THE ICONS OF CHRIST AND HIS KING

THE ICONS OF CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM

INTRODUCTION: THE USE OF ICONS IN WORSHIP

As I praying one day, I felt that God wanted me to produce a series of teachings for the Church delving into the symbolism and scriptural basis for the symbolism of the traditional icons of Christ and His Kingdom that are most widely used by the Church. This study will feature twelve icons, explaining the symbolism and theological significance of each. Such a study must include, and indeed be centered on the major Feasts of Christ and events in His life. It is important that we not only observe the various feasts of the church, but that we also begin to understand why we observe them. To pass on to the next generation our traditions of worship and the revelation that God has given us, we must begin to teach why we believe what we believe. This study will biblically and historically explore the symbols portrayed in iconography with the purpose of teaching people about Holy Scripture and basic theology so that we may have a better understanding of why we hold to the creeds of our faith.

A long time ago, when I was a young college student, I got involved with Campus Crusade for Christ. This organization taught me that God had a plan or destiny for my life. Indeed, I realized that God has a plan or destiny for the lives of all believers. I also came to realize that I had to seek a relationship with God to discover his plan or destiny for my life. Building this kind of relationship laying down what I want and submitting my life to what God wants for me. To fully embrace what God has for me, I must begin to understand and to identify more closely with what God has done for all of us through the Incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ. I do this sometimes by meditating on specific aspects of the redemptive process that God created to reconcile us to Himself. I have found that when I am seeking God in prayer, that God often reveals His will or spiritual truth through symbols. I have also found that meditating on icons depicting the various aspects of this redemptive process can help me to gain a better understanding of God’s divine plan, to apply that plan to my own life, and to delve into the biblical and theological basis of the iconic symbolism.

Since others have also come to this same conclusion, icons are often called “windows into heaven”. Like looking through a window, icons give us an intimate glimpse into the theology of the Kingdom of God and His redemptive plan for mankind.

All of humanity relates to signs and symbols. On the Fourth of July, hats come off, hands are placed over hearts, and some even shed a tear as the flag of the United States of America passes by. Why? It’s just a bit of cloth and dye, isn’t it? Of course, we know that the answer is much more than that. The American flag represents a thousand places where blood was shed in the cause of freedom. Schools and colleges have school mascots and anthems to build tradition and unity; trophies and plaques are presented to represent appreciation or achievement…the list goes on and on!

Symbols and signs communicate. They do not exist in and of themselves but, rather, symbolize something greater. Throughout the Old Testament and the New, God communicated by signs and symbols. Words were not enough. God wanted his people to see, to visualize, truth as He taught it. Remember that John the Baptist appropriated signs and symbols when He pointed to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world!”

God reveals himself through natural things in the world. We call this general revelation. Special revelation is more specific. Christ being revealed through his incarnation is the ultimate form of special revelation. God has revealed himself in scripture, through His everlasting covenant, and through Jesus Christ. He continues to give insight into previous revelation by the Holy Spirit. Revelation produces our vision of the callings of God and his plans for our lives.

The revelation from God had two purposes. First, revelation was given for immediate direction, as with Abram in Genesis 12:1-3; Lot, Genesis 19:15; Balaam, Numbers 22:22-40; and Peter, Acts 12:7. Second, revelation was given of the moral and spiritual deficiencies of the people of God in light of God's requirements for maintaining a proper relationship with Him and His Kingdom. The vision of prophets such as Isaiah, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and John are representative of this aspect of revelation.

One way that we learn about and apply God’s revealed truth is through the signs and symbols associated with traditional Christian worship. Religious symbolism is effective to the degree that it is natural and simple enough to be understood by all people. Symbolism may be defined to be the investing of outward things or actions with an inner meaning. Symbolism is for the expression of religious ideas. In a greater or lesser degree symbolism is essential to all kinds of external worship.

God has often used signs and symbols to reveal His will to people. Consider these signs, given in scripture, have impacted our understanding of God’s redemptive plan.

(Isa 7:14)

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

(Ps 111:2)

The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them.

(Rom 4:11)

And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also,

Most Christians agree that the Bible is the basis of our revelation about the nature of God and His Kingdom and our need to Worship Him. The Bible must be seen as the revealed, inspired, and inerrant Word of God. The Bible contains all things needed for Salvation and knowledge of God. Nevertheless, God illuminates truth through his Word by the Holy Spirit to the Church, and this revelation impacts our theology. Tradition must also play a role in our understanding of the Bible. Historical theology and the traditions of the Church function, both as a check against reading later ideas into a passage, and as a store of knowledge from which to draw possible interpretations.

To properly use tradition in our worship or in our theology, we must go back to the church before there were any divisions. What all Christians have believed and the practiced over the years must be considered in our modern worship.

CHAPTER ONE:

THE ORIGINS OF USING CHRISTIAN ICONS IN WORSHIP

Christian icons are rich in symbolism and can help us with insight into the nature and character of God. Icons help us to better understand God’s redemptive plan and to envision His Holy Word. Furthermore, the use of Icons is an ancient Church tradition that helps us to better appreciate both the reality of the teachings of the Bible and the rich historical heritage that we have as Christians. The first Christians were accustomed to seeing statues of emperors, of pagan gods and heroes, as well as pagan wall paintings. So they made paintings of their religion, and, as soon as they could afford them, statues of their Lord and of their heroes, without the remotest fear or suspicion of idolatry. In a time when people did not have access to the Old Testament scriptures, and a time before there was a New Testament, painted and carved images taught the people about their spiritual heritage. Images were also used to teach Christians about the life of Christ and the lives of the Apostles. Later the lives stories of the martyrs and saints were recorded through Christian art. In this way the heritage of the church was preserved and transmitted.

We take photographs of vacations, family gatherings, and things that we want to remember. We put these into albums and now on our computers so we can look at and relive those events. We also used photographs to trace the development, growth, and maturing of our children and of our own lives. Photos help to identify people, and help us to remember people with whom we have limited or no contact. Police agencies use photos, not only for identification, but to place people in specific places or situations. Likewise, Christian images allow us to identify specific saints, remind us of specific events, and allow us to remember and relive significant events in biblical and Christian history. As we place value on our photographs but do not worship them, so Christian images have value without being worshipped.

Byzantine painting began as the continuation of the Early Christian paintings of the catacombs beginning with the 1st and 2nd centuries, of the first churches of Rome and of the East. Christian Art became heir to the traditions of the ancient art of Greece. Byzantine paintings include the wall paintings, portable icons, mosaics and the painted manuscripts that were produced by the artists of the Greek Empire of Byzantium. Luke the Evangelist was the first recognized Iconographer who painted icons representing the Holy Virgin and the Apostles Peter and Paul. Byzantine Art begins with the emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD and ends with the Iconoclastic Controversy begun by the Emperor Leo the Isaurian in the early 8th century AD. The restoration of the Holy Icons begins in the 9th century AD, and continues until the capture of Constantinople by the Franks in 1204 AD. Architecture, painting, music and poetry cease to be forms of art, each following its own way, independently of the others, in search of appropriate effects and become liturgical and dogmatic. It follows that from its very nature, church art is liturgical art. This is why the image of the Orthodox Church, the icon, does not define itself as an art belonging to one or another historical epoch, nor as the expression of the national peculiarities of one or another people. But only by its function, which is as universal as Orthodoxy itself, being determined by the essence of the image and its role in the Church. Since in its essence the icon, like the word, is a liturgical art. It never served religion but, like the word, has always been and is an integral part of religion. It is one of the instruments for the knowledge of God, and a means of communion with him.

The first Christians understood quite well that images should never be worshipped. On the other hand, the place of honor they give to their symbols and pictures, the care with which they decorate them shows that they treated representations of their most sacred beliefs with reverence. It is from this reverence that the whole tradition of venerating holy images and using them in churches gradually and naturally developed. So while icons are never to be worshipped, they have been used for centuries in worship. Christian icons have been used in worship to remind us of the realities of the Spiritual realm and the importance of the life of Christ in our salvation. Icons teach and picture for us major theological principles. They can help believers develop a better understanding and appreciation of biblical events and people. Images connect us to both biblical events, events in the life of Christ, feasts of the church, and the lives of the saints.

In both East and West the reverence we pay to images became a part of church tradition. Priests bow to the cross, to the altar, or the image of the crucifix. He also incenses any images of saints that may be near the altar. In the East painted or carved images became called icons. The Byzantine Rite shows if possible even more reverence for the holy icons by arranging them according to a systematic scheme across the screen between the congregation and the altar. This screen of icons is called an iconostasis. An iconostasis is a “picture stand.” These are still used in Eastern Orthodox worship.

Theology of the Icon

The icon is an efficient means for knowing God, the Holy Virgin and the Saints. It's not a work of art that only illustrates the Holy Scriptures. It constitutes a confession of religious truths. Says St. Paul "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God" (Col. 1, 15). Here is possibly another way of saying "something similar, but not identical":
« Christian (Orthodox) iconography expresses in images the same Gospel message that Scripture communicates by words. Image and word illuminate each other.
Father Daniel Rousseau writes "Christian iconography, and foremost the possibility to represent Christ, is based on the fact of the Incarnation (a). Just like the theologian expresses the living Truth in words by means of his thought process, the iconographer expresses the living Truth, the Revelation of the Tradition of the Church by means of his art (b). Consequently, the sacred art of icons cannot be some arbitrary creation of artists.

The use of icons in Christian worship is loosely based upon the idea that "God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them" (Gen. 1:27). This is the basis for the Liturgical Churches’ view of humanity. Theologians have supposed that this "image" designates what is most essential to human nature. Many patristic, Catholic, and Protestant orthodox theologians have argued that the image was our ability to think and reason. Sacramental theologians view humans as being created in God's image, and sharing God’s rational nature. The early church fathers believed that the image of God resided in the soul or the spirit of each person. They saw an individual as a spirit being living in a physical body. Therefore, paintings or representations (images) of a person or event can illustrate and represent the spirituality of a person. That spirituality, discovered through looking at the image, can instruct and motivate others to grow in their faith. In this sense, images can take on a kind of spirituality. Sings, symbols and images make visible the void; they make the invisible visible; they manifest Incarnational reality.

On a more specific level, icons are a form of testimony to the Incarnation of the Word. They bear witness to the redemption of matter in all creation, as declared by the Incarnation. Their themes cannot be changed and the mode of depiction must lead the onlooker to the world of Divine Reality. Icons focus our attention on who Christ is and what He has done for us.

One may ask, why is it important to have something to focus our attention on Divine Reality and on the invisible world? We have a tendency to imagine God in our image, attributing to Him human attributes that fit Him into our life-styles and worldview. We also tend to view biblical events and church history through the glasses of our experiences and worldview. Unfocused, our imagination tends toward reinforcement of what we want and a validation of our life-styles—the kingdom of human reasoning. But if that imagination can be focused, it can enhance our understanding and appreciation of the Kingdom of God. Since icons have specific modes of depiction for Christ and the saints, they do not lend themselves to personal interpretation of biblical and historical events. Instead, we are can visualize people and events in the consensual way that the early Church viewed them. Icons enable us to see the spiritual lessons and spiritual aspects of the lives of the saints and events of the bible free from our personal experiences, values, and expectations. Rather than making Christ in our image, we are able to view Christ in the way that the Church, through centuries of consensus, views Christ. Then through our imagination we can identify with Christ and the events surrounding His conception, life, passion, and resurrection.

