Seeing the Gospel: An Interpretive Guide to Orhodox Icons (Eve Tibbs) - A Review
To many Christians in the West, Eastern
Orthodoxy is considered a bit exotic. For many in the Protestant community, at
least until recent decades, it wasn’t even on the radar. In large part, this
was true because Eastern and Western branches of the Christian community have
lived in isolation from each other, especially after the great schism of 1054,
when the Pope and Patriarch of Constantinople anathematized each other over several
matters, including the date of Easter and the filioque addition to the
Western version of the Nicene Creed. Things began to change as early as the
1960s, as a few evangelical Protestants began looking for a home in what they
hoped was a church that had deeper roots than Protestantism but wasn’t Roman
Catholic. Perhaps it was the exotic nature of the Eastern Church with its
liturgy and its icons. Because of this growing interest, more resources have emerged,
with Protestants discovering the riches of the East from early Christian
theologians such as the Cappadocians, John of Damascus, and Maximus the
Confessor, as well as more recent figures such as Vladimir Lossky, Alexander
Schmemann, and Sergius Bulgakov (all of whom I have read with great interest).
Interestingly, one of the places where evangelicalism and Orthodoxy have met is
my alma mater, Fuller Theological Seminary.
Whether one is Orthodox or not, the
icons that have emerged over time have attracted great attention. There is
something mysterious and spiritually moving in many of these icons produced
over time. But there is more to these works of art than the artwork itself. In
fact, the creators of the icons are said to write them, not paint them. So, is
there more to these sacred “pictures” than meets the eye? According to Eve Tibbs,
there is much more to them. She offers readers An Interpretive Guide to
Orthodox Icons in her book Seeing the Gospel.
The author of this interpretive
guide is Eve Tibbs, a Greek Orthodox theologian who holds a Ph.D. from Fuller
Seminary and serves as an affiliate professor of theology at Fuller, along with being a member of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the ministry lead for Christian Education for the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco. She’s not
the first Orthodox scholar to study or teach at Fuller, so Fuller has long been
a meeting place, going back at least to my days at the seminary. This is her
second book, which provides a helpful resource to Orthodox and non-Orthodox
alike. Her earlier book, which serves as a primer on Orthodox theology that is
very accessible to non-Orthodox Christians, a book I reviewed, is titled A Basic Guide to Eastern Orthodox Theology. Whereas the earlier book provides
readers with an overview of Orthodox theology, in Seeing the Gospel, she
focuses on one particular aspect of the Orthodox experience, the icons that have
become an important space where people visually encounter Orthodoxy. The point
she wants to make in this book, especially when it comes to her non-Orthodox
readers, is that icons are not merely pictures. They carry deep meaning if you
know what you're looking for.
In her Preface, Tibbs invites us to
consider the possibility that when we view Orthodox Icons, we encounter
"more than meets the eye" (p. xiii). She writes that icons open up
the Scriptures in new ways. Thus, "The icon literally offers the
difference between seeing something in 'black and white' versus 'living color,'
and yet it offers even more than that—it offers an encounter with the Kingdom
of God from within the created world" (p. xiii). In Seeing the Gospel, Tibbs
reveals the ways icons define Orthodox spirituality, even if that is not her
primary intent in writing this beautifully illustrated book. That is because
what Tibbs seeks to do in interpreting the icons is take note of the ways icons
reveal elements of the Gospel that words might not effectively convey.
Tibbs divides her book into two
parts. After the Introduction, in which Tibbs provides basic information about
icons and the role they play in Orthodox life, she moves to a section that
provides "A Basic Introduction to Icons." The two chapters in this
section set up what we encounter in Part 2, which focuses on the icons and the
message they proclaim when it comes to the Gospel story. While a reader might
be tempted to skip Part 1 and jump to the icons and their interpretation, which
are found in Part 2, that would be a mistake. That's because Part 1 offers the
interpretive key that makes Part 2 understandable. The first chapter in Part 1
is titled "A Visual Biblical Worldview." Here, Tibbs writes that
icons make the invisible visible, as they reflect the incarnation as defined in
John 1. Thus, "The icon, whether painted on a single wood panel with egg
tempera paint or as a mural on church walls, visually presents the Gospel in a
canonically defined manner" (p. 10). Again, icons are not merely pictures.
