ORTHODOX PREACHINGAS THE ORAL ICON OF CHRIST

In a relativistic postmodern age that is skeptical of propositional truth claims but that is “wired” for images and stories, the iconic nature of Orthodox preaching offers a compelling answer for effectively communicating the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Though preaching styles have varied widely across history and cultures, it is Orthodox preaching, by virtue of its faithfulness to the sacred apostolic and patristic traditions, its integral connection to the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church, and its functioning in tandem with Orthodox spirituality which conveys itself as iconic. Orthodox Preaching as the Oral Icon of Christ addresses the current crisis of preaching in our age and approaches the homiletical discipline from an iconological perspective, revealing how Orthodox preaching sacramentally mediates the presence of the Risen Lord in the midst of the assembly through artful and imaginative word images whereby lives are personally touched and transformed. Just as Orthodox icons are understood to be “windows into heaven,” so effective Orthodox preaching may be understood to transport the listener into the realm of the Holy where lives may be interpreted and transfigured in the light of the Gospel and indeed in the very presence of Christ.