Catholic Images (TAW Forum)

GoingByzantine

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True, I remember being to a mass here in the US, and they seemed kind of dull.

Hope Orthodox churches have neither of those two issues in the future.

You will never see anything close to postmodern, post Vatican II Roman Catholic parishes within Orthodoxy.

With that being acknowledged, I have certianly seen a few Orthodox Churches that are more whitewashed and sterile then most. Some Greek Churches (especially the ones built during the 1970s and 80s) in particular seem to have these problems. While they still have all the fixtures of a Orthodox temple, some of them have protestant style pews and a rather spartan and not-so accessible selection of icons. Other churches, especially the ones built recently might not be able to complete all their iconography at once due to cost issues, so these churches can also feel a little cold at times. When they are finished though, they are often very beautiful places. There is a Serbian Orthodox cathedral in Milwaukee that features mosaic iconography that took 30+ years to complete. You can imagine that early on it felt a little cold and sterile. All that wait was worth it though, as it is a very reverant worship space today.
 
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Not David

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All of these, however, pale in comparison to this one:
Mexican Christ statue has human teeth
But have you seem Baby Jesus crucified?
f5716ac.jpg
 
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AMM

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To be fair, there have been some similiar looking icons written over the years.

Google Image Result for https://i.pinimg.com/originals/0a/60/21/0a6021dd97f3bad781e9c1cee3ef97e2.jpg
sure but that doesn't make it accurate - style is no replacement for substance. Byzantine, Russian, Coptic, Roman, etc. images can all be Icons used in prayer, and Byzantine, Russian, Coptic, Roman, etc. images can all express poor theology and be examples of non-pray-able images. I know I'm partial to forgetting this at times and idolizing egg tempera on wood or Greek art when my focus should be on the prototype
 
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AMM

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if it is by St Mary's hand, that's fine. personal stuff like that pops up from time to time, it doesn't mean the Church rubber stamps the image.
is there an official group (besides a council of bishops, of course) that reviews icons and stuff? Like on a regular basis when there's things like this?
 
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ArmyMatt

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is there an official group (besides a council of bishops, of course) that reviews icons and stuff? Like on a regular basis when there's things like this?

not really. if the Church as a whole affirms it, then it's good to go.
 
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dzheremi

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Sorry, you guys, I didn't think about how that might be taken as implying that an exception is being made for a saint. That's not what I meant by mentioning that. I mean "Oh, this isn't by someone who is a known heretic or even some nobody, but by someone who is recognized as a saint. That's a curious detail." You know, if Robert Lentz makes a questionable icon, nobody is surprised.
 
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prodromos

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So is the icon of the crucified Infant Christ right or not?
Since it includes Mary the Theotokos, it's purpose may have been to reflect on her anguish at what her infant Son would suffer, kind of how the Nativity icon is set in a cave which symbolises the tomb in which He would later be laid. His swaddling clothes representing the grave cloth in which His body would be wrapped.
 
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GoingByzantine

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Forgive, all. When I posted the link to that icon, I didn't understand the full weight and meaning behind it. Once you read about St. Maria, and her personal beliefs on the Theotokos things make much more sense. I found this article to be of help with that (especially starting at the second paragraph of pg. 186):

https://academiccommons.columbia.ed...load/ac:138628/content/SophiaVol2Ermolaev.pdf

It's a worthy (short) read I assure you, and it casts light on the meaning of this icon.
 
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