Editing Eastern Orthodox Church (section)

=== Icons and symbols ===

{{See also|Christian symbolism}}

==== Icons ====

{{Further|Icon}}
[[File:Ushakov Nerukotvorniy.jpg |thumb|left|upright 0.75|''Image of the Saviour [[Acheiropoieta|Not Made by Hand]]'': a traditional Orthodox [[iconography]] in the interpretation of [[Simon Ushakov]] (1658).]]
Aspects of the [[iconography]] borrow from the pre-Christian [[Roman art|Roman]] and [[Hellenistic art]]. [[Henry Chadwick (theologian)|Henry Chadwick]] wrote, "In this instinct there was a measure of truth. The representations of Christ as the Almighty Lord on his judgment throne owed something to pictures of Zeus. Portraits of the Mother of God were not wholly independent of a pagan past of venerated mother-goddesses. In the popular mind the saints had come to fill a role that had been played by heroes and deities."<ref>Henry Chadwick, The Early Church, 283.</ref>

Icons can be found adorning the walls of churches and often cover the inside structure completely.{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=271}} Most Eastern Orthodox homes have an area set aside for family prayer, usually an eastern facing wall, where are hung many icons. Icons have been part of Orthodox Christianity since the beginning of the church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/things/icons.htm |title=Icons – Orthodox Christianity – Religion Facts |access-date=5 March 2015 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150322064748/http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/things/icons.htm |archive-date=22 March 2015 }}</ref>

==== Iconostasis ====

{{Main|Iconostasis}}
[[File:Iconostasis (People's Salvation Cathedral - Bucharest).jpg |thumb |Iconostasis of the [[Romanian People's Salvation Cathedral]]]]

An ''iconostasis'', also called the ''templon'', is a wall of [[icons]] and religious paintings, separating the [[nave]] from the [[sanctuary]] in a [[church (building)|church]]. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church. The modern iconostasis evolved from the [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine]] [[templon]] in the 11th century. The evolution of the iconostasis probably owes a great deal to 14th-century [[Hesychasm|Hesychast]] [[mysticism]] and the wood-carving genius of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].

The first ceiling-high, five-leveled Russian iconostasis was designed by [[Andrey Rublyov]] in the [[cathedral of the Dormition]] in [[Vladimir, Russia|Vladimir]] in 1408.

==== Cross ====
{{multiple image
| total_width       = 200
| image1            = Greek cross.svg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = [[Greek Cross|Greek cross]]
| image2            = Symbol of Orthodoxy.svg
| alt2              = 
| caption2          = [[Russian Orthodox cross|Orthodox cross]]
}}

On the Russian Orthodox cross, the small top crossbar represents the sign that [[Pontius Pilate]] nailed above Christ's head. It often is inscribed with an acronym, "INRI", {{langx|la|Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum}} for "[[INRI|Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews]]" or "INBI", [[Koine Greek]]: Ἰησοῦς ὁ Ναζωραῖος ὁ βασιλεύς τῶν Ἰουδαίων for "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Binz|first=Stephen J.|title=The Names of Jesus|publisher=Twenty-Third Publications|year=2004|isbn=9781585953158|location=New London|pages=81–82}}</ref>

Other crosses associated with the Eastern Orthodox Church are the more traditional single-bar crosses, budded designs, the [[Greek cross]], the [[Latin cross]], the [[Jerusalem cross]] (cross pattée), [[Celtic cross]]es, and others.{{efn|A good explanation of the 3-bar cross was written by Orthodox symbologist Alexander Roman and can be found at http://www.ukrainian-orthodoxy.org/questions/2010/threeBarCross.php {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201124021/http://www.ukrainian-orthodoxy.org/questions/2010/threeBarCross.php |date=1 February 2022 }} }} A common symbolism of the slanted foot stool is the foot-rest points up, toward Heaven, on Christ's right hand-side, and downward, to Hades, on Christ's left. "Between two thieves Thy Cross did prove to be a balance of righteousness: wherefore one of them was dragged down to Hades by the weight of his blasphemy ''[the balance points downward]'', whereas the other was lightened of his transgressions unto the comprehension of theology ''[the balance points upward]''. O Christ God, glory to Thee."<ref>{{cite web|title = An Explanation of the Traditional Russian Orthodox Three-bar Cross|url = http://www.synaxis.info/old-rite/0_oldbelief/instructional_eng/cross_symbolism.html|website = www.synaxis.info|access-date = 17 October 2015|archive-date = 4 July 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150704065215/http://www.synaxis.info/old-rite/0_oldbelief/instructional_eng/cross_symbolism.html|url-status = live}}</ref>