Yes, it’s generally safe. But if you’re sick, don’t do it.
That’s the short answer. The longer one involves understanding what we’re actually doing when we kiss an icon, why the Church has kept this practice for centuries, and how common sense fits into Orthodox worship.
What’s Happening When You Kiss an Icon
When you venerate an icon, you’re not kissing paint and wood. The honor passes through the image to the person depicted. St. John of Damascus put it this way: “I do not venerate matter, I venerate the fashioner of matter, who became matter for my sake.” You’re greeting Christ, or the Theotokos, or St. Michael himself. It’s a physical expression of love and reverence.
The Seventh Ecumenical Council settled this back in 787. Icons aren’t idols. They’re windows into heaven, making present the reality they represent. When you kiss the icon of Christ, you’re encountering Christ. That’s not superstition. It’s what we believe actually happens.
The Sanitary Question
Here’s the thing. Hundreds of people kiss the same icons every Sunday. During flu season, that can feel like a petri dish. And honestly, sometimes it is.
The Church isn’t naive about this. During COVID-19, the Orthodox Church in America’s Holy Synod issued directives asking parishes to venerate icons without physical contact. The Greek Archdiocese did the same. People bowed, crossed themselves, venerated from a distance. Nobody said this was heresy or that we’d lost the faith. It was pastoral prudence.
If you’ve got a fever, a cough, or you’re sneezing your way through Liturgy, stay home. If you absolutely must come, don’t kiss anything. Bow. Cross yourself. The veneration still counts. You’re still honoring the saint. God knows your heart, and He also knows you’ve got the flu.
What Parishes Actually Do
Most churches wipe down icons regularly. Some do it between services. Some do it weekly. During cold season, many parishes keep hand sanitizer near the icon stands. It’s not complicated.
At St. Michael’s here in Beaumont, we’re practical people. We work in plants where safety protocols matter. We understand that loving your neighbor means not spreading your germs around. The same principle applies in church.
Some parishes in other parts of the country got more creative during the pandemic. They set up one-way flows past icons. They designated someone to sanitize high-touch surfaces. They reminded people that if you’re sick, the most loving thing you can do is stay home and pray.
The Theology Matters Here
Orthodox worship is intensely physical. We stand, we bow, we prostrate, we kiss things. That’s because we believe matter matters. The Incarnation changed everything. God took on flesh. He sanctified the material world. Icons are part of that reality.
But physical practices aren’t magic. Kissing an icon isn’t a sacrament. It’s an expression of faith and love. If circumstances require you to venerate differently for a season, you haven’t broken communion with the Church. You’ve exercised the kind of pastoral flexibility the Church has always allowed in times of plague or epidemic.
Metropolitan Kallistos Ware once noted that the Church distinguishes between what’s essential and what’s customary. The veneration of icons is essential. The specific way you do it can vary.
What If You’re Still Worried?
Then don’t kiss the icons. Seriously. Stand before them. Pray. Cross yourself. Make a bow. The Church isn’t going to kick you out for being cautious about germs.
Some people have immune issues. Some are caring for elderly parents or newborns. Some just don’t want to catch whatever’s going around. That’s fine. Venerate from a distance. Nobody’s keeping score.
And if you see someone wiping an icon with their handkerchief before kissing it, don’t judge them. If you see someone making a deep bow instead of kissing, don’t assume they’re being prideful or weird. We’re all trying to worship faithfully while living in bodies that get sick.
The Bottom Line
The practice of kissing icons has survived plagues, pandemics, and centuries of human germs. It’s still here because it matters spiritually. But the Church has never taught that you have to endanger yourself or others to be Orthodox.
Use common sense. If you’re healthy, kiss the icons. If you’re sick, stay home. If you’re worried, venerate from a distance. The saints understand. They lived through worse epidemics than we’ve seen, and they’d be the first to tell you that charity toward your neighbor includes not breathing your cold on them.
Next Sunday when you come to Liturgy, you’ll see people doing different things. Some will kiss every icon they pass. Some will bow. Some will do a quick cross and keep moving. All of it’s fine. We’re one body with different needs and different circumstances, all trying to honor the same Lord.
