![]() The light of heaven is reflected back onto the one gazing at the icon, which serves as a reminder that Christ and the saints reside in heaven and that they are alive and praying for us. Gold represents the light of heaven since it’s a precious metal and an extremely reflective material. Marble gesso creates a smooth surface that will also last a lifetime-similar to the surfaces of ancient Egyptian tombs, which still retain their illustrations today.Īfter a sketch or underpainting of the image is drawn on the board, the background, or at least the saint’s halo, is gilded with sheets of gold leaf-usually real gold that has been hammered into extremely thin sheets. The icon begins as a wood board that has been carefully prepared with a sheet of linen and several layers of marble gesso. I never know who will look at an icon I’ve written and pray, or how the Holy Spirit will move long after the icon has left me. In iconography, wood, stone, and other materials are set apart for the purpose of being used to create a tool for prayer. In Mass, we offer oblations of bread and wine back to the Creator to perform a miracle with, which He gives back to us. I’ve come to think of each icon as a kind of offering. When I sit down to write an icon, it’s best to begin the task with prayer-for my skill, for the icon itself, and for all who will stand before the icon in prayer. Because of this icons are incredible tools for prayer and reflection on the gospel and the lives of the saints. We venerate icons of Christ, the saints, or moments from scripture or church history because we respect and revere what or who they point to. Veneration means to treat something with respect or reverence. Icons are visual representations that point to “the real thing.” When we look at an icon of Christ, we know it is not Christ Himself but a representation of Him. It’s helpful here to make a distinction between veneration and worship. Iconography is a reflection and reminder of the reality of the communion of saints. In both places, the congregation prays alongside all the saints, who also pray simultaneously. One might set up an icon corner somewhere in their home as a special place where they will say morning and evening prayers. Iconography is also found in the homes of Orthodox Christians. Some Orthodox churches have icons from the floor to the ceiling, depicting scripture’s grand arc and reminding the congregants that they are part of it. In the Orthodox Church today, iconography is always present in the iconostasis, which is a screen in front of the altar that plays a part in the natural flow of their liturgy. I do not worship matter I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake.” ![]() But now when God is seen in the flesh conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. ![]() “In former times, God, who is without form or body, could never be depicted. John of Damascus summarizes the point well: Particularly at the 7th Ecumenical Council, iconography was determined to be an outworking of the incarnation-God becoming man. Church history and tradition have asserted the goodness of iconography. As Christianity grew and eventually became legal in the Roman Empire, the church continued to develop a robust visual language, which has evolved into the iconographic tradition the church uses today. All of these styles developed from the symbolic language of the early church. Within the Eastern Orthodox Church, there are styles such as Russian and Byzantine. The Coptic Orthodox and Ethiopian Orthodox Church each have unique styles. There are various styles of iconography distinctive to the different streams within Orthodoxy. As my iconography teacher would say, icons are “the gospel in light and color.” This is why painting icons is called “writing” and interpretation of icons is called “reading.” Icons are visual theology, packed full of symbolism, and are meant to teach the viewer about theological intricacies and concepts. So, when I learned that iconography is the combination of these two worlds, I really dove straight in. But they weren’t worlds that interacted much or when they did, there was little substance, at least in the Evangelical world I was familiar with. I’ve always loved theology and early church history. This episode was one of several instances during the pandemic where I encountered icons. But because of her generosity, I was able to experience the blessing of receiving an icon. All of her icons were so beautiful I didn’t understand how she was ready to part with any of them. Mary tenderly holding the Christ Child while the other had Christ holding scripture and giving a blessing. I ended up choosing a very small two-panel icon, one side had St. During the pandemic, a friend of my mom’s who is Coptic Orthodox let me pick any icon I wanted from her icon corner and keep it. I’ll never forget the first time I received an icon.
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