Friday, November 25, 2005
Recommendations Please...
I have a non-Orthodox (Presbyterian) poet friend who is working on a piece about icons and iconoclasts. He is trying to portray both the perspective of the iconoclasts and those who like icons...I think from the time period in which that was a raging debate. He has asked that I recommend some books that will help him to gain a better view of the Orthodox understanding of icons....why and how we use them, what they mean, et cetera. He is a researcher, and so he wants sources. Can anyone recommend for me books or excerpts from books, or possibly stories of saints, that will help him out (and that will also explain a bit of Othodox theology in a way he hasn't ever before)? I would be much obliged.
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5 comments:
what about praying with icons by jim forest? and losskey's book? did opinksy [or something like this?? "o" something] there are some others too... that i do not have readily at hand right now... but that are good background... sorry about the last name mispellings!
ouspensky's theology of the icon vol 1 & 2 -- excellent read; classic source. He should use Orthodox sources; the art and church history muggles always miss the point of the whole thing, which is theological; ie it's not about worrying about idol worship but about the nature of IC XC, also there were some strong political motivations working too.
that's it! well... i kind of had it phonetically! [should be no surprise, since i thought that were *supposed* to be guessing on the grade 1 phonics work! if i got half of a work sheet right i thought it was doing great! [of course i still find this funny... which perhaps reveals my unique sense of humour ;) ]
Sacred Doorways, by Linette Martin, is an excellent work by an Anglican Orthodox-sympathizer (with a Phd. in Byzantine iconography).
As much as I agree with dear Jenny that non-Orthodox academics tend to peer through their spectacles at the whole matter, Martin really is great.
Hey there Biss,
Well, you're getting a pretty good bibliography here. I also might recommend Paul Evdokimov's "Theology of Beauty: The Art of the Icon."
This is a very good book, and constantly remembers the most important thing, as MatJenny said, that iconography are a branch of theology, not art... though there are art elements in their creation. But even that is profoundly theological!
Ouspensky and Lossky also wrote a book together called "The Meaning of Icons" which is quite good.
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