While the issue of inculturation has received great attention from theologians and practitioners of mission in Christian churches worldwide, it is still at an immature stage in the Orthodox Church. Beyond vague declarations of principle, little is being said about particulars. When it comes to implementing the theological principle in concrete historical circumstances, seemingly insurmountable obstacles arise, supported by arguments based on Tradition, informed by a conservative and perhaps regressive spirit, and even a lack of empathy towards non-traditional Orthodox communities.
In this paper we shall examine icon painting, and the icon of Jesus Christ in particular, from the perspective of contemporary Orthodox Missiology, with the needs of contemporary African Orthodoxy in the background.
We shall discuss the theology of the icon as formulated and developed within our Orthodox ecclesial tradition, together with evidence drawn from our historical and patristic heritage, with the aim of facilitating an encounter with the basic needs and aims of indigenous African Orthodox people (or black members of the Orthodox Church more broadly), as well as with their cultural heritage and struggle for liberation.
A series of theological antinomies presented by the icon of Jesus Christ, directly related to the historical presence of our Lord, will be analysed from the perspective of systematic theology and missiology. The question of the Incarnation of the pre-eternal Logos in human history will be examined in the light of contextual, incarnational theology, as well as the salvific function of the divine economy for all human beings, unrestricted by space or time.
We shall discuss in detail how the Church has addressed the tension between the historic and the dogmatic, focusing on the ways in which different examples and iconic types have been established. Drawing on the didactic significance and function of Iconography, we shall argue that a black Jesus Christ is not only possible, but indeed much needed in the Orthodox Church today.

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