The Holy Icons

1. The Holy Icons Christ Pantocrator in the apse of the Cathedral of Cefalù, Sicily http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/frgregory-699626-icons-in-theology-and-worship-2/

2. Icons in Theology and Worship “Of old, God the incorporeal and uncircumscribed was never depicted. Now, however, when God is seen clothed in flesh, and conversing with men, I make an image of the God whom I see. I do not worship matter; I worship the God of matter, who became matter for my sake, and … who worked out my salvation through matter” Homily 1: In Defence of the Holy Icons St. John of Damascus (676 – 749) A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, before being ordained, he served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Orthodox Christian monasteries throughout the world.

3. Christ – God made visible “How therefore shall we not depict in images what Christ our God endured for our salvation and his miracles…?” (St. John of Damascus) “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15) “And to those who thought that he was a spirit he said, See my hands and feet, that it is I myself. Handle me and see, because a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have [Luke 24,39]. What do you say to that, enemy of Christ? If he has flesh and bones, does he not have the possibility of being portrayed in an image? So if the latter is impossible, so was the former. But he himself silently bears witness also to his being portrayed, for each of them confirms the other.” (St. Theodore the Studite (759 – 826) In Church Tradition, St. Luke the Apostle and Evangelist was the first writer of icons, notably of the Mother of God.

4. 6th Century Icons of Christ Frescoes from the Roman Catacombs (1st to 4th Century A.D.) Fresco of St. Paul, Catacomb of St. Thekla, 4th Century. The image was found in 2009, close to the Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls in Rome, the site of St. Paul’s burial. This 6th Century icon of Christ (left) Pantocrator (Ruler of All or Sustainer of the World) is to be found in the Monastery of St. Catherine, Mt. Sinai. It shows Christ in twofold aspect; human and divine, Saviour and Judge of all. Fresco of the Good Shepherd,Catacomb of St. Callisto, mid 3rd C. (right) Christ and St. Menas from Bawit, Egypt, now in the Louvre, Paris Christ bearded, Catacombs of Commodilla, Rome, late 4th C.

5. The Holy Mandylion of Edessa This is a very early image, the first in an exclusive and unusual type, “not made by human hands.” St. Eusebius of Caesarea (the Historian) in the 4th century relates how King Abgar of Edessa sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. In this version there is no image. Then, in the later account found in the Syriac Doctrine of Addai, a painted image of Jesus is mentioned in the story; and even later, in the account given by Evagrius, the painted image is transformed into an image that miraculously appeared on a towel when Christ pressed the cloth to his wet face. Further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken to Constantinople. In 1204 it was lost when Constantinople was sacked by Crusaders, but its iconic type had been well fixed in numerous copies (2 of which, left). The veil of St. Veronica may be a connected icon tradition and was of great significance in the west from the Middle Ages onwards although Orthodox forms of the image have also become popular today. Novgorodian icon c. 1100 Simon Ushakov (1658)

6. The Seventh Ecumenical Council (787) “We, therefore, following the royal pathway and the divinely inspired authority of our Holy Fathers and the traditions of the Catholic Church (for, as we all know, the Holy Spirit indwells her), define with all certitude and accuracy that just as the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross, so also the venerable and holy images, as well in painting and mosaic as of other fit materials, should be set forth in the holy churches of God, and on the sacred vessels and on the vestments and on hangings and in pictures both in houses and by the wayside, to wit, the figure of our Lord God and Saviour Jesus Christ, of our spotless Lady, the Mother of God, of the honourable Angels, of all Saints and of all pious people. For by so much more frequently as they are seen in artistic representation, by so much more readily are men lifted up to the memory of their prototypes, and to a longing after them; and to these should be given due salutation and honourable reverence, not indeed that true worship of faith which pertains alone to the divine nature; but to these, as to the figure of the precious and life-giving Cross and to the Book of the Gospels and to the other holy objects, incense and lights may be offered according to ancient pious custom. For the honour which is paid to the image passes on to that which the image represents, and he who reveres the image reveres in it the subject represented. For thus the teaching of our holy Fathers, that is the tradition of the Catholic Church, which from one end of the earth to the other hath received the Gospel, is strengthened. ” The 8th and 9th centuries saw a long period of struggle in the Church against the iconoclasts who, if they had prevailed, would have undermined belief in the Incarnation of Christ. “The honour given to the image passes to the prototype” St. Basil the Great (330-379)On the Holy Spirit 18.45 Web site for those who challenge the veneration of icons today:- http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/general/icon_faq.aspx

