Difference between revisions of "Icon"
(Orthodox tradition that St. Luke painted the first icons - that the tradition continued unchanged for the past 2000 years, enduring opposition which was defeated in the Ecumenical councils - also ref note re the Veil of Veronica as the first icon of Jesus) |
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Byzantine iconography is the oldest and only Christian art form which has continued unchanged for the past 2000 years. The Eastern Orthodox believe that the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the Patron Saint of iconographers. | Byzantine iconography is the oldest and only Christian art form which has continued unchanged for the past 2000 years. The Eastern Orthodox believe that the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the Patron Saint of iconographers. | ||
| − | Iconography is considered to have begun the day our Lord Jesus Christ pressed a cloth to His face and imprinted His divine-human image thereon<ref>This is according to tradition the Veil of Veronica ("true image") which she offered in pity to the Lord with which He (or she) wiped the sweat and spit from His face, also simply called the Veronica</ref>. According to Tradition, Luke the Evangelist painted the image of the Mother of God; and, also according to tradition, there still exist today many Icons which were painted by him. An artist, he painted not only the first Icons of the Mother of God, but also those of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as possibly, others. | + | Iconography is considered to have begun the day our Lord Jesus Christ pressed a cloth to His face and imprinted His divine-human image thereon<ref>This is according to tradition the Veil of Veronica ("true image") which she offered in pity to the Lord with which He (or she) wiped the sweat and spit from His face, also simply called the Veronica. [http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/veronica.htm The Holy Face: Veil of Veronica (catholictraditon.org)]</ref>. According to Tradition, Luke the Evangelist painted the image of the Mother of God; and, also according to tradition, there still exist today many Icons which were painted by him. An artist, he painted not only the first Icons of the Mother of God, but also those of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as possibly, others. |
Iconography did not develop further during the time of the Roman persecutions, but Christians did attempt to express in symbols what they wished to convey. Christ was portrayed as the Good Shepherd and in the guise of various personalities from pagan mythology. Then, when Constantine became emperor, Christians were free to express themselves. As Christianity quickly transformed the Roman Empire and replaced paganism, iconography flourished with full force. Directives concerning Iconography were recorded in the first ecumenical councils. | Iconography did not develop further during the time of the Roman persecutions, but Christians did attempt to express in symbols what they wished to convey. Christ was portrayed as the Good Shepherd and in the guise of various personalities from pagan mythology. Then, when Constantine became emperor, Christians were free to express themselves. As Christianity quickly transformed the Roman Empire and replaced paganism, iconography flourished with full force. Directives concerning Iconography were recorded in the first ecumenical councils. | ||
Revision as of 23:33, September 12, 2019
The word icon comes from the Greek "eikon" which mean "image". An icon can also mean somebody symbolizing a movement (i.e. conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly, civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.).[1] Whatever and whoever is a representative icon is regarded as iconic. There are iconic representatives or exemplars of art, history, literature, medicine, science, philosophy, and religion.
The class of graphic art forms of iconic imagery of any culture or people or religion is termed by art historians and historians in general as a particular iconography, roughly divided into ethnic, pagan[2], Jewish, and Christian iconographies[3]. Vexillology is the study of the iconography of flag imagery and worship from ancient times to the present.[4] An example of U.S. political iconography includes the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.[5], and the various memorials and monuments around the Washington Mall, including the Pacific War Memorial of the United States Marine Corps based on the famous World War II photograph taken by Joe Rosenthal on top of Iwo Jima.
In "Christian Adaptation of Pagan Iconography"[6] Spencer Alexander McDaniel presents a multitude of examples of how Christians adapted and redefined the imagery of pagan art for the purpose of illustrating to illiterate persons the purely moral and virtuous doctrines of Christianity. There is a striking total absence of images of polytheism, of fertility goddesses and gods.
In Christianity, an icon is a holy image which is an art form of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The icon is not simply decorative. Many Orthodox churches have icons on the walls and the ceilings. In the ceiling or dome is the icon of Christ the Almighty, the Pantocrator.
The Eastern Orthodox Church does not permit icons representing God the Father. In addition, icons cannot be 3 dimensional (statues). The Eastern Orthodox Church also does not permit the Virgin Mary to be depicted in an icon without Christ (excluding the icon of the Annunciation).
It is common practice for iconographers not to sign their work in the belief that the glory goes to God, not to the artist.
