Trinity Old Testament

The angels hold long rods in their hands - a constant attribute of the angelic rank, reminiscent of the long road of wanderers they have traveled. Easily supporting thin rods, the angels seem to direct them to their attributes: the middle one points to the spreading oak of Mamre, the left one points to the luxurious chambers - the House of Abraham, the right one to the mountain towering above it. These realities of the biblical narrative, reminiscent of the place where the travelers appeared, are at the same time capacious Christian symbols. The overshadowing chambers are a sign of Wisdom, the divine Economy of God the Father, the oak tree above the head of the middle angel is the tree of Life, a symbol of the suffering and resurrection of Christ. According to ancient Jewish customs, it was under the oak tree, which was revered as a sacred tree, that the dead were buried (Gen. 35:8), incense was burned and sacrifices were made (Hos. 4:13). Mountain - ancient symbol everything sublime, an image of “delight of the spirit.” Everything happens on it major events Old and New Testaments.

For consciousness ancient Russian man the idea of ​​the Trinity was one of the most important in his faith and Everyday life. Nowhere - neither in Byzantium, nor in the countries of the Eastern Christian world, nor in the West - did the worship of the Trinity have such a deep, all-encompassing character as in Rus'. Since the time of Sergius of Radonezh, the “Trinity” has been understood as the idea of ​​peace and love, the spiritual unity of the people, and Trinity Day was the day when hostility ceased, the dead were remembered, believing in their general resurrection.

The circular composition of the icon, which became the ideal for many icon painters after Rublev’s “Trinity,” is in this case replaced by a semicircular one, echoing the sigmoid shape of the table, a characteristic detail of 17th-century iconography. Subordinate to her is the silhouette of the wings of the central angel hugging the forefathers and the bowed poses of the side ones. The raised and widely spread wings of the middle angel carefully separate the meal with its participants into a separate composition. Blessing the chalice with a bishop's gesture, the middle angel overshadows and draws Abraham and Sarah into the sacrament, who thereby become not only servants of the Trinity, but its companions, participants in the Eucharistic feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. Unearthly beauty the world around them, transformed by the presence of heavenly messengers performing divine services, turns it into the image of the Temple or Heavenly Jerusalem.

According to I. L. Buseva-Davydova, the icon of Gury Nikitin repeated the one that has not reached us ancient image“Trinity”, written in the last quarter of the 14th century by the Monk Pachomius of Nerekhta for the Trinity Sypanov Monastery founded by him (the western border of the Kostroma region). According to the author's signature on it, the monument was a votive monument, created “on the promise” of clerk John Nikitin, possibly for the same monastery. An icon from the collection of V. A. Bondarenko is the only signed work by Gury Nikitin, one of the best masters second half XVII century. The exact attribution of the “Trinity” makes it a kind of standard work of the icon painter, allowing us to clarify the range of works attributed to him. Guriy Nikitin (Kineshemtsev) was a native of the city of Kostroma, the largest center of icon painting in the 17th century, and like many Volga masters, he came from a trading and settlement environment. The first mention of him as an icon painter dates back to 1659; from that time until the master’s death in 1691, his name constantly appears in official documents of the era. Throughout his life he remained the head of the Kostroma artel of icon painters, who completed all the most significant artistic ensembles XVII century. Under his leadership or with direct participation, the cathedrals and royal mansions of the Moscow Kremlin, the Trinity Cathedral of the Danilov Monastery in Pereslavl-Zalessky (1662–1668), the Church of Elijah the Prophet in Yaroslavl (1681), the Trinity Cathedral in the Ipatiev Monastery (1685), the Transfiguration Cathedral were painted St. Euthymius Monastery in Suzdal (1689), etc. Guriy Nikitin repeatedly painted icons by royal order and, in terms of the scale of his talent, was one of the most interesting artists this time. He was best known as outstanding master frescoes that covered the walls of huge cathedrals with bizarre, unearthly beauty, similar to luxurious tapestries, images. But judging by the icons he created, his work successfully combined the talent of a monumentalist, who had a great sense of space and plane, who unmistakably found compositional proportions, and his love for miniature, delicate writing, and the desire to present the plot in as much detail as possible. At the same time, Gury Nikitin’s “pettiness of writing” never led to fragmentation of the scene, and his lovingly crafted, carefully finished details earned him the fame of “a miracle of a master.” The icon from the collection of V. A. Bondarenko has all these features.