7. Early English Fresco Iconography Mostly destroyed or plastered over at the Reformation in the 16th Century. a true Orthodox Christian form Christ Enthroned, Kempley, Gloucestershire (c. 1120) St. Oswald, Durham Cathedral (12th C.) Christ Enthroned, Clayton, West Sussex (c. 1150) The Trinity, Last Judgement and the Apostles (detail), Houghton on the Hill, Norfolk, ?11C. The Raising of Jairus’ daughter, Copford, Essex (c. 1130)

8. English and Irish Orthodox Illuminated Scripts The Four Evangelists from the Lindisfarne Gospels- "The 7th century Lindisfarne Gospels is one of Britain's most famous and beautiful treasures. The Lindisfarne Gospels was written and illuminated 'for God and St Cuthbert' by Eadfrith, Bishop of Lindisfarne (698-721), probably in honour of the original Translation of the Saints relics in 698. Its decoration includes miniatures of the four Evangelists, intricate cross-carpet pages and full-page initials.”(from "Portico" - The Online Information Server of the British Library in London where the Gospels are on permanent display – Sacred Texts section, ground floor). (left to right: Sts. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). The Book of Kells(Irish: LeabharCheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier. With the Lindisfarne Gospels it is a masterpiece of western Orthodox calligraphy. (left to right: St. Matthew, Christ Enthroned, the Mother of God and St. John).

9. History of Icons in the Greek world (1) A Of the icon painting tradition that developed in Byzantium, with Constantinople as the chief city, we have only a few icons from the 11th century, in part because of the Iconoclastic upheavals during which many were destroyed but also on account of the plundering by the Venetians in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade and in the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. In the 12th century we have more surviving examples. Characteristic of this period is the famous Theotokos of Vladimir (c. 1115) and at this time we may note a certain softening of earlier more formal styles. This tendency continued in the Paleologan period, which began in 1261. In the 13th and 14th Century the Paleologan Macedonian school based in Thessalonica produced many fine icons and frescoes, many of which are in the monasteries of the Holy Mountain, Mt. Athos, particularly in the Protaton in Karyes the capital. Prominent in this school was Manuel Panselinos (Resurrection fresco A). Paleologaniconography reached its pinnacle in mosaics such as those of the former Chora Monastery (1315-1321), of which the Resurrection (fresco B) is shown here. In the last half of the 14th century, the saints were painted in an emphasised stylised manner within this school and Ochrid's Annunciation of the Theotokos is a superb example of this school(fresco C). B C

10. History of Icons in the Greek world (2) Crete saw the next major development in iconography and its outstanding practitioner was Theophanes the Greek, (A) (1330-1410). His work was installed in more than 40 churches in Russia, Constantinople and its surroundings. He was instrumental also in shaping the iconostasis as we know it today. His pupil, Andrei Rublev, himself became a great master of Russia's golden age. After the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, the Byzantine tradition was carried forward in regions previously influenced by its religion and culture, that is in the Balkans, Russia, Georgia, the Caucasus and continuing also in Crete. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Theophanes the Cretan, (B) Emmanuel Lombardos and Emmanuel Tzanes (C) probably represent the zenith of icon writing in the Greek style. In 1669 the city of Heraklion, which at one time boasted at least 120 painters, finally fell to the Turks, and from that time Greek icon painting went into a decline, with a revival starting in the 20th century by such masters as PhotiosKontoglou (D), who emphasised a return to earlier more classical styles. B A D C

11. History of Icons in the Russian world (1) In 988 Prince Vladimir I of Kiev converted to the Orthodox Christian faith and introduced Christian faith as the official religion of Rus. Church services in Kiev closely followed the Byzantine norms and many icons and liturgical furnishings where brought back for Kiev's growing number of churches. One of these icons, Our Lady of Vladimir, (1131) (A) became widely known and highly revered in Russia. Byzantine artists were invited to Kiev to work and teach their art. With their help, the first school of icon painting in Russia was established in the famous Kiev-PecherskLavra (Monastery of the Caves). In 1240, Kiev was destroyed by the Mongols. The center of icon painting moved to the northern cities of Novgorod and Pskov, where a new school was gradually formed. The Moscow school of icon painting started to develop somewhat later than the Novgorod one and was overshadowed by it until mid-1400s. By this time the Trinity-St. Sergius Monastery (Lavra) had become one of the main spiritual centres of the country and attracted such talented practitioners as Andrei Rublev (1370-1430) (B) and Dionysius (late 15th C) (C). Later in the 17th century Simon Ushakov (1668) (D) with othersbegan a trend away from classical iconographic principles at the same time as the Nikhonian reforms came into effect. (A) left (B) above (C) left (D) above

