Icons, which depict holy people or events on wooden panels or walls hold an important place in Orthodox worship. They do not purport to illustrate a scene as in a photograph, but rather to portray the subject to bring the worshipper closer to its presence. The worshipper may show veneration to the subject by kissing and prostrating himself or herself before it, in a sacred time and space inspired by the icon, which is sometimes believed to have miraculous powers.
Monk of Ura-Kidanemeret stands infront of the Holy of Holies – the inner sanktum of all Ethiopian Orthodox churches which contains the representation of the Ark of the Covenant and into which only the most senior priests are admitted.
Ethiopia – Lake Tana
Ethiopian churches are decorated with many beautiful murals. Aimed at unsophisticated country folk, these paintings convey their messages with simple but vivid clarity.
Ethiopia – Lake Tana, the Monastery of Ura-Kidanemeret
Most of the inhabitants of northern and central Ethiopia were greatly influenced by the teachings of Christ, though perhaps even more profoundly by the ideas and values of the Old Testament. Ethiopia became a land of innumerable churches and monasteries, as well as ecclesiastical schools, which for over a millennium formed the basis of its education and learning.
In Ethiopia, traditionally the most important icon is covered by veil or a cupboard.
Ethiopia – Lake Tana, Monastery of Ura-Kidanemeret
Icons are to be found on the iconostasis, a screen with three doors that separates the sanctuary from the nave of the church. The central door gives onto the altar and sanctuary, where, part of the service is performed out of sight of the congregation. The most outstanding figures on the iconostasis are often the icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist. In order to emphasize the identity of Jesus as the Son of God, Byzantine icons bear, around Christ’s head, OON, the Greek equivalent of the letters YHVH, considered sacred by the Jews.
Moldova – Kishinev, iconostatis in the Cathedral.
Early Christianity was opposed to depiction of Christ and the Saints, and rejected the idea that these were sacred. Between 730 and 843, there was a period of iconoclasm, when the Byzantine Emperor officially banned the use of icons, as part of the movement against idolatry, based on the second of the Ten Commandments listed in the Old Testament, which prohibits the making or worship of any graven image or likeness of a living creature. During this period very many icons were destroyed. Those who approved of images maintained that since God gave Jesus a material form as a human, images and illustrations were permissible, and they insisted that icons bore a symbolic value. The prohibition was lifted and replaced several times until 843, when it was permanently withdrawn. So icons were once more in use, gaining due respect and today, this withdrawal is celebrated at an Orthodox religious festival.
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