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Full-Length Portraits: The Deesis & Patronal Saints
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Right to Left: Deesis - the Lord in Glory, Our Lady, Baptist, Cambuslang parish Church, over 8ft. high.; Our Lady & St. Luke, St. Luke’s Motherwell, c. 5ft. high ea.; St. Michael, Marble Arch parish Church, c. 6ft.; St. Andrew, Pluscarden Abbey c. 5ft. 6ins.; St. Francis, Maryvale retreat, 5ft. | |||||
Full length figures in church, whether statues or icons, remind the congregation that they are part of a church family which lives in both earth and heaven. In the eastern Church, the icons follow the order of a visual litany, with the icons of the Lord, Our Lady, the Baptist, and Apostles nearest the altar, followed by the rest of the saints all the way to the doors. Traces of this order are found in the placing of statues.
Half-Length Portraits: The Iconostasis & Veneration of Saints
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Right to left: Pantokrator, for priest, 18ins.; Our Lady of Vladimir, private commission, c.28ins.; Our Saviour, Colbury parish church, c. 3ft.,; St. Joseph with Child Jesus & matzah, St. Joseph’s Young Priests society, c. 16ins.; St. Barnabas, St. Barnabas Society, 14ins; St. Dominic Barbari, Woodchester parish Church, 16ins. | |||||
The half-length, or portrait icon in the iconostasis, is traditionally a focus of personal devotion. Lamps and candles are placed in front of these icons and, in the eastern church they are incensed during the service. In the eastern Church they are usually found in the iconostasis - equivalent of the rood screen. It is a popular style for patronal icons and personal devotions around the church and home.
Faces of Holiness
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Right to left (most faces between 8ins / 2 ft.) : Our Lady of Palermo, Patroness of Knights of Malta; St. Bride (Bridget of Ireland), Cambuslang parish Church; Our Saviour (Burning Eye),private commission; crucifix, (below); Loving Kindness (below); Baptist ( deesis, above); St. Paul, private icon for priest. | ||||||
The icon of a saint is more than a personal imagination of ‘what a saint means to me’ and more than a photo-realistic reconstruction. It is a portrait which expresses not only what is known of the historical character and their physical characteristics, but their spiritual character and role in salvation history. The job of the iconographer is, through prayer, study and paint, to make known the beauty of holiness.
Special Shapes
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Right to Left: Sacred heart, private commission, about 14ins. diam.; “Loving-kindness,” Hospice Chapel, about 3ft. diam.; Crucifix, Cambridge University Chaplaincy, c. 6ft.; Gospel Triptych, private Chapel, about 28ins. high; St. James “Santiago Peregrino,” pilgrimage Chapel, over 2 ft. | |||||
Icons are often commissioned for special places, special occasions, and ‘in memoriam.’ Most frequent are the circular icon, based on the dome or semi-conch, the hanging crucifix, the triptych or diptych - several icons in a portable display, and the saint with scenes from their life. The round icon acts like a rose window, softening a square room. The hanging crucifix and triptych complement plain modern churches.
The Festal Set: Feasts of The Church
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Right to Left: Annunciation, Woodchester parish Church, 16ins.; Transfiguration, private Chapel, about 3ft. 6ins.; Entry into Jerusalem, Woodchester, 16ins.; Footwashing, Woodchester, 16ins.; Anastasis (Resurrection), Woodchester, 16ins.; Ascension, Allen Hall seminary, about 4 ft. 6ins. | |||||
The tradition of writing icons of the chief events of the life of Christ, both in icons and murals, dates back to the earliest pilgrimages to the Holy Land. They are depicted on pilgrim mementoes and relics, gradually developing into a set of Holy Land Stations depicted in all eastern churches. In Woodchester Catholic parish, they are displayed on a lectern, being changed -like vestments- over the Church’s year.
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