Icon Themes

The basic theme of the icon is the Holy Portrait, i.e. the portrait of a Holy Person not represented in the corruptible state of the flesh, but in a state revealing his partaking of divine life. The need of the faithful to communicate personally with the sanctified Jesus made the authenticity of His portrait of great importance. The created prototypes of the images of Christ became part of the living Tradition of the Church. The fixation of the type meant that everything temporal was removed so that the transcendental quality of the image could be revealed. But how did the Church determine how image of Christ should look?

No detailed physical descriptions of Jesus are contained in any of the Canonical Gospels. During persecution of Christians by the Roman Empire, Christian art was necessarily furtive and ambiguous. It is possible that some early portraits may have been based on an eyewitness's sketch or reproduced from a tradition of verbal descriptions of Jesus' appearance. On the other hand, artistic depictions of Jesus may have been based originally on imagined ideas of how Jesus looked.

The earliest surviving Christian art comes from the late 3rd and early 4th centuries on the walls of Christian tombs and in the catacombs. Here, and only here, Jesus is portrayed in two different ways: older, bearded and robed and another as a bare faced youth holding a staff. He uses the staff to change water to wine, multiply the bread and fishes, and raise Lazarus from the dead. When pictured healing people, Jesus only lays on His hands. The staff is thought to be a symbol of power. (Only the Apostle Peter is also depicted in the most ancient icons with a staff).

In the Roman Catacombs we see a 3^rd Century depiction of Christ as the Good Shepherd. This is one of the earliest icons.

According to one Christian legend, the Image of Edessa, (known to to Orthodox Christians as the Mandylion), was a holy relic consisting of a square or rectangle of cloth upon which a miraculous image of the face of Jesus was imprinted — the first icon ("image"). According to the legend, King Agarus of Edessa wrote to Jesus, asking him to come cure him of an illness. The legend was first recorded in the early 4th century the Church historian Eusibius (E.H. 1.13.5 and .22), who said that he had transcribed and translated the actual letter in the Syriac chancery documents of the king of Edessa. In this earliest account, Christ replies by letter, saying that when he had completed his earthly mission and ascended, he would send a disciple to heal Abgar (and does so). This story has the Apostle Thaddeus coming to Edessa, bearing a cloth featuring Jesus' facial features, by the virtues of which the king was miraculously healed. Another version of the story introduces a court painter among a delegation sent by Abgar to Jesus, who paints a portrait of Jesus to take back to his master. When Hannan, the keeper of the archives, saw Jesus, he took and painted a likeness of Jesus with choice paints, and brought with him to Abgar the king, his master. And when Abgar the king saw the likeness, he received it with great joy, and placed it with great honor in one of his palatial houses. (Doctrine of Addai 13)

This is a 10^th Century icon of the legend of King Abgarus receiving the Image of Edessa from the apostle Thaddeus.

The Mandylion of Edessa from the private chapel of the pope in the Vatican. Photography taken in the pavillion of the Holy See during the EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany.

Since Jesus was living at the time the Mandylion image was made, it would seem to have no connection with his alleged burial cloth, the Shroud of Turin, which is another source for early images of Christ. Controversy still surrounds the claims made for the Shroud of Turin, which appears in history in 1353. There are also two or three paintings of Jesus and Mary that are ascribed St. Luke the Evangelist, at least one of which is still preserved.

Icons of Holy Theotokos are distinguished by the dignity of her appearance. Her deep red veil, falling over Her head and shoulders, bears three star-crosses, symbols of the Trinity. Mary was God’s instrument for the Incarnation of the Son of God.

The most common type of icon of Mother of God is that of the Hodegetria, named after the most venerated icon in Constantinople, that was found in the Monastery of the Hodegon. It was the palladium of the city, carried in processions and in the battlefield. According to tradition, it was painted by St. Luke and sent to Constantinople from Jerusalem by the Empress Eudocia. It depicted Holy Theotokos holding the Christ Child in her left hand (This can be seen in the following early icons of the Mother of God).

Virgin of Cikani from 4^th C. Georgia

6^th C. Virgin and Child from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.

While the Hodegetria shows Her Son, Who is The Way, representing a Christologic doctrine, the Eleousa or Glykophilousa and their variants, stress Mary's maternal side. This maternal nature can be seen in the following set of Theotokos Icons.


Glykophilousa of Crete	Tenderness of Novgorod	Theotokos of Vladmir

Dionysious of Fourna, the famous Greek iconographer and the author of the Painter's Manual, says that he wishes the icon of Theotokos to be reflected incessantly on the mirror of the beholder's soul, to keep that soul pure, to lift those who bend down, and to give them hope, for they contemplate the Eternal Prototype of Beauty. Notice the differences of styles and colors in the following icons of the Virgin. These are from different national churches and traditions. Nevertheless, you will notice that these all follow the conventions set for the icons of the Theotokos. The three stars are present and represent the virginity of Mary before the Annunciation, during the time she carried the Son of God, and after she gave birth to Jesus Christ.

Virgin and Child from St. George Coptic Church in Cairo, Egypt

Ethiopian Coptic Icon

Of the Virgin Mary

Virgin of Tenderness--Russian

Through the icons of Christ and of His Mother; the Incarnation of Christ is revealed. Christ is portrayed in many ways, often enthroned and frequently revealing both his human and divine natures. He may be portrayed as a King, Priest, Law Giver, Teacher, Pantocrator, or Good Shepherd. He may also be the central figure in many of the Festal Icons. The following selection is of several different Christological Icons.


17^th Century Mandylion	Christ Enthroned	Christ The Law Giver

Rublev’s Christ—16^th C.	Christ The Teacher	13^th C. Pantocrator

The great mysteries of the Christian faith were told in the twelve Great Feasts. Their iconography, based on the doctrine of the Church and shaped through Church's Festal Cycle and the Liturgy, was fixed by the tenth century. The mysteries of the Incarnation were re-enacted in the Divine Liturgy of the Church, to which icons ultimately belong. All icons are a reflection of Divine Liturgy and belong to Church. Here is a selection of three Festal Icons.


Baptism Of Christ	Transfiguration	Ascension

Iconography seems to have been well established in the Church by the Fourth Century. The great Church historian Eusebius related some earlier accounts of icon veneration.

Eusebius’ History of the Christian Church: Book 7 Chapter 18.

Since I have mentioned this city I do not think it proper to omit an account, which is worthy of record for posterity. For they say that the woman with an issue of blood, who, as we learn from the sacred Gospel, received from our Savior deliverance from her affliction, came from this place, and that her house is shown in the city, and that remarkable memorials of the kindness of the Savior to her remain there. For there stands upon an elevated stone, by the gates of her house, a brazen image of a woman kneeling, with her hands stretched out, as if she were praying. Opposite this is another upright image of a man, made of the same material, clothed decently in a double cloak, and extending his hand toward the woman. At his feet, beside the statue itself, is a certain strange plant, which climbs up to the hem of the brazen cloak, and is a remedy for all kinds of diseases. They say that this statue is an image of Jesus. It has remained to our day, so that we ourselves also saw it when we were staying in the city. Nor is it strange that those of the Gentiles who, of old, were benefited by our Savior, should have done such things, since we have learned also that the likenesses of his apostles Paul and Peter, and of Christ himself, are preserved in paintings, the ancients being accustomed, as it is likely, according to a habit of the Gentiles, to pay this kind of honor to those regarded by them as deliverers.

This is a 3^rd century representation of the icon mentioned by Eusebius.

Many of the earliest surviving icons are found in the Coptic Churches of Egypt.

4^th Century Icons from Egypt

Both the Holy Tradition of miraculously created icons, and actual examples of the earliest icons that have survived to our times, are kept in the treasury of the Monastery of St. Catherine on Mount Sinai. These show that the first icons were either portraits or scenes from the Old Testament. Other common themes in early Christian iconography are Jesus as a healer and the Baptism of Jesus.

6^th Century: Moses and the

Burning Bush

6^th Century: Christ the Pantocrator

6^th Century: St. John the Baptist

There was a controversy regarding the use of images, or icons, in worship, which raged in the Eastern Church during the eighth century, and also involved the West. It began in AD 725, when Byzantine Emperor Leo III ordered the destruction of a much-venerated image of Christ. This was followed by other decrees against images. The iconoclasts were destroyers of images. Political and economic interests were involved in this controversy. The iconoclastic emperors sought to exercise more control over the people and the Church by curtailing the power of the monks, who were the main defenders of images.

The iconoclasts (destroyers of images) based their actions on the biblical injunctions against images and also on the criticism of their Moslem neighbors. Political and economic interests were added, which the iconoclastic emperors sought to further by curtailing the power of the monks, who were the main defenders of images. The emperors and civil government preferred to have the trappings of the State and Imperial Monarchy be more visible to the public than the images of the Kingdom of God. The controversy eventually led to persecution of defenders of images in the East, and to the excommunication of the emperor by Pope Gregory II.

The icons of the Church represented divine intervention in the human situation, and depicted God as the protector and preserver of mankind. This was a role that the Empire sought to portray. When the people looked at religious icons, they thought of God and his works. The Emperors preferred the people to look to the Empire for their sustenance and social support. So it was inevitable that such a conflict would arise. This was yet another humanistic and rebellious challenge to God’s representative authority-- the Church Episcopate. Would it be the Emperors or the Saints; the Empire or the Kingdom of God, to whom the Christians would look to meet their needs?

The main issue involved in the Iconoclast controversy may have been whether God or the State should be seen as the protector and preserver of mankind and the purveyor of divine authority, but there was a theological issue as well. Was the use of icons a form of idolatry? If the icons are truly being worshipped, the criticism against their use is valid. Only God, the creator of heaven and earth, must be worshipped. But if the images portray the interaction of God’s authority with mankind, and if they represent a continuing incarnation, then their use is valid.

Heb 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Since the Saints exist as a cloud of witnesses (Heb. 12:1-2), Icons can be seen as windows or conduits to heaven. If icons point people to God and to God’s representative authority, then they have a legitimate place in the worship of the Church.

It should be noted that the image (Icon) does not have any power within itself, just as a person does not have power within himself. All power is given from the Father to the Son, and through the Holy Spirit to the Church. Icons, like people, can be vessels through which God can work his will. The providence of God is represented in iconography. Icons should not be worshipped, but they should be honored (venerated) as representing the Kingdom of God. After a prolonged struggle, the church came to this conclusion.

