New “life icon” resources on North America Saints available from DCE
A “life icon” is one in which a series of smaller icons depicting events from a saint’s life surround a larger panel depicting the saint in glory. A new resource now available from the Orthodox Church in America’s Department of Christian Education [DCE] examines the life icons of three North American saints—Herman, Jacob Netsvetov and Tikhon of Moscow.
“Each icon offers a picture-by-picture explanation of the individual scenes from the saints’ lives with a detailed account on the reverse,” said Matushka Valerie Zahirsky, DCE Chairperson. “Studying the icons and the narrative together will give students a deeper understanding of who the saint was and what he did, with both the written word and the visual depictions of his life.”
These resources can be used in Church schools and parish education groups and are appropriate for all age groups, children through adult. The resources may be used
- to supplement the lessons on these saints in the DCE’s activity book, Saints of North America, which may be downloaded here. For example, after studying the saints’ life icons, younger children might wish to color the iconographic black and white drawings found in the activity book.
- as mini-lessons presented on the saints’ feast days, during which a group might read the detailed accounts and then review them by reviewing the individual life icons.
- as a display. The PDF of each life icon may be enlarged at a copy center and displayed in the classroom or church hall for the entire parish to study.
- to generate fun “pop quizzes” that can be used to review the saints’ lives after reading the accounts of their lives. For example, Saint Jacob’s life icon includes details about a tent, a kayak, an Alaskan shaman, and the Archangel Michael Cathedral in Sitka.
- as a project for younger students to make their own books about the saints, drawing simplified versions of the small icons while writing their own brief explanations for each one.
- to compare elements of the saints’ lives. For example, both Saint Tikhon and Saint Jacob traveled great distances to remote Alaskan villages. They both built churches. All three saints traveled from Russia to North America.
Additional life icons and accompanying narrative stories of other North American saints will be added to the collection in the near future.
“They provide a great source for learning about those who began and ‘expanded the mission’ of the Church—a timely topic in light of the theme of the forthcoming 18th All-American Council in July 2015,” added Matushka Valerie.