Triantaphyllos Sioulis © Ioannina Prefecture

print

Amongst the many liturgical objects in the churches, for the use of the faithful there are also the candle sticks or candle holders (candelabra), on which to support the candles.
They were usually placed in front of the Despotic icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The material from which they were constructed varied, since there are bronze, iron, marble or timber candelabra. The wood sculptors accordingly, due also to the low cost of the material, created the corresponding works. It relates to a vertical small round column with a varied decorative comprised of dactyls, fluted lines, tall narrow truncated cones, etc. They terminated above in a capital or a timber disk or a metal dish with candle holders or sand, where the faithful placed their lit candles, as an indication of the devoutness and faith.
Certain candle holders bore a painted decorative, which was usually comprised of vegetation with leaves and blossomed which wound into a gold leaf valley or other occasions even into the hagiography, as for example at the church for the Repose of the Virgin Mary at Makrino of Zagorion (1781), where there is depicted the Theotokos Vrephokratousa and the leading Apostles Peter and Paul or even at the Metropolitan church of Ioannina.