The Tradition of Iconography
The Tradition of the Orthodox Church is expressed not only though words, not only through the actions and gestures used in worship, but also through art- through the line and color of the Holy Icons. An icon is not simply a religious picture designed to arouse appropriate emotions in the beholder; it is one of the ways whereby God is revealed to us. Through icons the Orthodox Christian receives a vision of the spiritual world. Because the icon is part of Tradition, icon painters are not free to adapt their own aesthetic sentiments, but the mind of the Church. Artistic inspiration is not excluded, but it is exercised within certain prescribed rules. It is important that icon painters should be good artists, but it is even more important that they should be sincere Christians, living within the spirit of Tradition, preparing themselves for their work by means of Confession and Holy Communion.
Art of Spiritual Service
The content of Orthodox Iconography has been determined directly by the needs and the profounder spiritual purpose of the Church. It serves to inspire, teach, guide, and encourage the faithful in their quest towards spiritual perfection. Iconography expresses holiness and the more sublime meanings of Orthodoxy in its sacred content : the Savior, the Theotokos, the Apostles, the Angelic Powers, and the Martyrs of the Faith.
Liturgical Art
The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is the center and the essence of the Liturgy (the work of the people). From its inception, iconography was concerned primarily with this highest purpose of the Church. As such, it has attempted to contribute with its own means to the believers' understanding of the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist and of the whole liturgical drama. This is illustrated in the earliest of sacred drawings : the fish, the bread, the sacrificial lamb, the Sacrifice of Abraham etc. As iconography evolved, liturgical themes of the Communion of the Apostles, the Liturgy of the Angels, the self sacrificing one, the co-celebrant hierarchs are depicted. Simply, iconography has attempted to make understandable the sublime content of the Divine Liturgy and especially the profound liturgical act of the Holy Eucharist.
Art of High Theology
This art is not simply religious as in the West, but theological. Its themes are not simply related to religious history, but are organized according to the high Theology of the Orthodox Church. As such, Orthodox Churches are filled with not simply images of the passion, but with art depicting the life of our Lord (the twelve great feasts of the Church); the Theotokos; the Saints, the Evangelists; and the angelic powers; all under the blessings of the Lord. Additionally, those depicted are "represented" in a manner that suggests their true nature : in communion with the saints, earthly, or deprived of the Spirit of Grace.
An Art of Depth
Orthodox iconography is an expressionistic art form that seeks to convey a profounder life-experience that possesses the soul. Byzantine art therefore uses intense animated features (i.e. big eyes, small mouths, large ears), bright colors, and postures (i.e. frontal posture of saints who are in direct communion with God) to suggest the true "spirit" of the one depicted. Differences between the sacred art of the West and the East are illustrated in both the icons of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
Taken from the Orthodox Church written by Timothy Ware (Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia)
The Tradition of the Orthodox Church is expressed not only though words, not only through the actions and gestures used in worship, but also through art- through the line and color of the Holy Icons. An icon is not simply a religious picture designed to arouse appropriate emotions in the beholder; it is one of the ways whereby God is revealed to us. Through icons the Orthodox Christian receives a vision of the spiritual world. Because the icon is part of Tradition, icon painters are not free to adapt their own aesthetic sentiments, but the mind of the Church. Artistic inspiration is not excluded, but it is exercised within certain prescribed rules. It is important that icon painters should be good artists, but it is even more important that they should be sincere Christians, living within the spirit of Tradition, preparing themselves for their work by means of Confession and Holy Communion.
Art of Spiritual Service
The content of Orthodox Iconography has been determined directly by the needs and the profounder spiritual purpose of the Church. It serves to inspire, teach, guide, and encourage the faithful in their quest towards spiritual perfection. Iconography expresses holiness and the more sublime meanings of Orthodoxy in its sacred content : the Savior, the Theotokos, the Apostles, the Angelic Powers, and the Martyrs of the Faith.
Liturgical Art
The Mystery of the Holy Eucharist is the center and the essence of the Liturgy (the work of the people). From its inception, iconography was concerned primarily with this highest purpose of the Church. As such, it has attempted to contribute with its own means to the believers' understanding of the great mystery of the Holy Eucharist and of the whole liturgical drama. This is illustrated in the earliest of sacred drawings : the fish, the bread, the sacrificial lamb, the Sacrifice of Abraham etc. As iconography evolved, liturgical themes of the Communion of the Apostles, the Liturgy of the Angels, the self sacrificing one, the co-celebrant hierarchs are depicted. Simply, iconography has attempted to make understandable the sublime content of the Divine Liturgy and especially the profound liturgical act of the Holy Eucharist.
Art of High Theology
This art is not simply religious as in the West, but theological. Its themes are not simply related to religious history, but are organized according to the high Theology of the Orthodox Church. As such, Orthodox Churches are filled with not simply images of the passion, but with art depicting the life of our Lord (the twelve great feasts of the Church); the Theotokos; the Saints, the Evangelists; and the angelic powers; all under the blessings of the Lord. Additionally, those depicted are "represented" in a manner that suggests their true nature : in communion with the saints, earthly, or deprived of the Spirit of Grace.
An Art of Depth
Orthodox iconography is an expressionistic art form that seeks to convey a profounder life-experience that possesses the soul. Byzantine art therefore uses intense animated features (i.e. big eyes, small mouths, large ears), bright colors, and postures (i.e. frontal posture of saints who are in direct communion with God) to suggest the true "spirit" of the one depicted. Differences between the sacred art of the West and the East are illustrated in both the icons of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
Taken from the Orthodox Church written by Timothy Ware (Bishop Kallistos of Diokleia)