![The Ladder of Divine Ascent Monastery of St Catherine Sinai 12th century](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/The_Ladder_of_Divine_Ascent_Monastery_of_St_Catherine_Sinai_12th_century.jpg)
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
, in the cultures of the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
,
Oriental Orthodox
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent o ...
, and
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion".
The most common subjects include
Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
,
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
,
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
s and
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
s. Although especially associated with portrait-style images concentrating on one or two main figures, the term also covers most religious images in a variety of artistic media produced by
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
, including narrative scenes, usually from the Bible or the lives of saints.
Icons are most commonly painted on wood panels with
egg tempera
Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. Tempera also refers to the paintings done ...
, but they may also be cast in metal, carved in stone, embroidered on cloth, done in
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
or fresco work, printed on paper or metal, etc. Comparable images from
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
can be classified as "icons", although "iconic" may also be used to describe a static style of devotional image. In the Greek language, the term for icon painting uses the same word as for "writing", and Orthodox sources often translate it into English as ''icon writing''.
Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that the production of Christian images dates back to the very
early days of Christianity, and that it has been a continuous tradition since then. Modern academic
art history
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...
considers that, while images may have existed earlier, the tradition can be traced back only as far as the 3rd century, and that the images which survive from
Early Christian art
Early Christian art and architecture or Paleochristian art is the art produced by Christians or under Christian patronage from the earliest period of Christianity to, depending on the definition used, sometime between 260 and 525. In practice, id ...
often differ greatly from later ones. The icons of later centuries can be linked, often closely, to images from the 5th century onwards, though very few of these survive. Widespread destruction of images occurred during the
Byzantine Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial a ...
of 726–842, although this did settle permanently the question of the appropriateness of images. Since then, icons have had a great continuity of style and subject, far greater than in the icons of the
Western church
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic C ...
. At the same time there have been change and development.
History
Emergence of the icon
![Ushakov Nerukotvorniy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Ushakov_Nerukotvorniy.jpg)
Pre-Christian religions had produced and used art works. Statues and paintings of various gods and deities were regularly worshiped and venerated. It is unclear when Christians took up such activities. Christian tradition dating from the 8th century identifies
Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
as the first icon painter, but this might not reflect historical facts. A general assumption that
early Christianity was generally aniconic, opposed to religious imagery in both theory and practice until about 200, has been challenged by Paul Corby Finney's analysis of early Christian writing and material remains (1994). This distinguishes three different sources of attitudes affecting early Christians on the issue: "first that humans could have a direct vision of God; second that they could not; and, third, that although humans could see God they were best advised not to look, and were strictly forbidden to represent what they had seen". These derived respectively from Greek and Near Eastern pagan religions, from Ancient Greek philosophy, and from the Jewish tradition and the Old Testament. Of the three, Finney concludes that "overall, Israel's aversion to sacred images influenced early Christianity considerably less than the Greek philosophical tradition of invisible deity apophatically defined", so placing less emphasis on the
Jewish background of most of the first Christians than most traditional accounts. Finney suggests that "the reasons for the non-appearance of Christian art before 200 have nothing to do with principled aversion to art, with other-worldliness, or with anti-materialism. The truth is simple and mundane: Christians lacked land and capital. Art requires both. As soon as they began to acquire land and capital, Christians began to experiment with their own distinctive forms of art".
Aside from the legend that Pilate had made an image of Christ, the 4th-century
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...
, in his
''Church History'', provides a more substantial reference to a "first" icon of Jesus. He relates that King
Abgar
Abgar V (c. 1st century BC - c. AD 50), called Ukkāmā (meaning "the Black" in Syriac and other dialects of Aramaic),, syr, ܐܒܓܪ ܚܡܝܫܝܐ ܐܘܟܡܐ, ʾAḇgar Ḥmīšāyā ʾUkkāmā, hy, Աբգար Ե Եդեսացի, Abgar Hingeror ...
of
Edessa
Edessa (; grc, Ἔδεσσα, Édessa) was an ancient city (''polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, founded during the Hellenistic period by King Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the Seleucid Empire. It later became capital of the Kingdom of Osroene ...
(died ) sent a letter to Jesus at Jerusalem, asking Jesus to come and heal him of an illness. This version of the Abgar story does not mention an image, but a later account found in the Syriac ''
Doctrine of Addai
The ''Doctrine of Addai'' (Syriac: ܡܠܦܢܘܬܐ ܕܐܕܝ ܫܠܝܚܐ ''Malp̄ānūṯā d-Addai Šlīḥā'') is a Syriac Christian text, written in the late 4th or early 5th century CE. It recounts the legend of the Image of Edessa as well as the ...
'' () mentions a painted image of Jesus in the story; and even later, in the 6th-century account given by
Evagrius Scholasticus
Evagrius Scholasticus ( el, Εὐάγριος Σχολαστικός) was a Syrian scholar and intellectual living in the 6th century AD, and an aide to the patriarch Gregory of Antioch. His surviving work, ''Ecclesiastical History'' (), compris ...
, the painted image transforms into an image that miraculously appeared on a towel when Christ pressed the cloth to his wet face. Further legends relate that the cloth remained in Edessa until the 10th century, when it was taken by General
John Kourkouas
John Kourkouas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Κουρκούας, Ioannes Kourkouas, ), also transliterated as Kurkuas or Curcuas, was one of the most important generals of the Byzantine Empire. His success in battles against the Muslim states in the Ea ...
to
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
. It went missing in 1204 when
Crusaders
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
sacked Constantinople, but by then numerous copies had firmly established its iconic type.
The 4th-century Christian
Aelius Lampridius
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, Caesar (title), designated heirs and Roman usurper, usurpers from 117 to 284. S ...
produced the earliest known written records of Christian images treated like icons (in a
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
or
Gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
context) in his ''Life of Alexander Severus'' (xxix) that formed part of the ''
Augustan History
The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...
''. According to Lampridius, the emperor
Alexander Severus
Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander (1 October 208 – 21/22 March 235) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 222 until 235. He was the last emperor from the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his slain cousin Elagabalus in 222. Alexander himself was ...
