Spectral Iconography: Toward a Hauntology of the Orthodox Icon

ABSTRACT: Numerous observers have commented on the seemingly haunting nature of Orthodox icons, and some ghostly figures may even be found within the venerated images themselves. This paper applies the concepts of Derridean hauntology and its deconstruction of rationalist binaries to the liturgical use and logic of Orthodox icons. The icons and narratives of the Dormition of Mary form the primary case study in this essay, as this genre of icon often features a small, diminutive, ghostly animula of Mary in Christ’s arms. This article analyzes the congruences between Orthodox veneration of icons and Derridean hauntology through the lenses of contested temporality, embodiment, and spatiality, ultimately arguing in favor of an always already deconstructive potentiality within the Orthodox liturgy of icons.