Many icons depict the Holy Trinity in all its mystery and grandeur. The power of shrines is discussed throughout the world.

Christian religion, like philosophy, begins with wonder. People's memory knows the real miracles that were shown by the icon depicting the basis of all Christianity. People cry to the holy face, first of all, for strengthening of the spirit, for strengthening willpower that can endure anything, for deliverance from sins, sometimes even those that only the Lord can forgive. The icon of the New Testament Trinity is important for Christians - the church and all its novices are sure of this, but there is also a forbidden side to it. Disputes on this matter have not subsided to this day. The question of whether it is possible to depict the face of the Lord, the Creator, whom no one has seen, is asked by many people.

The Mystery of the Icon of the Holy Trinity

Christian faith originates from great mystery The New Testament Trinity is the mystery of the incomprehensible unity of God. In this icon, believers see the Lord in all three forms on which the church is based. Just as the three persons of the Trinity are in one whole, so all people are one in the body of Christ. This is not a metaphor: we are all brothers and sisters, united by one whole - blood and spirit in which God lives.

Few dared to depict the mystery of the Trinity on canvas. After all, seeing the image and feeling its power and significance, it is easier for people to turn to the Lord. The joyful mystery of God's reincarnation allowed people to depict the incomprehensible. This icon has many variations, but the meaning is the same - this is a text about holiness, about love revealed by God, which knows neither time nor space. She remains in eternity, where each of us will be.

comprehend eternal life we can only thanks to the Lord, his covenants, decrees and rules, which do not allow us to denigrate the weightless soul, but locked in the body. The Creator Himself dedicates every Christian to follow the apostles, helping to find Himself—the Holy Spirit. We accept such a gift only after undergoing the sacrament of baptism. In a word, everyone who has accepted Christ and agrees with him in everything allows into his heart the Lord and the Holy Spirit, who permeates the whole world.

Where is the New Testament Trinity icon located?

There is a similar icon in every church in our country. The most ancient relics, which convey not only the mystery and unity of God, but also the history of the human race, can be found not far from Suzdal. In the village of Sanino there is the St. Nicholas Monastery for women, where the image of the indestructible unity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is kept.

The image of the New Testament Trinity is a unique icon that demonstrates to believers the unity of the Lord the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Disputes about whether it is possible to depict the Creator in the image of an old man will not stop, but only one thing is clear: truth is born in a dispute. Perhaps over time we will get closer to it. In the meantime, believe what your heart tells you. The Lord will show you spiritual path, you just need to listen to His instructions. It will help you with this

Trinity of the New Testament (Co-throne)

One of the types of iconography of the New Testament Trinity: the image of God the Father in the form of a gray-haired old man. In the halo above His head are the same letters that are written in the Savior’s halo, meaning, as mentioned above, “He That Is,” but the halo itself may not be round, but triangular.

Jesus Christ sits next to God the Father. In his right hand the Savior holds the open Gospel, in his left - the instrument of our Salvation - the Cross.
God the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove hovering over Them. God the Holy Spirit is depicted as a dove because He revealed Himself at the Baptism of the Savior.

“The Lord of Hosts (that is, the Father) is gray-haired, and the Only Begotten Son is in His womb, to write on icons, and a dove between them, it is extremely absurd and indecent to eat, since no one has seen the Father in divinity; for the Father has no flesh, and the Son is not in the flesh will be born of the Father before the ages, even if David the prophet says: from the womb before the star he begot thee, otherwise that birth is not carnal, but inexpressible and incomprehensible, Christ himself says in the Holy Gospel: no one knows the Father, except the Son and the prophet. in chapter 40 he says: To whom shall you liken the Lord, and to whose likeness shall you liken Him..."