In 787, the seventh ecumenical council gathered at Nicaea. This council upheld the use of images, although distinguishing between the "respect and veneration" due them and the "true worship" which is reserved for God alone. The second Council of Nicaea determined the character of worship in the oriental church for all time to come, and herein lies its significance. Its decision is binding also upon the Roman church, which took part in it by two papal legates, and defended it by a letter of Pope Hadrian to Charlemagne.

The Nicene Council nullified the decrees of the iconoclastic Synod of Constantinople, and solemnly sanctioned a limited veneration (proskynesis) of Images. Recognized images were understood to be the sign of the cross, pictures of Christ, the Virgin Mary, and angels and saints. The council determined that they may be drawn in color, composed of Mosaic or formed of other suitable materials. These should be placed in churches, in houses, and in the street, or made on walls and tables, sacred vessels and vestments. Homage was permitted be paid to them by kissing, bowing, strewing of incense, burning of lights, saying prayers before them; such honor to be intended for the living objects in heaven which the images represented. The Gospel book and the relics of martyrs were also mentioned among the objects of veneration.

The decree of the Second Council of Nicea was fortified by a few Scripture passages about the Cherubim (Ex. 25:17–22; Ezek. 41:1, 15, 19; Heb. 9:1–5), a large number of patristic testimonies, and attested miracles performed by images. A presbyter, for example, testified that he was cured from a severe sickness by a picture of Christ.

Bishop after bishop, even those who had been members of the Iconoclast Synod of 754, renounced his iconoclastic opinions, and large numbers exclaimed together: “We all have sinned, we all have erred, we all beg forgiveness.”

At the request of one of the Roman delegates, an image was brought into the assembly, and reverently kissed by all. At the conclusion, the assembled bishops exclaimed unanimously: “Thus we believe. This is the doctrine of the apostles. Anathema upon all who do not adhere to it, who do not salute theimages, who call them idols, and who charge the Christians with idolatry.Long life to the emperors! Eternal memory to the new Constantine and the new Helena! God protect their reign! Anathema upon all heretics! Anathema especially upon Theodosius, the false bishop of Ephesus, as also upon Sisinnius and Basilius! The Holy Trinity has rejected their doctrines.”

For centuries after the iconoclast controversy, sacred images were used in worship all over Christendom without question until the Protestant Reformers began to eliminate them from churches. Our use of icons in worship today is based in part on the pronouncements of the Ecumenical Councils of the unified church.

(Sixth Ecumenical Council; Canon 82)

In some pictures of the venerable icons, a lamb is painted to which the Precursor points his finger, which is received as a type of grace, indicating beforehand through the Law, our true Lamb, Christ our God. Embracing therefore the ancient types and shadows as symbols of the truth, and patterns given to the Church, we prefer “grace and truth,” receiving it as the fulfillment of the Law. In order therefore that “that which is perfect” may be delineated to the eyes of all, at least in colored expression, we decree that the figure in human form of the Lamb who taketh away the sin of the world, Christ our God, be henceforth exhibited in images, instead of the ancient lamb, so that all may understand by means of it the depths of the humiliation of the Word of God, and that we may recall to our memory his conversation in the flesh, his passion and salutary death, and his redemption which was wrought for the whole world.

(Seventh Ecumenical Council; Decree of the holy, great, ecumenical synod)

So we all believe, we all are so minded, we all give our consent and have signed. This is the faith of the Apostles, this is the faith of the orthodox, and this is the faith, which hath made firm the whole world. Believing in one God, to be celebrated in Trinity, we salute the honorable images!

CHAPTER TWO:

DEVELOPING THE ART OF ICONOGRAPHY

The great revolution in the church under Constantine dissipated the prejudices against sacred art and the hindrances to its employment in the service of the church. There now arose a Christian art that has beautified and enriched the worship of God, and created immortal monuments of architecture, painting, poetry, and melody, for the edification of all ages. After Constantine, icon veneration became a part of the Divine Liturgy of the Church. Iconography became much more than a form of sacred art.

How do icons differ from other forms of art? Iconographers of the early church had to face a difficult artistic problem. How is it possible for natural material to manifest its "rational" potentialities, to be transfigured into flesh of the Word, of the word of life beyond space, time, corruption and death? And more specifically: How can design and color be used to depict not nature, the corruptible and mortal individual entities, but the spirituality of persons and things in true life?

Certainly, the traditional icons cannot be created or understood apart from the theological truths held and taught by the Church. As in the formulation of theological truth, so also in the manifestations of her art the Church has assumed the actual historical flesh of her time, transfiguring what she has assumed into a revelation of the event of salvation, a revelation ever present and immediate "yesterday and today and forever."

The historical flesh of the Byzantine icon is the Roman art of the first centuries of the Church, or strictly speaking its Greek roots. This ancient Greek art had evolved a technique that permitted the abstraction of the individual and circumstantial characteristics of the person or object depicted. This abstraction reduced the concrete object to a direct vision of its "reason" or essence. The ancient Greek artist did not aim at a faithful representation of the natural person– but a picture which makes possible a dynamic and personal view or vision of the essence of that person. Thus image serves as a measure for the beauty of the life of that person. It sets out the way to look at the person depicted with reason, and relates physical objects to their spiritual reality. The spiritual reality of a person or event depicted in an icon is more important than the realistic image of a painted portrait or photograph. The icon offers a way of seeing which interprets the world from a spiritual perspective, rather than from a natural perspective.

It is certainly through Greek tradition and technique that the Byzantine iconographer reaches the point of transcending the individual and incidental characteristics of the person or object depicted. This transcendence, however, does not aim to reduce the actual event or person to an ideal "universal." For the Byzantine iconographer, the reality beyond corruption and death is the spirituality of the person—the eternal and supernatural qualities of the person depicted. In the icon, the iconographer focuses the personal qualities of life such as love, communion and relationship, the only mode of life that brings harmony and balance (hypostasis) between a person and God.

How is it possible, then, to use the material means of artistic expression to represent a mode of existence that does not do away with individuality, but merely removes one’s autonomy so that the person is depicted in harmony and peace with God?

Byzantine iconography is focused exclusively on the image and unburdened with unnecessary decoration, flowers, embellishments, borders, swirls and branches. The only traditional mediums for panel icons remain egg tempera mixed with pure earth and mineral pigments, and encaustic.

Iconography is much more than just another art form. It is a worship tool that draws believers into an awareness of the spirit realm. To do this, iconographers eliminate the ideas of distances, and ideas of measurable time with its progression from earlier to later. The technique of the icon– the restriction to two dimensions, the rejection of dimensional "depth" and of temporal sequence in events depicted, the use of colors, attitudes, figures and background– leads to a remarkable level of expressiveness, while preserving and revealing spiritual truth. In icons the concrete realities of life are subordinated to the spiritual realities of life. This is done through complex symbolism where everything in the icon represents some element of spiritual truth. It is made up of symbols that give the viewer sense of communion and relationship with God and connect him to the event or person being depicted.

The themes and elements icons focus the worshipper on becoming a part of the spiritual realm. Therefore, there are different rules for writing icons, than for producing other forms of sacred art. Iconographers are subjected to the spiritual rather than physical laws. Iconographers could, therefore, show a martyr holding his own head in his hands or simply depicted next to him, Adam's skull placed at the feet of the Cross, the world personified as an old king, St. John the Baptist acquiring wings like an angel... Everything on icons acquires wings, becomes heavenly. The weight and shadows of matter disappear. Thin gold lines, in icons, like rays of Divine Light, enter the represented figures, and all that belongs to the earthly realm, and dematerializes it.

The icon painter moves and works in a celestial holy space that has nothing to do with the concept of dimension or volume seen by the physical eye. Everything is represented in a way that reveals the joyful beauty of new creation, the world returning to its original glory (Rom. 8:21). And while the represented themes may seem to be static or immobile, this apparent immobility declares that everything within lives. This is the 'immovable motion' of the mystics, the 'well of the living water'. The themes and the way they are represented reveal 'the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible.

1 Pet 3:3-4: Do not let your adornment be merely outward; arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel; rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

Unlike any other form of visual art, icon is an integral part of Divine Liturgy of the Orthodox Church. Together with the hymnography of the Church ("a theology that is chanted") and ecclesiastical music, iconography, being a theology in color, represents a unique art form based on the Scriptures and Holy Tradition exclusively. This sets it clearly apart from secular art concerned with worldly subjects, but also from the non-iconographic paintings on religious themes, like Italian Renaissance, which are naturalistic, sensuous and representational.

Iconography's main concern is spiritual, the mystical realm where men and nature are sanctified: the Kingdom of God. Iconographer paints the image of the Risen Christ, of Holy Theotokos, Mother of God that has passed through the narrow doors into the eternal life, the saints not as they were when they lived, but as they are now, transfigured and glorified. The holy personages, buildings, mountains, rivers and plants on icons are never a mere representation of people and the material realm that surrounds us, but transformed, incorruptible and shown in their transcendent essence. They are anagogic, meant to draw us upward and are a vision seen through an opened window that looks into heaven. Iconography reveals the spirit within, the "flame of things", according to the expression of St. Isaac the Syrian.

Iconic images are painted in reverse order in comparison to painting with other mediums: from dark to light. Light is the main "color" iconographer works with, from brilliant gold backgrounds to rays of pure light shining from the garments and holy faces. Applying lights on different parts of an icon is how a traditional icon is created. With properly used egg tempera, in subsequent layers and subtle shades, the image is being born right in front of iconographer's eyes. True icon masters believe there is only one, Divine Iconographer, the Holy Spirit, and all we do is to land our hand as a tool, nothing more. This is why traditional icons are never signed at the front. Most often, they are not signed at all, but if they are, the signature can only be found on the back of the icon. The very few of the ancient iconographers who have usually signed their works wrote: "Through the hand of the sinful servant of God” before affixing their names.

Another characteristic of traditional icons is the application of the principles of sacred geometry. On the icons of high quality even the untrained eye can easily recognize basic geometric shapes formed by the composition. Beside halo circles, there are often triangular forms within the squares, within the rectangle, etc. Some in-depth studies of the most famous iconographic images (icons, frescoes and mosaics) show multitude of forms and shapes emanating from one central point. Successful application of these principles

The Byzantine icon is the expression of a common attitude of life, an operation of life, which the artist undertakes to depict by abstracting as far as possible the elements of the natural world so that they reveal spiritual truth. The Byzantines were conscious of the fact that it is the Church which paints the icon "by the hand" of the painter. Thus the technique of abstraction is not an exercise in individual skill. It is an exercise in subjecting arbitrary individual judgment to a set iconographic type, formed from the ascetic experience of earlier teachers of the art, in harmony with the universal experience of the Church.

The subjection of the individual view to a set iconographic type applies not only to the artist, but also to the person looking at the icon. The icon does not put forward a "logically" perfected and ideal view of a person or event, but calls us to a direct communion, identification with and relationship with what is depicted. The set form of iconography works precisely as a starting point, helping us to go beyond our individual ways of looking at things and to accomplish a personal realization of the importance of the spiritual truths being depicted. In iconography, people being depicted have small mouths, large ears, and a focused gaze from their eyes. These three things represent attributes that the “saint” possessed and attributes that we should all strive to emulate.

