Question:
@Purplebird:
We call it "livani", yes.
It's a generic term for all kinds of resin incense used in burners though.
The scented varieties are powdery white on the outside (like actual powder, it comes off on hands when you handle it) and the inside is yellow-ivory in colour as it melts on charcoal. Those come usually in rose, jasmine, freesia scents etc and are artificially scented with oils when made.
However the black incense is really dark coloured naturally (it even melts as a dark grey mass) and has a heavier, denser, sweter aroma. We call it St.Nectarius' incense. He was supposedly patron saint of exorcisms and thus he became tied to it, as incense is meant to keep demons out (we have a saying for anyone who regresses from something " like the devil regresses from the smell of incense"....LOL
I can't give you a commercial name, as we buy it from either ecclesiastical shops that sell local product from monasteries or from open-air flea markets (especially around churches before a religious holiday- there are stalls that sell it along with little crosses, charcoal pieces, burners etc.)
I *love* black incense, to me it's the true monastic incense. A divine smell.

Answer:
Thanks to you guys and to this thread I have ordered samples of FOUR of the frags mentioned here and hope the thread keeps going 'til they arrive and I can jump in again!!
I learned how to write Icons in the basement of an Episcopal church from a Russian Orthodox priest who spoke no English and who burned incense and played Orthodox chants on an aged tape recorder while we sanded our plaques and laboriously mixed pigment with egg yolk and distilled water for a process that takes months to complete.
I fell in love with the incense(s) and sent away for the little standing censers and the opaque rocky crystals that are piled on little charcoal briquettes to create that heavenly smelly smoke. Haul them out from time to time to invoke the spirits. ("Google and ye shall find....")
Still looking for a frag that invokes that same mystery....film at 11:00!!!

Answer:
Avignon
Hard to get any closer to the smell of real frankincense. Amazing stuff.

Answer:
Originally Posted by pluran Avignon
Hard to get any closer to the smell of real frankincense. Amazing stuff. That's one of the four!!!

Answer:
Thanks for the info, Helg.
I am surprised that some of the resin is artificially scented!
I'm disappointed. The resin, itself, should provide the aroma.
I hope my church doesn't buy the cheap, scented incense. Maybe that is why some people's eyes water and they have to open the windows.
I went to St. Nectarius' church. He is the saint who has the pair of shoes by his crypt, and his spirit is supposed to walk around in them and do good deeds, and the shoes wear out and have to be replaced.
Taolady, that sounds like a really cool and fun experience, making icons the old-fashioned way.
Both of you, which of these resins are closest to the ones that you enjoy the most?
http://www.somaluna.com/cat/powder_r...se_gums_ac.asp

Answer:
Originally Posted by helg
The scented varieties are powdery white on the outside (like actual powder, it comes off on hands when you handle it) and the inside is yellow-ivory in colour as it melts on charcoal. Those come usually in rose, jasmine, freesia scents etc and are artificially scented with oils when made.
However the black incense is really dark coloured naturally (it even melts as a dark grey mass) and has a heavier, denser, sweter aroma. We call it St.Nectarius' incense.
I *love* black incense, to me it's the true monastic incense. A divine smell.
Just as a trivial aside, the scented rose, jasmine, etc,. stuff is usually made by blending powdered frankincense resin (can be purchased in big bulk bags) with fragrance oils which also act as a binder. then sthe stuff is rolled into long ropes and cut into small chunks and then dried somewhat. The powder is a very fine kaolin or bentonite type clay that coats the chunks to keep them from sticking together and becoming a gooey mess if they become warm.
The frankincense powder is a uniform processed creamy color in the bag so that it one reason this type of incense is as light as it is.
I made some once upon a time with frankincense powder & rose absolute. Did another with frankincense powder & neroli. Both turned out very nice for home incense but like you, I prefer the dark resin only stuff for Liturgy.

Answer:
Thanks for clarifying this.
According to your description, our church doesn't use the scented frankincense.
The pieces we use are little droplets, shaped naturally as they dry after oozing from the wood.

Answer:
well - I cannot agree that Zagorsk is the closest one. Actually it was an attempt to create a fragrance which smells like orthodox church.
But as for me La Myrrhe SL smells like an orthodox church

Answer:
Originally Posted by purplebird7 Thanks for the info, Helg.
I am surprised that some of the resin is artificially scented!
I'm disappointed. The resin, itself, should provide the aroma.
I hope my church doesn't buy the cheap, scented incense. Maybe that is why some people's eyes water and they have to open the windows.
I went to St. Nectarius' church. He is the saint who has the pair of shoes by his crypt, and his spirit is supposed to walk around in them and do good deeds, and the shoes wear out and have to be replaced.
Taolady, that sounds like a really cool and fun experience, making icons the old-fashioned way.
Both of you, which of these resins are closest to the ones that you enjoy the most?
http://www.somaluna.com/cat/powder_r...se_gums_ac.asp Took a look at your site and was totally flummoxed. Haven't a clue. However - this http://www.skete.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=11 01&Category_ID=19 is where I order my incense from - if that's any help!

Answer:
I have always wanted to buy a sample of all the different kinds of items from that site. Look at those perfume ingredients: benzoin, aloeswood, amber, labdanum, styrax, galbanum, myrrh, olibanum, peru balsam, sandalwood, opoponax. It's a great opportunity to smell the real thing. Plus frankincense and myrrh from various countries, copal, mastic, other resins. Not to mention the "herb" category: oakmoss, ambrette seeds, patchouli, tonka.
The unit price is low. However, by the time I order all of the above, the price climbs to well over $150. If I split an order, it would cause the amount of 1 oz. per item to be divided by the number of people who want to split.
Is there anyone interested in doing this? People who want to grind and tincture the real ingredients?