Encounters With God: In Quest of Ancient Icons of Mary

In this story of discovery and spiritual adventure, Sister Wendy Beckett, a contemplative nun and beloved art commentator, travels from England, to Rome, to Ukraine, and finally to a remote monastery in Sinai, to view the earliest Icons of Mary. These are among the few Icons that survived the wholesale destruction of Icons in the early eighth century. In contrast with the familiar and magnificent Icons of later history, these early Icons have a haunting simplicity and unfamiliar spiritual power. They come to us from a time closer to that of Christ, when faith was still alive with wonder, and possibilities were infinite.

In the course of her pilgrimage, Sister Wendy also reviews the history of Christian art, the meaning and function of Icons, and shares her thoughts on the relation between beauty, prayer, and the search for God.