Contemporary Iconography

This session explores modern and contemporary developments in religious iconography, both within and beyond Eastern Orthodox Christianity, especially as these developments relate to iconography as a mode of social engagement and resistance to injustice. Specific topics that will be discussed include the imagery of Black Madonnas as a tool for resistance to the multidimensional oppression facing Black Christian women; the iconographic work of Russian Orthodox priest Fr. Teodor Zinon as an alternative to the religious and social vision currently dominant in Russian Orthodoxy; the military features of the divine feminine in the Ukrainian Javelin Madonna mural and Hindu representations of the goddess Durga; and the history of the modern and contemporary Anglican engagement with Eastern Orthodox iconography.

The first paper explores religious iconography as essential to political movements. Through imagery of hope and resistance, new theological imaginations are developed. This paper examines the imagery of Black Madonnas as a tool for resistance to the multidimensional oppression facing Black Christian women. Drawing on the works of theologians Kelly Brown Douglas, Albert Cleage, James Cone, Michelle Wolff, and philosopher Paul C. Taylor, among others, I will argue Black Madonnas both re-affirm the *Imago Dei* found in brown skin and represent the liberative vision at the heart of womanist theology. Through an examination of two works of public religious art, the *Black Madonna* in the Shrine of the Black Madonna #1 in Detroit and *Madonna and Child of Soweto* in Soweto, South Africa, this paper demonstrates the political power in these iconic works of art.

The second paper discusses Fr Zinon (Teodor), widely regarded as one of contemporary Russia’s most important—and controversial—iconographers. This paper argues that his work offers an alternative social-religious vision to that currently dominant in the Orthodox Church in Russia. The paper explores, in particular, the opportunity that Fr Zinon had in 2012–13 to realize his theological and artistic vision most fully when he designed and executed the icons for the lower church of St Petersburg’s Feodorovskii Sobor. Fr Zinon asserts that the design of the lower church realizes what makes the church a loving community in which all members know themselves to be valued and can participate actively in the Divine Liturgy and in loving service to others.

The third paper examines Marian iconography during the Russo-Ukrainian war, where the Virgin is depicted as protecting and fighting. A notable example is the Javelin Madonna mural, with Mary carrying an anti-tank weapon, which Ukrainian religious leaders criticized as blasphemous. Although this critique rightly resists the politicization of religion, the accusation of blasphemy ignores the military symbolism within religious art of various traditions. I use Eastern Christian iconography of the Virgin Mary (which I compare with the Hindu representations of the goddess Durga) to illuminate some of the military features of the divine feminine. The key question I am trying to address is: what does a Marian, i.e., feminine, military representation, add to our understanding of religion and violence? Mary as Sophia, the Church/Polis and Women of Apocalypse allows us to keep the sacred and mundane together and avoids an easy de-politicization of religion.

The final paper posits an Anglican theology of iconographic practice, tracing shifts in Anglican engagement with Eastern Orthodox icons from 1888 to 2020, with reference to the Anglican-Orthodox Theological Dialogue. It highlights a growing openness to iconography, reflecting a convergence with Orthodox theology on various theological topics over the past 50 years.  This culminates in the work of Rowan Williams, whose life-long interest in Eastern Orthodoxy lays a foundation for a uniquely Anglican interpretation of the icon.  The paper concludes with an "Icons of Resilience" case study in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, General Theological Seminary, NYC. A trio of icons depicting Alexander Crummell, Florence Li Tim-Oi, and Pauli Murray inspire students and promote practices of remembrance and repentance rooted in Anglican baptismal theology. The Anglican appropriation of Orthodox iconography at General Seminary reveals a theology that intertwines theosis with social holiness.