Incense Sparta (Spanish broom)

This incense is handmade based on traditional Athonite recipes. It results from the mixture of ground frankincense (raw material) with the aroma of incense making and magnesium powder. It is of excellent quality with a wide variety and rich fragrances that last during burning.

Incense primarily symbolizes prayer, ascending to the throne of God. “Let my prayers be set forth before Thee as incense…” It is the soul’s impulse upwards. Simultaneously, it symbolizes our fervent desire for our prayer to be accepted “as an odour of spiritual fragrance.” That is why when we pray, whether in the church or at home, it is good for our prayer to be accompanied by incense.

It also symbolizes the tongues of fire of Pentecost, when the Lord sent His All-Holy Spirit to His Disciples “in the form of fiery tongues.” In the prayer said by the priest when he blesses the incense during the Prothesis, he states, “Incense we offer unto thee, O Christ our God, as a savour of spiritual sweetness which do Thou receive upon Thy most heavenly altar and send down upon us in return, the grace of thine All-Holy Spirit.” That is, with the incense we ask the Lord to send us His Grace with the Holy Spirit. That is why when the priest censes before worshippers, they slightly bow their heads as a sign of receiving this grace. Saint Symeon of Thessalonica explains the meaning of incense as follows: “It signifies the grace poured out from heaven and freely given to the world through Jesus Christ, and the fragrance of the Spirit, again raised up to heaven through Him.”
The pleasant feeling, created by the aroma of incense throughout the Holy Temple, signifies our hearts being filled with divine favour, which is the fruit of our love for God. Every worshipper is transformed into “fragrance of Christ”.