Dr. Timothy Tennent: Why Everyone Should Have At least One Icon
Icons are one of those special legacies of the church which is loved by many, but not always understood by others, especially by evangelical Protestants who find them strange and unusual. But, if you ever walk into an Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic or some Anglican Churches, you will quickly see how central icons are to their spirituality. Are these “graven images”? What should our attitude be towards icons?
Before we explore the purpose and meaning of an icon, let’s go ahead and “clear the air” by establishing that icons are part of historic Christian faith.
The “orthodox” tradition of the church was established by the early ecumenical councils and the second council of Nicaea endorsed icons as an appropriate expression of faithful Christianity. An icon, they concluded, is not worshiped like an idol, but, rather, they are like “windows” into a heavenly reality. Thus, it is a distinctive form of Christian art which is seeking to make “visible” what is “invisible.” They are windows into all that is transcendent and remind us that God’s glory and purposes radiate throughout the universe. The theology of icons clearly states that the incarnation is the premier icon in the world. Jesus Christ is the greatest “window” allowing us to see what God is like, since all the fullness of deity dwelt in Him in bodily form (Col. 2:9).
In a secondary sense, we ourselves are also God’s icons in the world. We are to be “windows” through which people can see what God is like. This is fundamental to our theology of the body. God has put us in bodies to make “visible” what is “invisible.” Our very bodies point to the incarnation. Our married bodies visibly point to the mystery of Christ and the Church. Childbearing creates a visible, relational “trinity” in the world: father, mother and child). God uses the visible to reveal the invisible. The art icons are always the tertiary expression of these “windows.” This is why icons always depict either Christ himself (the primary living icon) or Christian saints who are envisioned as “living icons” in the world (the secondary living icon). Icons are carefully designed so that the central focal points of the picture trace back to the eye of the observer. In other words, they are “written” (they say “written” not “painted) in a way to beckon you into the transcendent realities which can so easily be obscured by all that distracts us (Perhaps your cell phone has rung, or your email dinged while you are reading this!).
We live in a world which is quickly losing all sense of the transcendent.
The famous philosopher Charles Taylor calls this the movement from the “transcendent frame” to the “immanent frame.” An icon is one way of calling us all back to life in the larger, transcendent frame where everything we think or do is “framed” by the larger realities of God’s redemptive purposes in the world. So, having an icon is a simple way to register your resistance to all the determined efforts of the world to force us into a one-story universe with no ultimate purpose or meaning. Having an icon becomes a daily reminder to re-orient our hearts to him and to his purposes and work in the world. When we look around our culture and world, met constantly with signs of chaos, division, hatred, loss of meaning and purpose, we are to embody (not just speak) a message of hope and wholeness to the world. So, hang an icon on your wall! It will be like putting a new window in your house or office. It will spark conversation. It will capture your eye. It just might become a silent protest which you make to a world which has closed all the windows and lives in darkness.
As a global Christian who has ministered with those coming out faiths that used idols, I am very aware that the orthodox meaning can be misunderstood. Icons can and do function as idols for many. This is especially true with folk religionists and many global Catholics. It’s the form and meaning lesson. People define what an icon is depending on how they use them.
I’ll personally leave the icons to the confessions who use them appropriately, but I do appreciate and endorse the sentiments expressed herein. Christ is our primary “window” (Special Revelation) into the realities of our Transcendent/Immanent Triune God. And we are His “secondary windows” or workmanship to the not-yet-believing world around us.
Very interesting
During my recent struggles with myelitis and paralysis, my ecclesial brothers and sister have been the incarnate icon / image of the divine love community that is/are the Trinity. They (& the Church as a whole) are the immanent Body of Christ, the icon/image of the invisible God. When we can replace painted icons with a deeper grasp of our own ecclesial brethren as the icon of the Trinitarian love community, then we will be closer to where our maturation / completion / perfection as resurrected humanity is taking us.
I appreciate this article. There is another aspect involved as well. I have taken lessons and have embraced the process of “writing” an icon as a deeply spiritual practice. It is one bathed in prayer and is a beautiful way to connect with God. I can spend a couple of hours in my studio and feel as if I have had a couple days on a silent retreat! You are spot on when talking about a “window” which gives new insight to us.