VASILIKI MAVROSKA: "How does the Christian visual imagery speaks volumes for the living ecclesiastical community? Remarks on the orthodox iconology"

The purpose of my short communication would be to unfold some of the perspectives of the iconology, which are not so intensively discoursed.

To put it succinctly, the main lines are the following:

a. "The orthodox art is the expression of the orthodox dogma". That phrase of a well- known Greek orthodox scholar (N. A. Matsoukas, Θεολογία, Κτισιολογία, Ἐκκλησιολογία κατά τόν μέγαν Ἀθανάσιον- σημεῖα πατερικῆς καί οἰκουμενικῆς θεολογίας, ΦΘΒ 46, ed.: Π. Πουρναρᾶ, Thessaloniki 2001, p. 208) is going to be clarified according to the texts of st. John of Damascus and simultaneously is going to be commented in relation to the relevant liturgical texts and to a more nuanced reading of the visual preferences.

b. The existence of the icons does not demarcate only from the fact of the incarnation of the Son of God, but mostly it is proved by the union between the Old and the New Testament, meaning the theophanies of Logos of God and the events of the life of the incarnated Logos.

c. The orthodox art is liturgical art: it is a common position, but I am going to document on that, referring to the liturgical time and it influences to the artistic expressions, to the μνήμες (mnenes) of the icons and to the process of the miracles of the icons within the ecclesiastical community.

d. It is going to be pointed out the necessity of the revival of the contemporary orthodox artistic expression by moving forward to more present stylistic grounds, without though disposing our tradition.

e. The theological base of my analysis is the distinction between the created and the uncreated, according to the orthodox tradition, as presented in the texts of st. John of Damascus.