Our tongue often gets us into trouble. Icons impart to us the spiritual truth that holy people always have small mouths. Consider how these scriptures encourage us to have a small mouth and controlled tongue.

Psa 39:1 I said, "I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me."

Psa 39:2 I was mute with silence, I held my peace even from good; And my sorrow was stirred up.

Psa 39:3 My heart was hot within me; While I was musing, the fire burned. Then I spoke with my tongue:

James 3:2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

James 3:3 Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body.

James 3:4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires.

James 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles!

James 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

James 3:7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.

James 3:8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3:9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.

James 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.

Icons of saints have large ears. The ear is symbolic of hearing the Word of the Lord with the intent to obey. The reason that we often fail when we are tempted is that we sometimes fail to hear and obey God. In the Old Testament, it was assumed that when one heard from God, he would instantly obey. In fact, one Hebrew word for hear and obey is used in many Old Testament passages. That word, shama’, assumes an immediate response to the Word of God. In Psalm 18:44, the Psalmist wrote: “As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.” When Nehemiah says (Nehemiah 9:16) "They did not obey Thy commandments", he uses ‘shama’, denoting that they did not listen to or hear God’s commandments. It was inconceivable that anyone could know God, hear his commandments, and not do them. To encounter God was tantamount to hearing God with the intent to respond.

The decisive call is to hear (Isaiah 1:2, 10; Amos 7:16). Hearing entails action in obedience as true seeking (Jer. 29:13; Micah 6:8). For the rabbis of Jesus’ day, hearing was through reading out loud the holy books. Recitation of the Shema brought out the importance of hearing, for the passages used (Deut. 6:4; 11:13; Num. 15:37) show that we know God by studying and keeping his law. The voice from heaven was considered to be a direct, physical apprehension of God. From the Hebrew perspective, if someone is not doing what God told the person to do, he either did not hear God, or does not know God. To know God meant that there would be an immediate response upon hearing God’s Word. Hearing God’s message should be followed by an expected response by those hearing it. The content of hearing corresponds to that of what is heard. It is the reception of grace and the call to repentance in response to salvation and its ethical demand. Thus faith and obedience are the marks of real hearing (Rom. 1:5; 16:26). That is why Jesus often ended a teaching with the words “he who has an ear let him hear.”

Rev 2:17 "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it."'

Mat 13:43 "Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Holy people also have focused eyes to go along with their large ears. Isaiah wrote (Isaiah 29:18): “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the book, And the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness.” For the writers of the Bible, seeing is not just the mechanical use of the eyes to view something. Biblical seeing carries with it the connotation of identification with and understanding of what is being seen. This form of seeing involves first imagining that you are a part of what is seen, followed by a focus on understanding and application of what is viewed. In this way seeing becomes a form of revelation. Consider what these scriptures say about seeing as a form of revelation.

Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

Luke 3:6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"

John 1:51 And He said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man."

Acts 2:17 'And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.

Rom 15:21 but as it is written: "To whom He was not announced, they shall see; And those who have not heard shall understand."

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Rev 22:4 They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads.

At Mount Sinai the Hebrew people were slow to hear and quick to speak. It could be said they had small ears and big mouths. When they heard that God wanted an audience with them, they told Moses, “Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.” (Deuteronomy 5:27). The people never intended to hear/do what God said, so they put the responsibility on Moses. They had no intention of being doers of the Word. They had no desire to visualize or hear what God was doing, lest they be obligated to understand and apply God’s words and will to their lives. While Moses was on the Mountain, the people were tempted to build an idol (golden calf), and they gave in to that temptation. Had they been quick to hear/do and slow to speak, this sin could have been prevented.

Unfortunately, many Christians today respond to God in the same way. We often say to our pastors, “You hear from God and tell us what He says.” What we are really saying is, “I don’t want the responsibility of doing what God says, so that I can grow spiritually.” Then, God allows us to be tempted, so that through that temptation we might be perfected or matured (James 1:4). We can either learn to be doers of the Word through obedience as soon as we hear it, or we can learn to be doers of the Word through necessity born in times of trail and temptation. One way or another, God intends for us to hear and do.

A figuratively small mouth and big ears allow us to hear and focus on what God is saying and doing in the earth and in our lives. Focused spiritual eyes allow us to see people and situations as God sees them. Focused eyes also allow us to see into the spirit world. The iconographer depicts the eyes of the saints as being focused in an otherworldly way. As we embrace this trait of the icon, we begin to see into the spirit world and start to view things from God’s perspective, rather than through the human senses.

Notice the small mouths, large ears, and focused eyes in the following saints. Notice also that some icons have the saint with his head turned to better hear the Word of the Lord.


St. Cyril of Alexandria	St. Benedict	Onesimus

The icon draws the worshipper into the spirit realm where he or she embraces the characteristics of holiness depicted in the image. A small mouth, large hearing ears, and eyes focused into the spirit realm should become part of our lives. This is why we say that Byzantine iconography does not "decorate" the church but has an organic, liturgical function in Eucharistic worship, existentially elevating us to more spiritual understanding of life.

The technique of icons is incomprehensible apart from the liturgical experience of icons. Icons involve us with the whole body of the Church, living and departed, militant and triumphant, in the oneness of Eucharistic life. In other words, the technique of "abstraction" in Byzantine iconography is much more than a style: it expresses and puts into practice the life and unity of the Church. Through icons we are enabled to attain a renunciation of our individual way of seeing things and an elevation into harmony with the universal Church’s view of persons and things.

St. Maximus summarized the purpose and intent of the iconographer when he wrote: "the unspeakable and prodigious fire hidden in the essence of things, as in the bush, is the fire of divine love and the dazzling brilliance of His beauty inside every thing." This is the subject of Orthodox Iconography and its ultimate purpose.

St. John of Damascus wrote about the affect icons had upon his personal experience of worship.

Apologia of St John of Damascus (675-749):

Against Those who Decry Holy Images

"I enter the common place of therapy of souls, the church, choked as it were by the thorns of worldly thoughts. The bloom of painting attracts me, it delights my sight like a meadow, and secretly evokes in my soul the desire to glorify God. I behold the fortitude of the martyr, the crowns awarded, and my zeal is aroused like fire; I fall down and worship God through the martyr, and receive salvation”

ICONOGRAPHY IN RELATION TO OTHER ART FORMS

How do icons differ from Western styles of religious art? Icons differ from western religious painting. These differences are not confined to style, choice of theme or allegorical symbolism; they mark a radical distinction and contrast between two views of truth and knowledge, of existence and the world, of the incarnation of God and the salvation of man– in short, they sum up two different understandings of the universe.

In the thirteenth century the Church in the West became more and more corrupt and materialistic, and began to deviate from many of the spiritual principles and forms of worship that had been observed in a thousand years of Christianity. This eventually led to the Reformation that further removed the Western Church from its original roots. From the thirteenth century– a key point for our understanding of all subsequent religious and cultural developments in the West– we can no longer speak of ecclesial iconography in Europe, but only of religious painting. And this means that in the western Church artistic expression ceases to be a study and a manifestation of the Church's theology– at least on the guidelines for visual art formulated by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.

What are the differences between Greek and Russian Icons differ from western religious painting. These differences are not confined to style, choice of theme or allegorical symbolism; they mark a radical distinction and contrast between two views of truth and knowledge, of existence and the world, of the incarnation of God and the salvation of man– in short, they sum up two different understandings of the universe.

Russian iconography does not always escape the temptation to theoretical "style." Looking at a Russian Orthodox icon, what one finds very often is the person or event presented in a schematic and ornamental way. In Russian iconography, nature remains the same, but its mode of existence changes. The dematerializing and spiritualizing of nature is simply an intellectual concept represented as a schematic allegory.

Formalization replaces faithfulness to nature, and tends to aid the impression that nature is spiritualized and dematerialized. The folds of the clothing do not correspond to a real body underneath, and the positions and movements of the bodies are not natural but geometrically formal. The lighting is diffused, almost blending in with the color, so as to give the impression once again that matter has its own light. It is hard to describe these real differences, but they become apparent when we compare Russian and Greek icons.

How does iconography fit into the Convergence Movement? As convergence worship embraces iconography, the Eucharistic realization of the Kingdom will become embodied once again in dynamic forms of social and cultural life, without doing away with the adventure of freedom and sin, because this communal dynamism is the nature of the Church, the organic consequence of her life. It is time for the Church to spell out once again, in humility, the truth of the world, the reason in things and the meaning of history: it will once again fashion in the icon the transfigured face of man.

There are objective rules as to how the iconographer is to make the "background" for the icon, how he is to add the "flesh," how to achieve the highlights while keeping the background color for the "shadows," how to do the mouth and eyes and how to add the "lights" at the end. These rules are unwritten and yet absolutely precise. As he studies his art, the iconographer fasts and prays, in order for his icon to be the work of the Church, not his individual contrivance for the Church. The iconographer represents reality, not as he sees it with his natural eyes, but with the aid of symbols that are models common to the Church's consciousness. It therefore expresses the conception of the holy fathers and their tradition, not that of the iconographer. The Church Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical Council said this about icons.

. "For the making of icons is not an invention of painters, but an ordinance and tradition approved by the universal Church”....”What the word says, the image shows us silently; what we have heard, we have seen...”

Christian worshippers today benefit by embracing many of the ideas and practices of the Early Church Fathers. By tracing the historical process of revelation to the Church, one can experience the continuity between what the Word says, how the Holy Spirit is interpreting the Word, and the traditional teachings of historical Christianity. Christian scholars of various ages attest to the long uninterrupted history of Icon veneration in the worship of both the Eastern and Western Churches. The Medieval St. John of the Cross, wrote a number of observations of icon veneration in his Ascent of Mount Carmel.

St. John of the Cross (1542-1591): Ascent of Mount Carmel:

As touching images and portraits, there may be much vanity and vain rejoicing in these. For, though they are most important for Divine worship and most necessary to move the will to devotion, as is shown by the approval given to them and the use made of them by our Mother Church (for which reason it is always well that we should employ them, in order to awaken our luke-warmness), there are many persons who rejoice rather in the painting and decoration of them than in what they represent.

3. The use of images has been ordained by the Church for two principal ends -- namely, that we may reverence the saints in them, and that the will may be moved and devotion to the saints awakened by them. When they serve this purpose they are beneficial and the use of them is necessary; and therefore we must choose those that are most true and lifelike, and that most move the will to devotion, and our eyes must ever be fixed upon this motive rather than upon the value and cunning of their workmanship and decoration.

