Phenomenology of the Icon
Mediating God through the Image

Interweaving art history, patristics, theology, and aesthetics, this original phenomenological study develops a fresh new approach to the icon.

Stephanie Rumpza (Author), Jean-Luc Marion (Preface by)

9781009317924, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 August 2023

312 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.8 cm, 0.62 kg

'Everyone knows that the veneration of the icon was defended in eighth- and ninth-century Byzantium. Stephanie Rumpza takes this defense one step further through a critically appreciative extension of the insights of theological - patristic and contemporary Orthodox - and phenomenological discussions of the image. The result is a lucid account what it is meant by God's self-showing of Godself and a compelling argument of how it is that the finite particularity of the icon has the capacity to mediate the infinite God. It is no exaggeration to say that when it comes to both philosophical and theological accounts of the icon, this book is now the standard.' Aristotle Papanikolaou, Fordham University

How can something finite mediate an infinite God? Weaving patristics, theology, art history, aesthetics, and religious practice with the hermeneutic phenomenology of Hans-George Gadamer and Jean-Luc Marion, Stephanie Rumpza proposes a new answer to this paradox by offering a fresh and original approach to the Byzantine icon. She demonstrates the power and relevance of the phenomenological method to integrate hermeneutic aesthetics and divine transcendence, notably how the material and visual dimensions of the icon are illuminated by traditional practices of prayer. Rumpza's study targets a problem that is a major fault line in the continental philosophy of religion – the integrity of finite beings I relation to a God that transcends them. For philosophers, her book demonstrates the relevance of a cherished religious practice of Eastern Christianity. For art historians, she proposes a novel philosophical paradigm for understanding the icon as it is approached in practice.

1. An introduction to the icon
2. Resonance: Hans-Georg Gadamer's aesthetics
3. The window: Jean-Luc Marion's 'Icon'
4. Representation: the icon and artwork
5. Presence: the icon and prayer
6. Substitution: the icon and veneration
7. Performance: the icon and the liturgy
8. The love letter: iconic mediation
Select bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Philosophy of religion [HRAB], Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600 [HPCB], History of art: Byzantine & Medieval art c 500 CE to c 1400 [ACK]