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Icons by Br. Robert Lentz, ofm.
Influenced by his Russian Orthodox background and a period of study with a master iconographer, Lentz's unique style blends classical Eastern iconography with contemporary elements and "witnesses."
Dimensions: 7.25" x 2.5"
Steven Biko of South Africa (1946-1977)
Steve Biko is a martyr of South Africa. His life was spent instilling pride and a sense of identity in fellow blacks, held in subjection by the apartheid policy of the white government. Not since Hitler's Nuremberg laws has any community suffered under so monstrous a burden of racial regulations.
Biko was imprisoned several times for his work and "banned." He died in prison on September 12, 1977, after being tortured and beaten. He was not a regular churchgoer, but he laid down his life for Christ. All human beings bear God's image. Whenever human dignity is abused, God's image is violated. At the Last Judgment, Christ has told us, he will say, "Whatsoever you did to the last of my brothers and sisters, you did to me" (Matt. 25:40).
The quotation on the scroll Biko holds in the icon is how he defined "Black Power" during a court trial in 1976. The Greek inscription by his hand reads "Holy Steven."
© Robert Lentz, 1995
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