Breath and fire : incense and sanctification in the late Byzantine liturgy

In the sensorium of the late Byzantine Divine Liturgy – the Orthodox Christian church service, which featured a riot of sights and sounds – scent played a key role. By the thirteenth century, lay involvement in the liturgy had diminished drastically from that of earlier centuries. With limited ways of accessing the divine, worshippers might still participate through smell as they inhaled the perfumed smoke that wafted throughout the sacred space. Drawing on incense and incense burners' metaphorical associations, practical uses, and physical properties, this essay explores scent as an alternate means of sanctification for the laity at church in late Byzantium.