5. The person who is truly devout sets his devotion principally upon that which is invisible; he needs few images and uses few, and chooses those that harmonize with the Divine rather than with the human, clothing them, and with them himself, in the garments of the world to come, and following its fashions rather than those of this world. For not only does an image belonging to this world in no way influence his desire; it does not even lead him to think of this world, in spite of his having before his eyes something worldly, akin to the world's interests

CHAPTER THREE

Byzantine Icons hand-painted in the Traditional Eastern Orthodox style

'Byzantine icons' refers to Ancient, Medieval and Contemporary icons hand-painted in the Traditional Eastern Orthodox style of the 10th-15th centuries. This 'style' was actually laid down in specific rules that were established in that period following the Orthodox victory over the iconoclasts in the year 843. These rules were formalized in order to make sure that an icon was a Byzantine icon only when it had been painted in accordance with these rules. When making mention of Ancient icons, Medieval icons, or Contemporary icons, one simply is more specific about when the icon was written according to traditional Orthodox style.

One is naturally inclined to ask: "What is the importance of sticking to these rules?" and "Aren't artists people that are not particularly fond of rules?" and "What is involved in the Traditional Style?" Part of the answer to those questions is that an icon painter ought to be an iconographer. "What then is an Iconographer?" The short answer to that question is that an iconographer is both a painter and a theologian. Just as the Evangelist wrote the Gospel with divine inspiration and assistance, with his hands merely being instruments to put down the words on paper, so is it that the Iconographer in his spritual endeavor to write icons asks for divine intervention, and allows that divine intervention to move his hands to get the paint onto the wood in a manner the at is in accordance with God’s Will. Writing an icon, presupposes, on the part of the Iconographer, not only a prayerful attitude, but also a lifestyle of prayer, meditation and fasting.

KIEV SCHOOL:

This school was active from the end of the 10th century, the time of Christianization of Russia, until Kiev was sacked and burned by the Mongols in 1240. And even though there might have been some icon painting in Kiev after the fall of of the capital, the center of icon painting moved to the north, to Novgorod.

The first icons were brought to Russia from the Byzantine Empire and from Bulgaria, which became an intermediary between Constantinople and Kiev, supplying the newly Christianized state with books, icons, and liturgical objects necessary for the celebration of the mass. We may suspect that the first painters in Kiev were also Greeks or Byzantinized South Slavs. They became teachers of the first Russian painters and gave them a sound training in the Byzantine style and tradition. Since Russians were always exceedingly adept not only at blind mimicking but at taking a step forward, they quickly learned how to extend the Byzantine style and tradition and make it their own.

The early Russian (Kievan) style was still quite dependent on the Byzantine. The compositions were monumental, uncluttered, and simple. Some icons exhibited close affinities with the art of classical antiquity. Most Kievan School icons were painted in darker, more somber tones and were often large in dimensions because they were hand hewn with an axe from a large piece of wood. However, the Russians very quickly abandoned the Byzantine tradition of portraying Christ Pantokrator as a severe and strict judge and started developing a more "humane," understanding, and forgiving image of Christ, the Savior and the Redeemer. This tendency led later, in the Novgorodian and Moscow traditions to the development of a Savior type best known from the work of Andrei Rublev and to the appearance of the "Russian" variants of many saints, particularly St. Nicholas and St. George.

NOVGOROD SCHOOL:

Novgorod has always been a very important Russian city. Once a prosperous mercantile community, it kept its independence until 1478, when it succumbed to Moscow. Before that year, it distinguished itself for its economic, social, political and artistic achievements. As early as the10th century, it became the cradle for new political ideas. Novgorod was a republic (it called itself Lord Novgorod the Great), governed by the veche, a democratic assembly of all citizens, roughly resembling a parliament. The citizens were called to special meetings by the veche bell; the participants made their decisions together. The Novgorodians rejected the idea of the princely rule; instead, they hired a prince when they needed a leader to help them fight their enemies. When the danger was over, the prince was dismissed and asked to leave the city. The princes' names had been often linked with the building of the most famous churches and cathedrals: Cathedral of St. Sophia (1045- 1050), the Nikolo-Dvorishchensky Cathedral (1113) and the Cathedral of Saint George in the Yuriev Monastery (1119).

Not many Novgorodian 11th-century paintings have survived, but the surviving works of the 12th century (sometimes only fragments) help prove the existence of an independent local painting tradition. The frescoes at Nereditsa and in the Church of St. George at Staraia Ladoga are the evidence of this kind. Icons from the same period display a very strong Greek influence even though they show a very characteristic Russian style at the same time. In the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, Novgorod produced some of the greatest works of medieval Russian art.. In some of his greatest works it is possible to find the combination of the local style with the style of Constantinople, where he worked before coming to Russia. Later, Theophanes moved to Moscow and contributed to the development of the Moscow School, particularly by working together Rublev other Moscow masters.

Icons represent Novgorodian art better than any other artistic genre . Their style, which developed through the centuries, was probably based not only on "imported" Byzantine examples but on the existing tradition of popular folk art. Early icons are conventional but reflect the spiritual strength and beauty of man. They are simple, laconic and precise; the compositions are based on contrast between large shapes, the colors are saturated and bright, and the drawing is energetic. In the 12th and 13th centuries an emphasis is put on contrasting colors and simplicity of the image.

Among the saints most beloved and popular in Novgorod are Saint Nicholas, St. George, Elijah, Paraskeva Piatnitsa (the Holy Friday), Florus and Laurus, and Cosmas and Damianos. Most of these saints were particularly venerated because their celebrations fell on the days important for the peasant's agricultural calendar or because they were connected to the ancient Slavic pagan gods (Saint Nicholas to Veles, St. George to Dazhbog, Elijah to Perun, Paraskeva to Mokosh, and Cosmas and Damianos to Svarog).

Some of the most important features of the mature Novgorodian style of icon painting include: brightness of colors; increased complexity as compared to Kievan and early (10th-13th century) Novgorodian icons; increased liveliness characteristic of their developing "anecdotal style" and "graphic" quality (emphasis on drawing and line).

The late 13th and early 14th century feature a change in style and the introduction of more monumental, flat, graphic qualities together with relative depth of form. The dominant colors are cinnabar, white, ochre, brown and green.

The 14th century, a period of great prosperity for Novgorod, is reflected in a proliferation of Novgorodian icons. The period that follows marks another stylistic change: the 15th-century palette becomes remarkably lighter and the compositions are more dynamic and mobile. Moreover, a precise canonical system for the arrangement of icons in the Iconostasis was finally established. At the end of the 15th century Novgorodian art begins to decline as a result of Moscow's political dominance and the influence of a new generation of Moscow Icongraphers.

PSKOV SCHOOL:

The history of old Pskov was always connected with the struggle for independence. The "little brother" of Novgorod seems to have been always fighting against foreign invaders, even though, like Novgorod, Pskov was not affected by the Mongol conquest.

Pskov icons display less sophistication and artistry in execution than those of Novgorod, but they show a greater degree of poetic inspiration. Pskov icons have their own, particular style. The frescoes of Mirozhsky monastery were painted in a static and formal archaic manner. The icons of Pskov show a somber, but intense emotionalism.

With time, the style of Pskov icons evolved, incorporating some elements from the Novgorodian art. From Novgorod the painters borrowed certain favorite topics and learned to use strong outlines that increased the graphic quality of their work. The earliest Pskov icons were monumental but the painters skillfully used intense colors (different from the toned-down colors of Kievan School) and created compositions with a strong rhythmic quality, often sacrificing the elegance of proportions to the dynamism of action. One of the distinguishing factors of Pskovian icons is the painters' preference of the deep "Pskovian" red and the deep "Pskovian" green.

The painters of Pskov had a number of favorite compositions which they liked to replicate. Like the Novgorodians, they favored St. Nicholas and Elijah, but they also found inspiration in the stories of Christ's descent into Hell, the Nativity, and the Synaxis (gathering) of the Virgin.

SIX TYPES OF ICONS:

1-Christ

2-Theotokos

3-Feasts

4-Angels

5-Saints

6-Special

(1) Icons of Christ Pantokrator - He who rules over everything (2) Icons of the Theotokos - God Bearer - Mother of God (3) Feast Day Icons or Festal Icons (4) Icons of Angels
(5) Icons & Lives of Saints (6) Special Icons: Events in the life of Jesus, Churches...

CHAPTER FOUR

ICONS OF THE NATIVITY

We will now continue our introduction to the study of Icons by examining the symbolism of several traditional icons that relate to the seasons of the Christian Year. We will examine the We will first focus on spiritual truth revealed in the traditional Nativity Icons, followed by and examination of icons of the Baptism of the Lord, the Resurrection, Pentecost, and Transfiguration.

The birth of our Lord took place at the time and place predicted by the prophets (Genesis 49:10; Isaiah 7:14; Jeremiah 31:15; Micah 5:2; Hag. 2:6-9; Daniel 9:24, 25). Joseph and Mary were providentially led to go up to Bethlehem where according to the Scriptures Christ was born (Matthew 2:1, 6; Luke 2:1, 7). The exact year or month or day of his birth cannot, however, now be exactly ascertained. We know, however, that it took place in the “fullness of the time” (Galatians 4:4). Chronologists are now generally agreed that the year 4 before the Christian era was the year of Christ’s nativity, and consequently that he was about four years old in the year 1 A.D.

This festival icon is based on the description of the birth of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. This is one of the most complex icons with rich symbolism that illustrates important theological principles. Authentic icons of the Nativity of Christ depict a flame-like mountain almost touching a cloud-like source of light (the Glory of God). This reflects the realization that heaven and earth are reconciled by God’s Incarnation. That the Glory of God is manifested on earth in Christ is indicated by rays of light emanating from the Glory of God and illuminating the darkness of the cave (the unregenerate world), and sometimes even touching Christ, who lies in a manger/sarcophagus at the mouth of a cave. The manger is presented in an inverse perspective that makes it bear resemblance to an altar. Mary and Joseph occupy a prominent place in the icon. There are also angels, shepherds, magi, a donkey and ox, a flock of sheep and a flute player. Each of these symbols has significance to our understanding of the Incarnation of Christ.

THE SYMBOLISM AND THEOLOGY OF NATIVITY ICONS

The Light Source In The Heavens:

The light source at the top of the icon could represent a star, the sun, or a cloud if looked at from a naturalistic perspective. On a theological level it represents the glory and power of God. This Light Source is like a portal into Heaven and out of this portal comes the Bread of Life into the world. Icons are windows into heaven and many icons feature portals into heaven from which comes the glory of God to touch the earth.

Psa 78:23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,

Psa 78:24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:48 "I am the bread of life.

John 6:49 "Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead.

John 6:50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.

John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

The Bible often depicts the Glory of God and His mercy as being in the heavens. The light coming from the heavens in this icon represents the Glory of God, the mercy of God, the truth of God and the light of God that reaches into the Darkness of the world (the cave) of humankind. It should be noticed that the entire icon seems to be illuminated from the light from above.

Deu 33:26 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun (the people of Jeshua or the people of God), Who rides the heavens to help you, And in His excellency on the clouds.

Psa 57:10 For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, And Your truth unto the clouds.