(), himself not a Christian, had kept a domestic chapel for the
veneration
Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...
of images of deified emperors, of portraits of his ancestors, and of Christ,
Apollonius,
Orpheus
Orpheus (; Ancient Greek: Ὀρφεύς, classical pronunciation: ; french: Orphée) is a Thracian bard, legendary musician and prophet in ancient Greek religion. He was also a renowned poet and, according to the legend, travelled with Jaso ...
and
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
. Saint
Irenaeus
Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...
, () in his
''Against Heresies'' (1:25;6) says scornfully of the Gnostic
Carpocratians
Carpocrates of Alexandria was the founder of an early Gnostic sect from the first half of the 2nd century. As with many Gnostic sects, one knows of the Carpocratians only through the writings of the Church Fathers, principally Irenaeus of Lyons ...
:
On the other hand, Irenaeus does not speak critically of icons or portraits in a general sense—only of certain gnostic sectarians' use of icons.
Another criticism of image veneration appears in the non-canonical 2nd-century
Acts of John
The ''Acts of John'' refers to a collection of stories about John the Apostle that began circulating in written form as early as the 2nd-century AD. Translations of the ''Acts of John'' in modern languages have been reconstructed by scholars from ...
(generally considered a
gnostic
Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
work), in which the
Apostle John
John the Apostle ( grc, Ἰωάννης; la, Ioannes ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ;) or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee a ...
discovers that one of his followers has had a portrait made of him, and is venerating it:
Later in the passage John says, "But this that you have now done is childish and imperfect: you have drawn a dead likeness of the dead."
At least some of the hierarchy of the Christian churches still strictly opposed icons in the early 4th century. At the Spanish non-ecumenical
Synod of Elvira
The Synod of Elvira ( la, Concilium Eliberritanum, es, Concilio de Elvira) was an ecclesiastical synod held at Elvira in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, now Granada in southern Spain.. Its date has not been exactly determined but is belie ...
() bishops concluded, "Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration".
Bishop
Epiphanius of Salamis
Epiphanius of Salamis ( grc-gre, Ἐπιφάνιος; c. 310–320 – 403) was the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus, at the end of the 4th century. He is considered a saint and a Church Father by both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches. He gai ...
, wrote his letter 51 to John, Bishop of Jerusalem () in which he recounted how he tore down an image in a church and admonished the other bishop that such images are "opposed
..to our religion".
Elsewhere in his ''Church History'',
Eusebius
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...
reports seeing what he took to be portraits of Jesus,
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
*Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
, and also mentions a bronze statue at
Banias
Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek ...
/ Paneas under Mount Hermon, of which he wrote, "They say that this statue is an image of Jesus"; further, he relates that locals regarded the image as a memorial of the healing of the
woman with an issue of blood
Jesus healing the bleeding woman (or "woman with an issue of blood" and other variants) is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels, miracles of Jesus recorded in the synoptic gospels (, , ).
__TOC__
Context
In the Gospel accounts, this mir ...
by Jesus (Luke 8:43–48), because it depicted a standing man wearing a double cloak and with arm outstretched, and a woman kneeling before him with arms reaching out as if in supplication. John Francis Wilson suggests the possibility that this refers to a pagan bronze statue whose true identity had been forgotten; some have thought it to represent
Aesculapius, the Greek god of healing, but the description of the standing figure and the woman kneeling in supplication precisely matches images found on coins depicting the bearded emperor
Hadrian
Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
() reaching out to a female figure—symbolizing a
province—kneeling before him.
When asked by
Constantia (Emperor
Constantine
Constantine most often refers to:
* Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I
* Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria
Constantine may also refer to:
People
* Constantine (name), a masculine given na ...
's half-sister) for an image of Jesus, Eusebius denied the request, replying: "To depict purely the human form of Christ before its transformation, on the other hand, is to break the commandment of God and to fall into pagan error." Hence
Jaroslav Pelikan
Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jr. (December 17, 1923 – May 13, 2006) was an American scholar of the history of Christianity, Christian theology, and medieval intellectual history at Yale University.
Early years
Jaroslav Jan Pelikan Jr. was born on Dec ...
calls Eusebius "the father of iconoclasm".
After the emperor Constantine I extended
official toleration of Christianity within the Roman Empire in 313, huge numbers of pagans became converts. This period of
Christianization
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
probably saw the use of Christian images became very widespread among the faithful, though with great differences from pagan habits. Robin Lane Fox states "By the early fifth century, we know of the ownership of private icons of saints; by , we can be sure that the inside of a saint's shrine would be adorned with images and votive portraits, a practice which had probably begun earlier."
When Constantine himself () apparently converted to Christianity, the majority of his subjects remained pagans. The
Roman Imperial cult
The Roman imperial cult identified emperors and some members of their families with the divinely sanctioned authority (''auctoritas'') of the Roman State. Its framework was based on Roman and Greek precedents, and was formulated during the early ...
of the divinity of the emperor, expressed through the traditional burning of candles and the offering of incense to the emperor's image, was tolerated for a period because it would have been politically dangerous to attempt to suppress it. In the 5th century the courts of justice and municipal buildings of the empire still honoured the portrait of the reigning emperor in this way. In 425
Philostorgius
Philostorgius ( grc-gre, Φιλοστόργιος; 368 – c. 439 AD) was an Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries.
Very little information about his life is available. He was born in Borissus, Cappadocia to Eulampia and Cart ...
, an allegedly
Arian
Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...
Christian, charged the Orthodox Christians in Constantinople with
idolatry
Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the A ...
because they still honored the image of the emperor Constantine the Great in this way.
Dix
DIX or Dix may refer to:
Computing
* Danish Internet Exchange Point, in Copenhagen
* Data Integrity Extensions, data corruption error-handling field in data storage technology
* Device Independent X, part of the 2D graphics device driver in ...
notes that this occurred more than a century before the first extant reference to a similar honouring of the image of Christ or of his apostles or saints known today, but that it would seem a natural progression for the image of Christ, the King of Heaven and Earth, to be paid similar veneration as that given to the earthly Roman emperor. However, the Orthodox, Eastern Catholics, and other groups insist on explicitly distinguishing the veneration of icons from the worship of idols by pagans.
