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The word Icon, which derives from the Greek word “Eikon”, is a religious work of art
in Eastern Orthodox Christianity and Catholicism. The term is used in a number of
contexts and means an image or representation of something or someone of greater
significance, but in the more restricted sense in which it is understood, it means a
sacred image representing Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints and angels, as well as
narrative scenes from the Old and the New Testament.
Even though today the term is mostly associated with the wooden panel paintings, in
Byzantium the word “Eikon” applied to all kinds of religious images that could range
in size from the miniature to the monumental and could be crafted in all media, cast
in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, painted on wood, included mosaic or
fresco work, printed on paper or metal.
Christianity originated as a movement within Judaism, a religion that traditionally
did not tolerate figurative religious art, which could explain the reason that for the
first centuries of its existence, the new religion, probably affected by its Jewish
roots and the Second Commandment “Thou shall not make unto thee any graven images”,
objected to representational sacred art and, particularly, to any representation of
the Deity. The first Christian images appeared around the 2nd century in the catacombs,
especially in Rome, where painters with the extended use of new and old familiar pagan
symbols tried to clarify the abstract notions of the new religion, to protect and
conceal the new ideas from their persecutors and to spread the basic principles of
Christianity. In other words, the main aim was to distinguish the spiritual Christian
religion from idolatry. During the first centuries, Christians used art as an
educational-catechetical means to aid them in the promotion of religion, in that they
incorporated various and distinct elements from a number of sources, i.e., the
gracefulness and clarity of composition was borrowed from Hellenic art, the
hierarchical placement of figures and symmetry of design was from Roman art, the
dynamic movement and energy of the represented characters were based on Syrian art and
the large almond-shaped eyes, the long thin noses and small mouths were in turn
borrowed from the Egyptian funeral portraits. After the adoption of Christianity as
the only official religion in the Byzantine Empire in the 4th century, the
presuppositions were created for the development and spread of a pure Christian art
which would become the official and dominant art of the Empire. Therefore, for the
first time, Christians were free to express their faith openly without any fear of
persecution by the state. Subsequently, Christian art began to change not only in
quality and sophistication, but also in its nature. Gradually, the distinction, in one
way or another, from the Greek-Roman Classic tradition begins. The three-dimensional
perceptive, the autonomous existence, the interest in the figure itself and its
symmetrical and natural connection-link with the surroundings are no longer the first
priority. The figure becomes two-dimensional, frontal, flat and static. Byzantine
iconographers are more interested now in exhibiting in every possible way the spiritual
and divine nature than depicting and glorifying the human aspect of the flesh. As a
result, they no longer emphasized the precise depiction of the natural characteristics
of the figure or the idealization of nature, but rather the face and especially the
eyes that reflect the spirituality of the figures that are stylized in a manner that
emphasized their holiness rather than their humanity, the permanent and stable value
of the person and the unchangeable and immutable essence of its existence. Subsequently,
Byzantine art becomes a type of expressionist art that shows the inner-spiritual life
of the depicted figure and immaterializes its existence without denying the nature
itself.
Christianity teaches that the immaterial God became human “flesh” in the form of Jesus
Christ, making it possible to create depictions of the human form of the Son of God.
Consequently, Byzantine iconography developed rigorously and the basic compositional
schemes became well-established, resulting in an increase in the representations of
holy figures and holy events. Yet, suspicions of traditionalists who inflexibly obeyed
the second commandment and feared that any deviation from it would lead to heresy or
idol worship arose. These fears were partially justified, since not only the illiterate
believers but also the Churchmen themselves could not understand how the three
hypostases of God as the One and only God, and the divine and human nature of Christ
can be reconciled.
In the 726 AD, a theological debate involving both the Byzantine state and church,
known as Iconoclasm, began. The Emperor Leo III and a group of overzealous
traditionalists arguing that misinterpretation and misuse of religious images usually
leads to heresy, barred the production and use of figural images and began a systematic
destruction of holy images in the Empire. The iconoclastic debate which spanned
roughly a century, during the years 726-787 and 815-843, centered on the appropriate
use of Orthodox Icons in religious veneration and the precise relationship between
the sacred personage and its image. The fear that the believer misdirected his/her
veneration towards the image rather than directing that veneration to the holy person
represented in the image lay at the heart of the controversy. Old Testament
prohibitions against worshipping graven images provided one of the most powerful
arguments for the Byzantine iconoclasts.
