Praying with(out) Images with Dr. Butcher

The Christian East is well known for its sacred images, which serve not only unto catechesis but as veritable sites of divine-human encounter: icons, that is, not only represent, but re-present--allowing us, in turn, to join with "the great cloud of witnesses" in their contemplation of the magnalia Dei, "the wonderful works of God." The heart of Eastern Christian spirituality, however, lies arguably not in iconography but rather in the Jesus Prayer--an ancient practice that is effectively an iconic. How then are such seeming opposites knit together into a seamless devotional vesture? How can both contribute to the renewal of faith and pastoral ministry in our day?

Dr. Brian Butcher invites you to register for our upcoming Advent Retreat at St. Augustine’s Seminary where you can learn more about praying with or without images.

Who should attend the Advent Retreat?

Anyone interested in learning about the distinctive ways in which Eastern, and particularly Byzantine-Rite, Christians pray--and anyone keen to incorporate the richness of Eastern Christian spirituality into their own life of prayer.

Dr. Butcher, your retreat is going to explore the Christian East sacred images and the Jesus Prayer. Can you offer a preview of what we can expect?

In recent decades, icons have become familiar sights in Western Christian churches and homes. And yet they are often overlooked as sites, that is, "places" of spiritual encounter, being reduced instead to decoration. I hope to help participants understand the power of traditional sacred images to teach the faith and reveal the Faithful One. Paradoxically, the other "magnetic pole" of Eastern Christian spirituality is the Jesus Prayer--which prescinds from iconography and, indeed, even mental images. Retreatants will come to appreciate the distinctive character of this prayer, and how its very austerity complements the contemplation of icons.

Incidentally, given that our retreat will be occurring in Advent, people might like to know how the season is experienced differently in the Byzantine-Rite Churches. On this, please see my short blog post, “The Winter Lent: Advent in the Byzantine Rite".

What is the Jesus Prayer and what impact has it had in your own personal prayer life?

I discovered the Jesus Prayer many years ago, while still a Protestant, through the reading of J.D. Salinger's famous novel Franny and Zooey and, subsequently, the book by which it was inspired, the anonymous 19th-c. Russian classic, The Way of the Pilgrim. It has accompanied me through thick and thin, through many changes in my life, and has been a mainstay of my spiritual life, alongside the Sacred Liturgy. Especially as an academic, as someone who is forever dealing with an abundance of words (as the writer of Ecclesiastes wryly observes, "Of the making of many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body!" [12:12]), it has enabled me to draw the mind into the heart: to "be still and know" (Ps. 45[46]:10). For me, the Jesus Prayer--along with, perhaps counterintuitively, chanting the Divine Office and the Liturgy--serve as the most effective "frames" for silence...

In sum: if you would like to learn more about how might we better pray with--but also without--images, I invite you to "come and 'see'"!