From Spiritual Disciplines Handbook, by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, pages 62-64.
TODAY THE WORD ICON CAN MEAN anyone from celebrities and athletes to Mother Teresa. There are also “icons” to organize our laptops and populate our text messages. But the word icon comes from the Greek eikōn, which means “likeness, image, or picture.” The apostle Paul uses the word eikōn to describe Jesus Christ as the exact image (eikōn) of the invisible God. Jesus is the human eikōn who incarnates the Divine. And you who read these words are also, to one degree or another, “icons” who bear the image of God as well (Genesis 1:27).
Icons, or images of biblical characters, events, saints, martyrs, and especially Jesus, have been used in the Christian church (especially the Eastern Orthodox Church) for the past eighteen hundred years. During the advent of Islam and its belief that God was the only image maker, the Roman Church stepped away from icons. This is called the “Age of Iconoclasm” (c. 726-843). When icons were officially reintroduced, it took time to revive the practice of “writing” icons. Icons of Jesus reveal the God who came to earth incarnating His Word in person, in Jesus (John 1:1). Icons of saints render the “incarnated” truth of God faithfully “written” in a human being full of God.
Icons are meant to reveal the best possible models for the Christian life and open a door to the company of heaven. Icons are not a work of art that people worship. They are a sort of visual shorthand for what matters most. This visual language is not painted or carved. It is “written,” for it communicates unchanging truth about spiritual realities.
Writing an icon is the fruit and externalization of fasting, prayer and theology. Learning to “read” an icon tutors us in a language of reflection, mediation, symbol, and prayer. It reminds us to venerate (hold in high regard) those people whose lives are filled with the light of God. There are no shadows in icons because the light comes from within the subject. And the subject reminds both the iconographer and the viewer to live a life that delights God. My first exposure to icons was confusing. I couldn’t see the point of veneration or find anything significant in flat faces and out-of-proportion features. I thought that there was better Christian art available. Still, eventually I wanted to understand what made icons so important within the Christian tradition.
I asked people who loved icons to read them to me. They introduced me to the visual shorthand. The large eyes are portals to the soul. The large ears reveal a desire to hear the Word of God. The small mouth recognizes that often the less said, the better. The sober gladness in faces reveals the reality of life on this planet. The golden band on Jesus garment is a sign of kingship. When Jesus holds up two fingers it is a sign of his being both God and human. Gestures, wooden board, gesso, 24 karat gold halo, highlights, color of clothing, and seeming lack of originality all communicate something
The language of icons remains readable because iconography is not about artistic expression but faithfulness to the biblical story and submission to writing the eikōn as it has been given. Iconographers do not follow tradition slavishly but with prayer and an eye to see truth in the lives they portray. The icons I have written, John the Baptist, Jesus and Mary, Mary Magdalene, Michael the archangel, and St. Nicholas, remind me that we don’t merely understand through reason and intuition. We understand through picture and symbol and beauty. My icons stand beside photos of my husband and special friends. Each of these eikōn inspire me to persevere in following Jesus. They lead me into prayer and remembering what really matters
Reflection Questions
- What is your attitude toward icons, statues, mosaics, photos, PowerPoint images and so on as aids to worship and prayer?
- When has someone inspired you to live a more Christ-honoring life? How do you speak about them and honor or venerate them?
- What does it mean to you to be part of a Christian tradition that has room for so many ways of loving, worshiping and serving God?
Spiritual Exercises
Find a photo of the “Holy Trinity” icon by Andrei Rublev online or in a book. The icon is based on Abraham’s three visitors in Genesis 18 portrayed as a theophany of the Trinity the Father on the left, Jesus in the middle and the Holy Spirit on the right. Notice how the perspective invites you to sit with them at the table set with bread and wine. There is much that can be read in this painting. Let it speak to you of God’s invitation.- Find someone in the Orthodox tradition to tell you how icons have shaped their spiritual journey and prayer life.
- Visit an Orthodox church when you can simply sit in quiet and look at the icons. What is it like for you to be surrounded by the cloud of witnesses you see?