The iconodules (the defenders or lovers of Orthodox Icons), who opposed to iconoclasts,
attempted to prove that Icons were not worshipped but venerated and that such
veneration was not idolatry. They based their defense of Orthodox Icons on the
Doctrine of the Incarnation and on the dogma of the two natures of Christ. St. John
of Damascus and St. Theodore Studites wrote extensive treatises explaining the reasons
for and the importance of Orthodox Icon veneration. The Damascene argued that “it is
not divine beauty that is given form and shape, but the human form that is rendered
by the painter’s brush. Therefore, if the Son of God became man and appeared in
man’s nature, why should his image not be made?”
St. Theodore Studites, his turn, defended the Orthodox Icons on the basis of the ideas
of identity and necessity: “Man himself is created by God after the image and likeness
of God; therefore, there is something divine in the art of making images…as perfect
man, Christ not only can but also must be represented and worshipped in images…let
this be denied and Christ’s economy of the salvation is destroyed..”
The iconoclasts, by wanting a religion freed from all contact with what is material,
for they thought that what is spiritual must be non-material, failed to fully take
into account the Incarnation and fell into a kind of dualism. If, however, we allow no
place for Christ’s humanity or his body, we betray the Incarnation and forget that our
body and soul must be saved and transfigured. The Empress Irene suspended the
iconoclastic persecutions in 780 AD. Seven years later, the seventh Ecumenical Synod
of Nice reaffirmed the veneration of the Orthodox Icons: “We salute the form of the
venerable and life-giving Cross and the holy relics of the Saints, and we receive,
salute, and kiss the holy and venerable Icons…These holy and venerable Icons we honor
and salute and venerate…..To these Icons should be given salutation and honorable
reverence, not indeed the true worship of faith, which pertains to the divine nature…To
these also shall be offered incense and lights, in honor of them, according to the
ancient pious custom…For the honor which is paid to the Icon passes on to that which
the Icon represents, and he who reveres in it the person who is represented…”
In 815 AD, Leo the Armenian renewed attacks on the Orthodox Icons. However, the
iconoclasts were defeated for good in 843 during the reign of the Empress Theodora;
the day of their defeat is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Lent as the
Triumph of Orthodoxy.
Undoubtedly, the iconoclastic controversy had a profound effect on the production of
Byzantine Icons after their reintroduction in 843. After the triumph of Orthodox Icons,
iconography developed at an unprecedented rate and changes shaped by this controversy
included the evolution of distinct portrait images, the growing popularity of certain
subjects such as Christ’s Resurrection from the harrowing depths of hell and the
Dormition of the Virgin Mary. By the end of the 10th century the majority of
iconographic formulae had been firmly established and exported to other Orthodox
countries (Bulgaria, Serbia and later, Russia) where they were further developed and
elaborated on.
Christian painting is an illustrated yet sacred version of the Bible that anyone, even
the most Illiterate of people can read and understand. The Byzantine and Post-Byzantine
iconography especially, has been characterized as the heart of the Orthodoxy as a
sacred-religious art that praises harmony, love and especially God’s love for
humanity. The sacred Orthodox Icons have a silent and secret language that perfectly
expresses faith and the dogma, and appeal not only to the senses, particularly vision,
but also speak directly to the heart, thereby adding to the religious experience.
These Icons show and promote sacred and eternal role models that should serve as
models for our daily lives. Consequently, they have their own unique character,
laden with a holy purpose and content.
It is worth noting that Christian and Byzantine iconography has always stood by the
religious inquiries of its believers and the constant increased liturgical and
dogmatic needs of the Church. From the beginning until the 6th century it started as a
decorative, symbolical, educational, narrative or historical art and in the centuries
that followed, iconography became mostly a sacred worshipping, liturgical, dogmatic
and theological form of art.
According to the Orthodox Christianity and the whole liturgical life of the Church, the
Holy Orthodox Icons are an important and necessary means of worshipping that are
directly associated with the Holy Service and particularly with the Holy Communion.
Orthodox Icons are always associated with the prayer that can take place not only in
Church but also in the privacy of our house as long as worshippers are aware of the
fact that these Icons are not a mere depiction or representation of holy figures or
an esthetic-decorative means, but something more. It is a sacred liturgical object
that we honor via kisses, candles, burning incense and prayers and the honor that is
paid to the Icon passes on to the represented figure. It is believed that the holy
figures depicted in Orthodox Icons assist and comfort the believers whenever the
latter are in need of assistance. Thus, Greek Orthodox believers tend to offer
Orthodox Icons as a gift on special occasions as a way of protecting and blessing the
people involved or an event.
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