Sacred Doorways: A Beginner's Guide to Icons

Rating:
Summary: Making Icons More Than Just Pretty Pictures
Review: I've always liked icons but I never "got" them. They were pretty, but sacred? I didn't understand why anyone would think of them that way. Then in France I was privileged to hear a lecture by a real expert about the Bayeux Tapestry which, I know, is not an icon but stay with me please. As she went along explaining the tapestry she began to read the various scenes and say things like "Because he is holding his hands this way and facing here, you can tell he is lying." I quickly realized the the Bayeux Tapestry wasn't just a comic book-like depiction of the Invasion of 1066 it was a novel!! "Well now," I thought to myself, "what's in those icons I could never understand before?" I started looking for a book. Then, my misery at not understanding was made even worse when on the trip to the Soviet Union, I met a man who trusted me enough to show me the icons he had hidden from the Soviet authorities. I looked harder for a book. Over the years, I found lots of books with collections of icons. Scholarly works on a particular schools of work were also easy to find. But I could never find a book that could help someone like me who was raised a protestant and was hooked on the printed word for information, get beyond the surface of an icon. That is until I stumbled across THIS book.

This book is a first-rate introduction to all aspects of icons from their history, to their construction, to their spiritual significance. All of this context has helped add for me, the texture and meaning I always knew was there but I didn't know how to get to. I am still a novice and I may never break free of my addiction to getting information via the printed word, but I am starting to hear the voices of the artists who made (and continue to make) these sacred images.

Rating:
Summary: Making Icons More Than Just Pretty Pictures
Review: I've always liked icons but I never "got" them. They were pretty, but sacred? I didn't understand why anyone would think of them that way. Then in France I was privileged to hear a lecture by a real expert about the Bayeux Tapestry which, I know, is not an icon but stay with me please. As she went along explaining the tapestry she began to read the various scenes and say things like "Because he is holding his hands this way and facing here, you can tell he is lying." I quickly realized the the Bayeux Tapestry wasn't just a comic book-like depiction of the Invasion of 1066 it was a novel!! "Well now," I thought to myself, "what's in those icons I could never understand before?" I started looking for a book. Then, my misery at not understanding was made even worse when on the trip to the Soviet Union, I met a man who trusted me enough to show me the icons he had hidden from the Soviet authorities. I looked harder for a book. Over the years, I found lots of books with collections of icons. Scholarly works on a particular schools of work were also easy to find. But I could never find a book that could help someone like me who was raised a protestant and was hooked on the printed word for information, get beyond the surface of an icon. That is until I stumbled across THIS book.

This book is a first-rate introduction to all aspects of icons from their history, to their construction, to their spiritual significance. All of this context has helped add for me, the texture and meaning I always knew was there but I didn't know how to get to. I am still a novice and I may never break free of my addiction to getting information via the printed word, but I am starting to hear the voices of the artists who made (and continue to make) these sacred images.

Rating:
Summary: Book delivers on a practical level
Review: To fully understand the Icon it is best if one is living in the same Tradition which created the Icon, that is Orthodoxy. Out side of Orthodoxy the Icon loses some of its deep roots, some of the mystical, which sets the icon in an "art" arena of it's own. For an icon is not meant to be viewed as "art," but as a window to heaven. Therefore the only proper place for the icon is in the Church.
The above said, the book "Sacred Doorways" is a very practical intro into the what, and why of Icons. It examines the practical physical side of the Icon...why is Christ holding his hand like that, what materials are Icons made with, and the like. Which is, indeed, needed to know so that one can begin to read the message and meaning of the Icon.
So the book is as it says "a beginner's guide to Icons," and is a nice launching pad for those looking for practical basic information on Icons. In this way the book does just what it says it will do, and that makes it a good book. Yet, it would be a shame for one to stop with this book, because the book does not delve the depth of the Icon in it's rich Orthodox spirituality. Then again it never promises to do so. The book is a good starting point, but it would be a shame to make it the start and end. It is none the less well written and easy to understand, a very pleasant read. The author is clearly very educated in the practical sense of Icons. For someone studying icons it is a good book for the library.

Rating:
Summary: Book delivers on a practical level
Review: To fully understand the Icon it is best if one is living in the same Tradition which created the Icon, that is Orthodoxy. Out side of Orthodoxy the Icon loses some of its deep roots, some of the mystical, which sets the icon in an "art" arena of it's own. For an icon is not meant to be viewed as "art," but as a window to heaven. Therefore the only proper place for the icon is in the Church.
The above said, the book "Sacred Doorways" is a very practical intro into the what, and why of Icons. It examines the practical physical side of the Icon...why is Christ holding his hand like that, what materials are Icons made with, and the like. Which is, indeed, needed to know so that one can begin to read the message and meaning of the Icon.
So the book is as it says "a beginner's guide to Icons," and is a nice launching pad for those looking for practical basic information on Icons. In this way the book does just what it says it will do, and that makes it a good book. Yet, it would be a shame for one to stop with this book, because the book does not delve the depth of the Icon in it's rich Orthodox spirituality. Then again it never promises to do so. The book is a good starting point, but it would be a shame to make it the start and end. It is none the less well written and easy to understand, a very pleasant read. The author is clearly very educated in the practical sense of Icons. For someone studying icons it is a good book for the library.