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The Icon to this day plays a central role in the Orthodox faith. The tradition began with the discovery of the "Image Not Made With Hands" in Ancient Edessa in the 6th Century which served as a prototype for all subsequent Icons of Christ.

The Icon maker or painter was the spiritual equivalent of a Priest with equal recognition in the community. The artisan lived a life devoted to prayer and began the next Icon only after seeking inspiration first. It was believed that producing an Icon was an act of worship. The resulting image was believed to be inspired and blessed.

Icon painting or crafting preceded the era of art. Art that is meant to be esthetically pleasing or to evoke emotion really began during the Renaissance. Icons were purely religious and were believed to contain the essence of Christ or the Saint characterized.

Orthodox homes had an Icon in every room of the home as a means of drawing Christ's very presence into that room as with the saints. Icons always faced East, the direction from which Christ will return. The main room of the house had a corner devoted to numerous Icons, "The Icon Corner". When a guest entered the home, he or she would bow towards the corner three times while making the sign of the Cross before addressing anyone else in the home.

It was a tradition to give the bride and groom each an Icon on their wedding day. The bride received an Icon of Mary while the groom an Icon of Christ. Upon death this same Icon was hung on a post at the foot of the grave for 40 days after which it returned to the family.

The study of Iconography looks at how the Shroud image, rediscovered in Edessa in 525 AD was the progenitor of all the images of Christ that followed. Some of the common characteristics between the Shroud and many icon images are: the large hollow eyes, forked beard, a sprock of hair in the middle of forehead, a flattened nose, raised cheeks, and most pronounced is a double line across the neck which corresponds with a fold line on the Shroud. Not all Icons have all the same characteristics but the pattern is clear.

Iconography is just one area of research that clearly contradicts a medieval carbon date. Ian Wilson's book, Holy Faces Secret Places is an excellent in depth study.

Find more information about Iconography and ancient art at Shroud University.