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INTRODUCTION
The icon, from the Greek word for image, is a particular type of church art which is
indispensable to Eastern Christian spirituality. The two dimensional art pieces which grew
out of the culture of the Byzantine Empire, portray only religious themes--The Trinity,
angels, sacred events, or the transfigured humanity of Jesus, the Mother of God
(Theotokos), and saints. They are found in churches, at wayside shrines, and in homes;
they are used for liturgy or private devotion.
Christ the Pantocrator, Encaustic icon, 6C, Monastery of St.
Catherine, Mount Sinai
As liturgical art, icons are not just decoration, but a visual aid for worship and part
of the liturgy. Rather than personal works of art that seek to express an individual artist's
view, the icon expresses the historical church, its traditions, and Scripture. They are made
and used in an atmosphere of prayer, bringing the people of God into an encounter with
his presence. The artist is not so concerned about exterior resemblance to the subject, as
to capturing the essence and spirit of the person or event portrayed. Strict rules of subject
and technique secure a timeless and universal quality of the icon which expresses the
mystery of the divine. Since authenticity is essential in an icon, there are a few classic
forms which are repeated, and yet one cannot claim that icons are only copies. They seek
to express the one and only revelation of God, inviting the viewer to adapt to God's
manifestation of beauty rather than a human interpretation of it. The process of
development is not how to be different, but how to be better.
THEOLOGY OF ICONS
Theology, the study of God in words, and iconography, the study of God in images, are
two major expressions of one single faith, or we might say that an icon is a visible gospel.
Eastern Christians do not emphasize the "word" as much as Western Christians do, but
experience God as BEAUTY which reveals divine order. In making icons, therefore, the
artist attempts to show this beauty and glory of God in relation to the human person, and
human life immersed in God transfigured by his presence.
The theology of the icon is based on the Incarnation, the revelation of the Image of
God in the human form of Jesus Christ. This first icon was one made without human hands
and revealed in the temple of Christ's body. By imitating the divine artist, the iconographer
not only participates in sacred creation, but theologically asserts the reality of Jesus'
humanity.
The icon of God likewise exists in each of us, for we, too, are made in God's image.
This gives man the ability to communicate with God, to be transformed by his presence,
and become like God, participating in his divine character. As a bridge of prayer between
God and the human person, an icon gives the viewer the occasion to commune with the
divine.
Icons of the sacred not only set an atmosphere for prayer, but by contemplating the
holiness of the person represented in the icon, one can experience the presence of God
which is "contagious." One becomes aware of praying and worshipping in the presence
of angels and saints. Icons are used to enhance the beauty of the church, but also to teach
us about our faith initially and then to remind us of this teaching. By bringing us in contact
with holy persons, we are enthused to imitate them, helping to transform and sanctify us.
Ultimately the icon is a means of worshipping God and venerating his saints.
The painted wood or wall has no value in itself if the believer is not put in a
relationship with God. The icon is not just a symbol or reminder of a holy person, but has
the character of an epiphany, manifesting the presence of God through the transfigured
subject of the icon who is shown as redeemed and participating in God's light. These
people revealed the image of God in their lives in an eminent way. Now they invite the
viewer into a communion with them and through them with God. Bringing us into living
encounter with the person represented, an icon becomes a door to sacred time and space.
The Crucifixion, Master
Dionysius, 15C.
An iconographer by definition is Christian, for he attempts to portray the dogmas of
his faith. Because the artist does not reproduce what he sees but what he understands
about the essence of life, he has to be a person transformed by prayer in order to perceive
a universe that has been transfigured through Christ. God is asked to inspire the artist
and guide his hand. Because God is the true artist, icons are not signed by the
iconographer.
The Myrrh-bearing Women at the Tomb, End of the 15C.
While the icon is being created, the artist repeats the Jesus Prayer so that he
remains concentrated on his holy task. The discipline of painting and prayer deepens
one's inner silence, so that the actual process of "writing" an icon contributes to one's
personal transformation.
HISTORY
According to legend Jesus himself produced the first icon. King Agbar of Edessa,
a leper, heard of Jesus' healing powers, and sent a messenger to bring Jesus back to heal
him. Along with a letter declining the invitation because of his pressing mission, Jesus sent
the MANDILION, a cloth on which the image of his face was miraculously reproduced.
Through this icon Agbar was cured.
Christ the Pantocrator, Unknown Origin: Possibily Russian, Possibly 18C.
The second icon is attributed to St. Luke who portrayed the Mother of God holding
her son. It is significant that this first icon of a saint was made from a model, not from the
artist's imagination, so that it is an authentic image of the holy persons. There are even
icons of this event that show Mary and Jesus posing for Luke as he paints.
The Vladimir Mother of God,
Byzantine Icon of the 11 or 12C.
The icon became most developed and established in Constantinople, but there is
evidence of icons from the second century. Because of the iconoclastic struggle most
icons before the ninth century were destroyed and now the earliest ones we have are from
the fifth century. The icons combined Greek, Roman and Middle Eastern influences,
quickly becoming an abstract, stylized form of art.
A combination of theological, political, and cultural elements contributed to the
eighth century controversy over the veneration of icons. Emperor Leo III issued an edict
in 730 ordering the destruction of icons, bringing into full blossom the iconoclastic
movement. The iconoclasts, who wanted to destroy the icons on the charge that they were
idols, were in fact Docetists who denied the reality of the incarnation. Germanus, Patriarch
of Constantinople, and St. John Damascene were among the famous defendants of the
veneration of icons. In the west Pope Gregory II called a synod in Rome which denounced
Leo, and Pope Gregory IV established the feast of All Saints to underscore the importance
of venerating holy persons who revealed the image of God. In defending the icons, the
Church was defending the very foundation of the Christian faith.
The Nativity, Novgorodian School, 16C.
In 787 the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the second council held at Nicea, made an
important distinction between the worship we give to God and the veneration we give to
saints and sacred objects. Finally through the empress Theodora, the veneration of icons
was publicly re-established in 843. In memory of this event the Orthodox Church
celebrates the feast of Orthodoxy every year on the first Sunday of Lent.
It took a while to recover from the iconoclastic persecution, so the development of
icons was steady but slow in the ninth century. From the tenth century when Russia
became Christian, it became the center of traditional iconography. Byzantine artists
traveled to Russia to share the treasure of icons, but it quickly developed its own
distinctive schools, including those of Pskov, Novgorod, Moscow, and Tver. Andrei Rublev
(1360/70-1430),
Andrei Rublev, Icon of the Holy Trinity,
15C.
who studied under the Byzantine master Theophanes the Greek, is the
greatest of the Russian artists.
The Transfiguration, End of the 14C, Theophane the Greek
The three periods of greatest development in iconography are: 1) The Justinian era
of the sixth century; 2) The First Byzantine Renaissance in the tenth to twelfth centuries
under the Macedonian and Comnenian dynasties, during which iconography began in
Russia; and 3) The Second Byzantine renaissance of the fourteenth century under the
Palaeologan dynasty, which is the Golden Age of Icons. With Greek, Russian, Romanian,
Serbian, and Bulgarian monasteries, Mount Athos is the place today to experience the
variety of schools of icons.
This article was written by Sr. Marcia Vinje for a Mariology course at IMRI.
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