استعانت الكنيسة بالفن التصويري لتفسّر تعليمها الأرثوذكسي الذي تداخل مع حياة المؤمنين بحيوية وعيشٍ للتقليد، وخاصةً عندما صعب على الكنيسة إبراز عقائدها وذلك من جرّاء الحذر الذي فرضته الاضطهادات عليها. فكان هدف الفن الكنسي إبراز الشخصيات التي عاشت الإيمان، ليتمثّل بهم المؤمنون في جهادهم ضد قوى الشر ولحماية المؤمنين وقيادتهم وتشجيعهم للوصول بهم إلى الشهادة كما فعل المخلص ورسله وشهداؤه. فكان الفن يقدّم هذه الخدمة من خلال رموزه حاملاً هدفاً روحياً ومتضمناً لفحوى عقائدية معبّر عنها بالشكل والألوان. فهِم المؤمنون في العصور الأولى الأفكار العظيمة التي للإيمان الجديد من خلال رموز بسيطة مثل “السمكة” و “الحمل” و “الراعي” و “الطاووس”.
After the victory of Christianity, the depiction changed from symbolic to historical. After the iconoclasm and the victory of Orthodoxy, the doctrinal aspect of icon art became clear. The all-powerful officer in the dome represents the Father and the Son together. The doctrine of the Mother of God was expressed by the Virgin on the throne carrying her Son in her lap. Likewise, after the iconoclasm, the throne (έτείμασις τοϋ ξρόνου) was drawn as an expression of the doctrine of the Second Coming.
The Art of Spiritual Service
Since the faith of the Church is spiritual and heavenly, it was natural that it should be primarily concerned with showing the beauty of the spiritual world. This is not something that is easily expressed. While the ancient Greek world focused on the ideal by showing the goodness and beauty of nature, the Church, in showing the ideal, in Orthodox art, focused on expressing the state of holiness.
لم تعتقد الكنيسة المسيحية بأن الجمال محدود بالجمال الطبيعي للأشياء ولكن بفحواها. لذلك، قال القديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم: “نقول أنّ كلّ وعاء أو حيوان أو نبات هو جيد، ولكن ليس في تكوينه ولا في لونه. ولكن في الخدمة التي يؤدّيها”. فالأيقونة لا تصّور الطبيعة كما هي ولا تعتمد غايةً لها الشكل واللون، ولكنها تستخدم هذه العناصر بتقنية جيدة لأنها ضرورية للمؤمن حتى يألف روح الأيقونة.
liturgical art
Art in ancient monuments showed the basic Eucharistic meanings based on the interpretations of the Holy Fathers. Since artists put their artistic expertise at the service of the Church and its lofty goals, iconographic art became a liturgical art with lines and colors in making believers understand the mysteries of the liturgy. In the catacombs we find the image of the fish that symbolizes the Eucharist, and in Alexandria and Jerusalem we find the image of the miracle of the multiplication of the fish and the loaves as a symbol of the Divine Liturgy. Likewise, the drawing of the lamb that symbolizes the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In the catacombs also are images of the three youths in the fiery furnace, the Prophet Daniel in the lions’ den, and Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, which was considered a symbol of the holy offering. Such liturgical themes define the liturgical pictorial circle that forms a link between the circles of doctrines and feasts.
For example, when the Church calls us to leave worldly concerns in order to receive the King of all, who is accompanied by angels, Orthodox painting comes to help you practically to understand the matter as clearly as possible. The angels are depicted expressing the awe of their offering to God, and the apostles approach to receive from the hand of the Lord with the same reverence. These two icons demand to be understood in the same spirit that they present. It should be noted that no art in the world has achieved a complete and precise expression of its content as much as the icon has given and highlighted its contents. In Mystas, the icon of the angels gives the viewer a vision of the heavenly world, and in fact, Orthodox painters, with their style and technique, have succeeded in interpreting the Cherubim to raise the faithful to a high level of liturgical participation. A mere comparison between the depiction of angels in Orthodox iconography and angels in Western iconography is enough to clarify the idea of the icon and its purpose as liturgical art.
I believe that the importance of Orthodox painting has become apparent as a liturgical art that aims to make the content of the liturgy understandable to the faithful, especially the Holy Eucharist.
The Art of Sublime Theology
ليست الأيقونات الأرثوذكسية مجرد فن تزيني ديني، بل هي لاهوت أيضاً. في الغرب تزيَّن الكنائس بأيقونات تمثل درب الصليب وآلام المسيح بينما الكنائس الأرثوذكسية تزدان بأيقونات القديسين والأعياد، لأننا لا نشدد على الآلام فقط بل على حياة الرب يسوع بمجملها. يقول القديس غريغوريوس النيصي: “بينما هناك سكوت على الحائط، فإن الرسم يتكلّم عن أشياء مفيدة”.
The cross on the dome of the church makes people feel that they are under the protection of the sign of the Lord, which expresses the Christian teaching. The dome has become a symbol of heaven, and the Almighty is both the Father and the Son, which is an expression of the equality of the Father and the Son in essence. The Almighty shows that the Lord is the Creator, Savior and Ruler.
In the quarter sphere above the altar, we depict the Virgin Mary carrying Jesus, surrounded by two angels. This quarter sphere is the architectural section that unites the ceiling with the earth, and this is appropriate for the Virgin, as she is the human being who united the heavens and the earth by giving birth to Christ.
Thus, the icon has a role in highlighting the doctrine and indicating the life of faith. Orthodox painting highlights the glorified world that was reborn by divine love where the sun never sets. Orthodox art is not concerned with the natural physiological form, but rather tries to use it as an expression of thought and faith. It is not a personal art, as it does not express the personal perception of the artist as much as it expresses the importance of the incidents of divine revelation.
The Orthodox artist tries to raise the world of faith beyond the present world and our artists have succeeded in highlighting the differences between the saints depicted in icons and other people connected with the present world. In contrast, Western painting has not succeeded in showing the difference between the spiritual and material worlds.
Orthodox photography is a profound art.
If we start from impressionistic assumptions to judge the Byzantine Orthodox icon, which is an expressive art, we will be wrong and will understand it with limitations, as was the case in the West. Since Orthodox art is an expressive art, it addresses the feelings and the soul as well, since its goal is not to produce an external impression, but rather to leave an impact on the soul.
This statement becomes clearer if we examine the icons of the Crucifixion in Western art and compare them with their counterparts in Orthodox art.
Archimandrite Panteleimon Farah
Quoted from Orthodox Heritage Magazine