The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ [Hardcover]

Rowan Williams (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 107 pages
• Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802827780
• ISBN-13: 978-0802827784
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rowan Douglas Williams was born in Swansea, south Wales on 14 June 1950, into a Welsh-speaking family, and was educated at Dynevor School in Swansea and Christ's College Cambridge where he studied theology. He studied for his doctorate - in the theology of Vladimir Lossky, a leading figure in Russian twentieth-century religious thought - at Wadham College Oxford, taking his DPhil in 1975. After two years as a lecturer at the College of the Resurrection, near Leeds, he was ordained deacon in Ely Cathedral before returning to Cambridge.

From 1977, he spent nine years in academic and parish work in Cambridge: first at Westcott House, being ordained priest in 1978, and from 1980 as curate at St George's, Chesterton. In 1983 he was appointed as a lecturer in Divinity in the university, and the following year became dean and chaplain of Clare College. 1986 saw a return to Oxford now as Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity and Canon of Christ Church; he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1989, and became a fellow of the British Academy in 1990. He is also an accomplished poet and translator.

In 1991 Professor Williams accepted election and consecration as bishop of Monmouth, a diocese on the Welsh borders, and in 1999 on the retirement of Archbishop Alwyn Rice Jones he was elected Archbishop of Wales, one of the 38 primates of the Anglican Communion. Thus it was that, in July 2002, with eleven years experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a leading primate in the Communion, Archbishop Williams was confirmed on 2 December 2002 as the 104th bishop of the See of Canterbury: the first Welsh successor to St Augustine of Canterbury and the first since the mid-thirteenth century to be appointed from beyond the English Church.

Dr Williams is acknowledged internationally as an outstanding theological writer, scholar and teacher. He has been involved in many theological, ecumenical and educational commissions. He has written extensively across a very wide range of related fields of professional study - philosophy, theology (especially early and patristic Christianity), spirituality and religious aesthetics - as evidenced by his bibliography. He has also written throughout his career on moral, ethical and social topics and, since becoming archbishop, has turned his attention increasingly on contemporary cultural and interfaith issues.

As Archbishop of Canterbury his principal responsibilities are however pastoral - leading the life and witness of the Church of England in general and his own diocese in particular by his teaching and oversight, and promoting and guiding the communion of the world-wide Anglican Church by the globally recognized ministry of unity that attaches to the office of bishop of the see of Canterbury.

His interests include music, fiction and languages.

In 1981 Dr Williams married Jane Paul, a lecturer in theology, whom he met while living and working in Cambridge. They have a daughter and a son.

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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lux et veritas, February 18, 2004

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FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ (Hardcover)

`The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ' is a companion volume to 'Ponder These Things: Praying with Icons of the Virgin', a recent book by Rowan Williams, now Archbishop of Canterbury after a distinguished career as an academic and cleric in the Churches of England and Wales (Anglican Church). Williams has a great affinity for the wider breadth of Christian experience, drawing influences and inspiration from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox practices across the centuries. In this book, Williams continues to explore ways in which meditation and prayer can be strengthened and enhanced with incorporation of iconographic images, this time with icons of Christ.

Protestants particularly have lost the tradition of the use of art work as representative objects for worship. However, the debate over the appropriateness of icons and other imagery is almost as old as Christianity itself. There was a time when icons of Christ were banned because Jesus, being of divine nature, wasn't suitable for depiction. That Jesus could be depicted without violation of the 'no graven images' commandment took a long time to be decided, and finally was deemed permissible because of Jesus' human nature. Rare the depiction of God or God the Father as anything more than a cloud, a hand, or some other vague symbol meant to characterise, more than anything else, the mystery involved rather than an actual physical likeness. Michaelangelo's depictions on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are remarkable not simply from their aesthetic quality, but also in that the image of God is very direct and distinctly human in form. Williams devotes many pages of the introduction to looking at precisely the issue of the theology behind the depiction of Jesus.

However, icons are a special form of art. They are not simple paintings, however elegant, but take the form, from their origination to their veneration, as a form of prayer in and of themselves in very real ways. Christian art was a long time in developing (indeed, the earliest Christians were sometimes thought to be atheists since they had no visible evidence of gods around).

This is a small book. It has a mere 85 pages or so of text, and thus could be read fairly quickly. However, to do so would be to deny oneself the richness of the experience. One can glance at an icon, generally a fairly small object, and think one has seen it. However, the true experience of an icon, and the true experience of this book, comes from re-reading, stopping, meditating, and slowly working through each detail. The book is generously illustrated in word and graphic art. Each of the icons is presented in full colour, with details highlighted in larger size at appropriate points in the text.

Through all the meditations, we are looking for God, and hopefully come to realise that God also looks for us. As Williams said in the previous volume, we find the God who has taken up residence in the heart of our humanity, who prays when we are not looking, not trying, who is at work when we are silent or helpless, and who can never be pinned down to a here or there in our individual lives or in the Church at large.

The icons presented here are depictions of the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, the Hospitality of Abraham, and the Pantocrator. The Transfiguration shows a Jesus in white with a holy representation around him; Moses and Elijah join him as the three disciples sleep in the foreground. Just as Jesus was himself changed, looking at Jesus changes things for us, and the icon drives this home. Ironically, the gospel of John is the gospel which has no Transfiguration story; however, looking at this icon gives the impression that the whole of John's gospel is a story of Transfiguration, so the depiction of Jesus as the Christ is always present in the reading.

