The people who are actually inside a culture are, of course, the most familiar with its nature. Still, how much are we really aware of the influence of the culture on our habits and ways of thinking?
I had an opportunity to step back in a way and to observe my culture (system of values and thinking that I considered normal and took for granted) from a different perspective, out of its context. So, I would like to share with you my minor (but hopefully interesting) experience and thoughts about the features and origins of the Orthodox (our) religion.
During the whole of my life I considered pictures as the highest way of representing reality; as if pictures can manifests someone’s presence. Thus, an icon that I we have in my house cannot be left on the ground or disrespected in any way, because of the meaning it has.
There is a cultural contradiction here. I and the majority of people I know in Serbia believed in this even though I cannot say that the community where I lived was truly religious. It would be better to say that we are Orthodox, more by the tradition and culture than anything else.
So, I was unconsciously and implicitly taught to respect visual representations, especially the ones of Saints. Moreover, this habit was accepted naturally, without thinking or saying it. I even remember my art teacher telling me that if I wanted to depict a religious person or simply somebody I should emphasize their spirituality by showing them radiation light like a candle. At that point, I understood this advice as a logical artistic skill for acquiring an impression of divinity. It did not cross my mind that this concept of light and the importance of icons are not universal ideas but rather a reflection of my cultural background. Just later, when I learned something about the religion I am taught I belong to, I came to understand the origins of the way I perceive things.
Now, I am wondering what and how much my coevals and friends from back home know and think about this. In my opinion, what was missing from our lessons at home was an exploration of this and other questions like this. So, for example, why are icons and the appearance of the light so important for us? Next time I would tell you about a trip I made to Ravenna.
Dijana Milenov, Serbia
