01Section 1
What is an Icon?
- The word 'icon' comes from the Greek eikon, meaning 'image.'
- Icons depict Christ, the Mother of God, angels, saints, and sacred events using a distinctive theological aesthetic.
- They are written (not painted) according to ancient traditions and blessed by the Church.
- Icons differ from Western religious art: they are theological statements, not naturalistic portraits.
02Section 2
Why Do Orthodox Christians Venerate Icons?
- The Seventh Ecumenical Council (787 AD) affirmed the veneration of icons as an expression of faith in the Incarnation.
- Veneration (proskynesis) is distinguished from worship (latreia) — only God receives worship; saints receive honor.
- When we venerate an icon, the honor passes to the prototype — the person depicted, not the material object.
- Icons teach the faith visually; they are called 'theology in color.'
03Section 3
Icons and the Incarnation
- The iconoclast controversy (8th–9th centuries) challenged icon veneration; the Church's defense was rooted in Christology.
- If Christ truly became man and was seen, he can be depicted. To deny icons is to deny the Incarnation.
- St. John of Damascus wrote the definitive defense of icons during the iconoclast persecution.
- The Triumph of Orthodoxy, celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent, commemorates the restoration of icons in 843 AD.
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