They have sacred intent. In this chapter, Tibbs helps us understand what goes
into an icon, why they are "written" as they are in a relatively
unnatural way, and the function they have in Orthodox life, whether didactic,
apologetic, or liturgical.
Chapter 2 provides the reader with
something of a history lesson by taking note of "The Iconoclast Controversy." This
controversy shook the Eastern churches during the Byzantine era. One of the key
questions that emerged from the controversy was whether "matter"
matters. In response to those who argued that God was formless and immaterial,
and thus impossible to depict, supporters of icons point to Jesus, who made the
invisible visible. It should be noted that this debate emerged at the same time
Islam was making headway in the region. She concludes her chapter by pointing
again to the purpose of the book, which is to remind the reader that God is the
first artist and that icons share the same message as the Gospels, only that
with icons, we see the Gospel.
The two chapters in Part 1 serve an
important purpose in reminding readers what goes into the creation of icons and
the role they play in the life of Orthodox Churches. Then, in Part 2, titled “Seeing
the Gospel in Icons,” Eve Tibbs takes us on a journey that introduces us to numerous
icons, sharing what the “writers” of the icons meant to portray in writing these
sacred pictures. She does this by leading us step by step through the Gospel story,
beginning with a chapter reminding us that Christ is the Giver of Light
(Chapter 3), moving step by step through the forerunners, the annunciation to
Mary, the Nativity, the meeting of Jesus in the Temple by Simeon and Anna,
Christ's baptism, his ministry, "Jerusalem before the Cross"
(focusing on the raising of Lazarus, Palm Sunday, the Last Supper with the
washing of the feet), the Cross, Tomb, Resurrection, and concluding with a
chapter on icons that speak visually concerning “After the Resurrection.” Each
chapter includes icons ancient and modern, offered in full and amazing color.
Each icon pictured in the book reveals part of the Gospel story. One thing that
Tibbs notes in the book is that the icons themselves are interpreted by the
Gospels, but one should note the meaning of different aspects of the icons. For
example, the color “red” generally represents humanity, while blue represents divinity.
Therefore, the icons that depict Jesus will picture him with a red inner cloak
and a blue outer cloak, thereby using the two colors to represent his dual
nature as human and divine. When it comes to icons featuring Mary, she will
often be dressed in red, though with some blue, representing her role in
bearing the divine Christ (the theotokos). So, as we encounter each
icon, Tibbs points out different aspects of the icon, taking note of how the
elements are arranged, such that each element in the icon has a purpose. Thus, icons
are not mere pictures.
I believe that Eve Tibbs' Seeing
the Gospel should provide readers, especially non-Orthodox readers, not
only with information about icons but also with a resource that might help
deepen one's spiritual journey, as we see the Gospel portrayed visually. Richard
Mouw, President Emeritus of Fuller Seminary, writes appreciatively in his
Foreword that what Tibbs offers here is an “Orthodox Feast,” not just, as he reports
of a statement by Alexander Schmemann, a casserole to an ecumenical potluck (p.
ix). Such is the case, for Tibbs has offered us a full picture of the Gospel
story in the form of icons, helpfully interpreted so that we can see things
that at first glance are simply elements in a picture, but which have deep
meaning for those who know how to interpret them. The reader is blessed to
encounter these icons that are vividly presented on thick paper designed for
photographs and images. She also provides readers with a glossary of terms,
which should also prove helpful. While this is a visually stunning book (the people
at Baker are to be commended for going to the trouble of producing full-color
images), even more importantly, she helps us read the icons in new ways. That is more than an ecumenical potluck; it is a component of a truly ecumenical banquet.
This book by Eve Tibbs can be purchased through your favorite retailer, including my Amazon affiliate and Bookshop.org affiliate.
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