We invite you to join us for a lecture by PhD candidate, Dept. of Theology, Lucas Lynn Christensen, exploring the relationship between visual art, history, and ritual through Andrew of Crete’s engagement with the Dormition icon. His research examines how visual elements serve as historical evidence, blurring the boundaries between imagery, ritual, and sacred truth.
In a series of early eighth-century homilies, Andrew of Crete explicitly references the detailed imagery of the Dormition icon, transforming visual elements into persuasive evidence for the historical events it commemorates. This lecture explores how Andrew deploys the icon’s details as an epistemological resource—a visual argument that invites his audience to actively participate in completing the narrative. For listeners encountering the celebration for the first time, the icon serves not only as a testimonial object but also as an open-ended canvas. By interweaving vivid recollections of his own experiences in Jerusalem with calls for mimetic ritual participation, Andrew positions his hearers within the very frame of the icon, thereby blurring the boundaries between art, lived ritual, and historical truth. This investigation reconsiders the role of visual representation in constructing and authenticating sacred history, revealing how immersive engagement with an image can function as a dynamic form of historical evidence.