Theodosius to Justinian
![L'abbé Ména et le Christ 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/L%27abb%C3%A9_M%C3%A9na_et_le_Christ_01.JPG)
After adoption of Christianity as the only permissible Roman state religion under
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, Christian art began to change not only in quality and sophistication, but also in nature. This was in no small part due to Christians being free for the first time to express their faith openly without persecution from the state, in addition to the faith spreading to the non-poor segments of society. Paintings of martyrs and their feats began to appear, and early writers commented on their lifelike effect, one of the elements a few Christian writers criticized in pagan art—the ability to imitate life. The writers mostly criticized pagan works of art for pointing to false gods, thus encouraging idolatry. Statues in the round were avoided as being too close to the principal artistic focus of pagan cult practices, as they have continued to be (with some small-scale exceptions) throughout the history of
Eastern Christianity
Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
.
Nilus of Sinai
Saint Nilus the Elder of Sinai (also known as Neilos, Nilus of Sinai, Nilus of Ancyra; born 4th century; died 12 November 430 or 451) was one of the many disciples and stalwart defenders of St. John Chrysostom.
Life
A native of Constantinople, Nil ...
( ), in his ''Letter to Heliodorus Silentiarius'', records a miracle in which St.
Plato of Ankyra
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
appeared to a Christian in a dream. The Saint was recognized because the young man had often seen his portrait. This recognition of a religious apparition from likeness to an image was also a characteristic of pagan pious accounts of appearances of gods to humans, and was a regular ''topos'' in hagiography. One critical recipient of a vision from
Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki
Saint Demetrius (or Demetrios) of Thessalonica ( el, Ἅγιος Δημήτριος τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, (); bg, Димитър Солунски (); mk, Свети Димитрија Солунски (); ro, Sfântul Dumitru; sr ...
apparently specified that the saint resembled the "more ancient" images of him—presumably the 7th-century mosaics still in
Hagios Demetrios
The Church of Saint Demetrius, or Hagios Demetrios ( el, Άγιος Δημήτριος), is the main sanctuary dedicated to Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessaloniki (in Central Macedonia, Greece), dating from a time when it was the sec ...
. Another, an African bishop, had been rescued from Arab slavery by a young soldier called Demetrios, who told him to go to his house in Thessaloniki. Having discovered that most young soldiers in the city seemed to be called Demetrios, he gave up and went to the largest church in the city, to find his rescuer on the wall.
[Robin Cormack, "Writing in Gold, Byzantine Society and its Icons", 1985, George Philip, London, ]
![Spas vsederzhitel sinay](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Spas_vsederzhitel_sinay.jpg)
During this period the church began to discourage all non-religious human images—the Emperor and donor figures counting as religious. This became largely effective, so that most of the population would only ever see religious images and those of the ruling class. The word ''icon'' referred to any and all images, not just religious ones, but there was barely a need for a separate word for these.
Luke's portrait of Mary
It is in a context attributed to the 5th century that the first mention of an image of Mary painted from life appears, though earlier paintings on
catacomb walls bear resemblance to modern icons of Mary.
Theodorus Lector
Theodorus Lector ( el, Θεόδωρος Ἀναγνώστης, ''Theodoros Anagnostes'') was a lector, or reader, at the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople during the early sixth century. He wrote two works of history; one is a collection of sources ...
, in his 6th-century ''History of the Church'' 1:1 stated that
Eudokia (wife of emperor
Theodosius II
Theodosius II ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος, Theodosios; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450) was Roman emperor for most of his life, proclaimed ''Augustus (title), augustus'' as an infant in 402 and ruling as the eastern Empire's sole emperor after ...
, 460) sent an image of the "
Mother of God
''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...
" named
Icon of the Hodegetria
A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of sal ...
from Jerusalem to
Pulcheria
Aelia Pulcheria (; grc-gre, Πουλχερία; 19 January 398 or 399 – July 453) was an Eastern Roman empress who advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to he ...
, daughter of
Arcadius
Arcadius ( grc-gre, Ἀρκάδιος ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the ea ...
, the former emperor and father of Theodosius II. The image was specified to have been "painted by
the Apostle Luke."
Margherita Guarducci
Margherita Guarducci (20 December 1902, in Florence – 2 September 1999, in Rome) was an Italian archaeologist, classical scholar, and epigrapher. She was a major figure in several crucial moments of the 20th century academic community. A student ...
relates a tradition that the original icon of Mary attributed to Luke, sent by Eudokia to Pulcheria from Palestine, was a large circular icon only of her head. When the icon arrived in Constantinople it was fitted in as the head into a very large rectangular icon of her holding the Christ child and it is this composite icon that became the one historically known as the Hodegetria. She further states another tradition that when the last Latin Emperor of Constantinople,
Baldwin II, fled Constantinople in 1261 he took this original circular portion of the icon with him. This remained in the possession of the
Angevin dynasty who had it likewise inserted into a much larger image of Mary and the Christ child, which is presently enshrined above the high altar of the Benedictine Abbey church of
Montevergine
250px, The Sanctuary of Montevergine.
The Montevergine, also known as Partenio or Monti di Avella, is a limestone massif in Campania, central Italy, part of the Apennine chain. It is located near Avellino, in the ''comune'' of Mercogliano. It h ...
. Unfortunately this icon was subjected to repeated repainting over the subsequent centuries, so that it is difficult to determine what the original image of Mary's face would have looked like. However, Guarducci also states that in 1950 an ancient image of Mary at the Church of
Santa Francesca Romana
Santa Francesca Romana ( it, Basilica di Santa Francesca Romana), previously known as Santa Maria Nova, is a Roman Catholic church situated next to the Roman Forum in the rione Campitelli in Rome, Italy.
History
An oratory putatively was est ...
was determined to be a very exact, but reverse mirror image of the original circular icon that was made in the 5th century and brought to Rome, where it has remained until the present.
