Incense “Flower Bouquet”

“Let my prayer rise like incense before Your face, the lifting of my hands like an evening sacrifice.” Psalm 140

The incense from the Holy Xenophontos Monastery is distinguished by the highest quality and divine aroma. It is handmade following the monastery’s centuries-old traditional recipes, created by mixing ground incense with specially consecrated aromatic oil and magnesium powder.

Above all, incense symbolizes the prayer offered to God’s throne. It represents the fiery tongues of Pentecost, when the Lord sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples. The prayer spoken by the priest when blessing the incense at the Offering says: “To You, O Lord, we offer incense as the fragrance of spiritual sweetness; accept it on Your Heavenly altar and in return send us the grace of the Holy Spirit.” Through the incense, we ask the Lord to grant us His divine grace. That is why the faithful, when incensed by the priest, slightly bow their heads as a sign of receiving this grace.

When incense is burned during prayer, the soul is lifted “upwards”—“let us lift our hearts.” Just as incense rises when heated on coals and spreads its aroma around, so too should the soul of a faithful person soar with strong faith, detached from material concerns, spreading sweet fragrance. The bottom of the censer represents the humility of Christ, the fire His divinity, and the aromatic smoke fills us with the fragrance of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, it is recommended to burn incense at home during prayer. Scientifically, incense is also proven to have medicinal properties, such as acting as an antiseptic.