Iconography

Orthodox iconography has developed alongside the Orthodox faith as a central aspect of religious experience. Icons are not worshipped, but rather venerated. The focus is not on the physical object but their position as a window or door between two distinct realities.

While Orthodoxy has a strong association with Greece and Russia, which differ in their historical trajectories and in the regional traditions which have developed through time, other countries such as Romania, Armenia and Egypt have their own Orthodox Churches and idiosyncratic iconographic styles.

However, the similarities between them are more important than differences reflecting the time or place in which they were made. Those they depict – such as Saints, the Mother of God and Christ – have characteristics which are based on traditional canons, certain colours and materials are symbolically important and they are united in their roles as mediators between the earthly and the divine.