www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology The spirituality of icons 101

Unity, a new member, asked me about icons, so I'm starting a new topic on them... all you Easterners will probably be bored with what I'm about to write, as ya'll probably already know all this already...

Dear Unity (and any other non-Byzantine members reading this):

To understand the Eastern devotion to holy icons, it's important to keep in mind what icons ARE.

The Western Church uses religious images also, mainly statues and paintings, to depict Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and saints, as well as biblical events and images. Icons, however, are different from statues and paintings:

Icons are not simply depictions of the holy people and events they portray. Their purpose is not really to catechize or teach. They are considered "doorways" to heaven. An icon is a real connection to the person or event it depicts.
This is why they are venerated and treated with the utmost respect.

The idea is that, though religious images are banned in Judaism, they are a-ok in Christianity because, in the Incarnation, God became man-- the immortal, spiritual God who is physically not visible became visible. And it's good and holy to depect that which has been shown to us by Christ.

Those who are not familiar with holy icons might find them strange and not very appealing aesthetically. Icons, unlike many Western relgious painings, make no attempt to be "lifelike" or "realistic." Rather, they come across as strange and unrealistic because they don't depict the people in them as they were on earth: they are depictions of these holy people in their glorified state, as they are in heaven. Remember, at the end of time when Jesus returns, we will receive back our bodies-- "new and improved." :-)

In the world today, we retain the idea that depictions of people (such as photos and paintings) somehow "represent" these people. For many, kissing icons seems like superstition bordering on idolatry... but these same people would think nothing of kissing a photo of their spouses, sweethearts, or other loved ones. If you ripped up a picture of someone, everyone would take this as an act of disrespect towards that person. In other words, we recognize that there is a connection between a photo of someone and that that person himself, even though the photo is not actually the person.

A very short history of icons:

Icons have been a part of Christian worship and spirituality probably from the very first century... pious tradition holds that St. Luke was the first iconographer. St. John Chrysostom mentioned that he kept an icon of St. Paul on his table when he was writing.

As the times change, they have varied in style and technique, so that it is possible for one to identify the time period in which an icon was written (icons are spoken of as being "written" rather than "painted").

During the 8th century, the followers of a new religion called Islam were conquering Christian communities. The Byzantine Emperor Leo wondered if maybe the Christians were being punished by God for their use of religious images; after all, Muslims didn't use them, and God appeared to be on their side. So he banned the writing and possession of holy icons; icons were smashed, churches whitewashed... a war was being waged against holy images.

One of the stauchest supporters of the use of icons was St. John of Damascus, who bravely wrote in defense of holy images. Another defender of icons was St. Stephen the New (to distinguish him from St. Stephen the Protomartyr). He was summoned before the Emperor and asked to step on an icon of Christ to prove he didn't believe there was a connection between the icon and Christ Himself. Instead, St. Stephen put a coin bearing the Emperor's image on the floor and stepped on it... he was immediately executed.

The iconoclast heresy finally came to an end, but would resurrect itself sporadically throughout the next two hundred years. In fact, one of the feast days of the Byzantine calendar celebrates the lift of the ban of icons... it's called the Triumph of Orthodoxy.

Icons are often found in the homes of Eastern Christians, especially in the home prayer corner. They are treated like family photographs... they are depictions of our HEAVENLY family.

The icon next to my messages is one of the most famous icons... the Virgin of Vladimir.

I have been powerfully attracted to icons for as long as I have seen them. They seem to "pull you into" them, to be showing us a reality beyond our present existence. They show us what our real destiny is... which is to live forever in glory with God.

Dear Saintclare,

Great stuff!

Alex

Thanks Alex!

Dear Saintclare,

Here is a site with icons written by a Benedictine - I find it quite interesting as it has icons of Our Lady of Mt Carmel and of Lourdes:

http://www.mtangel.edu/ICONS/index.3htm

God bless,

Alex

Hey Alex,

Thanks! The link didn't work, but I typed the first part of the address in manually, and found it. :-)

Very beautiful icons!

Glory to Jesus Christ!

Karen

I know I was reading recently a thread where somebody asked exactly what an icon could portray, like did it have to be a person or scene, or could it portray something like love... Someone had written a marvelous response about how an icon portrays TRUTH and can span different time periods to portray that truth... I can't find that thread. Does anyone know where it is???

Thank you so much St. Clare....You are eloquent in your expression, and the way you present icons sounds exciting....I'm planning to reread your post a few times before I ask any more questions....then I need to think a little, research a little, ask more questions, and continue to learn....

Thanks again,

Unity In Christ

I was going to start a new topic on this but perhaps this is a good place to converse on the subject.
Your introduction to icons was very good. At the risk of stirring up controversy- which it did on another site- it should be noted that iconography is, like the liturgy, at the service of the Church and is not a forum for one's own political or religious agenda, much less for dissent.
I bring this up because so many iconographers are violating this principle, for example:
1] the notorious [and very talented] Robert Lenz, who besides doing perfectly rendered traditiional icons has done icons of uncanonized people, ranging from the holy [Dorothy Day] to the unholy [homosexual "martyr" Harvey Milk].
2] Fr William McNichols SJ who has done- among other travesties- an "icon" of the Passion of Matthew Shepherd.
3] the monks of Monastery Icons, who do a wide variety of traditional icons and icons of western saints but who are on record as being Gnostic Orthodox [an oxymoron if ever there was one]. Their abbot in his autobiography describes an experience while on pilgrimage to the temple of Kali, Hindu goddess of death, that sounds very much like demonic possession.
While some hold that [traditional] icons by these heretical iconographers are spiritually dangerous, I would think that if the icon itself is Orthodox and it is blessed by the Church no harm will come to anyone: it is akin to St Paul saying that food offered to idols can be safely consumed if blessed. On the other hand, St Paul also says to avoid scandal and the appearance of evil. There are plenty of iconographers who strive to be faithful and there is no reason at all to patronize those who misuse their God-given gifts in this way.
I bring these things up because beginners should know that iconography is not just a style of art but a ministry of the Church, to be fulfilled faithfully.

