Icons can be a great school, but their importance is not only in teaching the doctrine, especially when they don’t depict an incident, but a person, and most of all the Christ.
These Icons, commonly called ‘pantokratorikes’ (images of the Christ Pantokrator), showing Him from the middle of His body to the face, let our attention focus on His face, secondarily to the Triadological and Christological movement of His blessing and to the Book that He keeps in the other hand — never to an episode of His life.
By looking and kissing these images we grow our intimacy with Him.
We can do that in the Church and at home, provided that we do not have the Icons in inaccessible spots. Above all, we should never act out of ‘obligation’, but only when we want, if we want.
Perhaps it wouldn’t be superfluous to add that the possibility of this education and growth is created only when we have real Icons, those following the Byzantine tradition, not the speculations rather than icons of the West, where nothing is shown more than the absence of truth and holiness.
Cf. Orthodox Icons of the Christ
