The Trinity by Andrei Rublev is undoubtedly the most famous Russian icon. Its reproductions can be found in various churches all over the world, not only in Orthodox churches but also in Catholic, Lutheran, and Episcopalian. Even if an intelligent person is not interested in icon painting, he or she knows The Trinity. What is…
Continue readingHeritage Omitted is Heritage Denied: Recognizing Coptic Palm Sunday Practices
Recognition of the Coptic Palm Sunday practices is crucial for the politics of inclusive heritage globally as much as locally. From the early centuries, for Coptic Christians in Egypt, Palm Sunday has been a day of widespread popular celebrations that far surpasses the religious ceremony associated with the occasion of commemorating the entry of Christ…
Continue readingSaviors on Weapon Boards
Two Kinds of Social Ethos during Wartime
Icon painting is rightly considered to be the visual expression of the Orthodox tradition. The icon speaks of the Gospel, the liturgy, the hymnography, the saints, the dogmas, and the pedagogy of the church. Icons testify to the reality of God’s Incarnation, the image of God in each of us, and mystically lead us…
Continue readingMemory and Commemoration in The Lord of the Rings: An Orthodox Christian Perspective
by Stavros Piperis Late in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee finds himself in darkness and likely near death. Enemies have captured his dearest friend, and Sam lies alone, shivering and impossibly far from home. He tries to make sense of the situation, but “even of the days he had quite…
Continue readingWoman of Peace, Temple of War
by Matthew J. Milliner The Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces was sprinkled with holy water by Patriarch Kirill in 2020, but that does not mean it is holy. It has forsaken the elegant curves of a traditional Russian dome to deliberately resemble nuclear missiles (which Russian priests have cheerily blessed). The classic two-dimensional…
Continue readingEncountering the Mandylion Icon of Christ
“The indescribable glory of His face was changing through grace”—Menaion for August. Since the feast-day of the Mandylion Ikon of Christ, memories of encountering it have been galvanizing my prayer, recalling an extraordinary encounter meeting it on pilgrimage many years ago. The Mandylion Icon “Not Made by Hands” occupies a central place among Orthodox images…
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