I love this icon! Having grown up in a sheep farming area and now living in another (with tough, shaggy mountain sheep a bit like the one you depict) the parable of the good shepherd always resonated with me. As for sentimentality - without divulging too much - despondency can be a struggle for me in times of weakness, and depictions of Christ as the Good Shepherd help to remind me that I am never lost beyond the reach of the Saviour. While the Catholic softness you mention sometimes strays too far into kitsch for me to find it helpful in prayer, I am nevertheless extremely grateful for the softness I have found in the Orthodox Church.
I adore this icon. It's how I would see Christ coming for me and picking me up when stray from the 99. A tender loving Saviour. Any other opinion for me well wouldn't be an opinion but sadly a judgement. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All icons are the eyes/ windows to the image depicted. So they are all beyond all our human comprehension. When we kiss the icons we kiss that person depicted. Always profoundly beautiful. Glory to God ☦️🙏🏼❤️🔥
The Good Shepherd icon is one of my favorites, too.
I have to admit, with some embarrassment, that I am often a foolish little sheep who wanders away without even realizing I have done. And even though I need to be vigilant and diligent, clearly I can't - we humans can't - do it all perfectly, or do anything really, except as Christ strengthens us.
I love this icon! Having grown up in a sheep farming area and now living in another (with tough, shaggy mountain sheep a bit like the one you depict) the parable of the good shepherd always resonated with me. As for sentimentality - without divulging too much - despondency can be a struggle for me in times of weakness, and depictions of Christ as the Good Shepherd help to remind me that I am never lost beyond the reach of the Saviour. While the Catholic softness you mention sometimes strays too far into kitsch for me to find it helpful in prayer, I am nevertheless extremely grateful for the softness I have found in the Orthodox Church.
Thanks for sharing!
I adore this icon. It's how I would see Christ coming for me and picking me up when stray from the 99. A tender loving Saviour. Any other opinion for me well wouldn't be an opinion but sadly a judgement. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. All icons are the eyes/ windows to the image depicted. So they are all beyond all our human comprehension. When we kiss the icons we kiss that person depicted. Always profoundly beautiful. Glory to God ☦️🙏🏼❤️🔥
The Good Shepherd icon is one of my favorites, too.
I have to admit, with some embarrassment, that I am often a foolish little sheep who wanders away without even realizing I have done. And even though I need to be vigilant and diligent, clearly I can't - we humans can't - do it all perfectly, or do anything really, except as Christ strengthens us.
I love your rendition of the Good Shepherd, and I love your argument even more! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