In later tradition the number of icons of Mary attributed to Luke would greatly multiply; the
Salus Populi Romani
''Salus Populi Romani'' (''Protectress'', or more literally ''health'' or ''salvation'', ''of the Roman People'') is a Roman Catholic title associated with the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rome. This Byzantine art, Byzantine ...
, the
Theotokos of Vladimir
, other_title_1 = Our Lady of Vladimir
, other_language_2 = uk, Вишгородська ікона Божої Матері
, other_title_2 = Vyshgorod Mother of God
, wikidata = Q546241
, image = Virgin of Vladimir.jpg
, image_upright = 1
...
, the
Theotokos Iverskaya
The ''Panagia Portaitissa'' ( el, Παναγία Πορταΐτισσα; ka, ივერიის ღვთისმშობლის ხატი) also known as the ''Iviron Theotokos'' or ''Iverskaya'' in Russian, is an Orthodox Christianity, ...
of
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
, the
Theotokos of Tikhvin
The Theotokos of Tikhvin is one of the most celebrated Orthodox Christian icons. It is said to be one of the icons written by St. Luke the Evangelist. According to tradition, in the 5th century, the icon was transferred from Jerusalem to Constant ...
, the
Theotokos of Smolensk
A Hodegetria , ; russian: Одиги́трия, Odigítria ; Romanian: Hodighitria, or Virgin Hodegetria, is an iconographic depiction of the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) holding the Child Jesus at her side while pointing to him as the source of sal ...
and the
Black Madonna of Częstochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa ( pl, Czarna Madonna / Matka Boska Częstochowska; la, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, lit=Miraculous Image of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary ...
are examples, and another is in the cathedral on
St Thomas Mount
Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport.
The ancient Syrian Christian community of India trace the ...
, which is believed to be one of the seven painted by
St. Luke the Evangelist
Luke the Evangelist (Latin: '' Lucas''; grc, Λουκᾶς, '' Loukâs''; he, לוקאס, ''Lūqās''; arc, /ܠܘܩܐ לוקא, ''Lūqā’; Ge'ez: ሉቃስ'') is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of t ...
and brought to India by
St. Thomas.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
has at least seven more. Bissera V. Pentcheva concludes, "The myth
f Luke painting an icon
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
was invented in order to support the legitimacy of icon veneration during the
Iconoclastic controversy
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial au ...
"
th and 9th centuries, much later than most art historians put it By claiming the existence of a portrait of the Theotokos painted during her lifetime by the evangelist Luke, the
iconodule
Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, ε ...
s "fabricated evidence for the apostolic origins and divine approval of images."
In the period before and during the
Iconoclastic Controversy
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial au ...
, stories attributing the creation of icons to the New Testament period greatly increased, with
several apostles and even Mary herself believed to have acted as the artist or commissioner of images (also embroidered in the case of Mary).
Iconoclast period
![Goldenlocks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Goldenlocks.jpg)
There was a continuing
opposition to images and their misuse within Christianity from very early times. "Whenever images threatened to gain undue influence within the church, theologians have sought to strip them of their power". Further, "there is no century between the fourth and the eighth in which there is not some evidence of opposition to images even within the Church". Nonetheless, popular favor for icons guaranteed their continued existence, while no systematic apologia for or against icons, or doctrinal authorization or condemnation of icons yet existed.
The use of icons was seriously challenged by Byzantine Imperial authority in the 8th century. Though by this time opposition to images was strongly entrenched in Judaism and Islam, attribution of the impetus toward an iconoclastic movement in Eastern Orthodoxy to Muslims or Jews "seems to have been highly exaggerated, both by contemporaries and by modern scholars".
Though significant in the history of religious doctrine, the Byzantine controversy over images is not seen as of primary importance in Byzantine history; "
w historians still hold it to have been the greatest issue of the period".
The Iconoclastic Period began when images were banned by Emperor
Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an en ...
sometime between 726 and 730. Under his son
Constantine V
Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...
, a council forbidding image veneration was held at
Hieria
Hieria (in Greek variously ), also known as Heraeum or Heraion (Ἡραῖον), modern Fenerbahçe, was a town of ancient Bithynia and a suburb of Byzantine-era Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey). It is prominent in the city's history as ...
near Constantinople in 754. Image veneration was later reinstated by the
Empress Regent Irene, under whom another council was held reversing the decisions of the previous iconoclast council and taking its title as
Seventh Ecumenical Council
The Second Council of Nicaea is recognized as the last of the first seven ecumenical councils by the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. In addition, it is also recognized as such by the Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, the Ang ...
. The council anathemized all who hold to iconoclasm, i.e. those who held that veneration of images constitutes idolatry. Then the ban was enforced again by
Leo V in 815. Finally, icon veneration was decisively restored by
Empress Regent Theodora in 843.
From then on all Byzantine coins had a religious image or symbol on the
reverse
Reverse or reversing may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001
* ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film
* ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005
* ''Reverse'' ...
, usually an image of Christ for larger denominations, with the head of the Emperor on the obverse, reinforcing the bond of the state and the divine order.
Acheiropoieta
The tradition of (, literally "not-made-by-hand") accrued to icons that are alleged to have come into existence miraculously, not by a human painter. Such images functioned as powerful
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
s as well as icons, and their images were naturally seen as especially authoritative as to the true appearance of the subject: naturally and especially because of the reluctance to accept mere human productions as embodying anything of the divine, a commonplace of Christian deprecation of man-made "
idol
Idol or Idols may refer to:
Religion and philosophy
* Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents
* Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
s". Like icons believed to be painted directly from the live subject, they therefore acted as important references for other images in the tradition. Beside the developed legend of the ''mandylion'' or
Image of Edessa
According to Christian tradition, the Image of Edessa was a holy relic consisting of a square or rectangle of cloth upon which a miraculous image of the face of Jesus had been imprinted—the first icon ("image"). The image is also known as the M ...
was the tale of the
Veil of Veronica
The Veil of Veronica, or (Latin for sweat-cloth), also known as the Vernicle and often called simply the Veronica, is a Christian relic consisting of a piece of cloth said to bear an image of the Holy Face of Jesus produced by other than human ...
, whose very name signifies "true icon" or "true image", the fear of a "false image" remaining strong.