The Resurrection is, of course, the pivotal event in the Christian story. The fifteenth century icon shows the risen Christ at the open door, but not of the tomb, but rather the gates of hell. The Resurrection is a point of liberation, and this icon shows the redemption of Adam and Eve (among others), symbolising in a very dramatic way the redemption offered to all humankind. The Resurrection is new birth and new creation, and a bridging of divisions created by sin. All these can be seen in the iconographic image.

The fifteenth century icon by Andrei Rublev of the portrayal of the Hospitality of Abraham may seem like a strange departure in icons about the life and figure of Christ, but in fact in much of Christian thinking, the visitors to Abraham are a prefigured Trinity. The three angels who visit Abraham at the oaks at Mamre represent for later Trinitarian Christians the idea of the Christ who always was, and is, and is to come. There are only three figures - the depiction of Abraham, whose hospitality is highlighted, is missing. The three angelic figures are all human in form, which makes it an impossible literal rendering of the Trinity. As with most icons, the gaze and hand gestures reveal the story, and the icon depicts a proto-trinity very much in Orthodox creedal fashion.

The final icon, Pantocrator, is one of the most familiar of icons of the twentieth century, depicting Christ in the most familiar of roles - that of judge and ruler of the world. The icon shows a benevolent Christ, and unlike many icons, has words to reinforce the meaning - `Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.' Christ is a humble person still mighty in power; not depicted as a royal (no crown) or militant, there is simple truth here.

The power of icons resides in their continuing ability to draw forth new meaning from sustained meditations. This book helps to reinforce this power, and, with the earlier volume, opens up for all, Orthodox or not, one of the true glories of Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the spiritual life of the world.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Meditation on four icons, most enjoyable..., October 10, 2005

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Peter Menkin (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ (Hardcover)

This small, very pretty, and interesting book in the sense that it has a lot to say in a short period of text (as if text had time in it), is certainly something to meditate on and think about. Just about a few days reading, Rowan Williams has managed to meditate and so interpret in a theological way, these icons: The Transfiguration, The Resurrection, Christ as one of the eternal Trinity, Christ as judge of the world and ruler of all.

When I say that this book by its text seems to be about time, I mean in a way that is stretched, that this book takes imagination and thought to follow, expresses some deep beliefs and some insightful ways of becoming more with the spirit of Jesus Christ, and of gaining inspiration to go on with a life in the spirit. That is a mouthful. But afterall, if you are looking for a how-to book, this is not really it--though appreciation and the way of entering into the spirit and substance of the icons is there.

The book did begin as a series of meditations, so there it is also valuable to some who are of a more religious bent since it is by a religious man, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here is one way we are led to a more inspired way of worship and living in the spirit: "Looking at Jesus seriously changes things; if we do not want to be changed, it is better not to look hard or too long. The apostles in the icon are shielding their eyes, because what they see is not easily manageable in their existing world." From the icon "Transfiguration" about the transfiguration, a depiction.

For repeating myself, this pretty book makes a nice gift. I have given in to a friend who is a minister, and he said he and his wife enjoyed the small book, that it is a keeper. There is a good recommendation for it. How nice to have someone receive a gift and like it very much, to want to keep it. So this is a satisfying book one can go back to and read, and also look at the icons.

Rowan Williams is a thinking mind, a very good theologian (so his reputation admits), and something of an intellectual (kind of a mild kudo for one of so fine a mind). This is an easy way to enter into his writings, and to enjoy his thoughts. If one wants to have a thoughtful book that reflects on the Trinity and also that wonderful icon of three angels called "The Hospitality of Abraham" by Rubrev, and so on some other key biblical themes in the Christian faith, this is a good place to enjoy such things.

"While we can accept all the proper cautions about not treating the figures as simle depictions of the trinitarian persons, there is certainly a convention which understands that the icon is to be 'read' from left to right pointing to the father, the son and the spirit..." My reason for using this quote is to give the reader of this review a taste of the tone of the book. There is something consistently civil and formed about the tone of the book that is part of the hallmark of style about which the book is extant. I say "extant" because there is a spirit about the book that is partially the product of the tone, and the presence that is brought to bear by the writer and the designers of this gift book. That is something that people who like writing and to read will find both enjoyable and interesting about this title.

No doubt about it, the writer Archbishop Rowan Williams is a man of faith who has the gospel in mind, and can be relied on to bring some of the many dimensions of Christ and his light to a reader. Here he speaks of Christ: "In all these meditations on icons of Christ, we find outselves looking at far more than just the representation of human beings of long ago. We are brought into the presence of one who contains everything, who makes everything hang together, who gives us the power to see all things freshly." It is an impressive thing when someone who is sincere and a believer can make his beliefs come to life and meaning to others who are not so advanced in their spiritual lives as he.

The author has managed to write a series of meditations on icons, four of them, and to let the reader know about this God (Trinitarian) who acts in history both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. A small, pretty book, this title makes a good gift for a religious or Church going friend who has an interest in art or finding ways to enter into the spirit through other dimensions, including the appreciation of icons, especially.

--Peter Menkin, Obl Cam OSB (Mill Valley, CA USA)

3.0 out of 5 stars On William's The Dwelling of the Light, January 8, 2009

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Ryan C. Bailey (Megalopolis) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ (Hardcover)

This work is recommended for all Anglicans and the greater family of Monotheistic philosophy. Bp. Williams has put into perspective a rather medieval portion of liturgicology for modern Christianity.

In his exalted language, The Bishop sets forth the grace of God to be experienced through the illuminating light of Christ in these visual gospels, the iconography of The Church; One, Holy, Catholick & Apostolick.

There can be no doubt as to this man of God's insight and essential leadership for God's Holy Church in our day. His is a voice of reclamation, moderation & sanity. The place of Scripture, Tradition & Reason are taken into account in this as in all of his works.