Psa 36:5 Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

The golden hues in the sky make it seem like dawn. The birth of Christ was like the dawning of a new day for mankind, indeed for the entire earth. The light seems to be reflecting off of the mountain and the people who are in the light. This reminds us that we are to reflect the light of Christ in our lives. It is this “light” or revelation that comes through the Incarnation that reconciles heaven and earth. In the Incarnation, we see God stepping into history to bring about this reconciliation. Notice in the Nativity Icon how heaven and earth seem to merge with very little demarcation between these two spheres.

Icons remind us that at certain times and places and in the lives of certain people, heaven and earth meet. In the truest sense, this icon really is a window into heaven where the glory of God and his plan for the universe may be encountered. Meditating upon this icon gives us the realization that the light of Christ has shinned upon us and that we are walking in the Light of God and His revelation due to the Incarnation.

Isa 9:2 The people who walked in darkness Have seen a great light; Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, Upon them a light has shined.

Isa 60:1-63 Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.

A direct and intense beam of light from the light cloud is pointed directly at the Christ child proclaiming the He is the light of the world. He is highlighted by the beam of light as the central figure in the history of mankind.

John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

Th beam of light that comes out of heaven to touch the Christ-child reminds us that Christ has the same glory as the Father and that He possessed the light of the Father. This was believed by the early church and is affirmed in the portion of the Nicene Creed that says: “I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man.”

Upon completion of His earthly ministry, Jesus Christ was carried up into heaven, from whence he will return again. The Second person of the Trinity descended from heaven, where he is once again enthroned above all of God’s creation. From thence he makes intercession for us and through Him we have access to the father. The beam of light represents the line of communication that we have with heaven through Jesus Christ. That is why we usually pray to the Father in Jesus’ name.

Luke 24:51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven.

Acts 1:10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel,

Acts 1:11 who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."

Mat 24:30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mat 26:64 Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Mark 13:26 "Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

Mark 14:61 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"

Mark 14:62 Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

1 Th 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Rev 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

The Mountain:

In most icons of the Nativity, the composition is dominated by the rocky cave, which towers, flame-like. This flame-like shape reminds us of presence of God in a pillar of fire during the Exodus or the fires on a sacrificial altar.

There are many different specific mountains that have significance in scripture: Mt. Horeb, Mt. Sinai, Mt. Zion, or the mountain of Bashan to name a few. In general mountains are depicted as places where God descends to communicate with His people. Mountains are likened to the city of God or the place of the Lord’s house—places where God and his people can be together. Mountains were created by God for the use of mankind and give us a glimpse of the splendor of all of God’s creation. In icons mountains seem to be reaching up toward their creator—pointing a way to heaven.

The area of Judea around Bethlehem, indeed much of Israel, is mountainous. The depiction of the mountain in this icon may be based upon a natural mountain cavern, in that the grotto used as a stable in the Gospel narrative may have really existed. In fact the area under the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is referred to as a grotto. (See the following photos).

Modern Shepherds on the mountainside

Manger Square

Grotto Entrance

Nativity Star marking the possible place of Christ’s birth.

The mountain in Icons has a symbolism that transcends any single natural mountain. The symbolism of the mountain in the Nativity Icon reaching up toward heaven is based upon many scriptures that associate mountains with praise and worship.

Psa 48:1 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain.

Psa 48:2 Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion on the sides of the north, The city of the great King.

Psa 68:1 A mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan; A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

Psa 68:16 Why do you fume with envy, you mountains of many peaks? This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.

Psa 68:17 The chariots of God are twenty thousand, Even thousands of thousands; The Lord is among them as in Sinai, in the Holy Place.

Psa 68:18-19 You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts among men, Even from the rebellious, That the LORD God might dwell there. Blessed be the Lord, Who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation! Selah.

In the Nativity Icon, the mountain rises above the cave of the darkness of the world (the cave or grotto). The mountain is the Mountain of the Lord and towers over everything else in the icon. This mountain seems to be lifting up toward the light of God in an analogy to worship. A mountain is sometimes portrayed in scripture as something that can be possessed by the people of God who worship Him.

Isa 57:13 When you cry out, Let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them. But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain."

The Psalmist compares the righteousness of God to the great mountains. In the Nativity, this righteousness becomes available to mankind. And those who encounter God and worship Him in faith may possess this mountain of righteousness.

Psa 36:6 Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast.

2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

In the Incarnation, we see the mountain of righteousness; i.e. the mountain of God established in the earth. In the Incarnation we see the establishment of the house of God—the dwelling of God with mankind. And from this dwelling of God with man proceeds not only righteousness, but also a teaching of the real meaning of the Law of God. Through this icon, we are reminded that we must come to Christ, just as Micah and Isaiah admonished the people of his era to go up to the mountain of the Lord for worship. The Nativity Icon reminds us that we must flow to Christ and that He is the foundation for the House of the Lord. Those who go up to the House of the Lord will be taught by the words of the one who was born in human form in a cave that was used as a stable.

Micah 4:1 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And peoples shall flow to it.

Micah 4:2 Many nations shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion the law shall go forth, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Isa 2:2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

Isa 2:3 Many people shall come and say, "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; He will teach us His ways, And we shall walk in His paths." For out of Zion shall go forth the law, And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

According to the scriptures, God created the mountains as places where God sometimes met with His people to give Revelation. Various mountains are also identified with the giving of the Law, and it must be remembered that Jesus Christ was Incarnate that the law that was given to Moses might be fulfilled. We are reminded in this Icon of the importance of God’s meetings with Moses and the nation of Israel upon the mountain where the Law and Mosaic Covenant were both established.

Exod 3:1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Exod 3:2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

Exod 3:12 So He said, "I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain."

Exod 15:17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.

Exod 19:17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.

Exod 19:18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Exod 24:12 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written, that you may teach them."

Exod 24:15-16 Then Moses went up into the mountain, and a cloud covered the mountain. Now the glory of the LORD rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

Exod 24:17 The sight of the glory of the LORD was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.

Exod 24:18 So Moses went into the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.

Exod 34:29 Now it was so, when Moses came down from Mount Sinai (and the two tablets of the Testimony were in Moses' hand when he came down from the mountain), that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with Him.

Deu 5:3 "The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

Deu 5:4 "The LORD talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire.1 Ki 19:8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

Joel 3:17 "So you shall know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in Zion My holy mountain. Then Jerusalem shall be holy, And no aliens shall ever pass through her again."

Obadiah 1:16-17 For as you drank on my holy mountain, So shall all the nations drink continually; Yes, they shall drink, and swallow, And they shall be as though they had never been. But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, And there shall be holiness; The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. (This is definitely prophetic of the Incarnation.)

A major modification to God’s Covenant was made through the Incarnation of Christ. We usually call this the New Covenant. Covenants were often associated with mountains in the Bible. After God made a covenant with him, Abraham was told to offer his son as a sacrifice upon a mountain, but God stayed his hand and provided a ram for the sacrifice. Because of his obedience to God’s covenant and to what God told him to do, Abraham experienced many covenant blessings. These blessings resulted from what happened when God extended to Abraham His mercy upon the mountain. The Nativity Icon depicts another pouring out of God’s mercy with another substitute sacrifice.

Gen 22:1 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" And he said, "Here I am."

Gen 22:2 Then He said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."

Gen 22:9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

Gen 22:10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.

Gen 22:11 But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" So he said, "Here I am."

Gen 22:12 And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

Gen 22:13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son.

Gen 22:14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, "In the Mount of The LORD it shall be provided."

Gen 22:15 Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven,

Gen 22:16 and said: "By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son;

Gen 22:17 "blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Gen 22:18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

On the mountaintop, God’s people are always faced with this issue of obedience. The mountain is a place of testing, where God tests whether or not His people are going to obey Him and accept His will. The Nativity of Christ tested the obedience of Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the magi. When we come face to face with the Nativity and encounter the glory of God, we have to choose to obey Him and to accept His will for our lives. To put it another way, the mountain is a place of decision where we choose obedience to the creator and the Incarnate Christ.

The Grotto or Cave:

Descending down from heaven into the material world, God allowed himself to be literally woven into the depths of the earth. Christ was begotten, not created.

Psalm 139:15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.^[1]

Mary’s womb is like a grotto in the depths of the earth (humanity), into which God allowed himself to be woven or begotten. By bearing God in her womb, Mary (the Theotokos) links man to the creator in a new way. As Eve was the mother of all of mankind, so Mary becomes the mother of all who will be born again as new creatures in Christ. And as Adam was the father of all mankind, God, through Christ, is the Father of all who are born again. God’s unification with mankind through the Incarnation is a turning point in the history of Salvation and Redemption.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.^[2]

Caves are a place of darkness—the absence of light. Spiritually they may represent that part of the world that lives in spiritual darkness, spiritual death or separation from the light of God, and the absence of true light and life.

Numerous caves pit the cliffs and mountains of the Holy Land. Although occupation was not continuous, evidence for human habitation in some of the caves exists from prehistoric times until the Roman period. At this time, they became places of refuge for Jews fleeing Roman persecution.

Caves provided housing and burial sites for prehistoric people. In the Bible, caves were often used as burial places. Abraham brought the cave of Machpelah as a tomb for Sarah (Gen. 23:11-16,19). Lazarus was buried in a cave (John 11:38). David used the cave of Adullam for refuge (1 Sam. 22:1), as did five Canaanite kings at Makkedah (Josh. 10:16). Paradoxically, caves represent death and human habitation; darkness and refuge.

Ironically Christ was born in a cave and buried after death in a cave. In both cases, he emerged from the cave to bring light to the world. The cave could not contain or hold Him. His glory and His place in God’s plan of redemption were both revealed in the cave of His birth and in the cave of His death. In the Nativity Icon, Christ is pictured wrapped up in swaddling cloths. These are strips of burial cloth, used in the ancient world to bind up a body for burial. He is lying in a manger that looks like a sarcophagus denoting that Jesus Christ was born to die for the sins of the world. Christ came into the world for the primary purpose of dying on the cross. He came to die that we might live. He conquered the darkness of the cave in His birth and in His death. Next to the image of the bound up child is an abbreviated Greek inscription “Jesus Christ”.

Notice in these scriptures how the glory and power of God was revealed in both the birth of Christ and in His death.

Luke 2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

Luke 2:5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

Luke 2:6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

Luke 2:11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

Luke 2:15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."

Luke 2:16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Luke 2:17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

Luke 2:18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

Mark 15:46 Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb.

Mat 28:2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

Mat 28:3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow.

Mat 28:4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

Mat 28:5 But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

Mat 28:6 "He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

The manger is a feeding trough for livestock—a place for the animals living in the stable (cave of the world) to receive sustenance. It is a feeding station that looks somewhat like an altar. The altar in a church is also a feeding station—a place where believers (often referred to in scripture as sheep) come to feed on the body and blood of Christ. Jesus Christ was born in a feed trough and he comes to us through his body and blood as we approach the altar, which is our feeding trough. As the shepherds came to the Christ child in a place of feeding the sheep, so we come to Christ in a place of spiritual feeding. The body and blood of the Lord give us sustenance. Consider the words of Christ as recorded in the Gospel according to St. John.

