Rev. Webber and the Iconostasis

Energetic Procession offers a response to the Issues Etc. three-part series on Eastern Orthodoxy.

In the "Orthodoxy Today" interview, Rev. Webber offers a typical Lutheran argument against the Iconostasis.

I focused a lot on the inconscreen during my first visit last year to an Orthodox church. I had read many Lutheran critiques, most similar to Pr. Webber’s in the “Orthodoxy Today” interview, and was curious about the history and reason behind such a structure.

Perry Robinson, in his response to Pr. Webber’s interview on Issues Etc., offers an explanation for the Inconscreen. He states:

"Next Webber takes a shot at the iconostasis as a kind of great wall or barrier between God and the people. But this is a mistake for many reasons. First, initially the iconscreens were much smaller. They served a variety of purposes historically. In some churches underground it served the practical purpose of a little fence to keeping dogs from urinating on the altar. More directly, it grew out of the practice of Christians placing relics and pictures of martyrs near and around the altar. This was eventually standardized to include prototypes of martyrdom and the faith, the chief martyr being Christ. The ecclesiastical use was in part as “looking out” at those approaching for the eucharist as a reminder of who they were facing, to take it in seriousness and to ward off those who had not prepared themselves or those who feigned belief. Furthermore, the iconostasis does not function in the same way that the barrier in the temple functioned in the Holy of Holies since there is a clear and open entry way through the royal doors indicating that the way to God has been opened in Christ. This is why the priest alone is permitted to pass through them while the deacons and attending servers enter through the deacon-doors. The iconostasis also represents the Trinitarian processions out into creation and the divine return. Hence it manifests the distinction between the theologia and the economia. Added to this is the fact that most Lutheran churches retain some form of barrier around the altar, in some cases, particularly in Europe a roodscreen."