Byzantine Sacred Art: Orthodox Icons and Iconography

"We knew not whether we were in heaven or on earth, for surely there is no such splendor or beauty anywhere on earth. We cannot describe it to you; we only know that God dwells there among men and that their Service surpasses the worship of all other places..."

According to the historian Nestor, these are the words the envoys of Vladimir, Prince of Kiev, uttered when they reported their experience in the Great Church of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople. In the latter part of the tenth century the Russian envoys have been sent to different parts of the world to study the form of worship and advise the Prince which faith to adopt based on the presence of God's Grace. Since their return from Constantinople, Russians adopted Orthodoxy.

The profound experience expressed by the Russian envoys has been one shared by many throughout the centuries who have witnessed for the first time the beautiful and inspiring Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church. The Eucharist is the oldest and most distinctive event of Orthodox worship, because in it the Church gathers to remember and celebrate the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ and, thereby, to participate in the mystery of Salvation. The origin of the Eucharist is traced to the Last Supper at which Christ instructed His disciples to offer bread and wine in His memory.

In the Orthodox Church, the Eucharist is also known as the Divine Liturgy. The word liturgy means people's work; this description serves to emphasize the universal, catholic character of the Eucharist. When an Orthodox attends the Divine Liturgy, it is not as an isolated person who comes simply to hear a sermon. Rather, he comes as a member of the Community of Faith who participates in the very purpose of the Church, which is the Worship of the Holy Trinity.

Orthodoxy - Pravoslavlje - designates the proper Worship, Worship that is based on Holy Scriptures and Tradition, unchanged and undiluted through centuries. It includes the generations of faithful who have been gathering for the past two thousand years in the same way throughout the world for proper worship, and have kept the fullness of Faith intact.

Orthodox Church is the Historical One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church with an unbroken Apostolic Succession leading back to the Holy Apostles, with Grace transferred through the laying on of hands. The Head of Orthodox Church is Christ Himself and every member of the Church, lay and clergy, past and present, is part of it's Body. As such, Eastern Orthodox Church is also a martyred, suffering Body, being a reflection of Christ's Suffering and Sacrifice on earth. It is nonetheless invincible, for our Lord's promise remains unchanged: "...I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" (Matthew, 16:18)

Although many nationalities are represented in Orthodoxy, which present a number of slight cultural differences, Local churches the Orthodox Church comprises of are identical in belief and Worship, and spiritually one in Christ. This means whichever Orthodox church one goes to, be it Greek, Russian, Serbian, Antiochian or any other, anywhere in the world, one will attend the same Liturgy, will partake in the same Eucharist and will follow the same Worship.