Death in Orthodox Iconography: A Paschal Vision

It is the purpose of icons to represent people or events, not in natural light, but in the light of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, even the dead are seen as transfigured, illuminated, deified. This is a paschal book, and, according to the Orthodox vision of Pascha, death is already defeated and powerless. The author aims to open the reader's eyes, through images and words, to this theological perspective and to the place of death within it.

Fr. Steven is an Orthodox priest, retired, in the Montreal region of Quebec, Canada, and for a long time he has been studying icons and Christian art. Although he is not an icon painter, an iconographer, he does research in the field: an iconologist. Through his studies, he tries to convey the message that icons are a theological art where images and words unite to proclaim the Gospel.