And although the definition of the Great Moscow Council of 1667 prohibits icons of the Lord of hosts, images of the Fatherland (the New Testament Trinity) are quite common, and in our time they are found everywhere, in almost all new and opening churches, as if the ban had been lifted, as if it was now possible to depict God the Father.

Icon "Trinity of the New Testament"
On the throne sits the Ecumenical King, the Lord of the Universe, our Heavenly Father, the Lord God, right hand from Him sits the Son, God solar system, incarnated in the body of Jesus Christ.

The Lord God has two squares in his halo. The square is an image of the completeness of knowledge, all four sides. One square of knowledge is the image of the knowledge of the being of the structure of the spiritual world, the other square is the image of the being of the structure of the world of the mind.

The Lord God points with one hand to Jesus, whom He called our Teacher and Mentor, in His right hand is the Teaching - the Bible, with the other hand He shows that everything can be asked of Him.

Jesus holds a cross with his left hand - the image of the human soul as the main essence of the ruler of the Earth. He was the Creator and Maker of it. On the cross in the cloud of reason, the Holy Spirit is the human soul, which has become the guardian angel of material man.

When she flew to the Lord God with a question and received an answer from Him - a thought to this question called the Holy Spirit. His thought, with this answer, she herself became the bearer of the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit.
The arrows show the movement of the soul sent to exist on Earth, and its return to the spiritual world after existence - resurrection.

In the Lord God and in Jesus we see the veil of the material world thrown over the shoulders and knees.
To the left of the Lord God stands His messenger John the Baptist, to the right of Jesus Christ stands Wisdom with the Teaching.

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are in spiritual world separated by the firmament from the abyss.
The Lord God and God have angels at their disposal, ready to convey to people living in the material world any knowledge they need.

Images of people are shown above and below the firmament. At the top left is the image of a cherub man who knew the Bible; at the top right is the image of a man, a bird of the air, who knew the Bible, but did not recognize the harmony of husband and wife; lower left - the image of a man-beast; below on the right is the image of a man of pure cattle, both did not know the Teaching - the Bible.

Your two quotes are different:

In the first, you talk about the Tabor light. By this light is meant the Glory of Christ. The Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a cloud later, as described by the evangelists Mark and Luke.

You need to ask the person who painted this non-canonical icon. Because it really isn't logical.
“The most ancient and commonly used symbol of the sacrament of the Holy Trinity, which has remained to this day with the same meaning, was an equilateral triangle in various combinations- or with a monogram of the name of Christ, or with the letters “Alpha” and “Omega”, or with other mysterious signs." (Peter Lebedev. The Science of the Worship of the Orthodox Church)
I gave a link above to the Great Moscow Cathedral and there are the following sayings:

“The Lord of hosts (that is, the Father) is gray-haired, and the Only Begotten Son is in His womb, to write on icons and a dove between them, it is not very fashionable and not proper to eat, before someone has seen the Father, according to the Divinity.”

“For this reason, for the sake of Hosts, Who is the Divinity: and that pre-eternal birth of the Only Begotten Son from the Father, it is appropriate for us to understand with our minds, but to write in images is by no means appropriate and impossible. And the Holy Spirit is not the essence of a dove, but the essence of God is. no one, as John the Theologian and Evangelist testifies, even in the Jordan at the Holy Baptism of Christ, the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove; depict the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. (Grigory Dvoeslov)

“Another common symbol for the image of God the Father was the image of an old man, or the Old One.” But, as we see, the Great Moscow Council not only does not recognize the established practice, but with the harshness characteristic of the era condemns it as “unwise” and “madness.” And nevertheless, his decree did not prevent either the further dissemination of the image of God the Father, nor, as we will see later, its defense on a theoretical level."

