Glimpses of Heaven

I wanted to share a few photos of the absolutely lovely interior of All Saints OCA in Northeast PA. We worshipped there with our friends and godkids during our visit at Thanksgiving. Several years ago a fire destroyed the interior of the temple; they have slowly been restoring the iconography and are nearing completion. Unfortunately, our camera chose this moment to stop working, so we only got a few shots. But I think they are enough to show how beautiful it is. I love being surrounded by images of fellow Christians and biblical figures who have gone before me when I worship; it very much provides a sense of continuity and timelessness. I love how you know that you are standing in the presence of God in an Orthodox church; there is no question as to what the purpose of the building is. We also attended vespers at St. Tikhon's Monastery the evening before and the peacefulness and beauty of the service was much-needed spiritual refreshment. We hated to have to leave. But no matter which Orthodox church I am in, I always encounter a spirit of peacefulness and awe when I am there. I am thankful for those moments with God.

Icon Workshop: Completed Icon

Well, here it is: the icon of Christ that I completed the other week in a workshop. It's 13 x 17 inches (see previous posts for materials used.) I'm still a bit shy about displaying my work. I love doing the garments on icons but still struggle a bit with the faces. I may go back and do a few touchups on his face.

American iconographers are moving toward using more English on the icons (for obvious reasons!), but the abbreviations on Christ's icons are universal and are usually kept in Greek. A brief explanation: 'IC XC' are the abbreviations for Jesus Christ. The Greek letters in the halo mean, "I am the one Who is."

The large clusters of letters on each side of the halo spell Pantocrator. From wiki: The most common translation of Pantocrator is "Almighty" or "All-powerful." In this understanding, Pantokrator is a compound word formed from the Greek words for "all" and the noun "strength" (κρατος). This is often understood in terms of potential power; i.e., able to do anything, or omnipotent. Another, less literal translation is "Ruler of All" or "Sustainer of the World."

I'm off to take another workshop next week, although I'm not sure yet who the subject of my icon will be!