NEVER AS GODS : LESSONS FROM A MILLENNIUM OF ICONS

Abstract The Orthodox Christian experience with sacred art-icons-serves as a guide to the present consideration of the potential and challenges of the icon and iconic in our visual age. This article considers contemporary understandings of the icon in light of a millennium of living with icons in the Orthodox tradition. Three basic questions are asked and discussed: 1) What does an icon depict? 2) How do icons form us? 3) What are the dangers of icons?