An Iconography primer... The word “icon” is simply Greek for “image.” In Christendom, the term most often refers to a specific art style; rooted in early Greek and Russian Orthodox traditions and developed in the Byzantine Empire (330-1453) that portrays accepted Holy images. In recent years, Iconography has attracted increased interest in the West as an art form which ties us back to the very early Church.

In Iconography, a number of strict artistic rules and conventions apply. Wood backed, the underlying drawing is based on balanced mathematics principles; geometrically structured and proportioned which creates eyes that are large and shadowed, eyebrows arched, noses long and straight, mouths closed, hands gracefully stylized. The forehead (seat of the intellect) and the collarbone (gateway to the heart) are emphasized. Both eyes and at least one ear must be visible (“the better to see and hear you with, my dear”). Garment folds are long and angled. Color areas are clearly defined (painting an Icon is called “writing”). To respect the Commandment against graven images and idolatry, Orthodox Icons avoid strongly three-dimensional effects; perspective is flattened or even inverted.

Even when somber events are depicted, Icons portray an underlying mood of confidence, joy, and sometimes a playful humor. The figures are always shown in a blessed state, suffused with golden light. They’ve been described as “windows into heaven” or “making the invisible visible” and are purposely designed to make you stare, think, center. (Remember those pattern pictures that were so popular for a while; the ones that when you stared just right and let your eyes relax, you’d see the hidden image?)

Written to be studied and contemplated, you’ll find that as with other art, an Icon attempts to invoke a psychological response as it invites your focus and scrutiny. So, the next time you catch an Icon staring at you, stare right back and give it some new-found scrutiny of your own.

Deacon is a role in the Christian Church which is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies widely among theological and denominational traditions.

The word deacon (and deaconess) is derived from the Greek word “diakonos” (διάκονος), which is often translated as “servant” (or more specifically, “waiter”). The office of deacon originated with the selection of seven men (among them St. Stephen) to assist with the pastoral and administrative needs of the very early church (Acts of the Apostles, chapter 6) and you’ll find a Biblical description of the qualities required of a deacon in 1 Timothy, chapter 3 8–13.

The diaconate is one of the three ordained offices of the Anglican (and Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox) Church; the other two ordained offices being priest and bishop. Unlike Roman Catholic deacons, Anglican deacons are permitted to marry freely both before and after ordination (as are Anglican priests).

In our Anglican Church, deacons act at the bishop’s discretion; often working directly in ministry to the marginalized inside and outside the church; the poor, the sick, the hungry, the imprisoned.

Many deacons are preparing for priesthood, however, there are also many who are called specifically to the diaconate and deacons routinely assist parish priests in their pastoral and administrative duties (and they have a distinctive role in the liturgy; their most visible tasks being the reading of the Gospel and assisting in the administration of the Eucharist). Anglican deacons may baptize and solemnize matrimony, but don’t preside at the Eucharist, absolve sins nor pronounce a blessing (however, these last two are oft permitted in an indirect form).

Okay, I know, you really just want to know why deacons wear their stoles over their left shoulders and fastened at the right side of the waists. Well, we have to leave a little mystery…

Easter is more than Easter Sunday. It is the defining event of Christianity, so the Church has always observed it not for a single day, but for the complete tide (season or festival).

For fifty days, some seven weeks, from Easter Sunday to Pentecost—we mark our church services as special feast, or festival, days: The season’s mood is joyous, flowers return, the liturgical colors are bright (white or gold), we keep the Paschal (from the Latin ‘paschalis’ meaning “feast of Passover”) candle lit, we close services with “Alleluia, alleluia”—ancient Hebrew (Hellel u Yah) for “Praise ye LORD.”

The Passion and Resurrection took place during, and is our, Passover. The Thursday in the sixth week of Easter marks Ascension Day. Then, at Pentecost, fifty days (Pentecost is Greek for “50th Day”) after the Resurrection, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the people; and we mark the end of Eastertide and the beginning of, well, the season after Pentecost.

Collects during Eastertide are mostly those written in very early times (in the Book of Common Prayer, the more important the day, the more likely that ancient elements will be used) and the first and second lessons are from the New Testament only, concerning what happened after the Resurrection.

“Christ, Our Passover, is sacrificed for Us. Therefore, let Us keep the Feast. Alleluia, alleluia.”

Just a sampling, in no particular order: C.S. Lewis, William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, T.S. Elliot, Jonathan Swift, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Vincent Price, Olivia de Havilland, Ethel Merman, Anne B. Davis, Laurence Olivier, Robin Williams, Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire, Sammy Sosa, Rod Carew, Florence Nightingale, George Washington, James Madison, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (more than a quarter of all presidents of the United States as well as roughly half of all Supreme Court justices and members of Congress), Thurgood Marshall, Sandra Day O’Connor, Samuel Johnson (author of the first dictionary), Colin Powell, Robert E. Lee, Winston Churchill, Lorraine Salem & Dorothy Tarozzi, Buzz Aldrin, Isaac Newton, Margaret Mead, Christopher Wren, Willa Cather, Nelson Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Nat King Cole, Duke Ellington, Judy Collins, Jerry Garcia (Grateful Dead), George Frederic Handel, Desmund Tutu, John Milton, William Wordsworth, John Keats, Jane Austen, Walter Scott, all the Brontes (Charlotte, Emily and Anne), Tennessee Williams.

The Book of Common Prayer (BCP) was actually developed so the common person could have private devotions to God; quite the radical concept in the 1500s. The BCP was intended for all people to be able to praise and listen to God on a regular, daily basis.

The Daily Office, starting on page 934 in the BCP, helps any individual get into the discipline of both devotions and reading the Bible on a daily basis. Through the Daily Office, an individual can cycle through most of the New Testament once a year, and most of the Old Testament every two years. An individual can also cycle through all the Psalms found in the Old Testament several times a year.

Two year cycle: The Daily Office calendar is broken into years One and Two. Follow along the readings for the day of the appropriate year, One or Two. Even numbered years follow year Two (like now, 2006). Odd numbered years follow year One. Now, here’s the trick; the church calendar actually starts in Advent (4 weeks before Christmas), so the Daily Office for 2007 will follow cycle year One and we’ll begin using it 4 weeks before Christmas this year.

Quick history lesson: The first Anglican Book of Common Prayer (a few photographed pages from which are at the back of the church today) was adopted in 1549. It’s interesting to note that much of its tradition and language remains in the prayer books of today.