12. History of Icons in the Russian world (2) In the late 16th and the early 17th century the boyar family Stroganov founded and maintained a new icon painting school. The distinctive style of this school started to replace the emphasis on spiritual depth of icons with more worldly concerns about technical perfection. Notable practitioners included ProkopyChirin (1620) (A) and BorozdinSemejka (17th C) (B) The Russian tradition of icon painting went into decline from the 18th century onwards as it assimilated western forms of religious artaccentuating sentiment and complex narrative sequences with a multiplicity of figures. In the Soviet period the tradition was maintained clandestinely in Russia but in the diaspora the émigré Russian community in Paris produced the influential iconographer and writer Leonid Ouspensky (1902 – 1987) (C) – St. Nektarios of Aegina (1969) together with that of his great contemporary, Gregory Krug (1908-1969) (D) – St. Genevieve of Paris. Since the fall of Communism a more classical form of iconography has started to return to the Slav world generally and Russia in particular. As we have seen, a similar trend is discernible in Greece. B A C D

13. Iconographic and Theological differences in Orthodox and non-Orthodox Christian art – a case study: The Crucifixion A comparison of these two representations of the crucifixion, the first Orthodox, (Fr. Theodore Jurewicz http://www.christthesaviourhbg.org/icons.html), the second high German Renaissance Roman Catholic, (Matthias Grunewald: 1470 – 1528), shows a different understanding of the cross and its significance between the two churches, whilst at the same time highlighting the differences between iconic and non-iconic representations. The Grunewald crucifixion, typical of the western tradition from the Renaissance onwards, emphasises naturalistically the naked brutality of the crucifixion as a means of execution. The aim is to produce an emotional impact. There is little here of the quiet solemn confidence of the Orthodox icon where our Lord looks kindly on his Mother and St. John, reigning victorious on the cross over the forces of evil, suffering and death, (note the vanquished skull in darkness under his feet). There is sorrow, not only in the human figures but in creation itself, (notice the sun and moon top left and right), but the suffering is not the key theme here, but rather the victory. It is the naturalism and visceral quality of the Grunewald depiction that gives it its enduring power but strictly speaking it is not a theology that is written here but rather a straightforward appeal to the emotions and affectivity of the beholder. Moreover icons retain their original historical context. Post Renaissance western Christian art forms consciously and deliberately do not.

14. Modern English Icon Writers - Efrem Carrasco (line 1) http://www.orthodox.clara.net/Multimedia/icons-carrasco.htmand Aidan Hart (line 2) http://www.aidanharticons.com/

15. How to Venerate the Holy Icons When venerating an icon, Orthodox Christians usually perform the following actions: first, they make the sign of the cross with a metania  twice (a metania is a low bow from the waist, touching the floor with the right hand turned outwards; it is usually used in place of a full prostration), then kiss the icon, and finish with another sign of the cross and metania.  The feet or hands of Christ, should be kissed, or in the case of the icon "Not-made-by-hands," the hair, but never the face.  Icons of the Theotokos and saints are venerated by kissing their hands.   During the lenten season, some Orthodox Christians may replace the metania with a full prostration.  However, there are certain days when prostrations are not allowed: (1) between Holy Wednesday and Pascha, one should only prostrate when venerating the plaschanitsa, and (2) between Pascha and the Ascension and also every Sunday - no kneeling and/or prostrations are allowed.   Metanias are also used during certain daily prayers, such as during the prayer of the Publican ("Oh God, have mercy on me a sinner"), the Trisagion ("Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us"), when "Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia, glory to Thee, O God!" is recited, and at the conclusion of St. Basil the Great's prayer to the Holy Trinity ("Oh come let us worship God our King..."). From Ryan Weldzius’ blog:- http://ryansodyssey.weebly.com/3/post/2010/4/how-to-venerate-icons-metaniasprostrations.html