The Coloured Gospel

By Hieromonk Ioannikios Kotsonis

From the Preface

About fifty years ago, before God deemed me unworthy to engage with Byzantine Iconography in practice and theory, I had some prejudices against it. I thought this art form was somewhat repulsive, supernatural, lacking beauty and appeal. And I despised it, wretched, uneducated, and in darkness. I only saw it superficially, the surface, the rind of things.

However, the Lord, the True Light, "that enlightens every man coming into the world," enlightened me at one point. And I was filled with divine joy. My frequent visits to the Holy Meteora and Mount Athos, along with my study of the "mystical" works of Theophanes the Cretan and various artworks of the Panagia, became a bridge that transported me from the worldly, naturalistic, man-pleasing grounds of European paintings to the opposite bank of Byzantine Iconography.

The penetrating lens of Orthodoxy's mystical life and art revealed the mystery of worldly and supernatural reality to myopic eyes. And seeing these wonderful coloured evangelical readings, our holy Byzantine icons, I exclaimed, "Oh, the depth of the riches and knowledge and wisdom of God..." (Romans 11:33).

Very quickly, then, I realised that foreign, European or Frankish icons are not images for the liturgical life of our faithful. Rather, they are decals or paintings, likenesses of contemporary men and women in worldly attire, and often provocative appearances. The only liturgical icon is the Byzantine icon. And it is time for us, the shepherds, to absorb this truth first and then teach it to our flock, which does not know.

For this reason, we consider that this small book, the COLOURED GOSPEL, can become a helpful resource on the great subject of our Byzantine Liturgical Art. Indeed, the Liturgical icon is a visual lesson of our Faith, a coloured Gospel, because it teaches the truths of our Faith with colours. It is a colourful Dogma and a colourful Hagiology.

The Liturgical icon makes you pray, guides you to redemptive awe, and teaches you. It is a school of silence and prayer, a school and a healing place-a school and a healing place of awe and purification.

To understand a Byzantine icon, you must see it with tearful eyes. At the same time, understanding a Byzantine icon brings tears and awe.

The Byzantine icon is the unspoken Word of God, an inward Word that works toward the sanctification of the soul. It is a Gospel with colours and representations. It is a catechesis and a sermon, which says: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16).

Moreover, in Orthodoxy, we believe that Divine Grace is transmitted and activated even through matter. Thus, holy and sacred icons have often become vessels of Divine Grace. We have Miraculous icons painted by iconographers with prayer and fasting, which have miraculous energy for many pious pilgrims.

The same Divine Grace that manifests the benevolent and philanthropic results of its presence through the holy relics uses the God-Man form of the Lord, the Theotokos or deified forms of various saints, engraved with colours for the glory of God and the benefit of souls.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F1YZ5CXY
• ISBN13: 9798314637548
• Release Date: March 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 66 Pages
• Weight: 0.16 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.1" x 7.8"