Seeking beauty: Icons

A few weeks ago, I went with a couple friends to St. George Greek Orthodox Church in St. Paul. I had never attended an Orthodox worship service before, and it was a fascinating experience. The sanctuary was stunningly beautiful. In addition to what you can see in this picture, there were icons around the entire space, grouped about two feet tall at eye-level, and it reminded me how much I love icons and how meaningful they can be for reflection.

So I bought a couple at St. George's bookstore, but I much prefer to display things like this in odd-numbered groups. Happily, I managed to fill in my trio when I found a great deal on eBay that met my very specific criteria for size and subject matter.

On the left are Abraham and Sarah with their three visitors (Genesis 18). In the middle we have Gabriel and Mary at the annunciation (Luke 1). And on the right is Christ, depicted here as the light-giver.





Then, as it turns out, I happened to find some very inexpensive paper icons in the gift shop of the Cathedral of Saint Paul during my visit. They're probably more like paintings than icons, but I thought they might be nice in my new office, so the wood-mounted ones can stay at home.

The large one is the resurrection (Mark 16), and the smaller are (clockwise from top left) the nativity, the presentation at the temple (both Luke 2), the meal at Emmaus (Luke 24), and the raising of Lazarus (John 11).





I am by no means an expert on the Orthodox conception and veneration of icons, but I know they are understood to be much more than mere artwork. The ecumenical community of Taizé has a brief and helpful explanation of icons on their website. It addresses their close connection with incarnation, comparing them to "windows open on the realities of the Kingdom of God." This understanding makes icons perfect for the visio divina practices I mentioned earlier.