Beauty Spirit Matter
Icons in the Modern World
Aidan Hart
Sacred Icons, images of God made man and man made God, have never ceased to be an integral part of Orthodox Christian cultures, but it is only now, after centuries of absence, that they are becoming understood again in the west. The attraction of their strange beauty and mystery is ultimately rooted in the fact that icons resonate with our innermost being as creatures of both spirit and matter.
As there are numerous excellent books about the theology and the liturgical use of icons, this volume concentrates on the broader implications of the icon’s theology for our lives in the twenty-first century; exploring the insight that icons give to such contemporary issues as ecology, the relationship between sacred art and culture or that between scientific knowledge and spiritual knowledge, the role of our bodies in the spiritual life and the nature of beauty.
‘In this astonishing book Aidan Hart takes us through the icon to the very heart
and mind of God and thus ourselves. Read this and the world will never
appear the same again - thank God!’
Martin Palmer, Secretary General of Alliance of Religion and Conservation
978 0 85244 782 6
288 pages + 32 colour plates
£14.99
See also: Techniques of Icon and Wall Painting
Face to Face
The Theology of the Icon
Aidan Hart
‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory' (John 1.14)
In Christian icons people can behold the face of the Word become flesh and the faces of his saints. This is an encounter with divine beauty, an encounter which is a profound mystery and yet one whose depths are better appreciated through the written word of the Church's theology. Such knowledge is especially useful in the Western world, where interest in icons is experiencing such a revival.
Face to Face provides a unique and concise introduction to the Orthodox Church's theology of the icon. Written both for the general reader and, with its plentiful references, for scholars seeking further avenues of exploration, the book covers the essential areas of the icon's theology from its Scriptural basis, through the writings of the saints who defended the icon against the Byzantine iconoclasts, right up to some of the most recent scholarship. It discusses current areas of interest, including the relationship between the icon's form and its theology, how icons are used, and the reception by the Western world of the Byzantine icon tradition. It is written with the authority of an author who has been a professional iconographer for over forty years
978 0 85244 710 9
108 pages
£9.99