Scholarly record

HOLY ICON, WINDOW OF MEETING AND COMMUNICATION OF MAN WITH GOD

G. Plesca

Abstract

In a human thinking, hard affected by the indifference to soul, we want to bring into focus the Church vision about veneration of Chris icon and its impact on our days. The basic characteristic of the Orthodox Church is the use and veneration of the holy icons of Jesus Christ, the Theotokos and the Saints. The people praying in front of the icons feel that they are engaged in a live personal dialogue with the portrayed Saints of God. The icon can be paralleled as the God-loving interpreter of this dialogue and the intermediary riveting the attention of the person praying. The holy icon is the archetype of Christ in the form, inclination and the representations of the archetype; but mainly in the deeper theological content, in which the holy grace and blessing of the portrayed saint exist continuously, as in the archetype, and are communicated to the ones who show honour to Christ, who is the prototype of His icon. The holy icon is an offered help to people to remember that we are creatures of God, with a responsibility to communicate with our Maker, just like Adam once did in the Eden Garden before the Fall. The icon does not represent a painting to decorate houses and churches, but has the purpose of maintain the man connection with God.

Publication details

Back to publication list