added: 28 Nov 2015

"The European Catholic tradition is gradually penetrating Russian Orthodox art, giving impetus to the emergence of several new iconographic types, including the image of God the Father. The most popular iconography is the "Fatherland", known in the Novgorod school since the 14th century. On the icon from Novgorod, kept in Tretyakov Gallery, we see God the Father seated on the throne in the form of a gray-haired old man (the “Ancient of Days” iconography, known from the book of the prophet Daniel). On His knees is a figure of the Son in the form of a youth in the iconography “Savior Emmanuel”, who holds a disk with a figure of a dove - the Holy Spirit. Behind the Father’s shoulders are two six-winged seraphim, and at the foot of the throne are red winged wheels with eyes—the angelic rank of “thrones.” On the sides of the throne are depicted holy stylites, and to the right of the foot is a small figure of the Apostle Philip (probably these saints were included in the composition at the request of the customer and are not included in the main canon). In a more laconic version of this iconography, the Son is depicted in a round medallion on the Father’s chest, and just above the Son’s head is the Holy Spirit. Perhaps the appearance of such a version could have been influenced by the popular iconography of Our Lady of the Sign, where the baby is also located on Mary’s chest in a round medallion.

Another popular version is “Co-throne,” which depicts the Father, “Ancient of Days,” and the Son in the form of a husband sitting on thrones. A figurine of a dove - the Holy Spirit" is located between them. The Father and Son can be depicted strictly frontally in relation to the person praying, or they can be facing each other, and in this case the Father, as a rule, blesses the Son. The iconography “Co-throne” was often included in didactic compositions of the 16th-17th centuries that were complex in content, implying the combination of different subjects from the Old and New Testaments on one field for edifying purposes. Perhaps the “Co-throne” is an echo of the Western iconography “Coronation of Mary” (which was also used in late Russian icon painting), implying the same composition and becoming widespread in Europe, starting from the 13th century, both in painting and in sculpture on the portals of Gothic cathedrals.

Finally, the iconography “The Crucifixion in the Bosom of the Father” can be considered a direct consequence of Western influence. It exists both as an independent image and as part of a more complex composition “God rests on the seventh day”, associated with the history of the creation of the world. Orthodox icon painters translate the Catholic motif of the cross with the body of Jesus in the hands of the Father into a conventionally symbolic channel. The crucified Jesus is shown as a seraphim with a youthful, beardless face. His body is covered with wings and only his hands are clearly visible, nailed to the cross, which is supported by the Father. On the sides of the cross are two figures of cherubs, and above the head of Jesus the Seraphim is a young man with a sword (the meaning of this figure is not entirely clear). This iconography has several additional names: “Christ the crucified seraphim”, “Soul of Christ”, “Thou art a priest forever.” The last name is due to the fact that the Father is usually depicted in full bishop's vestments. According to a number of researchers, the symbolic image of the crucified Christ is associated with the expression of the prophet Isaiah “He gave up his soul to death” (Is. 53:12), i.e. with an attempt to convey spiritual meaning the sacrifice of the Savior, conveyed in the prophecy of Isaiah. Hence the name “Soul of Christ”.

The attitude towards such innovations in the official church environment, in conditions of permanent strict intolerance towards everything Western, was, of course, ambiguous. At the Council of the Stoglavy in 1553, the ambassadorial clerk Ivan Viskovaty openly spoke out against the new icons depicting the Father, declaring that “it is not proper for the invisible Deity and the incorporeal to be imagined.” After a long trial in January 1554, Viskovaty was convicted and excommunicated from Communion for three years. However, this decision was most likely dictated not by theological considerations, but by fear of the precedent of criticism from a person who did not belong to the highest church hierarchy, since his speech indirectly affected this hierarchy. Later (in particular at the Great Moscow Council of 1666-1667 and at the Synod of the Church of Constantinople in 1776), pro-Western iconography of the Trinity was officially condemned and even prohibited. However, it was almost impossible to stop their spread. In the artistic quest for a theologically adequate image of the Trinity, the Eastern and western tradition rapidly moved closer together, creating a single Christian artistic field, over which interfaith strife and divisions had no power. And even with the strictest official regulations this process could not be reversed."

A direct depiction of the Trinity would contradict the concept of an eternal, incomprehensible and triune God: “ No one has ever seen God"(John 1:18), therefore, only symbolic images are recognized as canonical. The most commonly used plot is the so-called “hospitality” (Greek. φιλοξενια ) Abraham" - the appearance of three angels to him:

In Christian theology, three angels symbolize the hypostases of God, which are conceived as inseparable, but also unmerged - as the consubstantial Holy Trinity.

