www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life The Christian East & West Statues and Icons

Dear Ray,

Thank you for your most thoughtful and interesting post! Not only do I have the privilege of learning from the wonderful Byzantine Christians on this forum but I'm meeting so many well-informed Roman Catholics as well!

What a blessing the life of faith is!

Khrystyna

Dear Ave Maria,

"Theosis" is the same as "Divinization" or the process by which we are Divinized or made "Christ-like."

Alex

Dear Alex,

Please bear with us Latins who really do need to renew our appreciation of the Transfiguration and its meaning for Theosis :rolleyes:

Khrystyna

Dear Akemmer,
Glory to Jesus Christ!
You reminded me of a most important aspect in iconography, the inverse perspective.
Since you did not expand on this, please allow me.
3 dimensional paintings were intended to show physical reality. During the Renaissance, painters became increasingly intrigued with this concept and learned to paint in 3 dimensions with perspective. A lot of art would have a �focal point�, usually in the distance of the painting. Your eyes can follow these lines of focus from the depictions of close/near subjects to those far off. A person�s face might fill most of the painting, while a large mountain far in the distance may be shown very small. (Forgive my awkwardness, but I am not much of an artist).
Iconography never intended to portray physical reality and instead brings us closer to spiritual reality. Therefore the �rules� applying to the physical are not necessarily in force. For example, in iconography, the eyes are ears are depicted slightly larger than human so that we may see and hear the Word of God more in our lives. The mouth is depicted slightly smaller than human, for our own words and pride need not be emphasized.
Inverse perspective is a wonderful way of incorporating spiritual reality. There are many examples, but one good one is Rublev�s Old Testament Trinity.
Look at the table. If we were portraying a 3-d table in a painting, most likely it would not be a perfect rectangle. We would probably paint the front edge of the table slightly larger than the back because the front is nearer to our vision. As the back edge is smaller, it points to the focal point of the painting, somewhere in the distance.
However, the table in the icon has the front edge smaller than the rear. This is called inverse perspective. The neat thing is that now you should try to find the focal point. Where is it? From the larger back edge of the table, your eyes move forward to the smaller front edge, and keep coming forward to the focal point. You are now �outside� the icon, directly in front of it.
The focal point of the icon is you, the viewer of the icon!
The purpose of the icon is then to portray a spiritual truth, and to portray it directly to you.
If this is the first time you have realized the meaning of inverse perspective in an icon, you may simply reply �Wow� and continue to pray.
Deacon El

Dear Khrystyna,

To paraphrase a Ukrainian saying, "I'll easily trade ten Byzantines for one Latin like you!"

Alex

Dear Deacon Pekarik,

Wow - Lord have mercy . . .


Alex

Ah Alex, you are much, much too kind!

Khrystyna

hello....I would like to say that statues are not worshipped...they are church art, holy reminders, as are icons.

Thank you, Alex, for explaining what Theosis means. Thank you, Deacon El, for explaining more about iconography and thank you, Matthew, for for clarifying about the statues!!!

God bless!!!

Pax Christi!!!

Ave Maria

Dear Ave Maria,

Et cum spiritu tuo!

The Kyivan Orthodox tradition beginning in the 17th century especially insisted on using Latin in the seminary and the Ukies got pretty good at it!

The Russians often hated it when Ukrainians "showed them up" by using spoken Latin in their conversations!

Peter the Great was actually mesmerized by Latin, and signed his name as "Petrus."

This led to suspicions in the Russian Orthodox hierarchy that he might be a heretic - after all, he was using a "heretic language!"

Benedicat Vos Deus Omnipotens - + Pater et Filius et Spiritus Sanctus - Amen!

Alex

I would like to make another observation about halos, to support Alex's comment of the difference of divinization East/West. In the church I was baptised (a neo-Gothic basilica structure), the halo was used in two ways in the stations of the Cross: When the halo is on our Lord, it came out of hie head, and when from a saint, the Mother of God, for example, it is behind and a little above (these stations are carved, and each are about six feet tall, four and a half feet wide, and eight inches deep, i think; the actual size of anything is difficult to tell in this church). The statues and frescoes seem to have the same use of the halo, though i am not sure about the statue of our Lord (in one of the side altars); My eyesight is not so good, so it is hard for me to make out the details.

Dear Akemner,

Yes, the West has always been somewhat reticent about joining haloes to saints' bodies for that reason.

But it wasn't always so, at least not before the Schism, as Western icons demonstrate.

This is one of those cases when the West can do with some "Byzantinization."

Creeping or otherwise . . .

Alex