If you visit St. Lawrence Orthodox Christian Church, or any Orthodox church, one of the first things you notice will probably be the paintings that adorn the walls, especially the partial wall that separates the main part of the church (called the nave) from the altar area (called the sanctuary). This partial wall is called the iconostasis or icon screen, and the paintings are called icons.

For those who know the word "icon" only as referring to the little pictures on your computer screen, this may seem odd. But the word "icon" comes from the Greek ikon, meaning "image." The icons in an Orthodox church are sacred images, or holy icons. They depict Christ, His Mother, the saints, and important events from the Scripture and Tradition of the Church. The first icons of Christ and His Mother were painted by St. Luke the Evangelist. Thus the use of icons goes back to apostolic times.

For the Orthodox Christian, holy icons are much more than religious art or decoration. The honor and veneration of holy icons-divine images-is an integral and sacramental part of the life of Orthodox Christians. One venerates an icon by bowing and making the sign of the cross in front of it, then kissing it. However, it is important to remember that it is not the icon itself that is venerated-not the paint and the wood or canvas or paper-but the prototype whose image is represented in the icon. (If this seems strange to you, think of carrying a photo of a loved one with you when you are away from home. Don't you take it out and kiss it, even talk to it as if it were the real person there with you? Yet it is not the photo itself that you love, but the person it represents.)

Icons are often called "windows to heaven" because they represent, in a sacred way, the reality of the spiritual world and the Kingdom of God that is within us. Icons are one of the ways God is revealed to us. Through icons, the Orthodox Christian receives a vision of the spiritual world.

The images of Christ, His Holy Mother, and His saints are sacramental points of meeting between the believer and those whom the icons represent. They are purposely not painted in a naturalistic manner. All of humanity, all of the world is touched and transformed by Divine Light; thus the stylized, sometimes strange look of the icon is intended to present spiritual truth. The Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, God become Man, is the chief theological basis for divine images. Christ took on human flesh, became a real, visible, touchable human being. Thus matter was glorified and sanctified, the invisible became visible; and therefore it is appropriate to depict His physical being. Christ, the Son, is the Image (Icon) of the Father; He is the only way in which we can see the Father. Therefore, an icon of Christ is the presence with us of both Son and Father.

The saints who have gone on before us-foremost among them the Mother of God-are always worshipping at the throne of God, and when we worship we enter into that worship with them. As the Book of Hebrews tells us, "we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (12:1). The icons surrounding us in the church remind us of that reality. They give a focus to our prayer and help us to avoid distraction.

Orthodox Christians also hang icons in their homes (usually in a prayer corner, with candles, incense, and prayer books nearby), in their cars, at their workplaces, and often carry them in their pocket or purse. Typically a person will have icons of Christ, the Theotokos, and his or her patron saint. Praying before these icons and venerating them daily helps the believer to build a real relationship with those the icons represent. They are not just abstract concepts, but real people who are living still, although in a form of life that is different from ours.