Stylistic developments
![Petersinai](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Petersinai.jpg)
Although there are earlier records of their use, no
panel
Panel may refer to:
Arts and media Visual arts
* Panel (comics), a single image in a comic book, comic strip or cartoon; also, a comic strip containing one such image
*Panel painting, in art, either one element of a multi-element piece of art ...
icons earlier than the few from the 6th century preserved at the
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
survive, as the other examples in Rome have all been drastically over-painted. The surviving evidence for the earliest depictions of Christ, Mary and saints therefore comes from wall-paintings,
mosaic
A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...
s and some carvings. They are realistic in appearance, in contrast to the later stylization. They are broadly similar in style, though often much superior in quality, to the
mummy portraits done in wax (
encaustic) and found at
Fayyum
Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...
in Egypt. As can be judged from such items, the first depictions of Jesus were generic, rather than portrait images, generally representing him as a beardless young man. It was some time before the earliest examples of the long-haired, bearded face that was later to become standardized as the image of Jesus appeared. When they did begin to appear there was still variation.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
(354–430) said that no one knew the appearance of Jesus or that of Mary. However, Augustine was not a resident of the Holy Land and therefore was not familiar with the local populations and their oral traditions. Gradually, paintings of Jesus took on characteristics of portrait images.
At this time the manner of depicting Jesus was not yet uniform, and there was some controversy over which of the two most common icons was to be favored. The first or "Semitic" form showed Jesus with short and "frizzy" hair; the second showed a bearded Jesus with hair parted in the middle, the manner in which the god Zeus was depicted. Theodorus Lector remarked that of the two, the one with short and frizzy hair was "more authentic". To support his assertion, he relates a story (excerpted by John of Damascus) that a pagan commissioned to paint an image of Jesus used the "Zeus" form instead of the "Semitic" form, and that as punishment his hands withered.
Though their development was gradual, it is possible to date the full-blown appearance and general ecclesiastical (as opposed to simply popular or local) acceptance of Christian images as venerated and miracle-working objects to the 6th century, when, as Hans Belting writes, "we first hear of the church's use of religious images". "As we reach the second half of the sixth century, we find that images are attracting direct veneration and some of them are credited with the performance of miracles". Cyril Mango writes, "In the post-Justinianic period the icon assumes an ever increasing role in popular devotion, and there is a proliferation of miracle stories connected with icons, some of them rather shocking to our eyes". However, the earlier references by Eusebius and Irenaeus indicate veneration of images and reported miracles associated with them as early as the 2nd century.
Symbolism
In the icons of Eastern Orthodoxy, and of the Early Medieval West, very little room is made for artistic license. Almost everything within the image has a symbolic aspect. Christ, the saints, and the angels all have halos. Angels (and often
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
) have wings because they are messengers. Figures have consistent facial appearances, hold attributes personal to them, and use a few conventional poses. Archangels bear a thin staff and sometimes a mirror.
Colour plays an important role as well. Gold represents the radiance of Heaven; red, divine life. Blue is the colour of human life, white is the
Uncreated Light
In Eastern Orthodox Christian theology, the Tabor Light ( grc, Φῶς τοῦ Θαβώρ "Light of Tabor", or "Uncreated Light", "Divine Light"; russian: Фаворский свет "Taboric Light"; Georgian: თაბორის ნათე ...
of God, only used for
resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
and
transfiguration of Christ. In icons of Jesus and Mary, Jesus wears red undergarment with a blue outer garment (representing God becoming human) and Mary wears a blue undergarment with a red overgarment (representing a human who was granted gifts by God), and thus the doctrine of
deification
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
is conveyed by icons. Letters are symbols too. Most icons incorporate some calligraphic text naming the person or event depicted. Even this is often presented in a stylized manner.
Miracles
![fedorovskaya](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Fedorovskaya.jpg)
In the Eastern Orthodox Christian tradition there are reports of particular
wonderworking
Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking.
A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturge", "thaumat ...
icons that exude
myrrh
Myrrh (; from Semitic, but see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a number of small, thorny tree species of the genus ''Commiphora''. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history as a perfume, incense and medicine. Myrrh mi ...
(fragrant, healing oil), or perform
miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
s upon petition by believers. When such reports are verified by the Orthodox hierarchy, they are understood as miracles performed by God through the prayers of the saint, rather than being magical properties of the painted wood itself. Theologically, all icons are considered to be sacred, and are miraculous by nature, being a means of spiritual communion between the heavenly and earthly realms. However, it is not uncommon for specific icons to be characterised as "miracle-working", meaning that God has chosen to
glorify them by working miracles through them. Such icons are often given particular names (especially those of the Virgin Mary), and even taken from city to city where believers gather to venerate them and pray before them. Islands like that of
Tinos
Tinos ( el, Τήνος ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2011 census population of 8,636 inhabitants.
Tinos ...
are renowned for possessing such "miraculous" icons, and are visited every year by thousands of
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on Pilgrimage, a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the a ...
s.
Eastern Orthodox teaching
The Eastern Orthodox view of the origin of icons is generally quite different from that of most secular scholars and from some in contemporary Roman Catholic circles: "The Orthodox Church maintains and teaches that the sacred image has existed from the beginning of Christianity",
Léonid Ouspensky has written. Accounts that some non-Orthodox writers consider legendary are accepted as history within Eastern Orthodoxy, because they are a part of church tradition. Thus accounts such as that of the miraculous "image not made by hands", and the
weeping and moving "Mother of God of the Sign" of Novgorod are accepted as fact: "Church Tradition tells us, for example, of the existence of an Icon of the Savior during His lifetime (the 'Icon-Made-Without-Hands') and of Icons of the Most-Holy Theotokos
ary ARY may stand for:
* Abdul Razzak Yaqoob, a Pakistani expatriate businessman
* Andre Romelle Young, real name of Dr. Dre
* Ary and the Secret of Seasons, an action adventure video game
* ARY Digital, a Pakistani television network
* ARY Digital Net ...
immediately after Him."
