Icon Stand
An analogion is a stand that can hold an icon or liturgical book. A central icon stand offers a place to approach and venerate an icon.
Perspective note
Comparative historical/source study. The original author's or church's reception is retained; inclusion does not make every claim Oriental Orthodox teaching.
Key points
- Veneration honors the person depicted and directs prayer toward Christ and His saints.
- Look for: A sloped stand bearing an icon for veneration.
- Illustrated location: Nave
- Sacred imagery and the Incarnation (Christian typology): Solomon’s Temple had carved cherubim, palms, and flowers. Orthodox icons relate sacred imagery to the Incarnation: the Son became visible in human flesh. The iconostasis, icon stand, apse, and dome invite prayer directed to the persons depicted.
- Biblical Temple ornament is a precedent for sacred imagery; it does not by itself establish every later Orthodox practice. Jewish and Christian understandings of religious images differ across communities and periods.
- Images affirmed without prescribing the later icon screen (Historical connection): The council's decree affirms images of Christ, Mary, angels, and saints in churches and other settings. It distinguishes honorable reverence from the worship belonging to the divine nature. Orthodox and Catholic churches receive this council; Reformed teaching rejects the religious use of images, while other Protestant traditions differ.
- The decree does not prescribe a modern full-height iconostasis or establish when every arrangement of icons developed. Its theological authority and its distinction between veneration and worship are accepted differently across Christian traditions.
Scripture
- 1 Kings 6:1–35 — Sacred imagery and the Incarnation: Solomon’s Temple had carved cherubim, palms, and flowers. Orthodox icons relate sacred imagery to the Incarnation: the Son became visible in human flesh. The iconostasis, icon stand, apse, and dome invite prayer directed to the persons depicted.
- John 1:14–18 — Sacred imagery and the Incarnation: Solomon’s Temple had carved cherubim, palms, and flowers. Orthodox icons relate sacred imagery to the Incarnation: the Son became visible in human flesh. The iconostasis, icon stand, apse, and dome invite prayer directed to the persons depicted.
Sources and further reading
- 1 Kings 6:1–35 — World English Bible
- John 1:14–18 — World English Bible
- Nicaea II (787) - the council's definition on images
- OCA — Icons and the Iconostasis
- Orthodox Church of the Mother of God — Instructions for the Church Reader
- St. Michael the Archangel Orthodox Church — The Central Analogion
- Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church — Candles and Icons
- Westminster Larger Catechism — worship and images (questions 108–109)