More Information on Skete Commissions

The Ascending Christ, Churchdown

Commission Focus

This commission was completed some while ago, for a new church at Churchdown, near Cheltenham. The building is typical of many modern churches - beautiful architecture with exposed wood and brickwork. The challenge was to develop an icon which would be a focus of devotion for the community, while complementing the architecture: it was also necessary to ‘brighten’ the brick area behind the altar

As the architecture was largely angular, the idea of a large circle to complement this - a ‘glory’ behind the altar to focus attention on the liturgical action - seemed to be the way forward. As the brick is red and the emphasis on moving forward in the Spirit of Vatican II, the icon of the ascending Christ, with it’s gold and blue forms a bridge between tradition and renewal, and draws the viewer into prayer.

The icon is eight feet in diameter, so more than life-size. Painting the face was awesome: one had to ‘paint in faith’ -it was impossible to see the effect till one stepped back. The church has a large glass porch and the icon is clearly visible from across the road - so becomes a witness of the Gospel to passers by.

Icons For Churches

Since Pope John Paul II wrote his letter to the Bishops ‘Duodecimum Saeculum,’ directing that they ‘do everything that more works of truly ecclesial quality may be produced,’ and emphasising that ‘the rediscovery of the Christian icon’ will counteract the ‘depersonalising and sometimes degrading effects’ of mass media images, the demand for icons has been steadily growing in western churches. Both priests and people have come to realise the wealth of tradition and Scripture, as well the particular holy beauty which the icon transmits - often far more riveting than the mass produced statue.

Icons for churches range from small panel icons a quiet corner of the church to encourage personal prayer to statue sized icons of the church patron, Our Lady or Christ, and large wall panels, as much as fifteen feet or more in width. One commission, which other parishes might consider, was for a festal set of panel icons which can be brought in in procession or put out for veneration at special seasons or feast days. Another commission was for icons relating to the stages of R.C.I.A, to be used rather like the Stations of the Cross, so that understanding of the rites is deepened and the parish community can be involved in praying their candidates through them.

Fr. Paul Morton (Glasgow) with the icon of St. Bride

Lighting votive candles by name saint icons, written by Br. Cyprian (Pluscarden) and Sr. Petra Clare (Cannich)

Icons For The Home

Everyone used to have a Sacred Heart in a corner of the home! In eastern church homes, everyone has an icon corner in the home, which on feast days is decorated with a special cloth, candles and flowers. The icon, especially if it is of Christ or Our Lady is usually easily visible when a visitor enters the home, so recalls them to the presence of Christ. It is traditional to have icons of the family patron saints - sometimes a ‘group portrait’ of the patrons which may be handed down in the family. The icon of the marriage of Cana is given at at a wedding. Something a catholic family could work towards is a set of small rosary icons which could be put up in the house as a ‘domestic stations.’

The Skete often receives commissions for name saints for a particular anniversary, confirmation or birthday. Other commissions are related to professions - such as St. Apollonia for a dentist, and a group of physician saints, including Blessed Gianna for a doctor. Families sometimes club together for small triptychs for a wedding anniversary. A particular joy was doing a small diptych for the bedside table of a permanent invalid.

Icons Of Western Saints

A particular gap, for both western and eastern rite Catholics, is the lack of icons of western saints, done according to the proper theological and artistic criteria for iconography of the church. This is because Orthodox christians do not recognise western saints after the schism. Nevertheless, this has made it harder for the Catholic christian and mainstream Catholic church to experience the icon as part of it’s liturgy.

From a pastoral point of view, it has led to a neglect of the visual arts as a spiritual path and contributed to the alienation of those working in the arts and mass media. Not having icons of later western saints available, western Christians have had often had no choice except modernist secular art on one side and pretty poor devotional art on the other.

The Skete has special ministry in writing icons of western saints, and in facilitating the training of western artists to develop an authentic iconographic tradition. Commissions have included Blessed Gerard (Knights of Malta), St. Francis, St. Dominic and St. Jeanne d’Arc.

Blessed Dominic Barbari
(Woodchester)