Holy Icons

Windows into heaven — the place of icons in Orthodox faith, prayer, and worship.

In the Orthodox Church, icons are not decorations. They are a theology in color — a way of proclaiming the Incarnation and of drawing the faithful into prayer.

Because the Son of God took flesh and became visible, the Church dares to depict Him. Icons of Christ, the Theotokos, the angels, and the saints are not attempts to capture earthly portraiture. They are written according to a sacred tradition that points beyond itself to the Kingdom of God.

This is why Orthodox Christians kiss icons, light candles before them, and keep them in the church and the home. The honor given to the icon passes to the one depicted. We do not worship wood and paint. We venerate Christ and His saints, asking their prayers and remembering that the wall between heaven and earth is thinner than we think.

In the church, icons surround the faithful on every side. The iconostasis stands as a threshold, not a barrier: Christ, the Theotokos, and the saints are present with the praying Church. Frescoes and panel icons together teach the faith to the eyes and steady the heart in worship.

To live with icons is to live with reminders of holiness — quiet companions that turn our attention toward God in the middle of ordinary days.