The Russian Icon that Reveals the Mystery of the Trinity
Held in high esteem by Christians of the East and West alike, this icon is one of the most profound visualizations of the Trinity ever produced
By Philip Kosloski
May 21, 2016
“It is most absurd and improper to depict in icons God the Father with a grey beard and the Only-Begotten Son in His bosom with a dove between them, because no-one has seen the Father according to His Divinity, and the Father has no flesh […] and the Holy Spirit is not in essence a dove, but in essence God.” (Great Synod of Moscow, 1667)
For the Russian Orthodox Church, depicting the Holy Trinity in art has been an issue of controversy for the past thousand years. Even though the Council of Nicaea in 787 permitted the artistic representation of God, the Russian Orthodox Church was unhappy with the popular images of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
They felt the gray-bearded man and the dove could not do justice to the unfathomable mystery of the triune God. In place of these widespread images of God, they chose to use Andrei Rublev’s Trinity icon as the proper way to depict the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Russian icon is hard to grasp for those outside the Orthodox tradition and at first glance it doesn’t appear to represent the Holy Trinity. The central scene of the icon comes from the book of Genesis, when Abraham welcomes three strangers into his tent,
“And the Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the oaks of Mamre … He lifted up his eyes and … behold, three men stood in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth …[Abraham] set [cakes, curds, milk, and a calf he prepared] before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.” (Genesis 18:1–8)
Rublev’s icon depicts this scene with three angels, similar in appearance, sitting around a table. In the background is the house of Abraham as well as an oak tree that stands behind the three guests. While the icon depicts this scene in the Old Testament, Rublev used the biblical episode to make a visual representation of the Trinity that fit within the strict guidelines of the Russian Orthodox Church.
The symbolism of the image is complex and is meant to summarize the Church’s theological beliefs in the Holy Trinity. First of all, the three angels are identical in appearance corresponding to the belief of the oneness of God in three Persons. However, each angel is wearing a different garment, bringing to mind how each Person of the Trinity is distinct. The fact that Rublev depicts the Trinity using angels is also a reminder of the nature of God, who is pure spirit.
The angels are shown from left to right in the order that we profess our faith in the Creed: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The first angel wears a blue undergarment, symbolizing the divine nature of God and a purple outer garment, pointing to the Father’s kingship.
The second angel is the most familiar as he is wearing the clothes typically worn by Jesus in traditional iconography. The crimson color symbolizes Christ’s humanity, while the blue is indicative of his divinity. The oak tree behind the angel reminds us of the tree of life in the Garden of Eden as well as the cross upon which Christ saved the world from the sin of Adam.
The third angel is wearing a blue garment (divinity), as well as a green vestment over the top. The color green points to the earth and the Holy Spirit’s mission of renewal. Green is also the liturgical color worn on Pentecost in the Orthodox and Byzantine tradition. The two angels on the right of the icon have a slightly bowed head toward the other, illustrating the fact that the Son and Spirit come from the Father.
In the center of the icon is a table that resembles an altar. Placed on the table is a golden bowl or chalice that contains the calf Abraham prepared for his guests and the central angel appears to be blessing the meal. All of that combined reminds us of the sacrament of the Eucharist.
While not the most direct representation of the Holy Trinity, it is one of the most profound visualizations ever produced. It remains in the Orthodox and Byzantine traditions the primary way to depict the Triune God. The icon is even held in high esteem in the Roman Catholic Church and is frequently used by catechists to teach others about the mystery of the Trinity.
The Trinity is a mystery and will always be so while we are on earth. However, sometimes we are given glimpses into God’s divine life, and Rublev’s icon allows us a brief second to peek behind the veil.
For a person well educated in the understanding the holy art of icons makes it more easy to perceive the meaning produced by the artist. But for the common person the images of the Father with grey beard that symbolize the old man full of wisdom, and with the image of Jesus as the son and the Holy Spirit as a dove or a flame represents the Holy Trinity.
Icons are more than fine arts.
Very interesting indeed.
IT-TRINITA TA’ RUBLEV
Hija ta’ ħasra kbira li qed ngħixu f’kultura fejn ‘kulħadd sar professur ta’ kollox’ u dawn it-talin jitkellmu b’awtorita, fuq il-pastard, fuq l-arti in ġenerali, fuq mard tal-ġilda u fuq kull suġġett taħt il-kappa tax-xemx. Ħasra akbar hija li l-Knisja, in ġenerali qatt ma rawwmet bis-serjeta l-Apprezzament tal-Arti, kieku m’għandniex ħafna knejjes miżgħuda b’inkwatri taċ-ċikkulata u l-icing sugar … iżda jekk tħaffer fil-fond, ma ssib xejn. Kemm huma dawk l-artisti li qabel ma jagħmlu biċċa xogħol reliġjuża jagħmlu riċerka profonda, jitolbu, (kif għamel Rublev u artisti tal-Ikoni oħra) biex iwasslu messaġġ teoloġiku permezz tal-opra tagħhom? Jien ma naf b’ħadd. Ġewwa Ruma, riċentement, infetħet Skola tal-Arti ġdida, li tinkludi fil-kurrikulu tagħha studju Teoloġiku għal-ewwel sentejn? Ikun imbierek Alla, fl-aħħar.
Niġu għat-Trinita ta’ Rublev. Ġiżwita Irlandiż li jgħallem it-teoloġija fl-Universita tal-Gregorjan, Ruma, immaġina li qed jistieden lil Marx, lil Freud, lil Nietzsche u lil Russell (ateji magħrufin) biex iżuru din l-ikona tat-Trinita. Hu jispjegalhom li fil-kwadru ta’ tlieta hemm post għal ieħor, għal dak li qed iħares lejn l-Ikona u jitlob fuqha. Fin-nofs hemm is-simbolu tal-kalċi, u li t-tlieta qed jirreferu għalih. L-Ikona hija kwieta, siekta, iżda mimlija enerġija, u tħajjar lil kull min iħares lejha biex jersaq u jissieħeb f’dik il-komunita ta’ mħabba.
Kwalunkwe ateju iħossu li hawn qed jgħix esperjenza, ġejja minn ġewwa, mill-ħajja li għadda u mistieden jaqsamha ma’ din il-‘familja ta’ mħabba’, biex jieħu sehem magħhom fil-ħolqien u fil-fejqan.
Biex tidħol aktar fil-fond trid tikteb volumi sħaħ. Iżda, daqxejn ta’ ħsieb minn għand lajk jew saċerdot, kull Ċikka jew Karmni li forsi ma għandhomx skola, xorta l-messaġġ jasal, u tkun qed tedukahom. Li hu żgur hu li dal messaġġ fih aktar valur milli sempliċiment tara tpinġija ta’ mara, sejjħilha l-Madonna, u li qed twieżen tarbija. Iżda m’hemm l-ebda messaġġ li jġiegħlek taħseb dwaru, u li jista’ jagħmillek ġid għal ruħek.
Iva, obbligati nedukaw, sakemm il-bniedem jammetti, u jirrealizza li qed jitgħallem, u mhux niġġustifikaw ruħna bil-kelma ‘misħuta’ għax tgħid dawn huma gosti. Hija nuqqas ta’ kultura, ta’ tagħlim, iżda dawk l-individwi li għalihom hija aktar faċli li jgħidu kelma waħda biex jgħattu n-nuqqas tagħhom, u jigħidu ‘Gosti hux’. Sewwa qal Dickens li l-akbar ġuħ li jeżisti huwa tal-injuranza.
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