"The priests," he says, "are still, and the deacons stand in silence, the whole people is quiet and still, subdued and calm. The altar stands crowned with beauty and splendor, and upon it is the Gospel of life and the adorable wood i.e. the cross. The mysteries are set in order, the censers are smoking, the lamps are shining and the deacons are hovering and brandishing fans in likeness of watchers" (Conolly "Liturgical Homilies of Narsai", p. 12).
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For the connection of lamps with the liturgy at an earlier age it may be sufficient to quote a few sentences from a homily of the Syrian Narsai, who died A.D. 512, descriptive of the Liturgy.