John 6:53 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

John 6:54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 6:55 "For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.

John 6:56 "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

John 6:57 "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

John 6:58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

The cave is a place where the hearts of people are revealed and often transformed. Caves have long been places of meditation, places of introspection, and places of revelation. Early monastics sought cleansing for their souls and a deeper revelation of God in caves.

When Elijah was discouraged and depressed because of the persecution of Jezebel and the spiritual darkness that seemed to be spreading across the land of Israel, God led him to the mountain where God had given the Ten Commandments to Moses. Upon this mountain, Elijah spent the night in a cave. It was there that the light of God penetrated the darkness of his depressed soul to give Elijah new purpose for life and ministry. It was in that cave that God’s light of revelation taught Elijah how to hear the still and small voice of the Holy Spirit and sent him forth as a rekindled light to the nation of Israel.

1 Ki 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1 Ki 19:10 So he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

1 Ki 19:11 Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake;

1 Ki 19:12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

1 Ki 19:13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1 Ki 19:14 And he said, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life."

1 Ki 19:15 Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.

1 Ki 19:16 "Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

1 Ki 19:17 "It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.

1 Ki 19:18 "Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him."

People could be in a cave out of fear, when they are running from something. They could be in a cave of despair or depression and need spiritual lifting and spiritual direction. Or they could be in a cave because they are spiritually, emotionally, morally, or physically dead. Whenever the light or revelation of God touches someone in a cave, it regenerates that person spiritually, emotionally, morally or even physically. Light is an energy source and energy is needed for things to change in either the world or a person’s life. In Jesus Christ we are regenerated into new life.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Whether in the darkness of the human soul or the darkness of outer space, only God is able to create light or to speak light into existence. At the time of the world’s creation, God spoke light into existence when the world was covered with darkness (such as the darkness represented by a cave), and divided the light from the darkness. God created by speaking His Word.

Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Gen 1:2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Gen 1:3 Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.

Gen 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

In the Incarnation, the Word became flesh and lived among us. Through the Incarnation the Word brought light to a world that lived in darkness. When the world was in the darkness of spiritual death, the light of Christ brought forth light and life out of the darkness. Once again God spoke light into existence.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

John 1:2 He was in the beginning with God.

John 1:3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it (overcome it).

When Lazarus, who was dead in a cave, encountered the light of Christ, his body was infused with new life. He was resurrected by the power of Christ who spoke light and life into his dead body. This offers us another picture of how the light of Christ enters the cave of death to produce life. Once again the Glory of God was revealed. In fact whenever the light of God reaching into a cave, the Glory of God is revealed and the darkness cannot overcome it. Whether the light of God raises a Lazarus or announces the birth of the Messiah, it reaches into the darkness to bring forth something miraculous.

John 11:38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

John 11:39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."

John 11:40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"

John 11:41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, "Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

John 11:42 "And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me."

John 11:43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"

John 11:44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."

Mary and Joseph:

Both Mary and Joseph are portrayed in a worshipful attitude toward the Christ-child. Mary is raised above Joseph denoting her more prominent role in the divine birth. As is typical in most icons, the Virgin Mary is clothed in red. This denotes her sainthood and her holiness. Mary, like all other believers, is covered by the blood of Jesus’ (red) sacrifice. There are usually three stars on the garments of the Virgin Mary. This is also typical of most icons. They represent her perpetual virginity before, during, and after the birth of Christ. The number three also reminds us of the trinity. A star denotes revelation and authority in scripture. Mary is depicted as one to whom revelation and authority were given because of her humility and obedience to the will of God. Next to Mary is the inscription in Greek that is an abbreviation for the term “Mother of God”. This title was afforded to her by several of the Ecumenical Councils of the Church.

The obedience and actions of Mary and Joseph were important elements of the birth of the Nativity Story. The divine revelation that was given to both Mary and Joseph by a messenger angel, led each of them to believe God and act upon His instructions.

Angelic Appearance to Mary:

Luke 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

Luke 1:27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

Luke 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

Luke 1:29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

Luke 1:30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

Luke 1:31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

Luke 1:32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

Luke 1:33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."

Luke 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

Luke 1:36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

Luke 1:37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."

Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Angelic appearance to Joseph:

Matthew 1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 1:21 “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
Matthew 1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
Matthew 1:24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,

We have examined the symbolism of the light, mountain, cave, and the Holy Family—those things in the center of the icon. Notice how the light is diffused and seems to be coming from the infant Christ who seems to be floating in the black hole at the center of the Icon.

Now we should now look again at the icon with attention to the action and symbolism of what is taking place around the periphery of the icon.

The Angels:

The angels in the Nativity Icon are depicted in almost human form, but having wings and remaining above the action in the rest of the icon. One is speaking to a shepherd while the others seem to be observing or overseeing the events that are unfolding below them. The angel speaking to the shepherd is delivering a message of good news from God. This depiction is based upon this passage from St. Luke’s Gospel.

Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

Luke 2:9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

Luke 2:10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

Luke 2:11 "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:12 "And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"

An angel is a heavenly messenger who either delivers a message to humans, carries out God's will, praises God, or guards God's throne. The Greek word Angelos and the Hebrew equivalent, malak (both of which mean "messenger"), are the two most common terms used to describe this class of beings in the Bible. In general, in texts where an angel appears, his task is to convey the message or do the will of the God who sent him. Since the focus of the text is on the message, the messenger is rarely described in detail.

Another set of terms used to describe angels, focuses on them as celestial beings. Terms such as "sons of God," "holy ones," and "heavenly host" are frequently used in scripture. As such, these variously worship God, attend God's throne, or comprise God's army.

A third category of heavenly beings is that of winged angels. Cherubim and seraphim make their most memorable appearances in the visions of Ezekiel (1:4-28; 10:3-22) and Isaiah (6:2-6). Cherubim function primarily as guards or attendants to the divine throne. Seraphim appear only in Isaiah's vision and there attend God's throne and voice praises. All three categories present us with heavenly beings in service to God. The nature of the angelic host is at best hinted at indirectly.

The appearance of angels varies. Only cherubim and seraphim are represented with wings. Often in the Old Testament angels appear as ordinary men. Sometimes, however, they do things or appear in a fashion clearly non-human (Gen. 16:7-11; Ex. 3:2; Num. 22:23; John 20:12). The brilliant white appearance common to the New Testament angel is not a feature of the Old Testament image.

The angel's function as messenger or agent of God is acted out in terms of proclamation: revealing the will of God and/or announcing key events (Gen. 19:1-22; Ex. 3:2-6); protection: ensuring the well-being or survival of God's people (Ex. 14:19,20; 1 Kings 19:1-8); and punishment: enforcing the wrath of God on the wicked among the Jews and the Gentiles (Gen. 19:12-13; 2 Sam. 24:17; 2 Kings 19:35). Much of the patter observed from the Old Testament concerning angels is repeated in the New Testament. Their basic tasks of proclamation, protection, and punishment are depicted in the New Testament (Matt. 1:20-24; 4:11; Acts 12:7-11), while references to the nature of angels are very brief.

Shepherds and Sheep:

The revelation of the Incarnation of Christ was first given to some shepherds watching the Passover flocks on the hillsides around Bethlehem. The shepherds may be interpreted as being representatives of the Jewish people, whereas the magi represent the heathen nations. Here is St. Luke’s account of the revelation of the birth of Christ being given to the shepherds.

Luke 2:16 And they (the shepherds) came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

Luke 2:17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

Luke 2:18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

The shepherds are also a type and shadow of the pastoral ministry that God intended to establish in the Church. The shepherds are representative of the spiritual leaders of God’s people (the sheep). God promised in the Old Testament that He would be a shepherd to His scattered sheep and misused sheep—the people of the nation of Israel.

Isa 40:10-11 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, And His arm shall rule for Him; Behold, His reward is with Him, And His work before Him. He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, And carry them in His bosom, And gently lead those who are with young.

Jer 50:6 "My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray; They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill; They have forgotten their resting place.

Ezekiel 34:11 ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
Ezekiel 34:12 “As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep, so will I seek out My sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day.
Ezekiel 34:13 “And I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land; I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys and in all the inhabited places of the country.
Ezekiel 34:14 “I will feed them in good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 34:15 “I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.
Ezekiel 34:16 “I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
Ezekiel 34:17 ‘And as for you, O My flock, thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I shall judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats.

Psa 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Psa 23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

Mat 2:6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Mat 9:36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.

The Bible frequently portrays people as being like lost sheep in need of a shepherd. Consider the words of St. Peter.

1 Pet 2:25 For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Jesus referred to himself as a shepherd. Since Jesus is the chief shepherd, it was fitting that natural shepherds were present at his birth. In the nativity icon, the shepherd with the lamb draped around his shoulders is a type and shadow of Jesus the good shepherd finding his lost sheep in fulfillment of God’s promise in the Old Testament to shepherd His people.

John 10:11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

John 10:12 "But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

John 10:13 "The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

John 10:14 "I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

John 10:15 "As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

John 10:16 "And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

Mat 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, "All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: 'I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

The Flute Playing Shepherd:

The flute was sometimes played by shepherds and probably had a calming effect on the sheep. In the icon this symbolizes the shepherd leading the sheep (people of God) in the worship of God. We are reminded of the importance of music in worship and of the duty of the shepherd to lead the sheep in worship. Isaiah said the flute was to be played when a holy festival was kept—symbolically when one comes to the mountain of the Lord. Jesus likened his generation to the playing of a flute without the corresponding worship of God—playing it at the wrong time, for the wrong reason. Consider and compare the words of Isaiah and Jesus.

Isa 30:29 You shall have a song As in the night when a holy festival is kept, And gladness of heart as when one goes with a flute, To come into the mountain of the LORD, To the Mighty One of Israel.

Luke 7:31-32 And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: 'We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.'

Donkey, and Ox:

In the Nativity Icon, in the cave, behind the manger are two animals warming the Holy Child with their breath. Both the Donkey and the ox are animals that work on behalf of people. The ox and donkey demonstrate that even speechless animals can recognize the Creator when He reveals Himself, whereas the religious leaders of Israel did not realize what was being revealed.

Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner And the donkey its master’s crib; But Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”^[3]

The ox and donkey are servants of mankind. In the icon they are in the stable/cave with Jesus. This reminds us that Jesus Christ came to serve mankind and that in Christ we are to have the attitude of servants.

Mat 10:24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

Mat 10:25 "It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household!

Mat 20:26 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

Mat 20:27 "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave;

Mat 20:28 "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Mark 9:35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."

Luke 12:43 "Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.

Luke 12:44 "Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has.

Luke 12:45 "But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk,

Luke 12:46 "the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

Luke 12:47 "And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Luke 12:48 "But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

John 13:14 "If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

John 13:15 "For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

John 13:16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him.

The Apostle Paul considered himself to be a servant of Christ and of the Church. He taught that we should see ourselves as servants. This icon not only reminds us that Christ had the heart of a servant, but that we should consider ourselves servants of Christ and of His Church.

