27 December 2020

Eastern Rite - Iconography

Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, Protomartyr, Apostle and Archdeacon, was the first of the Seven Deacons, and also the first of the Christian Martyrs. He was stoned to death A.D. 33 by the Jews (Acts 7.58). (For the other Feast Day see August 2.)

And the Feast of Our venerable father and confessor, Theodore, brother of St. Theophanes, and composer of the Canons. For his opposition to the Iconoclasts, Theodore was imprisoned, where he died A.D. 842.

It is also the Sunday After Christmas; therefore, it is also the Feasts of Ss David, Joseph, & James December 27, 2020.
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Iconography (from Greek: εικoνογραφία) refers to the making and liturgical use of icons, pictorial representations of Biblical scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, historical events in the life of the Church, and portraits of the saints. Icons are usually two-dimensional images and may be made of paint, mosaic, embroidery, weaving, carving, engraving, or other methods. A person who practices the art of iconography is called an iconographer.

Images have always been a vital part of the Church, but their place was the subject of the Iconoclast Controversy in the 8th and 9th centuries, especially in the East. The Sunday of Orthodoxy, the first Sunday of the Great Fast (Lent) every year celebrates the reestablishment of the orthodox Catholic veneration of icons. The use of iconography is considered one of the most distinctive elements of the Byzantine Rite.

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