One of the biggest difficulties Western Christians have in appreciating icons is a lack of understanding. I have previously discussed some of the theology behind iconography, but in this post I will discuss another big difficulty: the symbolism of iconography. Even if one can understand the theology of the icon and why one should venerate it, it is still difficult to venerate something that seems to be such a strange mess of non-understood symbols. This post will hopefully clear up some of that difficulty so that others can better understand icons and venerate them more worthily.