Eastern Orthodoxy further teaches that "a clear understanding of the importance of Icons" was part of the church from its very beginning, and has never changed, although explanations of their importance may have developed over time. This is because icon painting is rooted in the theology of the Incarnation (Christ being the of God) which did not change, though its subsequent clarification within the Church occurred over the period of the first seven Ecumenical Councils. Icons also aerved as tools of edification for the illiterate faithful during most of the history of
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwine ...
. Thus, icons are words in painting; they refer to the history of salvation and to its manifestation in concrete persons. In the Orthodox Church, "icons have always been understood as a visible gospel, as a testimony to the great things given man by God the incarnate Logos".
In the Council of 860 it was stated that "all that is uttered in words written in syllables is also proclaimed in the language of colors".
Eastern Orthodox find the first instance of an image or icon in the Bible when God made man in his own image (Septuagint Greek ), in Genesis 1:26–27. In Exodus, God commanded that the Israelites not make any graven image; soon afterwards, however, he commanded that they make graven images of cherubim and other like things, both as statues and woven on tapestries. Later, Solomon included still more such imagery when he built the first temple. Eastern Orthodox believe these qualify as icons, in that they were visible images depicting heavenly beings and, in the case of the cherubim, used to indirectly indicate God's presence above the Ark.
In the
Book of Numbers
The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...
it is written that God told Moses to make a bronze serpent, ''
Nehushtan
In the biblical Books of Kings ( 2 Kings 18:4; written c. 550 BC), the Nehushtan (Hebrew: ''Nəḥuštān'' ) is the name given to the bronze image of a serpent on a pole. The image is described in the Book of Numbers, where Yahweh instructed M ...
'', and hold it up, so that anyone looking at the snake would be healed of their snake bites. In John 3, Jesus refers to the same serpent, saying that he must be lifted up in the same way that the serpent was.
John of Damascus
John of Damascus ( ar, يوحنا الدمشقي, Yūḥanna ad-Dimashqī; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Δαμασκηνός, Ioánnēs ho Damaskēnós, ; la, Ioannes Damascenus) or John Damascene was a Christian monk, priest, hymnographer, and a ...
also regarded the brazen serpent as an icon. Further, Jesus Christ himself is called the "image of the invisible God" in Colossians 1:15, and is therefore in one sense an icon. As people are also made in God's images, people are also considered to be living icons, and are therefore "
censed
A thurible (via Old French from Medieval Latin ) is a metal censer suspended from chains, in which incense is burned during worship services. It is used in Christian churches including the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Assyrian Church of th ...
" along with painted icons during Orthodox prayer services.
According to John of Damascus, anyone who tries to destroy icons "is the enemy of Christ, the Holy Mother of God and the saints, and is the defender of the Devil and his demons". This is because the theology behind icons is closely tied to the Incarnational theology of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, so that attacks on icons typically have the effect of undermining or attacking the Incarnation of Jesus himself as elucidated in the Ecumenical Councils.
Basil of Caesarea
Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great ( grc, Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, ''Hágios Basíleios ho Mégas''; cop, Ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ Ⲃⲁⲥⲓⲗⲓⲟⲥ; 330 – January 1 or 2, 379), was a bishop of Ca ...
, in his writing ''On the Holy Spirit'', says: "The honor paid to the image passes to the prototype". He also illustrates the concept by saying, "If I point to a statue of Caesar and ask you 'Who is that?', your answer would properly be, 'It is Caesar.' When you say such you do not mean that the stone itself is Caesar, but rather, the name and honor you ascribe to the statue passes over to the original, the archetype, Caesar himself." This is thus the approach to icons; to kiss an icon of Jesus, in the Eastern Orthodox view, is to show love towards Jesus himself, not mere wood and paint making up the physical substance of the icon. Worship of the icon as somehow entirely separate from its prototype is expressly forbidden by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
Icons are often illuminated with a candle or jar of oil with a wick. (Beeswax for candles and olive oil for oil lamps are preferred because they burn very cleanly, although other materials are sometimes used.) The illumination of religious images with lamps or candles is an ancient practice pre-dating Christianity.
File:Eastern Orthodox prayer corner.jpg, A fairly elaborate Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
icon corner as would be found in a private home.
File:Vsex skorbyashix Radost (litografia).jpg, A precious Russian icon of Joy of All Who Sorrow
In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Christianity, the Joy of all who sorrow, or the Joy of all afflicted (russian: Всех скорбящих Радость) is a title given to the Theotokos (Mary, the mother of Jesus). The iconography is ...
, 1862
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria.
* January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico.
* January ...
.
File:Italo-Byzantinischer Maler des 13. Jahrhunderts 001.jpg, A somewhat disinterested treatment of the emotional subject and painstaking attention to the throne and other details of the material world distinguish this Italo-Byzantine
Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...
work by a medieval Sicilian master from works by imperial icon-painters of Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
.
Icon painting tradition by region
Byzantine Empire
![Ohrid annunciation icon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Ohrid_annunciation_icon.jpg)
Of the icon painting tradition that developed in Byzantium, with Constantinople as the chief city, we have only a few icons from the 11th century and none preceding them, in part because of the Iconoclastic reforms during which many were destroyed or lost, and also because of plundering by the
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
in 1204 during the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, and finally the
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...
in 1453.
It was only in the
Komnenian period
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Komnenos dynasty for a period of 104 years, from 1081 to about 1185. The ''Komnenian'' (also spelled ''Comnenian'') period comprises the reigns of five emperors, Alexios I Komnenos, Alexios I, Jo ...
(1081–1185) that the cult of the icon became widespread in the Byzantine world, partly on account of the dearth of richer materials (such as mosaics,
ivory
Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals is ...
, and
vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also called porcelain enamel, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between . The powder melts, flows, and then hardens to a smooth, durable vitreous coating. The word comes from the Lati ...
s), but also because an ''
iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...
'' a special screen for icons was introduced then in ecclesiastical practice. The style of the time was severe, hieratic and distant.
In the late Comnenian period this severity softened, and emotion, formerly avoided, entered icon painting. Major monuments for this change include the murals at
Daphni Monastery
Daphni or Dafni (Modern Greek: Δαφνί; Katharevousa: Δαφνίον, ''Daphnion'') is an eleventh-century Byzantine monastery northwest of central Athens in the suburb of Chaidari, south of Athinon Avenue ( GR-8A). It is situated near the f ...
