I have been to several Episcopal churches over the years, and they
seem to burn the same mix of incense at all their services even though
they are in separate geographic regions.  I am interested in
purchasing the same incense for personal use, and so I wonder what
exactly is the incense that is most commonly burned and how would I go
about ordering it?

Hi doctorfun,

The scent is Frankincense.  I found many references to this fact, here are a few:

Christ Church Cambridge
http://www.christchurchcambridge.org/stewardship.html
..."Frankincense, a costly incense, was burned in the Holy of Holies
in worship as a sweet smelling offering to God..."

Good Word - December 2003
http://www.stpaulsbremerton.org/dec03gw.html
SCROLL TO: ..."Smoke Alert! - We will be using incense at the 11:00
p.m. Christmas Eve service on December 24. We use a very fine grade of
frankincense that doesn't seem to cause respiratory irritation in many
people. The incense will only be used for the procession at the
beginning of the Eucharist. The rest of the time during the service
the incense will be removed from the nave. We only use incense a few
times each year at special services in keeping with the rich
traditions of our Church..."

St Luke?s Episcopal Church - Epiphany Quiz
http://mysite.verizon.net/stlukeep/epiphany/epiphanyquiz.html
Scroll down to:

..." Frankincense is the incense still used today in most churches
that use incense, though other kinds are also sometimes used..."

Incense - The Episcopal Church
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/19625_14557_ENG_Print.html

Heavenly scented incense
http://www.madison.com/captimes/features/stories/70706.php


Incidentially, you may also want to buy "Gold Frankincense Myrrh" a
perfume available only at SAKS, which retails for $40 to $95.


~~Cynthia

Search terms used at Google
"Episcopal church" "type of incense"

---

Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 23 Dec 2004 19:39 PST

doctorfun,

Thanks so much for the 5 star rating and the generous tip.  I did,
however, neglect to include ordering information, which I will do now.

I suggest ordering from the following locations:

Monks Herbal Incense
http://www.monks-herbal-incense.com/natural/bodhi-sattva-original.html
Be sure to click on the "SPECIALS" link to receive 25% off, or free
shipping.  At the time of this posting, it is available.

Katmandu Incense & Imports
http://www.zen-incense.twoffice.com/catalog391.html
..."Katmandu Incense & Imports now offers the world a fresh
opportunity to obtain the finest of frankincense. It is accepted that
Frankincense from Dhofar is the highest quality available in the
world..."

So sorry for the the oversight...

~~Cynthia

Thanks for the great response.

There are many different brands of church incense. I doubt that all
Episcopalian parishes use the same brand. Ziegler's has a nice
selection:

http://www.zieglers.com/ProductTemplate_incense.asp?cat=32&subcatname=Incense&subcat=1&catname=Incense