Forums: Theology in Color
A Sunday Forum series on Eastern Orthodox icons introduced St. Alban's to their theology and history.
Images used in worship and prayer by Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, Romanians, Serbs, Copts, and Orthodox believers around the world are the oldest form of Christian art. Yet, Western Christians are mostly unfamiliar with this 1,900 year-old tradition. Rev. Dr. Ed Roslof led a two-part series on icons in January. Ed is a parishioner and an ordained United Methodist minister, seminary professor and dean. His knowledge of Orthodox Christianity is based both on scholarly research and on his personal experiences in Russia, where he lived for a total of 15 years.
As you listen to the forum series on Orthodox icons, the images below will help you follow along. We've also embedded the video Ed showed--a two-minute explanation of how icons are made.
Part One:
Part Two:
Theotokos with Three Hands
Icon not made with Hands
Descent into Hell
Christ Pantocreator
Theotokos the Milk Giver
Elijah and Elisha Icon
Last Supper Icon
John the Forerunner
St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker
About the speaker
Rev. Dr. Ed Roslof, a St. Alban's parishioner, led the Theology in Color forums. He's an ordained United Methodist minister, seminary professor and dean who taught at Harvard Divinity School, United Theological Seminary (Dayton, Ohio) and the United Methodist Theological Seminary in Moscow. His knowledge of Orthodox Christianity is based both on scholarly research and on his personal experiences in Russia, where he lived for a total of 15 years. Dr. Roslof specializes in the history of Christianity in Russia and has written extensively on the fate of the Orthodox Church in the 20th century. He recently returned to Washington and St. Alban’s with his family after a four-year stint in Moscow.
Read more about icons.