Speaking about what an icon is, it should be noted that this is primarily a book about faith. Her language is colors and lines through which the morality and dogmas of the liturgical teaching of the Church are revealed. The more honest and righteous an Orthodox Christian lives, the more understandable is the language of the icon to his soul!
What is an icon
From the ancient Greek language, this word is translated as an image, or an image. The icon represents the sacred face of the Lord, the Mother of God, saints and angels. They are written by artists on specially prepared wooden boards and in strict accordance with the canon of icons.
Let's find out how icon painting differs from painting. Any artist, when taking up a brush, aims to depict all the delights and beauties of the world around us: the human body, plants, animals, sky and sun … And most importantly, the artist’s view is always subjective. But not in the case of icons! There are no natural beauties in them - mountains, architecture, trees, there is no sun and rain in them. Every space is a shining gold against which faces are presented.saints, reflected from the real world by the brilliance of this gold. After all, what is an icon? This is not just a consecrated picture, it is a sacred object. Do not confuse these concepts! The face depicted on it receives its name through the inscription, than the icon and goes back to the prototype that is depicted on it, becoming involved in its grace. At the same time, if you treat it in a careless and unworthy way, then first of all you will not offend painting, but its prototype - the One Whose name it bears! Comparing iconography with painting, one should pay attention to the fact that an exhibition of icons and an exhibition of paintings are far from the same event, since each of them pursues its own goal.
What is an icon from Luke?
Church tradition says that the very first icon of the Savior Jesus Christ
appeared during His life on earth among people. This is the very image known to us under the name "Savior Not Made by Hands". Church tradition relates the very first icons of the image of the Mother of God to the holy evangelist Luke. Today there are about ten of them in the Russian Orthodox Church. It must be assumed that they belong to Luke, not because they were painted by him (none of the icons painted by Luke have survived to this day), but as copies from his originals.
The meaning of icons in our lives
These are our prayers expressed in holy images. They are also understood only through prayers, since they are designed for a sincerely believing person who appears before them in his prayers.
The faces of the saints depicted on the icons fully and completely correspond to the ideas of believers about how the Lord looks. This explains what an icon is in terms of its meaning, because each of them depicts the face of a particular saint or saints. Each of the saints means something different for this or that person: they help someone cleanse the soul from sins, someone - in love and success. But the most important thing is faith. Without her - nowhere! An icon for a believer is a connecting “thread” with the Lord God himself…
Today, a lot of people consider themselves atheists. It seems that not believing in God is some kind of new fashion, but oh well, that's not the point. Whoever each of us worships (his own god at religious meetings of dubious content or the only Lord when visiting temples and churches), we must remember that an icon is a real asset of human culture!
