BETWEEN ΨΕΥδΟ-ΕÍΚΏΝ AND ΕÍΚΏΝ: TRUTH AND FALSE IN THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGIOUS PAINTING
BETWEEN ΨΕΥδΟ-ΕÍΚΏΝ AND ΕÍΚΏΝ: TRUTH AND FALSE IN THE DYNAMICS OF RELIGIOUS PAINTING

Summary/Abstract: The paper aims to investigate the tension between the authentic image (εἰκών) and the falsified image (ψευδο-εἰκών) in religious painting, aiming to establish the theological, liturgical and aesthetic criteria that delimit the icon from simple religious representation. In the Orthodox tradition, εἰκών is the visible expression of spiritual reality, participating in the grace of the prototype and constituting a form of visual theology. By contrast, ψευδο-εἰκών designates the non-canonical religious image, devoid of grace participation, which is reduced to affective, decorative or naturalistic expression. The study develops this opposition in three directions: the theological foundation of the icon based on the Incarnation, the analysis of stylistic and functional deviations in the post-Byzantine and contemporary eras, and the assessment of the impact of non-canonical iconography on ecclesial life.

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