() and the
Church of St. Panteleimon near
Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
(1164). The
Theotokos of Vladimir
, other_title_1 = Our Lady of Vladimir
, other_language_2 = uk, Вишгородська ікона Божої Матері
, other_title_2 = Vyshgorod Mother of God
, wikidata = Q546241
, image = Virgin of Vladimir.jpg
, image_upright = 1
...
() is probably the most representative example of the new trend towards spirituality and emotion.
The tendency toward emotionalism in icons continued in the
Paleologan period, which began in 1261. Palaiologan art reached its pinnacle in mosaics such as those of
Chora Church
'' '' tr, Kariye Mosque''
, image = Chora Church Constantinople 2007 panorama 002.jpg
, caption = Exterior rear view
, map_type = Istanbul Fatih
, map_size = 220px
, map_caption ...
. In the last half of the 14th century, Palaiologan saints were painted in an exaggerated manner, very slim and in contorted positions – a style known as the Palaiologan Mannerism, of which
Ochrid's Annunciation is a superb example.
After 1453, the Byzantine tradition was carried on in regions previously influenced by its religion and culture—in the Balkans, Russia, and other Slavic countries,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
and
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
in the Caucasus, and among Eastern Orthodox minorities in the Islamic world. In the Greek-speaking world
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
, ruled by
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
until the mid-17th century, was an important centre of painted icons, as home of the
Cretan School
Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becom ...
, exporting many to Europe.
Crete
Crete was under Venetian control from 1204 and became a thriving center of art with eventually a , or organized painter's guild, the
Guild of Saint Luke
The Guild of Saint Luke was the most common name for a city guild for painters and other artists in early modern Europe, especially in the Low Countries. They were named in honor of the Evangelist Luke, the patron saint of artists, who was ide ...
, on Western lines. Cretan painting was heavily patronized both by Catholics of Venetian territories and by Eastern Orthodox. For ease of transport, Cretan painters specialized in panel paintings, and developed the ability to work in many styles to fit the taste of various patrons.
El Greco
Domḗnikos Theotokópoulos ( el, Δομήνικος Θεοτοκόπουλος ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco ("The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance. "El G ...
, who moved to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
after establishing his reputation in Crete, is the most famous artist of the school, who continued to use many Byzantine conventions in his works. In 1669 the city of Heraklion, on Crete, which at one time boasted at least 120 painters, finally fell to the Turks, and from that time Greek icon painting went into a decline, with a revival attempted in the 20th century by art reformers such as
Photis Kontoglou
Photis Kontoglou (, the pen name of Φώτης Αποστολέλης (Photis Apostolelis); Aivali, 8 November 1895 – Athens, 13 July 1965) was a Greek writer, painter and icon painter.
Life
He was raised by his mother, Despoina Kontoglou, an ...
, who emphasized a return to earlier styles.
Russia
Russian icons are typically paintings on wood, often small, though some in churches and monasteries may be as large as a table top. Many religious homes in Russia have icons hanging on the wall in the —the "red" corner (see
Icon corner
The icon corner, sacred corner or red corner, ( el, εικονοστάσι - meaning red, bright-shining, or beautiful corner) is a small worship space prepared in the homes of Eastern Orthodox, Greek-Catholic and Roman Catholic Christians. It ...
). There is a rich history and elaborate
religious symbolism
A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion.
Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chapl ...
associated with icons. In Russian churches, the
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
is typically separated from the sanctuary by an ''
iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...
'', a wall of icons.
The use and making of icons entered Kievan Rus' following its conversion to Orthodox Christianity from the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 988 AD. As a general rule, these icons strictly followed models and formulas hallowed by usage, some of which had originated in Constantinople. As time passed, the Russians—notably Andrei Rublev and Dionisius—widened the vocabulary of iconic types and styles far beyond anything found elsewhere. The personal, improvisatory and creative traditions of Western European religious art are largely lacking in Russia before the 17th century, when Simon Ushakov's painting became strongly influenced by religious paintings and engravings from Protestant as well as Catholic Europe.
In the mid-17th century, changes in liturgy and practice instituted by Patriarch Nikon of Moscow resulted in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The traditionalists, the persecuted "Old Ritualists" or "Old Believers", continued the traditional stylization of icons, while the State Church modified its practice. From that time icons began to be painted not only in the traditional stylized and nonrealistic mode, but also in a mixture of Russian stylization and Western European realism, and in a Western European manner very much like that of Catholic religious art of the time. The Stroganov School and the icons from Nevyansk rank among the last important schools of Russian icon-painting.
File:Descent into Hell by Dionisius and workshop (Ferapontov monastery).jpg, Muscovite Mannerism: ''Harrowing of Hell'', by Dionisius and his workshop.
File:rublev's saviour.jpg, Christ the Redeemer (icon), Christ the Redeemer (1410s, by Andrei Rublev).
Romania
In Romania, icons painted as reversed images behind glass and set in frames were common in the 19th century and are still made. The process is known as reverse glass painting. "In the Transylvanian countryside, the expensive icons on panels imported from Moldavia, Wallachia, and Mt. Athos were gradually replaced by small, locally produced icons on glass, which were much less expensive and thus accessible to the Transylvanian peasants".
Serbia
![VergineTricherusa](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/VergineTricherusa.jpg)
The earliest historical records about icons in Serbia dates back to the period of Nemanjić dynasty. One of the notable schools of Serbian art, Serb icons was active in the Bay of Kotor from the 17th century to the 19th century.
Trojeručica meaning "Three-handed Theotokos" is the most important icon of the Serbian Orthodox Church and main icon of
Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
.
Egypt and Ethiopia
![Virgin Mary nursing the infant Christ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e2/Virgin_Mary_nursing_the_infant_Christ.jpg)
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and Oriental Orthodoxy also have distinctive, living icon painting traditions. Coptic icons have their origin in the Hellenistic art of Egyptian Late Antiquity, as exemplified by the Fayum mummy portraits. Beginning in the 4th century, churches painted their walls and made icons to reflect an authentic expression of their faith.
