Is it possible for a layman to use a censer?translated

Reader question:

Hello! If a person has a small censer, can he burn incense? Or what should be done with it?

Mikhail

Priest's answer:

Archpriest Mikhail SAMOKHIN

Press Secretary of the Pyatigorsk and Circassian diocese;  Head of Information and Publishing Department; head of the missionary department of the Pyatigorsk and Circassian diocese.

Hello!

Dear Michael, The traditional censer on chains is used in public worship by clergy, that is, bishops, priests and deacons.

Tradition does not imply that such a censer can be used by the laity in their home prayer. For the laity, it is permissible to burn incense with a katsei, that is, with a censer with a handle, and not on chains.

So I recommend donating the censer you have to a clergyman you know, and purchasing a censer for yourself - fortunately, there are many options on sale now, from the simplest and, accordingly, cheap to the very expensive.

With God!