"Icons are meant to be like open books that remind us of God and that give visual form to doctrines of the church. They are not worshipped but they point to God and help make God's acts known to the world. They are considered 'thin places', where the persons and events pictures are present to the beliver in the here and now. The icon therefore becomes a two-way window into the world of the Spirit ..."
In the Orthodox tradition, liturgy is the meeting place between doctrine and worship. It forms a bridge between heaven and earth.
Prayer in this case is song.
"To go on pilgrimage is to place ourselves within a very ancient tradition, and it can be a powerful form of prayer. At home, many of us experience prayer as an activity that is begun by withdrawal, taking our body to church or into a quiet place in order to be distant from the complexities and pressures of ordinary life. Pilgrimage is also about withdrawal from our daily preoccupations, going on an actual journey for the sake of our spiritual journey. But that necessarily involves leaving behind our safe, familiar surroundings and immersing ourselves in the anxieties and practicalities of travel, going into situations which are not familar and may occasionally feel dangerous. Pilgrimage prayer requires us, by contrast, to keep our eyes open. This means noticing not only the sites we have come to see, but what is going on currently for people who live there." Janet Morley
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