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Praying with icons

Icons are not just pictures, they are windows into the world beyond. They play an important part in the prayer and worship of Eastern Orthodox Christians. They are stylized, painted according to ancient custom by rules handed down through the generations, and are always the fruit of prayerful attention to God. At first sight they may not be very attractive to western eyes, but paying attention to them may draw us deeper into the mystery they represent.

They are painted (Orthodox Christians would say ‘written’) using a different scheme of perspective from that to which westerners have become accustomed. In western post-Renaissance painting, the lines of perspective lead the eye to a distant point. In many icons, the perspective is reversed, so that our attention becomes focused in front of the icon, between us and it. Sometimes it seems as though the icon is looking at us, instead of the other way round. There is a sense that we are being engaged by the subject. The icons of Mary with the infant Christ, for example, invite us to contemplate the child – the angle of Mary’s head, the position of her hands, and the way she holds the child, all point to him: we are invited to give Christ the central place in our worship. The icon of the Holy Trinity gives the impression that the three persons of the Trinity are all paying attention to each other – look at the angle of their heads – and the gap in the front of the circle invites us to join in the conversation.

There is a sense of stillness in icons. The eyes of the characters portrayed seem to be contemplating some inner truth. Mouths are often small, and eyes large – the key to spiritual growth is watchfulness and attention, rather than talking a lot.

It takes time to appreciate what God may be saying to us through an icon – what we have to do is be still before it, and wait.

There are several books which can help us to understand icons better, among them:

John Baggley, Doors of Perception, Mowbray, 1987.

John Baggley, Festival Icons for the Christian Year, Mowbray, 1987.

Jim Forrest, Praying with Icons, Orbis, 1997.

Henri Nouwen, Behold the Beauty of the Lord – Praying with Icons, Ave Maria Press, 1987.