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I was
baptized at Christ Church, Woodlawn on Chicago’s South Side on
November 20, 1949, which means that I have been a Christian, and a
member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, for a long time. There
were no icons at Christ Church, or at The Church of the Holy
Nativity in Beverly (also on the South Side) where I grew up, or at
St. Paul’s in Grinnell, Iowa, which I attended while in college. In
fact, I don’t recall ever seeing or worshiping with icons at any
of the Episcopal churches I have attended over the years until the
late 1990s. Even then, my introduction came, not from participation
in the life of a parish church, but from participation in the
worship and spiritual life of Berkeley Divinity School.
I
suspect that my experience is not all that unusual, and that many of
us, even those who have been faithful participants in the life of
the Episcopal Church for many years, are as unfamiliar with the use
of icons in liturgy and personal devotion as I myself was until
quite recently.
Perhaps this is Good News. Perhaps it is an opportunity – a call –
for at least some of us at the Church of the Holy Trinity to follow
the lead of many of our fellow Anglicans around the world and begin
to explore some of the classic icons of medieval Russia as a means
of deepening and strengthening our own spiritual lives. For those
that might be interested, Andrei Rublev’s Icon of the Holy
Trinity is an obvious place to start. Not only is there a
natural affinity, given our shared name, this particular icon also
happens to be one of the finest examples of Russian iconography
available to us. Even better, there are many good resources
available on the worldwide web (as well as in print) to support us
in our explorations.
Four useful websites are:
http://www.cditrainers.org/Episcopal%20Spirituality.htm
Website of the Congregational Development Institute.
Link to Episcopal Spirituality. See discussion of icons under
“Spirituality of Beauty.”
http://www.stjohnscamberwell.org.au
Website of St. John’s Anglican Church in Camberwell,
Victoria, Australia. Select “Sermons” and look for sermon dated
June 10, 2001 which provides an excellent (and very clear)
explanation of the Icon of the Holy Trinity.
http://www.rollins.edu/Foreign_Lang/Russian/trinity.html
Part of a website developed by students in History of
Russian Painting course at Rollins College. Excellent discussion
of the Icon of the Holy Trinity from an art history perspective,
including biographical and bibliographical information and links to
related sites.
In addition, two excellent books, both in print and
readily available, are:
Praying with Icons by Jim Forest, published by
Orbis Book 1997 (List: $16.00). A simple introduction to the
tradition of icons with an emphasis on their practical function in
the spiritual life. Includes a meditative reflection on the Icon of
the Holy Trinity (which can also be accessed at
http://www.incommunion.org/icon.htm )
Behold the Beauty of the Lord by Henri Nouwen,
published by Ave Maria Press 1987 (List: $12.95). Includes
meditations on four of the great icons of Eastern Orthodox
Spirituality: The Icon of the Holy Trinity; The Icon of the Virgin
of Vladimir; The Icon of the Savior of Zvenigorod; and The Icon of
the Descent of the Holy Spirit. Also includes high-quality fold-out
reproductions of the icons discussed (suitable for personal
meditation).
For you who will read these meditations it is
important to gaze at the icons with complete attention and to pray
with them ... The words in this book come from my own gazing at
these icons and may not touch you. But if they help you only a
little to start seeing these icons for yourselves, my words will
have fulfilled their purpose and may be forgotten. Then these icons
will have become yours and they can guide you by day and by night,
in good times and in bad, when you feel sad and when you feel
joyful. They will begin to speak of the unique way in which God has
chosen to love you. (From the introduction to Praying with
Icons by Henri Nouwen)
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