Rus: Orthodox Ikonography - Part 2 - Functional History

Ikon Meaning & More History
The word Icon comes from the Greek word eikon which means image. Obraz is the old Russian word for an ikon. Ikon is the same word that describes the creation of man in God's image and likeness. Ikons are Apostolic, healing, and pre-date the written Gospels. The first ikon was made miraculously by Jesus Christ Himself. The next ikons were made by the Holy Apostle Luke.

There is a wide variety of ikons from different ages, schools, and ikonographers, as well as from many specific locations represented such as St. Catherine's Monastery in Sinai; Holy Dionysiou Monastery and Holy Stavro-Nikita Monastery on Mount Athos, and many other historic monasteries in Russia, Serbia, and Macedonia where there are large selections of famous and historic icons. The main centers of Russian ikon painting were the Kiev School, the Moscow School aong with the schools of Novgorod and Pskov.

Ikons were not only made in Greece and the Rus. The Georgian ikons pre-date the Rus ikons by centuries. The subject matter remains the same but the antiquity as wellas the style are definitely different. In Bosnia, Bulgaria, Macednia and parts of Armenia ikons were made and they have their place in the ikonography of the Rus because they are revered as well as sought after as additions to collections of relic ikons in many well known churches and cathedrals.

Serbian ikons are just now becoming more well known. This is attributed to their exposure during the war between Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992. Some 2000+ ikons were known to be housed in churches in Serbia. With the exception of only one all were from the Ottoman period. It is the only extant example of icon painting in Bosnia dating from pre-Turkish times is the processional icon of The Virgin Peribleptos, the image of the Virgin and Child and is painted on one side with St. John the Baptist painted on the other side. It is more popularly known as the Cajnice Beauty and is deemed miraculous. The ikon comes from the Church of the Dormition in Cajnice, a traditional place of pilgrimage. It is the work of a Byzantine artist who was probably serving at the court of the Serbian king, King Stefan Decanski in the early 14 th century.

Ikons were carried by travelers, missionaries and were often use as holy gifts or even as oferings to churches, holy men or leaders encounteresalong the way by travelers. It is not unusual for an ikon made in Kiev to be found in Vladivostok, Arkangelsk or some other far flung location where it was carried by a traveler. This is readily seen by the famous ikons of Estonia. Estonia was and is predominantly a Protestant nation. During the time of Russian Imperial domination and again during the time of the Soviet occupation, ikons were carried into Estonia by settlers, military men and commercial travelers. A document of 19th century is an interesting case in point. An Orthodox priest serving at a church in Tallinn, Estonia writes a request to his superiors in Moscow. In this letter he beseeches them to send him ikons that are "brighter and nicer", because, according to his thoughts, the beautiful ikons are needed to be an influence to the local inhabitants thus helping to persuade them into coming over to the Orthodox Church.

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