The Orthodox Icon as Non-Verbal Communication (original) (raw)

Although one might characterize the twentieth century as the era of the image, taking into account the invention of the television, cinema, etc., images have been used for communication purposes since the earliest periods of human interaction. Their properties for symbolizing, for reifying, for teaching, and for inspiring have been recognized and employed throughout cultures and civilization. The significance and potency of images is perhaps best described by the well known saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. One particular image, uplifting the communication process to its highest form-prayer and veneration-is the icon. The icon is one of the primary methods of non-verbal communication in worship. It also possesses other capacities in the realm of the educational, historical, artistic... Most commonly found, and ascribed its greatest importance in the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church, it plays a primary role in prayer and worship services. Icons must be present in every Orthodox church and arranged in a particular order. One would be pressed to find a household of Orthodox Christian faithful devoid of these icons.