Iconographic Xenotradition in Catholicism: Are Icons Written or Painted?

Abstract

In Catholic iconography groups and practitioners, it is argued that icons are not painted but written. This kind of belief gives rise to strange theological inspirations that are presented as the theology of the Eastern Church, but are in fact a misunderstood tradition or a new word that has no resonance in the context of the Eastern Church. Elements of another system, incorporated into a religious system, without being part of that tradition, quite quickly take on strange forms which, without thorough investigation, are circulated among the promoters of the new religious elements. The study has shown that there is no belief in the teaching of the Eastern Church that the creation of icons is linked to writing, a belief shared only by Catholics interested in the spirituality that accompanies iconography. This belief is most likely due to the literal translation of the Russian term писать, which refers to both painting and writing.