www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Outdoor shrine proper?

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

The New Valaam Trading company has several different styles and sizes of hand-made wooden shrines for the garden. They are complete with slots for ikons. I'll try to find the website and will post it.

mark

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

This will take you to New Valaam Trading Company.... www.orthodox.net/nvtc/ [orthodox.net]

Look under wood products. They have outdoor shrines made of red cedar that are $60 and are in different styles.

mark

Also in D.C., there is a similarly sheltered shrine outside of the Icon & Book Service (near the Monastery of the Holy Cross). I appreciate those who place outdoor shrines and wayside crosses - they aren't as common in our country as I wish they were - and it is good to see these and reflect upon higher things as one travels through the every day world.

In Greece, I saw shrines on the road ways. They were metal (tin?) boxes with an open door or sometimes glass. Inside was an icon and old votive candles and sometimes other items.

Marshall

Dear Friends, Check our www.archangelgabriel.org/ [archangelgabriel.org]
Beautiful outdoor shrine-click on photo gallery-this site is listed on the Forum's Ruthenian parishes-Vegas
Vito

I live in Missouri, and here, outdoor shrines are quite prevailant. There are hundreds of road-side crosses, like those Dr John mentions, both in rural and urban areas. Many of the RC churches have outdoor shrines, I believe some have Icons instead of statues (Icons are less offensive to the Fundamentalists here). There is a big shrine to Our Lady of Czestakowska 40 minutes from St Louis on I-44. My biggest icon is from there.

Many thanks for all the suggestions. I've got an area of our side yard where I want to put up the shrine. I spent today weeding around all the rose bushes and doing some sprucing up of the area. I also today ordered an icon for the shrine from a monastery in Arizona.

I'm still looking for some technical advice. We're planning on making the shrine ourselves following the same design of one of the outdoor shrines featured at New Valaam's website (many thanks to Medved for that link!) We're going to put it on a 6 x 6 post. Should the bottom part of the shrine (on top of the post) have a place for flowers or candles? Or some other features? We thought we'd put the icon itself behind a plexiglass cover to protect it from the weather (this isn't the wettest part of Oregon but it isn't the driest either.) Any thoughts on how best to further protect the shrine from the elements?

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

Congrats on the Shrine! Take some pics!

Personally, I'd hang the shrine from the post. You can make the inside so that an ikon will slip into a slot and then place the plexiglass over the front. This will also let you change the ikon for the different seasons; i.e. Christmas, Paska, etc.

I'd also place a shelf on the bottom. This will give you room for a small vase of flowers or a small candle.

Depending on how tall your shrine is, you could use a cemetery vigil candle or small spot light in the evening. Check you garden center, you may also find an inexpensive park bench that you can place near the shrine that you can sit on and meditate.

Makes me wish I had a shrine like this too, however, I think the apartment complex would be a tad upset if I added one to the balcony.

Don't forget the pics!

mark

Dave,

If you put it under plexiglass, be sure that it is absolutely moisture-free and sealed. If you're starting with a print rather than a varnished icon, you might consider putting several coats of polyurethane (pick one rated for outdoor use) or marine varnish on it.

A little roof will protect it from most stuff that falls out of the sky, but condensation can be a big problem. Easier to prevent it than to try & fix it afterwards.

Love to see a picture of the finished project (and of the construction phases!)

Best,

Sharon

Sharon Mech, SFO
Cantor & sinner
sharon@cmhc.com

Agreed with the posts above. The idea of providing a place for candles or flowers is a good one. It sends a signal that this is not a 'one time' shrine, but ongoing. The Greeks use the tin covering to make sure that the candles can burn, the flowers hold on, and the icon not disintegrate. The urethane/varithane is a good suggestion. It can preserve the icon image without doing anything to make it untraditional.

Blessings!

(Remember: flowers, candles, flowers, candles, incense, flowers, candles,.......)

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!
GLORY TO HIM FOREVER!

Yeah, I like the idea of sealing the ikon before putting it outside. HOWEVER, using regular polyurethan may cause the print to yellow in the sunlight because of the UV rays. Get some sign painter's varnish that is specifically designed for exposure to the sun. It won't yellow and fade nearly as fast. You could also try marine varnish that they use on boats too.

mark

Well, our family is finally putting on the finishing touches to the box that will hold our icon for the outdoor shrine. We want to put a wooden cross about 6 inches high above the box but under the little roof we've built. This is something we may want to purchase however. Anyone have any recommendations on where one can buy a nice wooden cross--either Greek or Slavic style (preferably unfinished)?

Many thanks!

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

Our son is getting ready to do his Eagle Project for Boy Scouts. I hinted so hard and long that he should build an outdoor shrine at the church. There is a perfect spot for it, and I know it would have drawn people to prayer.

Instead he is putting a chain fence around a small church in a very poor project that does a lot of work for the poor community around it. I imagine this is also very pleasing to God.

But someday I will get to build an outdoor shrine to the Theotokos in that spot at our church.

Rose

Dear Friends,

We purchased a new home and are working on our garden where we will eventually place a shrine to the Mother of God.

I've named it after our street, "Our Lady of Blythwood."

One just never knows when our little shrines of love to the Mother of God can become the source of many graces to our neighbours!

Alex

Yesterday was the day we finally put up our icon shrine. My wife and son did most of the work on the wooden box that the icon is in and they did a beautiful job! A priest from the Roman parish where we go blessed the wooden cross which we attached to the top of the box. The priest of the Orthodox parish where we used to go agreed to bless the icon at Liturgy yesterday...so the icon sat on the altar during Liturgy and then received a special blessing at the end of Liturgy. We hope to eventually have a priest (either Catholic or Orthodox--whoever will come out to our home ) bless the entire shrine. It's an ecumenical shrine as you can see.

We incorporated most of your most valuable suggestions, especially putting a shelf on the bottom for candles. Yes, there are lots of flowers, too! We have a stone bench ordered to place nearby. I hope to eventually have some pictures available. Anyone travelling on the West Coast this summer can stop by if they'd like (it's visible from the street)--we're less than a mile off I-5 about 30 miles N of the California line. Would be glad to meet you too!

Dave Ignatius DTBrown@aol.com

[ 07-22-2002: Message edited by: DTBrown ]