www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall The Protestant Icon

Christianity Today sent out an email about this article and called entitled it The Protestant Icon.
I find it interesting that in a way they are acknowleging icons...

Do you think this is one? Not by our standards but theirs. Since they were doing a poll, I wondered how it would fare for us.

I know for myself personally, it was always there! I was raised Southern Baptist, it was always in the Sunday School room, in the Church somewhere, and at home. I have a peace of wood with the face of Christ on it even now. Though I never used it as we use icons, I always somehow knew Jesus was watching over me when I saw this picture.

The Protestant "Icon"
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/2006/003/11.11.html

This is the email I received about it from Christianity Today...
My first Bible was a picture Bible.

And since I was too young to understand the complicated words, I'd flip quickly through its thin, printed pages, searching for the thick, glossy images of Jesus from some of my favorite Bible stories.

Not surprisingly, in the hands of a young child, those pages faded and tore rather quickly. But the images of Jesus, familiar to Christians around the world, still return to my mind's eye whenever I hear one of those stories.

Discover the powerful role art has played in our faith and find out how one well-known picture of Jesus' face made its way into the minds of an entire generation as you read the fascinating history of The Protestant "Icon" from the Christian History & Biography channel. Then let us know what role art plays in your own worship experience by voting in this week's poll....

The Protestant "Icon" single choice
	This is a 'type' of icon.
	This is not a 'type' of icon
Votes accepted starting: 01/01/70 12:00 AM You must vote before you can view the results of this poll.

my, my, my.
the Lord was preparing you for your call to Eastern Catholicism. and we are so blessed to have you with us
Much Love,
Jonn

The article says that this picture has been placed in Catholic churches, too.

Has anyone ever seen it in a Catholic church? I haven't.

But it was definitely in the room where I first was schooled: in my pre-Kindergarten Methodist class, when I was four years old.

Logos Teen

Be to many RR Churches and have never seen this pic..have seen it at various "Christian" locations though.

james

Logos Teen,

This picture was in my Public School in Southern Illinois!

I wonder if Governor Blogojevich would allow it now? :rolleyes:

Glory to Jesus Christ!

This image has been in my home as a child and in my grandparents homes, as well. I never knew what an icon was back then, and I also never knew it to be Protestant. My Catholic School did not have pictures of Jesus; yet, a Crucifix with Corpus was in every classroom and eveery other office and cafeteria.

It does not resemble an icon to me; lowly ignoramus that I am... I still love much of the Holy Catholic Art like this, however, I am more in tune with traditional icons, due to their teachings and also because they do not suggest our own vanity in reflecting our own image.

Dear Grapevine,
I agree with you. This is a religious picture not an Eastern Orthodox icon that conforms to canonical norms. This picture is realistic religious art; icons portray the divinized bodies of the age to come.
Orest

I agree with Orest that icons show spiritual realities. I also believe that this was a western way of showing such a spiritual reality.

In Rome, human models were not used to give details to the statuary or images of gods, which is why the same statues can be seen over and over again because they relied on previous renditions. There were certain styles that epitomized the beauty and strength they believed such a god should possess. The statues showed what the believed to be a spiritual reality and not a physical one.

Today, the west has kept this same format, even if they have changed spiritual realities they are depicting or artistic norms for how to do it. The image was stylized to be what the painter thought was the perfection found in Jesus, showing His beauty, His grace, His love, His friendship. While definitely not an icon by our terms, I do think it is attempting to do the very same thing and is therefore a type of icon. Somewhat like a shadow of the truth. We know where the Lord's grace is, but not where it isn't. That type of thing.

Salman's head of Christ is most certainly an icon for Protestants but so is DaVinci's Last Supper, The Bible itself, Pastor's without robes, pulpits, the empty cross, etc. etc.

CDL

In a way it is, and in a way it isn't. They're using it LIKE an icon, but it doesn't portray a spiritual reality, and it certainly isn't an Eastern icon.

No.

my two cents:

Artistically, this is not an icon.
Spiritually, this is very much an icon.

-- John

I grew up in a small town which was primarily Protestant. I have seen this painting in friend's homes both Protestant and Roman Catholic.

I think it is lovely; but not an icon. The icon has to have certain stylistic elements and usually is symbolic and/or a scripture scene.

I read that an Epicopalian church here in the city recently commissioned an Orthodox iconographer to do an icon of St. John the Evangelist who is the patron saint of their local parish.

Dear John,

As usual, I *like* your two cents!

The dictionary says this:

Icon: a picture, image, or other representation.

In modern Greek, we use the word 'eikona' for an image, even in a secular way.

Therefore, this picture, technically and academically speaking, is indeed an 'icon'.

...and a powerfully spiritually speaking one at that!

In Christ,
Alice

Okay, Alice, I agree that in a very general sense as defined by the dictionary this could be considered an icon. The term icon can be used for many things. We even say movie star legends are icons these days.

I do not see it as an icon in a traditional way or as I can guess an iconographer would see it.

Like I said..it is lovely and I do agree with you an "icon" as the dictionary defines it...but the meaning goes beyond it. At least to me..an icon is much more than a picture, painting, or nice image. I love stained glass windows, but don't consider those images icons. Perhaps you do.


My two cents,

Porter

Dear Mary Jo,

Ooops sorry. I hadn't read your post when I responded to John's. I was just having some fun adding to his comments...

I didn't mean to insult you at all or your thoughts and comments. Please forgive me if I have insulted you or if I have offended you. It most certainly was not my intention.

God bless you,
Alice ( who thinks that this is probably all much vain talk about something we all know, agree, and accept, is not an icon in the Eastern sense! )

No, obviously not an icon, but certainly universally present in my unchurched but very Protestant upbringing(pm me if that doesn't make sense). I have seen it in a Catholic church at least once.
For me it is an image that evokes my childhood, but not a spiritual truth about Christ.
There is a recent painting that does convey a spiritual truth that I always find very moving. It breaks the rules of icons, I think, but it reminds me of God's love and tender care for us-it is an image of one man, clearly meant to be Jesus, holding up another man who is sagging in his arms. Jesus is holding the weary unfortunate man from behind, supporting him under the arms. He will lift Him and carry him like a child if the need arises, but at the moment portrayed in the painting He is giving the man both rest and strength. He looks like a man in a boxing ring who has fallen on the ropes, and Jesus is supporting him as the ropes would. Without the arms of Christ supporting him, the man would fall and looks unable to get back up on his own. I see myself in that man, the whole weight of my life sagging, pulling me down, yet being supported by Christ.

I've seen the picture in both Catholic and Protestant settings over the years, but never knew anything of its provenance. It's certainly not an icon as we typically think of one. IMO, it is neither the most inspiring religious art nor great art as I think of such - being rather bland to my admittedly non-connosieur's eye. I do think it has about it a peaceful, spiritual sense though.

Many years,

Neil