Iconostasis and the kissing of icons

[Teo Kia Choong]

I am actually keen to know more of what the word 'iconostasis' is interpreted as in Orthodox liturgy and theology. When do we kiss the icons in the liturgy and worship in an Orthodox service, and what is the import or purpose of praying before an icon or kissing it, both in practical or theological terms?

[Fr Averky]

Dear Teo Kia Choong,

An Orthodox church structure is properly called a "temple," as in the temple in Jerusalem, the most holy place of the People of Israel. Just as there was a curtain seperating the Holy of Holies, wherin lay the Ark of the Covenant, fom the are in which the people stood, so too the iconostasion is like a curtain which seperates the altar from where the faithful stand. Theologicaly, the altar ( the sanctuary which contains the Holy Table and table of Prothesis) is considered to be heaven, and the main body is earth. When the priest censes around the Church t the beginning of Vespers, it represents the Holy Spirit, and so on. At first, the iconostasion was not very high, but in Russia they grew as high as fifty feet or more. The iconostasion shows us Christ's life on earth, and has the Twelve Great Feasts ov the Church. The large icon of the Mother of God holding our Saviour represents His incarnation for our salvation, and the large icon of Him alone shows His coming again in glory. The Royal Doors in the middle usually have the Four Evangelists, and sometimes, the Annunciation, all of whose meaning is quite evident. The two side doors, or "deacon;'s doors," can have either have two Archangels or or two deacon saints. To the left ofm the Saviour is the patron saint or Feast of the church, and to the left of the Theotokos is St. Nicholas..

Very, very simply put, icons have been called "theology in color," for by using wood and paint or pigmentsand gesso on a wooden panel, is expressed what the Orthodox Church believes and teaches, somewhat like the stained glass windows in Gothic cathedrals, which showed scenes from the life of Christ or his saints, so too can people gaze upon the icons and see visually what they know to be true.

There could be no icons if Jesus Christ had not become a man, for until then God was seen only by a few and only in a special way, as in the Burning Bush, whoch actually was Christ speaking to Moses. We do not "worship" icons, we venerate them as something holy. When we look at an icon of St. Nicholas, it brings to mind his life as the true bishop, meek, merciful, kind, just, and the good shepherd of his flock. So too with Holy Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins, and so on. At Baptism, we are given the name of a saint, who then becomes our heavenly.patron. Particular saints are prayed to for various needs such as tooth problems, lost things, and so on. In the name of Christ, and by their love, humility and obedie\nce to Him, these holy men and women cast out demons, gave sight to the blind, walked on the waters, raised the dead, and worked many more miracles, so we venerate them, and as they are true friends of God, we humbly ask them to pray for us, and there are thousands and thousands of attestations that they have, and they do.

I hope that this will help you.

Fr. Averky

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Dear Teo Kia Choong,

It has been a great joy for me to read your posts for the past number of days; I wanted some excuse for communicating with you and now here it is!

The theology of the icon is in itself an image of the whole theology of the Orthodox Church.

The iconostasis (icon-screen) is a visual doorway into the Kingdom which surrounds us within the Church of Christ. The iconostasis does not seperate us from anything but rather connects us for on the iconostasis are Christ, the Mother Of God (Theotokos), bishops, martyrs, apostles, prophets & angels even. And as we stand in prayerful communion with the Mother of God and the saints we praise God in Trinity and Christ Who sits upon His angelic throne. The visual within the Church in fact literally represents the actual cosmic Liturgy of creation as it stands before Christ; the Divine Liturgy in the parish shares in this cosmic Liturgy. The iconostasis & icons & frescoes reveal the reality that our physical eyes would otherwise probably not see and our spirits thus not know.

When we pray before an icon our veneration passes to whom is depicted on the icon be it Christ, the Theotokos or saints. As we say the veneration of the icon passes to the prototype so that we are not worshipping wood or paint. The whole theology of icons in fact is based on the theology of the Incarnation of Christ; and that is why iconography was so firmly defended (even unto martyric death)by those within the Church. Others probably in this thread will explain this more rigorously in a theological way but for now let us simply say that just as Christ is truly Divine Logos incarnate so that which is divine may certainly be expressed thru what is created(no- we are not pantheists!); to deny icons is to deny that holiness may rest in anything created. Or to put it positively, the grace of God works thru the weak members of the Church and makes them glorious.

In regard to St Augustine- at times his thinking seems to be more philosophical than theological. But he is still regarded as a saint by the Church and indeed there is much of great holiness in his life which does come across in many of his pastoral writings. I believe that his writings have often been misused and misinterpreted by those who did not understand the Churchly context from within which the saint was writing.

Hoping this gives you at least some first thoughts about these issues within the Church, I pray that God guides you in His holy way so that you also may be a true image of His holiness.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Teo Kia Choong]

To whomsoever replied in response to my questions and posts,

I must really thank you all for your patience in explaining all these things to me. I am still quite new to Orthodoxy as a start, and am still seeking to learn more about what it means to be a Christian and to serve God. On my own end as a Protestant isolated from the Orthodox traditions, this attempt to understand Orthodoxy sprang from my academic encounters with Augustine, his reception within the East and West of Christendom, and coupled with that, my coming move to the USA to do a PhD in Medieval Studies.

I aspire and hope to learn more, not to let my knowledge puff me up but to direct me in knowing the ways of the Lord as testified by a great cloud of witnesses before us, in other words, the Church Fathers.