My mother in law was 94 years old this month; she is fit and very well for a person of her years. As you can imagine buying a gift for her is difficult. She has no need of ornaments, or clothes, she is not allowed chocolates on health grounds. Outings to the cinema, theatre or a restaurant are of no interest to her- around Mother’s Day this year we were in Bulgaria and noticed a traditional Icon in an antiques shop. We bought it for her and it was a very successful gift, she genuinely liked and appreciated this particular gift. She did ruffle my Unitarian Feathers when she said “I’ll get Father Fitzgerald to Bless it before I hang it up”
It is made of a silver coloured metal attached to a wooden base. You know when you put silver paper over a coin and press the image on to the silver paper you get the image in relief. Then a backing of wood in put on the metal. As the Icon was fairly dirty looking I decided to polish it before giving it to her. As I tried to clean it I noticed that the surface was not just dull and in need of a polish but that the indents on the metal were filled with a mixture of dust and grease.
The Icon is not made from Silver – it is probably tin; the grime ingrained into the surface is evidence that for many, many years that it probably hung in the kitchen of some Bulgarian Family; an integral part of the background to family life for generations. Very much as the pictures of the Sacred Heart with accompanying red light were part of Irish Family life for generations. I wonder if it was a well loved and well venerated icon part of the daily ritual of family prayer. I wonder if at times of personal worry and upset did the owners light a candle and placed it in front of the Icon or perhaps decorated it with Summer Flowers? We should not dismiss this spiritual action; it can be very therapeutic and healing. I think these kinds of actions can be of real practical use. We don’t expect God to appear like superman and immediately fix the problem; and these actions can put our worries in perspective; and by letting go of our worries and concerns we allow our subconscious or God and to find a resolution.
Bill is fond of saying that the entire world can be divided into Catholics and Protestants. According to Bill Hindu’s are Catholic and Muslims are Protestants. Catholic worship, especially before Vatican Council 2 was very much concerned with experience rather than logic. Icons are very Catholic. Protestants of course are not at all keen on Icons and Images- they have no time for smells and bells. They threw all those things out at the Reformation – primacy is to be given to the Bible as the word of God. This Church is exceptional in that it is quite decorative. The Unitarian Church in Cork is a good example of a Reformation type Church. It was designed to enable everyone in Church to hear the Preacher speak about and to explain the Bible. It was made plain so as not to offer distractions to the Congregation. The Congregation were meant to sit, listen and to pay attention.
The word Iconography comes from two Greek words- Graphein to write and Icon which means an image. So Iconography is the writing of an image and so icons are to be read. It is not a matter of the artist being imaginative, where the figures are placed, the colours used to paint them, the symbols beside the figures all have a part in the storey they portray.
Images have always caused problems in the Christian Church as early as 787 CE the second council of Nicea discussed whether or not they should be allowed in worship. The vote was in favour of their use; perhaps the fact that the Empress and Regent, Irene was in favour the use of images as part of worship had a bearing on that particular outcome. The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of the use of Icons and Images as a part of religious practice. Condemning those who spoke against the use of icons - they wrote“ All those bacchic rantings, the false writings composed against the venerable icons, should be given in at the Episcopal building in Constantinople, so that they can be put away along with the other heretical books” failure to surrender these books was punishable by excommunication. Icons were confirmed as valuable aids to religious practice. They were to be placed in Churches, houses and by the wayside. They were to be respected and honoured but not Adored (Latria) adoration is reserved only for God. The endorsement of the use of icons lead to the creation of some of the world’s more beautiful works of art and also so some of the world’s tackiest ornaments.
Over time of course matters got out of hand Images were adored, they were invested with miraculous powers and misused as a means of making money. The lines between using an icon as an aid to spirituality or regarding it as an object to be worshipped became blurred. The Reformation was a call to return to basics; the bible was the sole source of authority; the Churches were emptied of statues, icons and all other adornments. This happened in Holland over a period of about six months in what is now referred to by the historians as the Iconoclastic Fury. During this time churches were visited and their statues, paintings and pictures systematically destroyed. I’m sure that a great deal of beautiful art was lost to the world in this process. This destruction of Church art was repeated in England. Ironically where images were just whitewashed over these are now being re-discovered and restored with painstaking attention to detail.
The Roman Catholic Church continues to promote the use of holy pictures, and images. Hence the Sacred Heart pictures, Statues of Mary and the Infant of Prague were such a feature of Irish Life that no one really remarked on them. Remember Christy Moore’s Song…. “the Child of Prague began to dance around the mantelpiece. The pope and JFK were staring in my face, thinking I was dying I gave my soul to God to keep and a tenner to St. Anthony to help me get some sleep.” I recognise that house.