Hi Tammy,

I know that there are very strict guidelines on the writing of icons... for instance, the iconographer himself must be a person of prayer and faith; certain things may not be depicted. For instance, you'll never see Christ portrayed symbolically, as a lamb, for instance. And you'll never see an icon of Mary by herself-- she's always portrayed with Jesus.

Thanks, Unity, glad you found my intro helpful! I can recommend some really great books on icons if you're interested:

"Praying With Icons" by Jim Forest and "The Open Door" by Frederica Matthewes-Green are my favorites-- these both deal with the spirituality of icons. There's another good book, "Sacred Doorways" by Linette Martin, that is more about the history of icons and how they were/are written.

May I also recommend that, if you don't already own an icon, that you get one? You can probably get one at most Catholic or Orthodox bookstores, or online.

The first icon I ever bought I actually HAD to buy... it was my penance for confession. I had mentioned to the priest after confession that I was falling in love with the East. He said, "Okay, for your penance I'd like you to go buy an icon." So I went to my local Catholic bookstore, and amazingly, I found a beautiful Byzantine-style icon of Our Lady of Perpetual Help for only $30. I also got a CD of Russian Orthodox liturgical music (Rachmaninov's Vespers). That night, I set my little icon on a table, lit a votive candle in front of it, burned some lovely-smelling incense, put the CD on... it was SO cool! Since then, many other icons have joined Our Lady of Perpetual Help, but that one is still my favorite... I call it my penitential icon. :-)

God bless,

Karen

Thanks Daniel, you brought up a very important point! I don't know why this would be controversial. The whole idea of icons is to depict that which is HOLY.

I've heard a Baptist minister-turned-Orthodox-priest make a good point: "If we don't venerate the holy icons, we will inevitably venerate the UNholy ones."

GLORY TO JESUS CHRIST!

A few minor points...

The book by Linette Martin is called SCARED DOORWAYS...

The Mother of God may be portrayed without Jesus. Look at the ikons of the Annunciation, the Presentation in the Temple and the Protection as examples....

the ikon writer
mark

Dear Mark,

Glory forever!

Thanks-- I went back and edited the title.. it's actually SACRED Doorways. :p

Re: icons of Mary by herself: I was under the impression that this was a iconographical no-no... at least that's what I've always read. Apparently there are a few exceptions. :-)

Slava Isusu Christu,

Karen

Just a thought for Medved and Saintclare

Surely, in the Annunciation Icons, Christ is already present ?

Anhelyna

Dear Unity,
Glory to Jesus Christ!

The basic Church teaching on iconography was established at the Fifth Ecumenical Council in Nicea (787). It is summarized in the Kontakion taken from the Sunday Divine Liturgy commemorating victory over the iconoclasm:

"O Mother of God, the indescribable Word of God, became describable through you in the incarnation, for through the divine goodness the Word spoken from eternity became an Image: may we who believe in salvation both in word and deed clothe ourselves in the same Image."

This Kontakion proves that iconography is not an invention of painters or artists but is an authentic tradition of the Church. The preaching of Christianity was carried out through word and image.

When the Son of God became Man through the Mother of God (incarnation), God was given a physical image and was then able to be portrayed in icons in human form. The images portrayed serve as an inspiration to all who view it.
An icon does not show the confusion of a sinful world. Rather, it depicts the peace of the Divine world; a world governed by grace, not logic. That is why every religious painting is not necessarily an icon. Icons are very different from other more commonly seen art forms.

Divine Light permeates all things, which is why there are no shadows in icons. People, landscape, architecture and animals serve as bridges. They connect nature with an existence outside the realm of time. The value of an icon, therefore, is not based on the beauty of the work, but on the spiritual beauty it portrays.

Out of humility, an icon should never be signed.
Icons serve many liturgical and spiritual functions. Some of these functions include:

1. they enhance the beauty of a church. As a house of prayer, a church should be as beautiful as possible, especially the interior;

2. icons instruct the faithful. They illustrate the Sacred Scriptures;

3. spirituality is often forgotten. Icons serve as reminders, (e.g. Christ's Crucifixion brings to mind His Death and suffering);

4. a higher inner feeling is reached when looking at an icon. An icon is not an end in itself but a symbol that points beyond itself to God;

5. makes the observer holy, by way of all the functions listed above;

6. like sacred hymns and music, icons are used as a means of worshipping God. It takes the viewer from the material world to the spiritual world.

Iconography today is being used more frequently by the faithful in their homes and by religious education instructors in their classes. In addition, more churches are restoring or installing this age-old tradition of iconography.

Hope this helps,
Deacon El