Topic: Icons of Christ

[NightOwl]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

[Paisius]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

[NightOwl]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

[Alveus Lacuna]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

[NightOwl]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

I don't know, I'm just wondering why it's acceptable (if it is) to place different depictions of Christ side by side, and then venerate them both.

[Paisius]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

I don't know, I'm just wondering why it's acceptable (if it is) to place different depictions of Christ side by side, and then venerate them both.

You may have multiple pictures of your mother on the mantle but that doesn't imply you have multiple mothers.

[NightOwl]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

I don't know, I'm just wondering why it's acceptable (if it is) to place different depictions of Christ side by side, and then venerate them both.

You may have multiple pictures of your mother on the mantle but that doesn't imply you have multiple mothers.

True but they're all the same or at least similar in appearance, not with different skin tones .

[Seraphim98]

A person may have one body, but a house may have many windows…and icons are, so to speak, windows to heaven. Each different window offers you a slightly different perspective on who and what is seen through them.

[Paisius]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

I don't know, I'm just wondering why it's acceptable (if it is) to place different depictions of Christ side by side, and then venerate them both.

You may have multiple pictures of your mother on the mantle but that doesn't imply you have multiple mothers.

True but they're all the same or at least similar in appearance, not with different skin tones .

Icons, just like Scripture, are not meant to be merely statements of fact. They are meant to be statements of truth. There is a big difference.

[Benjamin the Red]

I recently bought a Russian icon of the Pantocrator from the church bookstore, but also plan on purchasing the Pantocrator of Sinai icon from Skete. Would it be appropriate to display them both in the same room, since they look very different?

Yes, it would be perfectly appropriate.

But doesn't that distort the idea that Christ was one man with one body?

So should there only be one icon of Christ in one place?

I don't know, I'm just wondering why it's acceptable (if it is) to place different depictions of Christ side by side, and then venerate them both.

You may have multiple pictures of your mother on the mantle but that doesn't imply you have multiple mothers.

True but they're all the same or at least similar in appearance, not with different skin tones .

If you had a picture of your mother as a fair-skinned woman and then pictures of her beet-red after a sun burn...would she be a different person? 

Don't over-analyze. They're icons of our Lord. Love and venerate them, even in the same room.

(Besides, if this bugs you...what are you going to do when Christ is depicted twice in the same festal icon?)

[NightOwl]

I'm still slightly confused, aren't they meant to represent those they portray? Why shouldn't all Christ icons be identical or near-identical to the Not Made By Hands icon(s), for example, or at least the differences kept as minimal as possible?

[LBK]

I'm still slightly confused, aren't they meant to represent those they portray? Why shouldn't all Christ icons be identical or near-identical to the Not Made By Hands icon(s), for example, or at least the differences kept as minimal as possible?

We have four Gospels, not just one. Each Gospel tells of the life of Christ in a slightly different way. Yet all four are accepted and used by the Church and the faithful.

[witega]

One thing to remember is that they are paintings not photographs. Two iconographers may set out to do the exact same picture, and one of them may just be technically better--whether that's in the delineation of the face or mixing paints to get the right skin tone. And when you are talking about reproductions of ancient icons, the effects of age (and possibly restoration) also come into play. You are probably not seeing the exact skin tone the iconographer originally chose (and this apples to 'Not Made with Hands' icons as well--their origin may be miraculous but they are made of materials which are as subject to aging and weathering as any other icon).

[Timon]

If I am not mistaken, isnt every icon an icon of Christ in some way? Even icons of Saints? 

In my icon corner, I have several icons of Christ.  Even the iconostasis in the Church has Christ on one side, then Mary holding baby Jesus on the other.  In one icon, he is grown. In the other he is a baby.  I would say he certainly looks different in those two icons. There is probably an icon of him on the cross somewhere in the Church, as well as an Icon of his baptism, or him speaking to the 12.  Maybe you see the icon of his resurrection somewhere as well.

The point is, every Church, or icon corner, is filled with icons of Christ and he probably looks a little bit different in all of them.  Icons from greece may look a little different that icons from Russia or Egypt.  Maybe the artist didnt have access to the perfect paint color for his skin 1000 years ago.

In conclusion, dont wory about it.