Icon and liturgy, two expressions of a single Mystery: the example of the Transfiguration
Article summary proposed by the Contacts review with LLM assistance
This article by André Lossky offers a comparative study between the iconographic representations of the Transfiguration of Christ and the texts that deal with it — Gospel narratives, patristic homilies and Byzantine liturgical hymns. The approach is analytical and classificatory: the author identifies the elements common to both modes of expression, those that the texts develop without the icon fully retaining them (cloud, voice of the Father, Trinitarian dimension), and those that the icon particularly emphasizes, notably the uncreated light and the universal transfiguration of creatures. The main theological contribution lies in highlighting the mystagogical role of the icon: placed in its liturgical context, it is not limited to illustrating an event, but renders it present and active, initiating the believer into his own transfiguration. The article thus illuminates the fundamental complementarity between icon and liturgy as mutually supportive expressions of one and the same living Tradition in the Orthodox Church.
This article has not been translated yet — it is available in its French version here.
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