icon

In the Greek or Eastern Orthodox Church, a religious picture of Jesus, Mary, an angel, or a saint, in painting, low relief, or mosaic; the full face must always be shown. Painted icons were traditionally made on wood. After the 17th century, and mainly in Russia, a riza was often added as protection; this gold and silver covering, that left only the face and hands visible, was sometimes adorned with jewels presented by the faithful in thanksgiving.

Icons were regarded as holy objects, based on the doctrine that God became visible through Jesus. Monks often painted them as a religious devotion. Icon-painting originated in the Byzantine Empire, but many examples were destroyed by the iconoclasts in the 8th and 9th centuries. The Byzantine style of painting predominated in the Mediterranean region and in Russia until the 12th century, when Russian, Greek, and other schools developed. Notable among them was the Russian Novgorod School, inspired by the work of the Byzantine refugee Theophanes the Greek. Andrei Rublev is the outstanding Russian icon-painter.

Christian worship Icons are very important for Orthodox Christians, who use them as a focus for prayer and meditation. They are intended to express the inner nature of the subject. When an icon has been completed it is blessed by a priest, and then used in worship either in the church or in the home. Orthodox Christians treat the icons with great respect and devotion. They do not pray to the icon, but use them as a means of offering prayers to God.

In Eastern Orthodox churches, icons are used around the walls and on the iconostasis (the screen that separates the congregation from the sanctuary and altar). Worshippers pray before these icons as a mark of respect to the saints or other persons portrayed in them. Many Christians have copies of icons in their homes. These are replicas of the originals, printed on paper and then mounted onto a piece of wood.

icon

In computing, a small picture on the computer screen, or VDU, representing an object or function that the user may manipulate or otherwise use. It is a feature of graphical user interface (GUI) systems. Icons make computers easier to use by allowing the user to point to and click with a mouse on pictures, rather than type commands.