Re] Eastern Orthodox icons placement of icons

[William Ryan]

Michele Berdy gives most of the answers to Kenneth Allen's question. I 
would add that the eastern orientation of Orthodox churches is not 
peculiar to them - most churches, both Orthodox and Catholic, after the 
sixth century were built to that orientation where possible, and for the 
same biblical reasons. The common position of the icons in the krasnyi 
or perednii ugol across the corner diagonally is perhaps explained by 
practicality (use of space - there were/are often many icons in several 
rows - position of windows), and aesthetics and visibility (a picture 
flat on a wall close into a corner is not pleasing or visible from all 
parts of the room, or convenient for prayer). It is also the case that 
not all areas of Russia followed this custom and that to some extent it 
may have depended on local patterns of house design.

On the second part of Kenneth Allen's question - recommendations on 
literature about the 'symbolic and functional operations of icons' - by 
far the most original, wide-ranging and scholarly study of icons in 
Russian culture in recent years is Oleg Tarasov's "Ikona i blagochestie" 
(Moscow, 1995), which appeared in English in translation by Robin 
Milner-Gulland as "Icon and devotion: sacred spaces in Imperial Russia" 
(London, 2002). As well as being a mine of both serious and curious 
historical information, documentation, and interpretation, it is also 
remarkably well illustrated and refreshingly free of both excessive 
religiosity and the more tedious kinds of art history.

Will Ryan

Michele A. Berdy wrote:
>  On icons and the icon corner:
>
>  Orthodox Christians pray to the East for a number of reasons: the
>  Second Coming will be from the East (Matt 24:27); Eden was in the
>  East; the Three Wise Men saw the star in the East (Matt 2:1-2);
>  Ezekiel saw the "Glory of the Lord" when looking East (Eze 43:4);
>  etc. (many Biblical references) --  and also because the sun rises in
>  the East. The altar of an Orthodox Church is in the east, when
>  possible, and so are icons in homes. The icons are traditionally
>  placed in the corner to limit distractions. If I'm not mistaken, in
>  Russia houses were built so that the entrance to the main room was in
>  the west corner, across from the east corner, so the icon would be
>  the first thing a person saw when entering (and the person would
>  venerate the icon(s) before greeting the hosts). Today houses and
>  apartments aren't built for Orthodox worship (!), so people make icon
>  corners or icon shelves (or walls) wherever it makes sense.
>
>  You might be interested in: The Meaning of Icons (Leonid Ouspensky,
>  Valdimir Lossky); Timothy Ware's books (good basic intros to Orthodox
>  worship for Westerners); Icons and Saints of the Orthodox Church
>  (Alfredo Tradigo; very detailed analyses of icons); Praying with
>  Icons (Jim Forest; more devotional than academic, but a good
>  introduction).
>
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