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Candles And Lights In Worship

Lights serve both a utilitarian and symbolic function in worship. This article traces the history of candles, lamps, and other lights in worship and suggests ways that the symbolic function of these lights can be maintained.

The first recorded use of lights in Christian worship occurs in the New Testament (Acts 20:8). There the use was obviously utilitarian, since the service was being held at night. By the third century at the latest, however, the bringing in or kindling of the evening...

 

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