In early images (for example, in the Roman catacombs), the image is extremely historical, but already in the first compositions one can note the emphasized sameness of Abraham’s guests. Isocephaly, the equality of the travelers, is shown by the same clothes and the same poses.

Later, the historical plane of the image is completely replaced by the symbolic one. The three angels are now considered only as a symbol of the trinitarian Godhead. But the iconographic compositions continue to include Abraham and his wife Sarah; many small secondary details “ground” the image, returning it to the historical event.

Understanding the three angels as an image of the Trinity gives rise to the desire to distinguish hypostases among them, and the conclusion about the possibility or impossibility of such isolation gives rise to two main types of composition: isokephal and non-isokephalic. In the first case, the angels are emphatically equal, and the composition is extremely static; in the second, one of the angels (usually the central one) is highlighted in one way or another, its halo may contain a cross, and the angel himself is signed with the abbreviation ІС HS(attributes of Christ). Disputes around such compositions even led to the appearance of icons where each angel had attributes of Christ.

"Trinity" by Andrei Rublev

The highest degree of revelation of the spiritual essence Holy Trinity reached the Monk Andrei Rublev in his icon of the Life-Giving Trinity. The composition with the figures of angels inscribed in a circle does not highlight individual hypostases among them, but each of the angels has its own individuality. Rublev achieved simplicity and conciseness in his depiction; there are no unnecessary elements or characters. According to the decision of the Stoglavy Council (Moscow, 1551), icons should be painted according to the old Greek models and according to the model of Rublev, that is, without distinguishing between hypostases, signing only “ The Holy Trinity" In many images that repeat the composition of the Trinity by Andrei Rublev, which has become a model, the harmony of the plan is destroyed.

For a long time, the original paintings of Andrei Rublev were completely hidden under a layer of later recording (late 19th century). But even this was not visible under the continuous precious salary. It was only in 1904 that a trial removal of the untrue and alluvial began. The photographs show the state of the icon at the moment the restoration began (the shoulder of the right angel and the mountain behind it were revealed) and after the opening.

Other interpretations of the Trinity in icon painting

Along with the iconographic composition of Andrei Rublev, who created a different iconography from traditional “ Hospitality of Abraham" image " Life-Giving Trinity ", exists, etc. " New Testament Trinity" - image of the Trinity in post-existential economy. There are two main types of iconography: “ Co-throne" - the image of God the Father in the form of a gray-haired old man (Ancient of Days), the Son in the form of a husband sitting on a throne at His right hand; the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove above the throne; And " Fatherland", characterized by the fact that God the Son is depicted as a youth on the knees of the Father. Images of the New Testament Trinity are widespread to this day, although by the definition of the Great Moscow Council of 1667, which condemned Patriarch Nikon, icons of the Lord of Hosts, as well as “ Fatherland"were prohibited.

Western European religious painting is characterized by the trinitarian composition “The Crucifixion in the Bosom of the Father,” in which God the Father holds a cross with the crucified God the Son. The appearance of a similar scheme in late Russian icon painting caused heated debate between supporters and opponents of complex allegorical subjects.

Literature

• Ulyanov O. G. “Philoxenia of Abraham”: biblical shrine and dogmatic image // Theological works. T. 35. M., 1999
• Ulyanov O. G. The influence of Holy Mount Athos on the peculiarities of the veneration of the Holy Trinity under Metropolitan Cyprian (on the 600th anniversary of the repose of the saint) // A believer in culture Ancient Rus'. Proceedings of the international scientific conference on December 5 - 6, 2005 / Rep. ed. T. V. Chumakova. St. Petersburg: Lemma Publishing House. 2005. 252 with ISBN 5-98709-013-X
• Gregory (Circle). About the image of the Holy Trinity. /Thoughts about the icon/
• B.V. Rauschenbach. Standing before the Holy Trinity (Transmission of the Trinity dogma in icons).

Links

• Decisions of the Moscow Stoglavy Cathedral concerning icon painting

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.