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New Iconography
The Church of Saint
George is presently engaged in an intensive period of interior
beautification. In 2005 we commissioned the iconographers Spiro
Tsilikaras and Katerina Vlachou of Athens, Greece to paint the icons
for the iconostasion and the wall icons.
To view the work in progress,
click
here.
For
a printable brochure on the icons of St. George,
click here and it will open in a new window.
(To view the
flyer, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your system. If
you do not have it, click on the image below for the free download.)
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In the long history of the
Orthodox Church, a defined style of Church architecture has
developed. This style is characterized by the attempt to reveal the
fundamental experience of Orthodox Christianity: God is with us. The fact
that Christ the Emmanuel (which translated means: God with us”) has come,
determines the form of the Orthodox church building. Orthodox Church
architecture reveals that God is with men, dwelling in them and living in
them through Christ and the Holy Spirit. It does so by using the dome or
the vaulted ceiling to crown the Church building, the house of the Church
which is the people of God. In the dome is painted the icon of “Christ the
Almighty.” The painted dome, or the spacious, all embracing ceiling, gives
the impression that in the Kingdom of God, and in the Church, Christ
“unites all things in Himself, things in heaven and things on earth,”
(Ephesians 1:10) and that in Him we are all “Filled with all the fullness
of God.” (Ephesians 3:19).
The Dome iconography will
begin in June 2007 and will present an icon of Christ the Almighty being
held up by six angels. The lower level of the dome will feature several
Prophets of the Old Testament: Moses, Aaron, David, Solomon, Samuel,
Isaiah, Elijah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Malachias and Zacharias.
It has been said that the Churches of Western Christianity with their
Gothic design try to reach toward heaven, while the Byzantine structures
of Eastern Christianity attempt to bring a little of Heaven down to earth.
The design as well as the traditional adornment of the interior of our
Church is based on this concept.
The interior is divided into three main sections: The Narthex, the Nave or
Church proper, and the Altar area. The Narthex serves as the area where
the faithful prepare themselves to enter the main Church. Here the
faithful light their devotional candles as a reflection that as Christ is
the light of the world, so are they to reflect that light in their lives.
Here they also venerate the icons as they prepare to enter the nave where
the people of God gather to worship.
 Separating
the Sanctuary, or Altar area, from the Nave, is the Iconostasion, or Icon
Screen. Behind the Iconostasion is the Holy Altar Table. On the Altar
Table are the Tabernacle in which the Reserved Sacrament of Holy Communion
is kept, the Book of the Gospels, the blessing cross, and candlesticks.
Directly behind the altar is a cross with an icon of Christ Crucified. To
the left of the Altar is an Table of Preparation where the Holy Gifts of
Bread and Wine are prepared for the celebration of the Divine Liturgy.
There is a traditional order for the placement of the Icons on the
Iconostasion. On the right side of the Beautiful Gate are the icons of
Jesus Christ, St John the Baptist, the Archangel Gabriel and St Demetrios.
On the left side; the Virgin Mary with
Christ as a child, St George the patron saint of our Church, the Archangel
Michael and Sts Constantine and Helen. The icons of the Archangel are
painted on the doors leading into the Sanctuary for it is they who guard
the entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.
The area immediately in front of the icon screen is called the Solea where
a majority of the sacraments and services are celebrated. There are
usually found small tables for the sacraments. On the Solea we will also
find the Pulpit, Bishop’s Throne and Chanter’s stand. (These pieces have
not yet been installed.)
 Orthodox
Church buildings often have icons painted on the wall. On the Apse, the
area behind the Altar Table in the Sanctuary, is the icon of the Virgin
Mary. Her arms are stretched out and the Christ Child is enthroned within
her. This particular icon is called the “Platytera” which stands for a
title of the Virgin Mary- “Platytera twn Ouranwn”- “More Wider than the
Heavens.” It is she who gave birth to the Son and Word of God who is
infinite and eternal, yet through His human birth entered time and history
as a man. Depicted in the icon are also the Archangels Michael and Gabriel
who approach the mystery of the incarnation with awe.