Byzantine iconography is the oldest and only Christian art form which has continued unchanged for the past 2000 years. The Eastern Orthodox believe that the first icons of Christ and the Virgin Mary were painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. St. Luke is the Patron Saint of iconographers.
Iconography is considered to have begun the day our Lord Jesus Christ pressed a cloth to His face and imprinted His divine-human image thereon[7]. According to Tradition, Luke the Evangelist painted the image of the Mother of God; and, also according to tradition, there still exist today many Icons which were painted by him. An artist, he painted not only the first Icons of the Mother of God, but also those of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as possibly, others.
Iconography did not develop further during the time of the Roman persecutions, but Christians did attempt to express in symbols what they wished to convey. Christ was portrayed as the Good Shepherd and in the guise of various personalities from pagan mythology. Then, when Constantine became emperor, Christians were free to express themselves. As Christianity quickly transformed the Roman Empire and replaced paganism, iconography flourished with full force. Directives concerning Iconography were recorded in the first ecumenical councils.
The Iconoclastic controversy was a dispute over the veneration of icons within Christianity.
The early church appears to have inherited the opposition to icons inherent in second temple, Talmudic Judaism. Hence, early Christians were accused of being "atheists" by Romans who assumed the absence of images meant the absence of belief in gods.[8] Origen (184-254) responded to the charge of "atheism" by admitting that Christians did not use images in worship, following the Second Commandment.[9] Canon 36 of the Council of Elvira (c. 305) states, “Pictures are not to be placed in churches, so that they do not become objects of worship and adoration.” About the year 327 the early church historian Eusebius (c. AD 263 – 339) wrote, "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."[10] Epiphanius (inter 310–320 – 403), bishop of Salamis, in Cyprus wrote, in Letter 51 (c. 394), to John, Bishop of Jerusalem about an incident of finding an image in a church in his jurisdiction: "I went in to pray, and found there a curtain hanging on the doors of the said church, dyed and embroidered. It bore an image either of Christ or of one of the saints; I do not rightly remember whose the image was. Seeing this, and being loath that an image of a man should be hung up in Christ's church contrary to the teaching of the Scriptures, I tore it asunder and advised the custodians of the place to use it as a winding sheet for some poor person." He goes on to tell John that such images are “contrary to our religion” and to instruct the presbyter of the church that such images are “an occasion of offense.”[11]
Sources
- Carpenter, John B. "Icons and the Eastern Orthodox Claim to Continuity with the Early Church," Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013.
References
- ↑ Icon definition, Dictionary - MSN Encarta
- ↑ Pagan Iconography - Voynich Portal (voynichportal.com)
- ↑ Helios in the Synagogue and Sol Invictus Burial with the Saints: Iconography in Judaism and Christianity in Relation to the Roman World, Elena Marie Durnbaugh, Anthropology/Linguistics, Oakland University–pdf (oakland.edu).
- ↑ Members of some religious sects, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses, do not participate in the Pledge of Allegiance because they have been taught that it is an act of idolatry.
- ↑ National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along the curved perimeter. It is located immediately south of the Rotunda. —National Statuary Hall - Wikipedia
- ↑ "Christian Adaptation of Pagan Iconography", Spencer Alexander McDaniel, Posted on December 11, 2017, Categories: Ancient art, Early Christianity, Greek mythology, Jesus
- ↑ This is according to tradition the Veil of Veronica ("true image") which she offered in pity to the Lord with which He (or she) wiped the sweat and spit from His face, also simply called the Veronica. The Holy Face: Veil of Veronica (catholictraditon.org)
- ↑ For example, Martyrdom of Polycarp, chapter 9; cited by John B. Carpenter, "Icons and the Eastern Orthodox Claim to Continuity with the Early Church," Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, p. 111.
- ↑ Origin, Contra Celsus, Book VII, Chapter 64; according to John B. Carpenter, "Icons and the Eastern Orthodox Claim to Continuity with the Early Church," Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, p. 112.
- ↑ David M. Gwynn, “From Iconoclasm to Arianism: The Construction of Christian Tradition in the Iconoclast Controversy” [Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies 47 (2007) 225–251], p. 227.
- ↑ John B. Carpenter, "Icons and the Eastern Orthodox Claim to Continuity with the Early Church," Journal of the International Society of Christian Apologetics, Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, p. 118.