Open Door

The book arrived quickly, but was sticky. There is something that was spilled on the cover. This has made it so that the book jacket cannot be removed without ripping it and leaving pieces on the actual book cover. I am disappointed in the quality.

Excellent book. It really gives you clarification on veneration of icons. Frederica's books are always a great read!

I really enjoyed this book. Very informative for someone getting interested in icons and their purpose. It was also helpful to me to have a fuller understanding of the Orthodox religion of which I knew nothing.

Perhaps the most unnerving thing for Western Christians in approaching the Eastern Orthodox tradition is their use of icons. Even for Catholics and Anglicans who are familiar with religious images, the Orthodox practice (and even the icons themselves) can strike one as completely alien and even frightening. Frederica Mathewes-Green, a Western convert to Orthodoxy, understands these reservations and confronts the iconoclastic impulse head on in The Open Door by allowing the reader to gain an understanding of this ancient practice through the eyes of faith. Dividing her exposition into two sections, Mathewes-Green writes first on the major icons of the iconostasis (the wood before the altar) and then on other icons of feasts and saints that appear elsewhere in the church. The first section is fittingly the larger and she gives a wonderful description of the history and theological perspective behind four of the most famous icons used in Orthodoxy. Rather that giving a dry technical survey, she approaches each icon from a perspective of prayerful reflection and belief steeped in her Church's ancient tradition. In explaining the meaning behind each icon, Mathewes-Green introduces us to the language of iconography so the reader may appreciate how each icon illustrates the Gospel of Jesus Christ and speaks through the lens of faith things that only the devout could apprehend. From the very first chapter on the Christ of the Sinai to the last on the Old Testament Trinity, we are invited to share a wondrous devotional life with so great a cloud of witnesses. In the renewal of Christianity through the recovery of the faith and practice of the ancient Church, the use of religious images is often overlooked. Frederica Mathewes-Green demonstrates the shortsightedness of such an approach. For those curious either of ancient Christian practice or Eastern Christianity in general or just those looking for a rewarding devotion, The Open Door is essential reading.

Praying with icons has a long (and not always untroubled) history in Christian practice; even the Western Protestant tradition that has come to eschew iconographic elements in worship to varying degrees still recognises the history and artistic value of images in some contexts. Author Frederica Mathewes-Green is writing primarily to this group in her text, with careful explanations and good descriptions that show the spiritual value of icons in a worshipful and prayerful setting. Mathewes-Green writes, 'Unelss you're a member of an Orthodox church, you probably haven't encountered icons in their natural setting.' In this text, she constructs an imaginary church for the reader to visit, with various icons in their typical Orthodox positions. The first part, Iconostasis, looks at the icons that would been on the screen at the altar area. Pictures of the icons are included as colour plates at the centre of the book - these include The Christ of Sinai, The Virgin of Vladimir, The Resurrection, and St. John the Baptist. The second part of the book looks at other icons that might be present in a church, including images of saints, images from scriptural stories of both Old and New Testaments, and other gospel/traditional images of Christ. These are included as black-and-white images in the centre of the book. Mathewes-Green describes the images both in terms of artistry as well as spiritual connection. Some icons are stylised to a high degree, and others are more realistic. By realistic, however, icons are not meant to be portrayals of people in natural settings - icons are meant to connect the one pondering and meditating upon them with the object of worship, that is, with God, in ways that reach the soul beyond what mere words could achieve. Icons often have a 'penetrating effect', with a play at elements of perspective, colour, materials, size and other aspects that draw the eye in particular directions, and place the viewer in otherworldly positions. Icons are meant to be more than interesting pictures. As Mathewes-Green concedes, some icons aren't even 'good art' in many technical senses. 'Icons have their fullest impact on those who are saturated in prayer and Scripture, and who participate in the full life of the Church, with all her mysteries, hymns and worship.' Mathewes-Green describes liturgies and services as well as times of private prayer and devotion during her trips to the imaginary Orthodox church. Her book ends with one of my favourite images, the Old Testament Trinity done by Rublev in 1411. (Archbishop Rowan Williams writes about this in one of his books on icons, too.) The icon is known to me more frequently by the name The Hospitality of Abraham, and this feature is made more prominent by the fact that in some versions of this icon, the figures of Abraham and Sarah are not present, even in the background. Mathewes-Green invites the reader on a dozen imaginative trips to gaze upon the 'windows into heaven'

Frederica Mathewes-Green's little book is a quick and easy read that is reflective and revealing. She does a magnificent job in describing the layout of Orthodox Church buildings, the use and place of icons, and "feasts and icons" (a section I found particularily helpful). This book is intended, I think, for non-orthodox and Orthodox Christians alike who want an introductory type book, either as material to learn more about the place icons and sancuaries have in Orthodox worship or for just a nice quick refreshing read.