We heard from Matthia Langone, who took us through the process of making icons as a form of worship, from the cutting and sanding of the board they are painted on, to the preparation of the surface, the choice of story, text, figures and colours, to the final touches. Every aspect of this process requires deep thought and prayer, and must also marry with approved techniques, materials to maintain the historical accuracy so important to these icons. This is not mere whimsey - some icons are more than 1600 years old. Matthia then spoke to us about her theme - several icons that represented the story of Moses encountering the burning bush. One sees easily the development from ancient to more modern in the choice of colours, backgrounds and representations of the figures. The peculiar facial expressions and bodily poses of the figures common to iconography is also a subject of deep thought by the artist - these are not intended to be accurate depictions of real people, but instead representations of particular moments in the lives of recognized saints, most often those who were martyred. The attention to detail in the lighting and use of significant symbols - the dropped sandal, the spark of light in an eye - deserves more attention than the gold leaf of the halo or the odd poses. In these small things exists the whole prayer of the artist to God, for understanding of this relationship. Last, Matthia mentioned that iconography, though returning to favour, suffered terribly under Communism, not only that so many icons were destroyed, but the artists themselves were killed with no chance to pass on their techniques. Many are being re-invented now, but when added to the booming market for icons, makes the chance of getting poor-quality work a very real and very costly possibility. [AP]

Passage:
Communion: No
Ecumenical or Event: Lent II
Potluck Lunch: No
Congregational Meeting: No

Speaker: Matthia Langone
Worship Leader: Rosie Perera
Song Leader: Andre Pekovich
Pianist: Andre Pekovich
Usher: Henry Neufeld
Zoom Coordinator:
Children's Feature Leader:

Bring Flowers: EDWIN & HEDIE HINTZ
Coffee Helper:
Sound Helper:

Child Care Volunteer: