Perhaps one of the most misunderstood practices in Holy Orthodoxy is the one that the Church celebrates around the world today, in what is known as the “Triumph of Orthodoxy” (which translated from Greek would be: “The Triumph of Proper Worship”)! This morning, we celebrate the restoration of icons to the Church after years of a controversy known as iconoclasm, where the emperors ordered the destruction of the images of our Lord, the Theotokos, and the Saints…all in the name of opposing idolatry.
For the right believing Christians, we know that icons are not idols or false gods to be worshiped, but rather visual symbols of the salvation that the Incarnate Son of God has brought into the world. Icons remind us that we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses” in the Saints who are still with us. They act as windows into heaven, using the material world to help us draw closer to our Lord, His Mother, and His Saints.
After years of persecution, warping these fundamental teachings, and the destruction of icons, our Lord intervened through the works of so many courageous Saints! Finally, in the 9th century, the use of iconography in our Churches was restored, never to be destroyed again!
To those in the world who still tragically remain skeptical to the importance of icons and imagery in the Church, I often ask the question: “Is our faith in God helped or hindered by iconography in the Church? When we pray in front of an image of our savior, illuminated in the dark by candle-light and incense, is it harder or easier for us to focus on prayer and communion with our Lord?”
Imagine how we would use images to help enhance our faith, if the incarnation of Jesus Christ took place in our own time rather than 2000 years ago. Every single day, we would be watching viral videos on YouTube of Jesus healing the sick! We would see images of Christ feeding 5,000 people using nothing but a few loaves and fish! There would be hundreds of people whipping out their iPhones in Bethany, trying to capture a selfie with Lazarus, whom Christ had raised from the dead after 4 days! The image of Christ and His Followers would be EVERYWHERE, inspiring and changing the lives of billions of people throughout the world, who would be otherwise unable to go and listen to him preach on the mountain. Isn’t this what icons offer us in our own day and age dear ones?
One day soon, we will soon be able to walk into our newly renovated temple, and gaze in awe at the dome and the walls after they are adorned with images of Christ and His miracles. We will see scenes from both the Old and the New Testament, pointing us towards the Life Saving Work of Christ. As the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the saints who will be in the stain glass windows will shine with the light of the “Son”, reminding us of our own destiny to be Saints!
St. John of Damascus said in the 7th century, that when a Church is properly endowed with iconography, it can proclaim the Gospel from beginning to end, without uttering a single word. Where would we be dear ones without our Holy Icons?
I would be remised, on this day of celebrating Holy Icons, if I did not mention the most important icon that we have in the Church. On Thursday of this past week, I was blessed to serve at a funeral at St. Nicholas, and I remembered one of the verses that is often sung as if from the lips of the departed:
“I am the image of thine ineffable glory, even though I bear the marks of my transgressions. Take pity on Thy Creature O Master and cleanse me in Thy Loving Kindness. Grant unto me my desired Fatherland, making me once more a citizen of paradise!”
The faithful are reminded in that moment that each one of us is an icon! This is precisely why the priest and deacon incense the icons of our Savior, His Mother, and the Saints, followed by the living icons within the Churches. They do this because WE are the image of God in the midst of the world.
At the end of the day, all of the fasting we do during Lent, the grind that is called Clean Week, the spiritual reading, the extra services, the increased prayers, the numerous prostration…all of these things aren’t some kind of punishment or legalism that we inflict on ourselves. They are put into place so that we can answer the highest calling we humanity has, which is to become better icons of Christ. We practice these ancient teaching so that we may become better VISIBLE and TANGIBLE witnesses of our Lord’s Salvation!
May we all, despite our many imperfections and failings, continue to reflect the light of Christ in the midst of the world!