Eastern Christian Worlds by Mahmoud Zibawi
Weakland, Rembert G
THE ECUMENISM OF BEAUTY Eastern Christian Worlds Mahmound Zibawi Translated by Madeleine Beaumont The Liturgical Press, $99,95, 272 pp, Rembert G. Weakland Dust as there is a renewed interest...
...As in the Byzantine tradition, the pre-Chalcedonians did not permit three-dimensional art...
...But the icons of the other Orthodox churches-the Syrians, the Armenians, the Ethiopians, the Copts-are less well known...
...Reproductions of the great Greek icons as well as their Russian counterparts have become commonplace now in the West...
...they were expressions of dogma...
...Eastern Christian Worlds is thus not just a fine contribution to the broader history of the icon but shows the art of a vast and believing segment of the church, a communion too frequently neglected, if not forgotten, in the West...
...Zibawi does not end his discussion with the late Middle Ages, as many such books on the icon do, but continues his story in many cases into the last century...
...The crossover between secular and sacred patterns is less discernible than in the purely Byzantine models...
...But the Arabic contribution is also clear, both in the decorative surroundings- the framework of the pieces-as well as in the ornaments...
...Although a few early reliefs on buildings, doors, and the like can still be found, the three-dimensional portrayal is too graphic for the spiritualization sought by the religious artist...
...Since this was at the heart of the Christological struggles of the fourth century, the icons become more than just pictures to pray in front of...
...With regard to icons we all have a knowledge, even if superficial, of the Byzantine tradition...
...This scope makes the book somewhat uneven in depth, but even the later examples he produces are of interest...
...We have also become well-acquainted with the iconography of other groups that were associated with Byzantium throughout history...
...THE ECUMENISM OF BEAUTY Eastern Christian Worlds Mahmound Zibawi Translated by Madeleine Beaumont The Liturgical Press, $99,95, 272 pp, Rembert G. Weakland Dust as there is a renewed interest in our day in Gregorian chant, so there is also a re-assimilation of the icon into our religious sensibilities...
...These pre-Chalcedonian, or Eastern Orthodox churches as we call them, also had their icons...
...This interest in the icon is to be found among all churches and constitutes what the eminent historical scholar, Olivier Clement, in the preface to this work calls the "ecumenism of beauty...
...Icons in the Eastern Orthodox tradition maintain a likeness to the person depicted but do so under very stringent norms, lest they fail in their portrayal of the human participation in divine life...
...Rembert G. Weakland, O.S.B., is the archbishop of Milwaukee...
...Zibawi concentrates precisely on these Eastern Orthodox churches that went their own way after the Council of Chalcedon (451) and outlines their iconographic contribution...
...This leads to the whole question of di-vinization and the relationship between the human and the divine...
...For this reason Mahmoud Zibawi's study is most needed...
...They are theology in visible form...
...In fact, as the necessary, but more theoretical and official dialogues continue between East and West, the liturgical and artistic ecumenism continues at its own unauthorized pace...
...As one would expect, the Byzantine influence is pervasive...
...The West has often been enticed by the beauty of icons, by their otherworldly quality, their transparency and incandescence...
...One of the benefits of studying the art marvelously reproduced in this book is in tracing the various currents that influenced iconic style...
...The icon becomes a way of telling another story, especially about how the divine and the human are to meet...
...The text is not an easy one to read since the style is often elliptic, passing from historical to aesthetic comments in the same paragraph and presupposing more knowledge than the average, even educated, reader might possess about the early Christological controversies and the councils of the fifth century...
...A quick glance through the book will convince any reader that the faces depicted are not the usual Greek and Russian profiles...
...Sadly, however, the physical deterioration of so many of the best pieces is also evident...
...Still, we must ask what it is that the painter is trying to portray...
...The author is correct in his assertion that we cannot understand another church without understanding its full tradition, not just its theological formulas...
...Even this adage was highly controverted, as was evident during the iconoclastic controversies...
...On the other hand, the bibliography is more than adequate for those who wish for further clarification, and, most important, many examples of the icons discussed are beautifully reproduced in colored plates...
...The icon is thus not an end but a means toward a deeper Christological and anthropological understanding...
...The search for the transcendent finds its expression in the icon, just as it does in the liturgy itself...
...These icons depict a more diversified church and a more universal one...
...We must remember that Islam opposed human figures in art and excelled more in decorative textures...
...Zibawi quotes Hypatios of Ephesus (sixth century) to explain this position: "We accept that veneration be shown to images traced on wood and stone but not to sculptured images...
...For example, we admire especially the Russian Orthodox tradition...
...They are doctrine in art...
...In this latter case the fascination with the icon has led to modern imitations as well as newer creative extensions of the art to include contemporary and more popular saintly figures such as Dorothy Day, Oscar Romero, and John Henry Newman...
...Because of its countless reproductions, most people now recognize the icon of the Trinity and the Eucharist- perhaps the most famous icon in the world-picturing the three angels during their meal with Abraham, painted by Andre Rublev about the year 1410 and now in the Historical Museum in Moscow...
...It can also be taken for granted with the pre-Chalcedonian churches that during the iconoclastic controversies a goodly number of fine pieces from the early centuries, that is, created before the Council of Nicaea II in 787, were destroyed...
Vol. 123 • June 1996 • No. 11
