Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee to offer Anabaptist icons
by John Sharp
GOSHEN, Ind. (MC USA) -- Although the Anabaptist tradition has never identified
"saints," several key 16th-century figures have inspired contemporary Mennonites,
Hutterites, and Amish -- as well as others -- to live lives of faithfulness,
compassion and service.
Now images of some of those Anabaptist leaders -- beginning with Jan Luyken's much
beloved image of Dirk Willems from the Martyrs Mirror -- will be on icons painted by
Eastern Orthodox iconographers. The Historical Committee of Mennonite Church USA is
offering the limited edition sets of Anabaptist Icons, a series of hand-painted
icons developed by Graber Designs, a family-owned business specializing in icons and
other international art.
While 16th-century Anabaptists rejected icons as idolatrous, images of saints and
martyrs have long adorned Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches, stimulating
respect and memory and functioning as a window into God's realm.
"Since some of our ancestors participated in destroying icons, we recognize the
irony here," said John Sharp, director of the Mennonite Church USA Historical
Committee and Archives. "We're hoping, though, that these icons will remind
contemporary Anabaptists of their rich spiritual heritage and move them toward even
greater faithfulness in today's world."
Keith Graber Miller, co-owner of Graber Designs with his wife Ann, said none of the
icons in the Anabaptist Icons series will depict Anabaptist leaders as saints --
there will be no nimbuses, and no special care will be made to portray subjects in
full or three-quarter poses (iconographic tradition stipulates that saints be
depicted with both eyes showing). Instead, the series will draw on widely
recognized, icon-like engravings and portraits from the last four centuries.
Available now in limited editions are icons of Dirk Willems, who has long captured
the imagination of readers of the Martyrs Mirror. Luyken's engraving of Dirk's
rescue of his pursuer from an ice-covered pond is arguably the most recognized --
and most moving -- visual image for those within the Anabaptist tradition.
Bulgarian iconographer, Jivko Donkov, beautifully recaptures the Luyken scene in
vivid color. Each icon begins with wood covered with gesso, which is then
laboriously hand painted with dry pigments mixed into egg tempera paint. Prototypes
of several images of Menno Simons are being developed and other Anabaptist leaders
will follow in the coming months.
The Dirk Willems icon is available in a limited edition of 100 in an 8" x 11" size,
and in a limited edition of only 25 in a 12" x 16" size (sizes may vary slightly).
Each icon is hand-painted, numbered, dated and signed by the iconographer.
A portion of every sale goes to support the Historical Committee of Mennonite Church
USA. For more information and to order, see the Historical Committee's website at
http://www.mcusa-archives.org www.mcusa-archives.org.
John Sharp is director of the Mennonite Church USA Historical Committee and Archives.
