The Glenstal Book of Icons: Praying with the Glenstal Icons [Hardcover]

Gregory Collins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2002

"The Glenstal Book of Icons" presents meditations and prayers on a selection of icons from the Abbey's Byzantine chapel. The process is that of "lectio divina", where the icon itself is the text to be read and considered. This leads to a meditation on the text/icon, which in turn leads to prayer. Each icon is reproduced in full colour. A substantial introduction places the icon in its context in Eastern Christianity, then looks at the theology of icons and at the Eastern approach to praying with them. Special emphasis is given to The Jesus Prayer which is then used in various forms throughout the meditations which follow.

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'A delight and a feast for eyes, mind and heart. Texts - scriptural, theological and liturgical - from occident and orient draw the reader gently into a feast of spiritual meats, offered here in manageable portions. It deserves at least as much success as their previous volume.' --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Gregory Collins OSB is a monk of Glenstal Abbey and a lecturer in Orthodox theology. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Press (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814629350
• ISBN-13: 978-0814629352
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 4.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #236,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Presents diverse prayers and meditations on various icons, February 7, 2003

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Glenstal Book of Icons: Praying with the Glenstal Icons (Hardcover)

The Glenstal Book of Icons: Praying With The Glenstal Icons by Gregory Collins OSB (Lecturer in Orthodox Theology, Benedictine University of Sant' Anselmo, Rome), presents diverse prayers and meditations on various icons from St John's Abbey's Byzantine chapel. Full-color photographs of the icons themselves (which in the monastic practice of lectio divina are seen as "texts" prompting meditation on Christian mysteries), as well as an extensive and erudite commentary on the practice of praying with these classic works of art and faith, make The Glenstal Book of Icons the next best thing to personally visiting the abbey to view these venerated icons on location.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prayers made manifest, May 17, 2005

By 

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

The Glenstal Abbey in County Limerick, Ireland, is a wonderful place to behold. They are a Benedictine monastery, operating a school, a ministry of hospitality, and providing an expression of Benedictine spirituality in the modern world. The pattern of their liturgical and prayer life is a modified form of the ancient Benedictine structure; this book takes a particular aspect of this - praying with the icons that are in the Abbey's Byzantine Chapel.

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 book gives a brief introduction to the role of icons in liturgy and theology, relating it to both ancient and postmodern ideas. Prayer need not be elaborate or done with exacting precision, despite the appearance of many kinds of liturgies to the contrary. 'The work of prayer is very simple,' the text tells us, in making us mindful of the presence of God. The icons help remind the pray-er of this presence; while some prayers are often said with the eyes closed, it can also help for the mind to meditate upon the images as the prayers are said, aloud or internally as silent prayers.

Icons presented here include images of Christ in various times (baptism, crucifixion, ascension, etc.), the Mother of God, various saints (Basil, Nicholas, Athanasius, etc.), and the Trinity - unusual in a way, as both the Eastern and Western Trinity representations do not show the actual person of the Trinity, as iconography (particularly Eastern iconography) doesn't generally permit depiction of Father or the Holy Spirit in a 'personal' form.

Each of the icons is presented with description about what is represented in the actual artwork, what the symbols are often understood as being, and some historical interpretations attached to each. Each is also accompanied with prayers that can be said with and in front of each.

The book itself is in a small format, about as wide as an average hand, which means it fits into the palm perfectly, as if it were made for being carried and used on a regular basis. The printing and paper stocks used are superb - as much as I am generally loathe to describe books in such terms, the basic construction of this book is worthy of note, as it adds 'flesh' to the prayers being given out of this text. It is a joy to read from the sensory perspective as well as the spiritual perspective.

This book is the same size and shape as another volume from Glenstal Abbey, their book of prayer in the Benedictine form. Together these make a wonderful resource for spiritual retreats and self-study.

The Glenstal Abbey taps into an ancient history, but is itself a relatively new establishment, having been founded in 1927 as the first Benedictine monastery in Ireland since the Reformation (King Henry VIII dissolved monasteries as part of his Reformations in the British Isles). This book is a great reflection of part of their community.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lovely book of reflections, February 4, 2009

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J. Visel (Louisville, KY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Glenstal Book of Icons: Praying with the Glenstal Icons (Hardcover)

A Roman Catholic Benedictine, Gregory Collins does a nice job of linking East and West and this lovely book of reflections. While not all of the icons depicted are in the best of condition, Collins lovingly explains each icon in terms of its visual symbolism, traditional background, and style, opening up the story of each saint depicted. I enjoyed his use of prayers from across Roman and Byzantine Catholic liturgy, as well as those of Eastern Orthodoxy.