The Orthodox and icons

The artist in his studio

I was recently asked a question concerning art and Christianity. I made some comments in a couple of e-mails. I reprint those e-mails here, having removed all identifying information, and having done some mild editing because I think it expresses a small part of what icons are to us.

=====

The Eastern Orthodox do tend to have a much more mystical approach to life and art. An iconologist does not paint an icon. An iconologist writes an icon. That is because one is not simply portraying an event, one is writing bits of Scripture in a pictorial way. An icon is not only a window, it is also a book to be read by the believer. Think now, with me, in terms of eastern mysticism, both Christian and non-Christian.

There are strict rules for the writing of an icon, how the figures may be portrayed, what symbols need to be present, how the icon is “framed,” etc. There are also additional rules for the process of preparation that an iconologist must undergo before one writes an icon, and must undergo that process for each and every icon. You see, an iconologist is not simply drawing an icon. An iconologist is cooperating with and working with the Holy Spirit in order to create a window to heaven. But note that different Orthodox cultures have produced different looking icons. There is, indeed, variety, but not of the type we expect in modern America.

To help you understand some of the elements, think in terms of a Japanese tea ceremony. A particular dress is worn. The ceremony is done with a particular set of dishes. Only a wooden brush may be used to stir the tea, exactly so many times. If a Japanese person is asked why it is done only this way and with these rules, they would simply answer that this was the way they received it. They are not concerned with what changes have crept in over the decades and centuries. This is what they have received and the way in which they have received it. They sink into the tea ceremony and let it work on them. In the same way, the Orthodox iconologist understands all the facets of iconology and its development. Nevertheless, when they write the icon, they do not question the tradition. They simply open their hearts to the Holy Spirit, follow the tradition, and produce a window to heaven. Yes, it is mystical, but it is creative in a way that is hard to understand, even for us. Somehow an iconologist partners with God as Creator and, in a mystery, creates in a way in which no mortal by oneself can create.

An Orthodox artist may produce any type of art. But, only some of their art will be inside the Church. The rest will be in the parish hall, in the outdoors, at art exhibitions, wherever, and whenever the artist cares to display their art. This is not because the Orthodox dislike art. One need only look at the parishes, the town halls, the houses, the paintings, the decorations, etc., in countries that have Orthodox culture to realize that Orthodoxy loves artists. But, inside the church, the Orthodox believer knows that what is portrayed there is no longer mere art. It is more, much more, and only that which is much more will be placed inside the church so that all believers may look through those windows to see heaven itself. Yes, I am a mystic.

=====

The Seventh Ecumenical Council is an important Council for an artist. Why is it an important Council? Because that Council was the one that rejected the iconoclasts. It rejected the people who interpreted the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments as requiring us to be suspicious of art. While the controversy was ostensibly over icons, many Church Fathers pointed out that the controversy struck to the heart of the Incarnation.

You see, in the Incarnation, God took the Creation into Himself. No, no, no, we are NOT panentheists or some other odd variation thereof. Rather, the Creation has been sanctified in a very special way by the fact that God took on human flesh. It means that God can now be pictured in an icon. But, it means more than that. It means that physical things can also be sanctified. Water can become Holy and can wash away our sins. Cloths can be blessed and taken to the sick and they can be healed. The whole Creation can now groan for the revealing of the Sons of God, for the Creation itself shall be renewed on the day when our physical bodies shall be renewed at His glorious appearing.

Here is a quote that you will like:

Icons are necessary and essential because they protect the full and proper doctrine of the Incarnation. While God cannot be represented in His eternal nature (“…no man has seen God”, John 1:18), He can be depicted simply because He “became human and took flesh.” Of Him who took a material body, material images can be made. In so taking a material body, God proved that matter can be redeemed. He deified matter, making it spirit-bearing, and so if flesh can be a medium for the Spirit, so can wood or paint, although in a different fashion.

I do not worship matter, but the Creator of matter, who for my sake became material and deigned to dwell in matter, who through matter effected my salvation… — St. John of Damascus

So, for the Orthodox, art, whether inside or outside the Church, in fact, matter itself, is related to God and can be a medium or bearer for the Holy Spirit. Remember, though, icons are not simply art. I hope that, as an artist, you find this an exciting thought.