posters;
• it is impossible to leave images of saints near dirt, sewage, in unsanitary conditions - this is a manifestation of disrespect.

IMPORTANT! In any room, the icons should be freely accessible so that everyone who wants to can pray at the same time. Therefore, the space opposite or near them should be free.

Icon over the bed: good or bad

This question does not mean placing them above any sleeping place. For example, above the crib you can often see a cross on the wall. Or the patron saint of the baby.

Speaking in plain text, the bottom line is this: is it not a sin to put God's face over the bed? After all, her husband and wife make love. Perhaps it is worth curtaining the image at night? Clergymen very simply explain this aspect: there is no sense in covering the image. After all, God sees everything. And intimacy between spouses according to church canons is not a sin. No wonder it says: "Be fruitful and multiply!"

The Lord blesses all large families. It is happiness if the wife and husband love each other. Spiritual teaching seeks to bring us to this. Those who carry God in their hearts have peace, understanding, respect in their families. In a word: love. So there is nothing shameful in the image of the Lord above the bed.

What icons to hang in the bedroom

In the bedroom, as in any room, you can hang an image of any saint or several, make an iconostasis. Everyone chooses for himself whose face he wants to see before bedtime and whom to say the last words of the day. Most often you can see the face of the Mother of God. He is the strongest amulet.

Best of all, probably when your dream is guarded by a righteous person with the same name as you received at baptism.