For the first time, the book “The Meaning of Icons” is published in Russian, previously published in German, English and French. The famous theologian V. N. Lossky and the icon painter and researcher L. A. Uspensky compiled it primarily with the Western reader in mind, who is little familiar with the history and theory of the Orthodox icon and the main iconographic types. The book is accessible, but at a serious scientific level it introduces the problems of icon painting and iconology. The publication is intended for a wide range of readers interested in the history of Christian art and issues of the theology of the Orthodox icon. Includes extensive visual material illustrating the author's text in detail. The book can be used as a teaching aid for students of creative universities and art history departments.