One of my favorite parts of liturgical worship is icons. Eastern Orthodox Christians, and to a lesser extent Roman and Anglo Catholics, view icons as "windows to heaven." On the most basic level they provide a reminder to us of an incident in biblical or church history and were very important in earlier times when very few Christians were literate. Icons were like Bible stories to many early and medieval believers, recalling a certain story to mind as one looked at the icon.
Eastern Christians pray before, or in their words, "through" icons. I love learning about how icons are written (not painted), with the black and dark colors going on first, then finishing with the light colors, especially white and gold, reminding us that Christ brought the Light of His salvation to a dark world.
This icon hangs on the wall of Victoria House, the parsonage of Alpine Anglican, in the dining area where we worship during the colder months, during Lent, and on special holy days. The Annunciation is depicted here, which is timely as this biblical event is celebrated by the church on March 25 (T's birthday this week), nine months before Christmas. I can sit before an icon for a very long time: praying, admiring the skill and colors, meditating on the event and/or people portrayed in the icon. I have two small ones of my own that hang above my prayer corner next to my bed.
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