Blessing of Icons
We received a relic of St. Paraskeva and an icon was painted for it and Fr. John blessed the icon.Icons are a window into heaven. They depict an other world reality. In the Orthodox Church they are very important as they give us a glimpse into heaven. They were also a means of instruction.
Remember that before the printing press people could not read. There was very little for the masses to read because books had to be written completely by hand, one by one, and they were extremely expensive. How long would it take you to copy the Bible at home on your all-in-one printer? Probably a couple of hours. Suppose that you have to do this by hand! This was how the Bible was copied before the printing press.
