Similarity to the prototype is one of the defining features of the Orthodox icon. What is this similarity? It does not refer to the external resemblance or appearance-if the case, the photographical portrait of a saint would be itself a holy icon-but to a hypostatic likeness, expressing the eternal reality of the person represented. Yet, the holy parents who met at the Seventh Ecumenical Synod did not clearly state this distinction; but they had a hunch in this regard. They discussed the right of the image to be in church, while the subtler issues, however important they proved to be, only occurred later.

Keywords:

icon, likeness, prototype, photography, Seventh Ecumenical Synod

VASILE MANEA