Icons in Western Christianity today Spirituality of icons as a bridge between East and West?

Abstract

Icons hold an essential place in the Eastern Christian tradition. The authors of this article reflect on their observations that icons become more frequent in the West. They seek to understand the use of icons and their spiritual meaning in this current context as they are lacking their original Eastern liturgical context. Western and Eastern religious art has followed diverging paths, especially since the Great Schism. While icon worship remains a fundamental element in the Eastern church, closely entwining theory and practice, the Western tradition has moved towards abstract representations and even aniconism. Thus, the reemergence of icons is particularly noteworthy. Catholic theologians François Bœspflug, Emanuela Fogliadini and Joseph Ratzinger explore the status of icons in the West based on the theology of icons as defined by the Russian theologians Pavel Florenskij, Paul Evdokimov and Leonid Ouspensky. These will be outlined for this discussion. Raising the question of icons within the context of spirituality cannot shy away from the poignant and difficult – yet important – question of images and their ecumenical role.