Pick a quiet spot in your home, get an icon of Christ and one of the Theotokos, add a cross, and you’ve got the basics. That’s it. You can start praying there today.
But let’s talk about why you’re doing this and how to do it well.
An icon corner turns part of your home into a place of prayer. It’s not magic and it’s not decoration. It’s a space where you stand before God, surrounded by the communion of saints, to pray your morning prayers or evening prayers or just to cry out when life in Southeast Texas gets hard. When the plant shuts down or the hurricane’s coming or your Baptist mama’s in the hospital and you don’t know what to say, you go there.
Where to Put It
Find somewhere quiet. Not the living room where the TV’s going. Not the kitchen where everyone’s grabbing snacks. A corner of your bedroom works. A guest room. Even a closet if that’s what you’ve got.
Traditionally, Orthodox Christians face east to pray, because Christ is the Sun of Righteousness rising from the east. If you can set up your icon corner on the eastern wall of a room, great. If you can’t, don’t worry about it. God hears prayers facing west too.
You can use a shelf, a small table, or just mount icons directly on the wall. Some people buy or build a small wooden shelf specifically for this. Others use what they already have.
The Essential Icons
Start with three things. A cross in the center. An icon of Christ on the right as you’re looking at it. An icon of the Theotokos on the left. That’s the basic setup, and it reflects the proper order, Christ at the center, His mother at His right hand as the Queen Mother and first among the saints.
Christ is always on the right. Always. The Theotokos is always on the left. This isn’t arbitrary. It reflects their relationship and the hierarchy of heaven.
Don’t rush out and buy twenty icons. Start simple. You can add patron saints later, yours, your spouse’s, your kids’. You might add St. Michael the Archangel since he’s your parish patron. Maybe St. Raphael of Brooklyn if you’re drawn to the Antiochian mission to America. But give yourself time. Let your prayer life grow into the space rather than cluttering it up front.
What Else Goes There
An oil lamp or vigil lamp is traditional. You light it when you pray. The light reminds you that Christ is the Light of the World, and there’s something about lighting that lamp each morning that marks the time as set apart. You can get simple ones online or from Orthodox bookstores. Just be careful with the oil, these are real flames, not electric candles.
Some people keep a censer for incense. Others keep holy water, blessed oil, a prayer book. Fr. Thomas Hopko’s little red prayer book fits perfectly on most icon corner shelves, and it’s got the morning and evening prayers right there when you need them.
Keep it simple, though. This isn’t about accumulating stuff. It’s about creating a space that helps you pray.
How to Arrange Everything
The cross goes in the center, highest if you’re thinking vertically. Christ and the Theotokos flank it. If you add more icons, put them below or to the sides, keeping Christ and His mother most prominent. Apostles and major feast icons can go on a second tier. Your patron saints below that.
Think of it like the iconography in church. There’s an order. Christ is always central. The Theotokos is always honored above other saints. You’re not just decorating. You’re creating a little domestic church that reflects the heavenly reality.
If you’re not sure about placement, ask your priest. Seriously. This is what he’s there for.
Starting Out
If you’re new to Orthodoxy or just now setting up your first icon corner, don’t overthink it. Get a Christ icon and a Theotokos icon. Put them up. Start praying your morning prayers there. That’s enough.
You’ll figure out the rest as you go. Maybe you’ll realize you want a lamp. Maybe you’ll add St. Nicholas because your daughter’s named Nicole. Maybe you’ll find that one icon of the Resurrection that just speaks to you. Let it develop.
The point isn’t perfection. The point is prayer. You’re setting aside a space in your home to meet God, to ask the prayers of His mother and the saints, to stand in that great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us whether we see them or not. The icons make that reality visible. They’re windows into heaven, and when you stand before them, you’re standing in the presence of the whole Church, the living and the dead, the Church on earth and the Church in heaven.
So start simple. Pray there daily. Let that corner become the heart of your home.
