“When we look at an icon, as we commonly say, we are looking at a window to heaven! We are seeing through the paint and the wood, to the real person – whether Christ or one of His Saints – whom we know to be with our Father in heaven right now. When we look at an icon of our Lord and start praying, our prayers are directed to Christ, not to an icon.’
(Elissa Bjeletich,,  ‘Raising Saints’)