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Rus: Orthodox Ikonography - Part 1

© Dr. Donald R. Houston

Rus: Orthodox Ikonograhy - Part 1

Orthodox Ikonography is governed by 3 basic principles. The first is pedagogical, the ikons depict by the sue of lines combined with color what the scriptures and other writings of the Church described in words. Secondly, they function as a means for Orthodox Christian to focus their true devotion when worshipping. It is this coordination of the eye with the mind that the worshipper is drawn beyond the representation to what is actually being represented. Third, iconography is actually a sacramental ritualistic function. Being "symbolic" in an older and wider sense as the locus where Divine reality and actual reality come together. As you can see, what begins as a simple teaching and learning concludes as part of the great mysteries of the Church.

For the Orthodox, following the decrees of the 7th Ecumenical Council, ikonography is indispensible becuause it is ikons that teach us and bring us to the mystery of the presence of God in the world in a way which is unique to the visual arts. Ikons are not merely representations of a physical reality. They are not only simple ",i>religious" pictures. They are actually "dynamic" manifestations of man's spiritual ability to redeem creation through beauty and art. The colours and lines of ikons are not meant to imitate nature. In raeality it is the artists aim at demonstrating that men, animals and plants, indeed the whole cosmos, can be rescued from their present state of degradation and restored to their proper "Image". The icons are pledges of the coming victory of a redeemed creation over the fallen one. The Orthodox say this because in Jesus Christ Divinity and humanity meet in one person. Because Jesus is the first and the primary mystery or sacrament, the way is opened for all created matter to become a vehicle for the presence of God and the grace of God.

Ikons are a visual manifestation of restored creation which was manifested by Christ in His transfiguration, and thus that which will be with God at the end of time. They are an actual and present disclosure of God's presence in our midst. Icons are a concrete reminder that the Kingdom of Heaven is not some futuristic concept of a mythological "pie in the sky", but also present at each point when time meets eternity. Thus ikons are the result of a spiritual vision which is informed with a purity of prayer and deed. Thus they a result of a spiritual vision because it has itself been formed by the uncreated reality manifested to the Apostles Peter, James and John in the Transfiguration of Christ, and as such are going beyond created reality .

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