Icon

A sacred image used in Christian devotion, especially in Eastern Orthodox worship. Icons depict Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, or biblical events and are treated as aids to prayer.

Veneration: An act of reverence directed toward a sacred person or object, distinct in Christian theology from worship owed to God alone. Kissing or bowing before an icon expresses reverence for the holy figure depicted, not worship of wood and paint.
Tempera: A paint made by mixing pigment with a water-soluble binder, traditionally egg yolk. Egg tempera is a traditional medium for painting icons on wooden panels.
Early Christian art: The visual culture produced by Christian communities from the first centuries through late antiquity. Its painted tombs and devotional images provide early precedents for Christian iconography.
Christ Pantocrator: An image type depicting Christ as ruler and judge, commonly showing him frontally with a blessing hand and Gospel book. This widespread icon type presents Christ's authority through a direct frontal image.
Aniconism: The avoidance or rejection of images, especially images used in religious settings. Aniconism rejects the devotional images that define icon-centered Orthodox practice.
Incarnation: The Christian belief that God the Son became human in Jesus Christ. The claim that God became visible in Christ grounds the theological case for depicting him.
Gesso: A chalk- or gypsum-based ground applied to a surface before painting. A smooth gesso layer prepares the panel for the icon's painted image.
Byzantine art: The artistic traditions of the Byzantine Empire and Orthodox communities influenced by it. Byzantine workshops established many visual conventions associated with Orthodox icons.
Hodegetria: An icon type of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child and pointing toward him. The gesture directs attention from Mary to Christ, the subject of the image.
Protestant Reformation: A sixteenth-century movement that challenged Roman Catholic authority and reshaped Western Christianity. Some Reformers opposed devotional images, creating a sharp contrast with Orthodox icon practice.

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