 Immediately,
below the icon of the Platytera is the Icon of the Communion of the
Apostles. The Holy Eucharist is the sacrament par excellence of the
Orthodox Church. It is our union with Christ as we partake of His Body and
Blood. This particular iconographic representation is not an icon of the
Last or Mystical Supper but one of Christ, the eternal High Priest,
offering His Body and Blood to the whole world in persons of His
disciples.
 On
the right side, receiving from the Cup are the disciples John, James,
Matthew, Thaddeus, Simon and Philip.
 On
the left side receiving the Body are the disciples Peter, James Alphaeus,
Andrew,
Bartholomew, Judas Iscariot and Thomas.
The disciples are in a posture of approaching the Sacred Mysteries with
humility and reverence. Alone among the disciples, Judas Iscariot presents
a haughty posture and he alone faces away from the Lord, rejecting a life
in union with Christ.
Below the icon of the Communion of the Apostles are six of the many
bishops and shepherds of the Orthodox Church who were faithful imitators
of the Great High Priest and Chief Shepherd of the Church, Jesus Christ.
They hold in their hands scrolls on which are written the first lines of
priestly prayers of the Divine Liturgy or Gospel passages.
From Left to Right:
- St Photios the Great:
“The Lord said, Let your light so shine before men...”
- St Gregory the
Theologian: “ Holy God, You dwell among Your saints. You are praised
with the Thrice Holy Hymn....”
- St John Chrysostom: “ O
God, our God, Who did send forth the heavenly bread...”
- St Basil the Great: “No
one bound by worldly desires and pleasures is worthy...”
- St Athanasios the Great:
“Again we bow down before you and pray to you..."
- St Spyridon: “Once again
we offer to You this spiritual worship without the shedding of
blood....”
In the right transept are
figures of male saints: (From Left to Right): Polycarp of Smyrna,
Nicholas, Dionysios, Nektarios, Haralambos, and Gerasimos of Kefalonia.
In the left transpet the female saints are: from right to left: Katherine,
Irene, Theodora, Elizabeth, Photini, Barbara, Sophia and her children
Faith, Hope, Love.
Orthodox Church Tradition calls for the elaborate use of symbolism and
iconography in the interior decoration of the Church Building. To they eye
of a Western Christians, Byzantine iconography may appear austere and
unemotional. Icons are not simply portraits representing people, but
graphic presentations of spiritual truths. They remain
unmoved, formal and with only a hint of emotion appearing in the face of
the figures. Icons are not intended to evoke an emotional response as they
do invoke understanding and wisdom.
In the Orthodox Tradition, icons are symbols albeit powerful symbols, not
idols. They are venerated and not worshiped. When an Orthodox Christian
venerates an icon the honor is directed to Christ or the Saints depicted
in the icon and not to the material itself.
In the Orthodox Church the icons bear witness to the reality of God’s
presence with us in the mystery of faith. The icons are not just human
pictures or visual aids to contemplation and prayer. They are witnesses to
the presence of the Kingdom of God to us, and our own presence in the
Kingdom of God in the Church.
In the Triumph of the Orthodox over the Iconoclasts in 878 AD, icons were
valid expressions of faith because the “Word became flesh and dwelt among
us” (John 1:15) and that Christ is truly man and as man , truly the “icon
of the invisible God.”
The power of icons is not mechanical or magical, but spiritual. It is a
working of God’s grace in the act of a personal expression of faith and
through the intercessory prayers of the saints who live in God’s glory.
Icons teach us about Christ and His ministry , as well as about the Saints
and their record of faith. As sacred art, icons are “windows
into Heaven.” They seek to symbolize the transfigured cosmos and the
victory of redeemed creation by the glory of Christ. In the word of Saint
John of Damascus: “The icon is a song of triumph, a revelation and an
enduring witness to the victory of the Saints.
 “It
is You the Seraphim encircle, each with six wings: with two they cover
their faces, with two their feet, and flying with the two, they cry out to
one another with ceaseless voices, in perpetual praise. Singing,
proclaiming, shouting the victory hymn and saying: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord
of the Savaoth (Hosts), heaven and earth are full of Your Glory...”
Adapted from “Church Design and Iconography”, Assumption Church, Long
Beach
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