Aleppo
![Forty Martyrs Cathedral of Aleppo, the Last Judgement](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Forty_Martyrs_Cathedral_of_Aleppo%2C_the_Last_Judgement.jpg)
The Aleppo School was a school of icon-painting, founded by the priest Yusuf al-Musawwir (also known as Joseph the Painter) and active in Aleppo, which was then a part of the Ottoman Empire, between at least 1645 and 1777.
Western Christianity
Although the word "icon" is not generally used in
Western Christianity
Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...
, there are religious works of art which were largely patterned on Byzantine works, and equally conventional in composition and depiction. Until the 13th century, icon-like depictions of sacred figures followed Eastern patterns—although very few survive from this early period. Italian examples are in a style known as
Italo-Byzantine
Italo-Byzantine is a style term in art history, mostly used for medieval paintings produced in Italy under heavy influence from Byzantine art. It initially covers religious paintings copying or imitating the standard Byzantine icon types, but pa ...
. From the 13th century, the Western tradition came slowly to allow the artist far more flexibility, and a more realist approach to the figures. If only because there was a much smaller number of skilled artists, the quantity of works of art, in the sense of panel paintings, was much smaller in the West, and in most Western settings a single diptych as an altarpiece, or in a domestic room, probably stood in place of the larger collections typical of Orthodox "icon corners".
Only in the 15th century did production of painted works of art begin to approach Eastern levels, supplemented by mass-produced imports from the
Cretan School
Cretan School describes an important school of icon painting, under the umbrella of post-Byzantine art, which flourished while Crete was under Venetian rule during the late Middle Ages, reaching its climax after the Fall of Constantinople, becom ...
. In this century, the use of icon-like portraits in the West was enormously increased by the introduction of old master prints on paper, mostly woodcuts which were produced in vast numbers (although hardly any survive). They were mostly sold, hand-coloured, by churches, and the smallest sizes (often only an inch high) were affordable even by peasants, who glued or pinned them straight onto a wall.
With the Reformation, after an initial uncertainty among early Lutherans, who painted a few icon-like depictions of leading Reformers, and continued to paint scenes from Scripture, Protestants came down firmly against icon-like portraits, especially larger ones, even of Christ. Many Protestants found these idolatrous.
File:Archangel Michael Hajdudorog.JPG, A Western-style icon of the archangel Michael (archangel), Michael in the Greek Catholic Iconostasis of the Cathedral of Hajdúdorog
File:Czestochowska.jpg, An icon of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa
The Black Madonna of Częstochowa ( pl, Czarna Madonna / Matka Boska Częstochowska; la, Imago thaumaturga Beatae Virginis Mariae Immaculatae Conceptae, in Claro Monte, lit=Miraculous Image of the Immaculate Conception, the Blessed Virgin Mary ...
, one of the national symbols of Poland.
File:Icon Cathedral 3.jpg, alt=Icon of the Melanesian Martyrs at Canterbury Cathedral (Anglican Communion), Icon of the Melanesian Brotherhood martyrs at Canterbury Cathedral (Anglican Communion)
File:Chapkanov-Saint-Nicholas.jpg, A modern metal icon of Saint Nicholas by the Bulgarian artist Georgi 'Chapa' Chapkanov. This depiction differs radically from traditional Orthodox iconography. Legislative Council of the Falkland Islands, Gilbert House, Stanley, Falkland Islands.
Catholic Church view
The Catholic Church accepted the decrees of the Iconodulism, iconodule Seventh ecumenical council, Seventh Ecumenical Council regarding images. There is some minor difference, however, in the Catholic attitude to images from that of the Orthodox. Following Gregory the Great, Catholics emphasize the role of images as the , the "Bible of the Poor", from which those who could not read could nonetheless learn.
Catholics also, however, share the same viewpoint with the Orthodox when it comes to image veneration, believing that whenever approached, sacred images are to be shown reverence. Though using both flat wooden panel and stretched canvas paintings, Catholics traditionally have also favored images in the form of three-dimensional statuary, whereas in the East, statuary is much less widely employed.
Lutheran view
A joint Lutheran–Orthodox statement made in the 7th Plenary of the Lutheran–Orthodox Joint Commission, in July 1993 in Helsinki, reaffirmed the ecumenical council decisions on the nature of Christ and the veneration of images:
See also
* Analogion
* Christian symbolism
* Early Christian art and architecture
* Holy card
* Iconoclasm
* Orans
* Podea
* Proskynetarion
* Religious image
* Warsaw Icon Museum
* Icon of Christ of Latomos
Notes
References
*
Further reading
*
*
External links
"Iconography" at ''Orthodox Wiki''
''Orthodox Iconography'' by Elias Damianakis
"A Discourse in Iconography"by John of Shanghai and San Francisco, ''Orthodox Life'' Vol. 30, No. 1 (January–February 1980), pp. 42–45 (via Archangel Books).
"The Iconic and Symbolic in Orthodox Iconography" at ''Orthodox Info''
"Icon & Worship—Icons of Karakallou Monastery, Mt.Athos"''Ikonograph''– contemporary Byzantine icon studio, iconography school, and Orthodox resources]
"Orthodox Iconography"Theodore Koufos at ''Ikonograph''
– gallery, at ''Ikonograph''
''Iconography Guide''– free e-learning site
by icon painter Paul Azkoul
"Explanation of Orthodox Christian Icons" from Church of the Nativity
"Concerning the Veneration of Icons" from Church of the Nativity
"Holy Icons: Theology in Color" from Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese
from ''Macedonian Heritage''
"Icons" from Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
''Icon Art''– gallery of icons, murals, and mosaics (mostly Russian) from the 11th to the 20th century
''Eikonografos''– collection of Byzantine icons
''My World of Byzantium''by Bob Atchison, on the Deësis icon of Christ at Hagia Sophia, and four galleries of other icons
{{Authority control
Eastern Orthodox icons,
Christian iconography
Christian religious objects
Christian terminology
Eastern Christian liturgical objects
Sacramentals