Icons of Filth

Back when I owned my record store there was a particular popular crusty punk band named "Icons of Filth" I never really gave it much thought back then and kind of forgot about it until this past week. I had an assignment in my commissioned pastor program to interview a Catholic or Orthodox priest. I knew interviewing a Catholic Priest would be too easy so I opened up the phonebook and and searched Orthodox Churches until I found a Russian Orthodoc Church located in Woodbury Michigan. I emailed the Church and was responded to by Father Michael. I was invited to come visit him and talk and it has become one of the highlites of my year. He was very open to explain the Orthodox faith and give me some serious second guessing on some of my thoughts about my Calvinist theolgy. I will be posting the interview on my RCA commissioned pastor profile soon. The majority of my interview with Father Michael was a tour of the church and a introduction to each of the many Icons that were hanging on the walls or situated around various objects of worship. I t was a great tour through history, but I never really grasped the concept. Father Michael explained to me that the icons along with the candles and incense were a sensual aspect that can draw the average person a little closer to a heavenly experience. The reverence displayed for each Icon was amazing and gave me a new aspect of respect for the idea. The reason this is important to me is the contrast of where I was back 15 years ago selling "Icons of Filth" T-shirts and never realising the total disrespect the name would have to a person of Orthodox faith. I wonder if some of the band memmbers were raised in the Orthodox church and had a total miserable experience and this was there way of lashing out. Kind of like some of the experiences I had in the CRC church. I feel a new found respect for a beautiful traditional religion. I could never get comfortable with the emphasis on the icons, but I do admire the history and story behind each one.