ICONOGRAPHY AS THERAPY - A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO ITS CURRENT USE
/IKONOGRAFIA AKO TERAPIA – KRÁTKY VSTUP DO JEJ SÚČASNÉHO VYUŽÍVANIA/

Pavol KOCHAN

asistant professor, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Presov, Masarykova 15, 080 01 Presov, Slovakia, pavol.kochan@unipo.sk, 00421517724729, ORCID: 0000-0002-9692-9310

Abstract

Art through imagery has always been one of the forms of therapeutic help for a person. Throughout its history, the Church has constantly presented its therapy to man through the sacramental life, but also through other areas, such as church art. The basic condition was to open your mind and heart, which need to undergo therapeutic treatment. This is also evidenced by the knowledge that we present at the end of this article. Iconography has been used as a form of human therapy for approximately two thousand years. If for the holy fathers, knowledge is equal to the salvation of a person, then the image, which reaches deeper into the interior of a person, is an important means of knowing the Christian teaching, which brings a person closer to God. Especially in recent years, when most of the society is aware of the deepening crisis of humanity through increasingly frequent negative events affecting entire nations, knowing oneself and others is a serious factor for averting not only the consequences of the crisis, but also its causes.

Keywords

Icon, Church, theology, therapy, art therapy, social work

SUMMARY

In recent years, we have seen an increased interest in the development of iconography as art, Christian art, and as one of the possibilities of therapy that can be integrated into several therapeutic areas. One of them is the developing art therapy. Iconography began to be used on a pilot basis in prison, hospital, academic environments, or when working with the homeless. After the inclusion of iconography in the educational process, the interest in iconography has an increasing tendency every year. Currently, students of theology and social work participate in the course, representatives of various professions in the field of pedagogy or art, military forces, and senior citizens participate in the course for the public. Iconography is versatile because, despite its predefined style, it suppresses any differences between the author and the depicted, between clients and between the leader and the led. This versatility opens up new possibilities of use in the therapeutic process of human recovery.

(Language: slovak)

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