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Week in Core |
Byzantine Page |
History Notebook |
Byzantine Religious Ikons (Icons)
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How did Christians use icons?
What is an icon?The icon, from the Greek word ikon for image, is a type of Christian spiritual art, which grew out of the Byzantine culture. Icons portray religious themes: God, angels, sacred events from the Bible, the transfigured humanity of Jesus, Mary the mother of Jesus, and saints. They are found in churches, at wayside shrines, and in homes.
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How did Christians use ikons?In a time when the general population was illiterate, those who could not read Scripture could meditate on a picture to learn about church teachings.As religious art, icons are a visual aid for worship. They are made and used in an atmosphere of prayer, or communication with God. By contemplating the holiness of the person in the icon, the believer can experience the presence of God. The painted wood or tiled wall has no value in itself, and is not worshipped. Only God is worshipped. The icon is venerated, or honored, as a symbol. Why don't ikons look realistic?The artist is not concerned about realism, but capturing the spirit of the event portrayed.What was the iconoclast movement? This was a debate about the purpose of icons. During the 700's, some Byzantines felt that icons were improper and might be worshipped as idols. These iconoclasts (literally "icon breakers") may have been influenced by Judaism and Islam. Both of these religions taught that there should be no picture made of God, since God is a spirit. In 730 the Byzantine Emperor Leo III ordered all icons to be destroyed. However, the Roman Catholic Pope Gregory defended icons, making a distinction between the worship people give to God and the veneration they give to saints and sacred objects. Gradually, icons came back into use. |
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the schism ("skizm") in the Church? The icon controversy was just one of several disagreements between East and West. In an era with limited communication, the two regions grew more and more different. For example, in the East, priests were allowed to marry, and worship services were in the Greek language. In the West, priests remained single, and worhip was conducted in Latin. The bigger issue was the authority of church and state. Since the time of Justinian, the Byzantine emperor declared that he was the head of both the church and the state within his empire. However, the Pope in Rome argued that he answered only to God, not to a human authority. He also insisted that he had authority over the church everywhere, including the Byzantine lands. When the Pope crowned the Frankish King Charlemagne with the title of Holy Roman Emperor in 800, the Byzantine Empress Irene was offended. The Byzantines considered themselves to be the inheritors of the Roman Empire. In 1054, the Church formally split in two:
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Source: http://www.udayton.edu/mary/resources/icon.html