If I were to Light a Candle in front of the Icon.

I wonder how the builders of this Church would react if they were here. Is it my Catholic background and upbringing that have so conditioned me that I have no difficulty with having a candle lighting in front of the Icon. It is not something I would do at home I wonder how you would feel about it? Would you regard it as Idolatry; would it give you indigestion or raise your blood pressure? Or can we accept these actions as a way using a different part of our brain in our spiritual practice.
The use of images in Religion is not restricted to the Christian Churches. It is widely used in Hinduism and Buddhism. Hindus use the most exotic images of their Deities- These are deliberately designed not to have any human resemblance. This is an attempt to ensure that followers do not confuse the image with the reality that the image is attempting to portray. I believe this is a good idea; God as portrayed in Western Church Art demonstrates and reinforces the idea of God as White and Male; Christians portray god in their own image. The Hindu portrayal of God as an image of animals with several heads and limbs or humans with blue skin is their way of saying to us- God is God- God is not a human; God surpasses human understanding and expression.
Jews and Muslims are at the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to the use of images of God. They prohibit all attempts to portray God nor do they use any type of substitute figures as in Hinduism. Islamic religious art consists of Geometric designs and if they wish to portray the Prophet Muhammad ( Peace and Blessing be upon him) they will outline a human figure but make no attempt to fill in the detail. The Monotheistic Religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam have a common root, they share Prophets and sacred places and a good deal of theology, but Christianity stands apart in its use of Icons and Images. I think this is a testament that the use Images in the practice of Religion can be a powerful tool.
Lighting a candle in front of an image of the Virgin may be OK it’s not an all together alien idea but how would you feel if I were to Light an incense stick and place it before the Image of Hindu God

This may be a slightly less comfortable idea

The fact is that the use of images in Religion is as old as humanity’s reaching out to the Mystery we call God. Religious statues, carvings and pictures account for a good proportion of the items that fill every museum in the world. Many of the earliest images are from Egypt and many of these portray the Goddess, Isis holding her son the infant God Horus on her knee – something very similar to this icon of the Madonna and Child Jesus.
As humans living with a belief that there is as we say “something” more than the physical life; something that we may be happy to call by the name “God”; if we believe that it is beneficial to set time aside to make contact with our deepest being then we may just find it useful to use an icon to help us focus our minds. It’s rather like having photographs of family members around your home; most of the time we don’t notice them but when we do just for a moment we feel in a way connected in love to the person represented in the picture. We live such busy lives it may be helpful to have some sort of religious image in our lives to remind ourselves that we need to continually centre ourselves and to connect with the really important things rather than just the trivia of everyday life. When researching this address I found these words on a Web Site…. Icons are an “opportunity to pause before the world of spiritual reality, to slow down and to look through an icon, as if through a window, at the world that lies hidden in the innermost heart of us….. Icons are a window into heaven”
My question to you today is. If you were to decide to select an image for your own personal icon; now being Unitarians I do realise that this is a big if but we can use our imagination. I wonder what would your personal icon portray? What would portray your vision of heaven right now……What would be painted on your icon? Would your icon be a particular job/employment position; would it be a place to live? Would it be a picture of yourself a new improved version? Would it be health? Would it be a picture of you reconciled with a lost friend? Or perhaps your icon would contain far more trivial things? A holiday? Would it be a Lotto Win? Designer Shoes & Bag?
Religious images are powerful symbols, they touch something deep within us- do you remember when the Taliban destroyed the Statues of the Buddha that had stood for thousands of years? This wanton destruction of this religious symbol left the world a poorer place. Icons and religious images are not to be worshiped, they are crutches that may help us on our journey through life. They may help us to put our life in perspective or they may give us a vision of how we can make beneficial changes in our life. We would be wise to make us of all the help we can get.

Amen

Rev.Bridget Spain
27th April Cork
18th May Dublin

You will notice that I have left in the dates Rev.Spains delivered this address and also in Brendan Burkes article. Page 2-3. Because Brendans article arrived on Saturday 26 April but how could he have known what was in Rev.Spain’s address for the following day, she was still in Dublin at that stage.
Was it something in the air or was it as Bill says coincidence,