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Hi, Father, I have a question regarding the blessing of newly acquired icons. Some people say an icon should be left in a church for 40 days to be blessed. A monk once told me that they don't need to be left in a church since they are already blessed due to the fact that they have the image of Christ or a Saint. What does the Church teach about the blessing of newly acquired icons?
Answer to Question 466 An Icon must be a faithful interpretation of the prototype [original], showing a recognizable image and the name of the person it represents. The name identifies the person or persons and at the same time is a seal of sanctification, for as with the cross and the Bible, the Icon does not need to have special prayers read over it or receive any other form of blessing by a priest to make it holy. It cannot receive any additional benefit from a priest’s blessing or any application of Myron [holy oil]. Saying this it is an old custom to bring new icons to church on the Sunday of Orthodoxy and leave them for forty days. It is just an old custom and doesn't make the icon more holy than if it weren't left in church. On the other hand the Russian church has a special prayer for blessing icons.
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