For centuries icons have been recognized as tangible reminders of the spiritual reality that surrounds and encompasses the world of the senses, and as such, impart grace to the faithful who gaze upon them.
Everything shown in an icon is symbolic. The figures depicted in icons are intentionally stylized and two dimensional.
The unseen “third” dimension of an icon is beyond the natural eye: an icon is a window into the spiritual dimension.
Images above by Caroline Furlong. Top and front-page mastheads: Pantocrator. Middle: Guardian Angel. Bottom: Theotokos.
Words above by Caroline Furlong.
See these icons and more in a new EDOT Gallery show — Icons and Saints, curated by Marilyn Biles — which opens November 7, 2010 and runs until December 30, 2010. EDOT Gallery is located at the Episcopal Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas Avenue in downtown Houston.