What are Icons?

Icons are representations of the heavenly and expressions of Orthodox faith, teaching, and worship. Icons can represent Jesus, the Virgin Mary (Theotokos), the Saints, as well as the Holy Trinity, and even events from the Bible and Christian history.

The Orthodox Church uses icons to assist in worship. They are windows to heaven, and they help us focus on the divine, aiding us to understand a message which requires not outer, but inner hearing and seeing. It is important to note that the icons themselves are venerated, not worshipped; we only worship God in the Holy Trinity. In respecting these images, we pay homage to the Prototype. The visitor to an Orthodox church, upon stepping inside, should ideally feel transported into a new world, one that affirms in the most forceful way that the beauty of God’s creation is a manifestation of His glory and His love for mankind. The iconography that traditionally adorns the interior of an Orthodox church plays a major role in this affirmation.

Icons have also traditionally played an educational role in the Orthodox church, pictorially conveying the lessons that are verbally conveyed in the Gospels: art that is “a vehicle of the Gospel teaching,” in the words of Leonid Ouspensky. Perhaps most importantly on a theological level, Orthodox icons – especially icons of Christ – are statements affirming the Incarnation: “The undepictable Word of the Father became depictable when He took flesh of you, O Theotokos” (Kontakion for the Sunday of Orthodoxy).

Iconographic Art Form¹

Orthodox icons, unlike Western art, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not necessarily natural. The poses are straight, austere and serious because it is a confrontation with the Kingdom of God. They are matter of fact and not theatrical. The eyes of the figure will be rather large symbolizing faith in God; the nose will be long and slender denoting dignity; the mouth, small and the ears large, indicating humility and obedience to God – listening more than speaking. The forehead of the saint will be rather large showing spiritual wisdom, and the body will be slender from fasting. Finally, this art will look abstract and unnatural because of the inverse visual perspective where the vanishing point will not be in the picture, but in the eye of the viewer. The scene expands, rather than diminishing, symbolizing that we live in a finite world and we gaze at a window of eternity.

The Story of Prince Vladimir the Great

When Prince Vladimir the Great (Saint Vladimir of Kiev) was seeking a religion for his people (the Kievan Rus), he sent emissaries to study and report on the religious traditions of all the neighboring countries. 

When the emissaries returned from Constantinople, they described Orthodox worship at the great Cathedral of Hagia Sophia by exclaiming that “[they] no longer knew whether [they] were in heaven or on earth.” Reflecting on the beauty of the church. They concluded their report by admitting: “we know not how to tell of it.”

Learn more about the TRIUMPH OF ORTHODOXY and why we venerate icons

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1 Content obtained from “Byzantine Iconography: A Synopsis by Diamantis Cassis.”