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Iconography Night

Evangelism Committee

Updated: Mar 22, 2022

On March 11, 2021, the OCCM Evangelism Committee held its first ever Iconography Night. Participants from all over the diocese gathered via Zoom to take part in the event, which comprised of amazing speakers like Professor Laura A. Hohman, Ph.D from Trevecca Nazarene University, and Fr. Theodore Ghaly. The event also included a tutorial about writing a Jesus Christ icon.


To start the event off, Professor Hohman, Ph.D. graciously gave a captivating lesson expounding upon topics including iconography throughout the Early Christian world of the Mediterranean, the Christian “Pictorial Language” of icons, icon imagery, and modern Coptic imagery. This was an enlightening presentation, as it covered different types of icons in different parts of the world. Professor Hohman shared A Prayer of Preparation to shift us to the next portion of the night, a video tutorial on icon writing.


A video created by UK Coptic Icons was streamed within the Zoom meeting for participants to learn how to write a Coptic icon of Jesus Christ. It was a special aspect of the event. This was an engaging activity as participants were able to connect and share their work with one another.


To end the night, Fr. Theodore shed light on the spirituality of iconography and why icons are still relevant today. Participants learned how icons teach theology, draw us near to saints, and call us to prayer and the heavenly. They also learned why there is opposition to using icons. Fr. Theodore included an example demonstrating that icons are not drawn to show realistic depictions, but rather to remind us what that person’s story and significance holds. This presentation was a valuable aspect of Iconography Night because it is easy to forget the great history and meaning that icons hold.


God bless the efforts of everyone involved in Iconography Night and thank you to those who attended.




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