Disposal of Icons

[AureateDawn]

What is the proper way to dispose of an icon?

You see, what I did is get all sorts of icons from GoArch. I planned on printing them, lamenating them, and creating a sort of icon corner. However, I began printing and the first two came out with an entirely red overtone, with lines through it. I must not have enough color ink. Anywho, I stopped printing, but just in time for the first two icons to fully print.

So... what would be a proper disposal? I would assume to burn them, but, I don't know.

 

[Akathist]

If you were printing them out of a computer printer and they didn't turn out, then just throw them away with the rest of your paper trash.

Once they are laminated to a board and you have used them for prayer (or better still, they are blessed by a Priest) then disposing of them is more complicated. I would suggest at that point taking them to your Priest (or the local Priest) and letting him instruct you or do it for you. (Or better, take them and give them to someone else who would like them.)

 

[icxn]

Interesting! How did it occur to you that you need to dispose them properly? Did you read it somewhere or you felt that it was the proper thing to do?

 

[AureateDawn]

Oh, alright. All they did it print out in a red overtone just a minute ago. My grandparents (with whom I am staying with for a couple of weeks) burn their paper. So I will stick it in the burning barrel.

I just wanted to make sure of it. Thanks!

 

[AureateDawn]

Well, being icons, and depicting holy images, I would certainly wish to dispose of them in a proper way. It almost doesn't feel right to just stick it in the trash can. But my grandparents burn their paper, and that feels a bit better to me.

 

[icxn]

That is good AS. May your innate reverence stay with you throughout your life. I'm somewhat astounded (in a good sense) seeing that unlike you, most of your fellow countrymen (I mean Protestants) do not have such a "taste" for holiness (at least on these forums).

 

[Michael G]

This subject brings up a very touchy debate as to what is an icon and what is not an icon that I really don't feel like starting here.

 

[AureateDawn]

Aww, come on! *prods*

 

[Michael G]

Aww, come on! *prods*

No. Don't ask.

 

[repentant]

No, let's not bring up that can of worms..

 

[foxsta]

Does burial of the icon suffice?

 

[Michael G]

No, let's not bring up that can of worms..

Icons should either be burried or be burnt with other holy things and then have the ashes put in a place where they won't be trampled all over.

 

[Shubunkin]

I figured there would be different opinions on this. I printed out several icons after I fixed them in Photoshop (so they would print out clearer, cleaner), and a few didn't come out right. I just put them in a folder and kept them. Don't know why, but sometimes I keep my mistakes to figure out how to adjust my color settings to make it come out more natural. I don't think I could bear to do anything else with them.

 

[Michael G]

I figured there would be different opinions on this. I printed out several icons after I fixed them in Photoshop (so they would print out clearer, cleaner), and a few didn't come out right. I just put them in a folder and kept them. Don't know why, but sometimes I keep my mistakes to figure out how to adjust my color settings to make it come out more natural. I don't think I could bear to do anything else with them.

For practical matters, if it is not hand written, and it is not blessed, it is not an icon but a picture of an icon. What makes an icon holy when being written is the prayers prayed upon the icon. Thus when you buy mounted prints of icons until you have them blessed they are not really icons. It is the blessing and the prayers prayed before the icon that make it what it is, an icon and a sacred object. There have been many statements lately (within the past few hundred years) by the different synods defining what an icon is, but I really don't want to go there. Thus if you make mistakes with prints of icons you are making, the best thing would be to burn the prints and dispose of them in the same way you would of ashes of other sacred objects.

NOTE: this is a generalization of the subject.

 

[AureateDawn]

So then, would the non-iconic icons of icons be suitable for meditation, praying, and kissing? ;;

 

[Michael G]

So then, would the non-iconic icons of icons be suitable for meditation, praying, and kissing? ;;

No. What makes an icon holy are the prayers prayed before it and the blessing given to it. There are many in the church, including quite a few councils of bishops, who see prints of icons as not even being icons. But like I said, I REALLY do not want to go there.

 

[choirfiend]

Best solution, therefore, would have been not to introduce the topic by bringing it up.

 

[Michael G]

Best solution, therefore, would have been not to introduce the topic by bringing it up.

Excuse me, but I needed to explain to the OP the question he is asking and how many in the church view the entire topic. I have made it clear to him in pm that I do not want to go into depth in the question and I would rather the question have never been asked in the first place, but it was and so I as some one who is educated in the matter feel the need to answer it. What I do not care to do is get into a debate of opinion with those who have not studied what the various councils have stated. Those discussions in the past have proven quite unfruitful.