1 Cor 9:19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;

2 Tim 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient,

Gal 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

2 Tim 1:3 I thank God, whom I serve with a pure conscience, as my forefathers did, as without ceasing I remember you in my prayers night and day,

The Magi:

The Magi or Wise Men are depicted in the Nativity Icon, even though they did not arrive in Judea until approximately two years after the Birth of Christ. Their story is intrinsic to coherence of the Nativity story and to why Joseph took the Holy Family to Egypt to flee from Herod’s attempt to kill the young child.

The Magi or Eastern wise men were most likely priests and astrologers who were expert in interpreting dreams and signs in the heavens. Their interpretation of the stars led them to Palestine to find and honor Jesus, the newborn King (Matt. 2). The term has a Persian background. The earliest Greek translation of Daniel 2:2,10 uses "magi" to translate the Hebrew term for astrologer. The magi who greeted Jesus' birth may have been from Babylon, Persia, or the Arabian Desert. Their ancestors may have been a part of the Jewish dispersion during the Assyrian or Babylonian deportations. Or they may have been influenced by the religious beliefs of the Jews who were deported. They are usually interpreted as being representative of heathen people and nations who would turn to Christ as Lord and Savior.

In the Convergence Movement, we often hear the phrase “on a spiritual journey” used to describe how we came to our understanding of what God is doing today in the earth. The Magi can be thought to represent those who are on a spiritual journey to either find Christ, or to delve more deeply into the mysteries of God to develop a closer relationship with the Savior. There are many spiritual journeys in life. Coming to salvation, deliverance, or healing can be a journey. Learning to walk in one’s gifts and callings is another journey. Developing a more meaningful prayer life and a more intimate relationship to God is another journey that some of us have embarked upon.

Matthew gives no number, names, or royal positions to the magi. Tertullian called them kings, but nobody is sure why he did that. From the three gifts, the deduction was made that they were three in number. Shortly before A.D. 600 the Armenian Infancy Gospel named them: Melkon (later Melchior), Balthasar, and Gaspar. The visit of the magi affirms international recognition by practitioners of other religions of Jesus' place as the expected King.

Theologically, it is correct to say that they paid homage to the Christ-child, and we must remember that iconography is free from chronological time constraints.

Mat 2:1 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

Mat 2:2 saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

Mat 2:3 When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Mat 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

Mat 2:5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

Mat 2:6 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.'"

Mat 2:7 Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

Mat 2:8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."

Mat 2:9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

Mat 2:10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

Mat 2:11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

Mat 2:12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

Mat 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."

Mat 2:14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

Mat 2:15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, "Out of Egypt I called My Son."

Although the Bible and most of the Fathers are silent about the years the Holy Family spent in Egypt, the Coptic Church has rich traditions and stories about their sojourn there. It is widely believed that they traveled throughout much of Egypt with Joseph working as a carpenter to provide food and lodging for his family at every stop along their route of travel. They returned to Nazareth after the death of Herod.

OTHER VERSIONS OF THE NATIVITY ICON

In the Russian version below the colors have a darker and more reddish hue. There is more contrast in the colors, with red and black being the prominent colors. This icon has a more stylized appearance. Heaven and earth are more clearly delineated and each supporting scene is more clearly set off from the others. In the light beam we can imagine the faint shape of a dove (representing the Holy Spirit) and a very slight suggestion of a cross. The angels appear more focused on the Christ-child than in the other icon. The whole scene seems more compacted.

The Virgin Mary has a more prominent role in this Russian icon. She is the object of greater devotion than in the former version. She is depicted reclining on a pedestal-like rock in front of the cave and Christ-child. She has a pensive expression reminding us of the words recorded by St. Luke.

Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Luke 2:34 Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against

The angels, magi and shepherds are present. The flute-playing shepherd is again depicted. As in other Nativity Icons, subsidiary scenes are arranged symmetrically around and below the cave. Inspired by the Gospels, both canonical and Apocryphal, they frame and supplement the principal subject of the Nativity. At the bottom left sits Joseph, pensive and withdrawn. Some versions of the Nativity Icon reduce Joseph to a supporting role, reflecting the scriptural witness of Joseph’s role in the birth and life of Christ. Joseph is often pictured with the elderly shepherd leaning on a stick, seen in the bottom left hand corner of this icon. This element is not present in the previous version of the Nativity Icon.

This old shepherd can remind us of the concept of eldership in the scriptures. St. Peter, for example, wrote about the responsibility of the Elder/Shepherd in the Church.

1 Pet 5:1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:

1 Pet 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;

1 Pet 5:3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;

1 Pet 5:4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Acts 20:28 "Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

Orthodox Christians understand the old shepherd leaning on the stick to be the Tempter. Instead of an elder bringing wise council, this old shepherd is attempting to sow doubt and unbelief—two things that Satan always tries to sow in the lives of believers. According to traditional Orthodox understanding, the Tempter is attempting to get Joseph to doubt the Virgin’s account of the Annunciation (Matthew 1) and to choose not to believe that the child was the Son of God.[4]

The truth of this depiction is that we all have occasional doubts about what God is saying to us or doing in our lives. We also get caught up in “this world” realities that keep us from realizing that we belong to the Kingdom of God that transcends and is able to overcome the temporal problems and temptations.

It is a fact that many people do experience depression and self-doubt during the Season of Advent. When we accept the revelation of God into our hearts, we dispel the doubts of the Tempter. To do this we have to raise our eyes above the ground or, in some cases to wake up to the reality of God’s love and providence. (In many icons Joseph is depicted being asleep or dreaming). Our depression and doubts will be dispelled when we see Christ in the midst of the cave that is our darkened world or darkened state of mind.

Immediately to the right of the manger, sits a young shepherd wearing a wreath and playing his flute to a group of sheep. A little further up, another shepherd, standing, receives the glad tidings from an angel; and to the left of the peak, a dense crowd of angels is depicted glorifying God. Below them, the three Magi ride up to render homage, their gaze fixed on the guiding star. The light source is more like a star in this icon than in the previous one.

There are still other versions of the Nativity Icon. To the left is another version that has an otherworldly, surreal feeling about it. On the gold ground of the icon, which is crowned with a blue-green arch, is the inscription: 'The Nativity of Christ'. In this 14^th century version of the Nativity Icon, the heavens and earth are more clearly delineated and the golden hue gives the impression of looking into the bright sunlight of dawn. We realize that a new era has dawned with the birth of the Christ-child.

In the center of the composition on a flat area in front of the cave entrance, the Virgin is prominently depicted kneeling, not lying down as she is in the previous composition. She has her hands crossed before her breast, venerating Christ, who lies in a low marble manger that resembles a sarcophagus or altar inside the cave. The baby is typically wrapped in grave clothes.

An Apocryphal Scene:

At the bottom right many versions of the Nativity Icon is the scene of the bathing of the infant. Christian literature has produced numerous apocryphal accounts of the Virgin Birth. This scene comes from the Apocryphal Gospel of James and may foreshadow baptism or a form of ritual purification prominent among the Jews at the time of Christ. An elderly midwife is depicted sitting on the ground holding Christ with one arm and testing the temperature of the water in the bath with her other hand; and a young woman, Salome, on the left pouring water into the bath from a jug, which may be looking to the pouring of water into a Baptismal font. Behind the midwife, a cat and a dog are discernible, though they cannot be seen in their entirety.

The apocryphal account, which may be a reflection of early Christian belief, says that Jesus was born in a mountain grotto. This is the cave depicted in most icons. Since Bethlehem at the time of Christ’s birth was a very small hamlet, it may have only had a few buildings. The tradition of the early church that Christ was born in a mountain grotto that served as a stable (possibly under or next to the inn) is very plausible.

There are numerous other variations of the Nativity Icon. This burnished gold icon is based on the description of the birth of Jesus in the Gospels of St. Mark and St. Matthew, as well as the apocryphal Gospel of James.

The above icon, and the one to the left, both show Mary lying on a pillow in the grotto. The size of her image points to the significance ascribed to her by the iconographer. Obviously this icon shows great devotion to Mary as the Theotokos or mother of God. The mosaic icon to the left, shows four angels and the shepherds and omits the magi. The angels surround the Christ-child and are more clearly depicted here than in some other Nativity Icons. Joseph is in the lower left hand corner of the icon and appears to be in deep thought or perhaps daydreaming but the Tempter is missing. Opposite Joseph are the two women bathing Jesus.

The manger or high crib, resembling an altar, is shown in inverse perspective as if the Christ-child is rising above the manger/altar defying gravity. This is a clear connection between the manger and altar as two places of feeding. Jesus’ head rests upon his mother showing Jesus’ humanity and the Virgin’s importance.

To the left is a photo of an 8^th century Coptic Icon of the Nativity from Egypt. Notice that the Coptic style is even more abstract but still retains the elements of other Nativity Icons. This is one of the oldest Nativity Icons that have been preserved from the first millennium of church history.

The bottom picture in this set is a 14^th century Italian drawing by Giotto. He became acquainted with Byzantine Icons from Gree

THE ICONS OF CHRIST AND HIS KINGDOM

INTRODUCTION: THE USE OF ICONS IN WORSHIP

God has often used signs and symbols to reveal His will to people. Consider these signs, given in scripture, have impacted our understanding of God’s redemptive plan.

(Isa 7:14)

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.

(Ps 111:2)

The works of the LORD are great, Studied by all who have pleasure in them.

(Rom 4:11)

CHAPTER ONE:

THE ORIGINS OF USING CHRISTIAN ICONS IN WORSHIP

Theology of the Icon

Icon Themes

In the Roman Catacombs we see a 3^rd Century depiction of Christ as the Good Shepherd. This is one of the earliest icons.

This is a 10^th Century icon of the legend of King Abgarus receiving the Image of Edessa from the apostle Thaddeus.

The Mandylion of Edessa from the private chapel of the pope in the Vatican. Photography taken in the pavillion of the Holy See during the EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany.

Virgin of Cikani from 4^th C. Georgia

6^th C. Virgin and Child from St. Catherine’s Monastery in the Sinai.


Glykophilousa of Crete	Tenderness of Novgorod	Theotokos of Vladmir

Virgin and Child from St. George Coptic Church in Cairo, Egypt

Ethiopian Coptic Icon

Of the Virgin Mary

Virgin of Tenderness--Russian


17^th Century Mandylion	Christ Enthroned	Christ The Law Giver

Rublev’s Christ—16^th C.	Christ The Teacher	13^th C. Pantocrator


Baptism Of Christ	Transfiguration	Ascension

Iconography seems to have been well established in the Church by the Fourth Century. The great Church historian Eusebius related some earlier accounts of icon veneration.

Eusebius’ History of the Christian Church: Book 7 Chapter 18.

This is a 3^rd century representation of the icon mentioned by Eusebius.

Many of the earliest surviving icons are found in the Coptic Churches of Egypt.

4^th Century Icons from Egypt