Icons –  A Sacred Art

The word “Icon” wich comes from the greek “eikon” has always been at the core of the Religious life in the Orthodox world. With just a few notes of explanation , we may begin to see with the heart rather than the mind, and discover in the icon a guide and instructor to the spiritual life and a means of meeting and honouring those who are depicted in them. Through the medium of the iconographer, heaven meets earth.

An Icon begins in prayer and meditation, during wich the iconographer “sees” the archetype- the subject he wishes to paint. The light in an Icon does not come from any physical sun, but is devine. It is the spiritual light that illuminates and transfigures the physical, and is usually depicted in burnished gold leaf. The figures cast no shadows because they are filled with the light of God. Believers can light a candle or burn incense in front of an icon, as an act of worship.

Most recommended Icons from Nazareth, are those who remind us of the life of Jesus in Nazareth, such as the Holy Family, The Annunciation and Icon of the Mother of God.