Outdoors, a candle burns until the first gust of wind. A stone lamp solves this simply: the flame stands behind glass, and a stone lid covers it from above. The video is an architectural presentation of such a lantern: drawings, details and a general view.

What a lamp means in church tradition

The dictionary describes the lamp (лампада, lampada) with restraint: a small vessel with oil and a wick, lit before icons.

Behind this simple object stands an ancient instruction. The Book of Exodus commands that pure oil be brought for the light, “that a lamp may be set up to burn continually” (Exodus 27:20, RSV).

In church tradition this “continually” has been kept literally. The lamp that hangs before the altar table and burns constantly while the consecrated Holy Gifts rest on it is called just that in a dictionary of church ritual terminology: the “eternal lamp”.

The lamp-lantern carries this custom outdoors: a light before a cross, a chapel or an icon. And outdoors the wind is waiting for it.

How an outdoor lamp with glass is built

There are four simple parts: a stone base with a metal lock, glass walls, a lid and a cross finial.

The glass does two things at once. The light is visible from every side, and the flame is sheltered from the wind. The lid sits on top and projects beyond the glass, like a small roof over a doorstep.

The cross finial explains the purpose without words: this is not a garden light.

Why a stone lamp is so simple in form

Nothing superfluous: the form follows the purpose. In a lantern the flame is what matters. Everything around it either carries it, covers it or lets the light through.

Decoration is easy to add here and hard to justify.

A lantern by a cross or a lamp for a chapel: what the place decides

Lanterns like this are designed for a specific place. Beside a tall cross a small lantern gets lost. Beside a small icon an oversized one begins to compete with it.

So the size is worked out not from the lantern itself but from what stands next to it. First a photograph of the place, then the size.

What to decide before ordering

The place. By a cross, a chapel or an icon. And what the lantern will stand on: a pedestal, a step or a separate base.
The size. The surroundings suggest it: the height of the cross, the size of the icon, the distance from which the flame is seen.
The flame. What will burn inside: a candle or an oil lamp. This is worth knowing before the drawing.
The stone. Outdoors it has to cope with water and frost, so the type of stone is chosen for the conditions of the place, not by colour alone.

Questions and answers

Does such a lantern protect the flame from the wind? That is what it is designed for. The glass walls stand between the flame and the wind, and the lid with an overhang covers the glass from above.

What size should a lamp by a cross be? It depends on the cross itself and the place around it. Send a photograph and we will suggest the size.

Can a lantern be made from my own sketch? Yes. We begin with a photograph and the dimensions of the place, then the sketch and drawing, approval, fabrication and installation.

We design lanterns like these for a specific place: by a cross, a chapel or an icon. Send a photograph and we will suggest the size: +380 66 892 98 18. Crosses beside which such a light belongs are on the Crosses page.