Dikirion ( el, δικήριον or δίκηρον) and trikirion (τρικήριον or τρίκηρον) are

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

candlestick A candlestick is a device used to hold a candle in place. Candlesticks have a cup or a spike ("pricket") or both to keep the candle in place. Candlesticks are less frequently called "candleholders". Before the proliferation of electricity, candl ...

s, used by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

and the

Eastern Catholic Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous ('' sui iuris'') particular churches of t ...

to bless the

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and faithful. The words mean "dual candle" and "triple candle", respectively, and may collectively be called by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

plural form, "δικηροτρίκηρα", ''dikērotríkēra''. The candlesticks are often quite ornate. The bishop holds the trikirion in his right hand and the dikirion in his left, and makes the Sign of the Cross with both. Both the dikirion and the trikirion have flat bases, so that they may stand upright. Above this base is a vertical shaft terminating in candleholders. The dikirion holds two

candle A candle is an ignitable wick embedded in wax, or another flammable solid substance such as tallow, that provides light, and in some cases, a fragrance. A candle can also provide heat or a method of keeping time. A person who makes candle ...

s, representing the dual nature of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, and the trikirion holds three, representing the three persons of the Holy Trinity. The candleholders are mounted at an angle so that candles placed in them cross each other. Sometimes in the Russian tradition, the candles are inserted into their holders, then softened then shaped in such a way that the separate candles meet and bend upwards to burn with a single flame. A particularly fancy variation on this has the candles merge in a double and triple spiral. In other traditions, the candles are tied together with large ribbons at the point of intersection. During a hierarchical

Divine Liturgy Divine Liturgy ( grc-gre, Θεία Λειτουργία, Theia Leitourgia) or Holy Liturgy is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine Rite, developed from the Antiochene Rite of Christian liturgy which is that of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of ...

, the dikirion and trikirion are kept respectively on the top left and right corners of the

Holy Table An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paganism ...

(altar), or on stands placed next to these corners. When these are needed by the bishop, the candlesticks are brought to him by subdeacons, who may also carry them during the Entrances. One of them may be carried by the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

during the censing by the bishop or by one of the subdeacons during the censing by the deacon.

Paschal trikirion

There exists a special form of the trikirion used only at

Pascha Pascha (or other similar spellings) may refer to: * Passover, the Aramaic spelling of the Hebrew word ''Pesach'' **Pesach seder,_the_festive_meal_beginning_the_14th_and_ending_on_the_15th_of_Nisan *Easter.html" ;"title="san in the Hebrew c ..., t ...

(Easter) - the Paschal trikirion ( Slavonic: Троица, ''Troitsa''). This Paschal form of the trikirion is carried by priests as well as bishops, and sometimes will have coloured candles in it (for instance, red, green and gold).

Theophany

Blessing of the holy water at Uspenski cathedral, 6 January 2009

Among the

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

Eastern Christians (

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

Ukrainian Orthodox The history of Christianity in Ukraine dates back to the earliest centuries of the history of Christianity, to the Apostolic Age, with mission trips along the Black Sea and a legend of Saint Andrew even ascending the hills of Kyiv. The first C ...

and Ukrainian Catholic), it is common for the priest or bishop to use a large three-branch candle for the

Great Blessing of Waters Among Eastern Orthodox and Eastern-Rite Catholic Christians, holy water is blessed in the church and given to the faithful to drink at home when needed and to bless their homes. In the weeks following the Feast of Epiphany, clergy visit the ...

on the

Great Feast In the Eastern Orthodox Church, the feast of the Resurrection of Jesus, called Pascha (Easter), is the greatest of all holy days and as such it is called the "feast of feasts". Immediately below it in importance, there is a group of Twelve Great Fe ...

Theophany Theophany (from Ancient Greek , meaning "appearance of a deity") is a personal encounter with a deity, that is an event where the manifestation of a deity occurs in an observable way. Specifically, it "refers to the temporal and spatial manifest ...

(Epiphany). {{commons category, Dikirion and trikirion

External links

Photo of Bishop blessing with Dikirion and Trikirion
Christian religious objects Greek words and phrases Candles Eastern Christian liturgical objects da:Helligtrekongerslys