Talk given at Belmont on Saturday 26th July 2014
This finished icon is one that Fr Dyfrig started. In fact I have used
his drafts in order to produce what you see here in the Church. The drafts that
Fr Dyfrig used are based on the Christ Pantocrator, Saviour and Giver of Life, of
XIV century Greek origin, and which is placed now in the Museum of Macedonia,
Yugoslavia. This
turn was base, as another icon of Christ Pantocrator from Sinai.
Before I start to explain the meaning and symbolism contained in
this icon, let start by saying what an icon is. Etymologically, an icon is
translated from the Greek as “image”. Therefore, this icon of Christ is, per excellence, the icon of God, the
Image of the Father. The reason why we make icons is because God became man. As
Irenaeus said, the Word become one of us in order that we may become like Him.
Therefore, images of Our Lady and the Saints find their prototype in Christ,
the Image of God Invisible. We find here in the Abbey church a lot of images of
Christ, saints and angels, quite a lot I may say. They are made from stone,
glass, wood or other materials. The reason why we make these images is because
of the Incarnation. Iconoclasts and other people who based their understanding
in the Old Testament don’t consider the turning point of our faith, that God
became man in Christ.
A sacred icon comes to people in three ways. First, as with any
other work of art, the icon attracts your eyes by the beauty it offers. As
Fyodor Dostoevsky said, beauty will conquer the world. It is towards beauty
that our minds and hearts are attracted. We say that a piece of music or a work
of art is beautiful. The eyes and ears are the most sensitive senses we have.
Therefore, images need to offer something of beauty to attract our attention.
However, an icon is not simply a work of art. It offers a profound
spiritual richness that only comes by contemplating it. As iconogrpahers we are
called to be instrument of the Holy Spirit which is why we don’t put our names
on top of the image represented. We are not the authors. We believe that it is
Christ and His mother, and saints who come to us in order to be represented. I
am sure you have heard of an icon functioning as a window through which the
saint comes to the viewer. However, one may say that the icon works as a door
through which we can encounter God, Our Lady and the Saints and they can
encounter us. We can journey into the mystery by contemplating an icon. This is
what the faithful, especially among the Eastern Churches, believe is happening.
This is why an icon is always flat because it is in direct relation with the
viewer.
The third way in which an icon is seen by the faithful is from a
theological perspective. The First Council of the Church at Nicaea
confirmed that Christ is the visible and perfect Image of the Father. However,
during the following centuries the Church struggled against heresies related to
Christ’s two natures, either denying the divine nature (Arians) or the human
nature (monophysites). Finally at Chalcedon it was declared that Christ was
fully human and fully divine, and He Himself embodied the union of two natures,
human and divine. This icon of Christ, God-Man, is a graphic expression of the
dogma of Chalcedon, for it represents the Divine Person incarnated, the Son of
God became the Son of Man, Divine as the Father and human like us.
The icon of Christ the Pantocrator becomes a very important key to
understand this relationship of Christ as fully human and fully divine. The
danger of considering only one part of this relationship, leaving out the other
part, was so understood during the iconoclastic period. The argument in
favour of iconodules was based on the person of Jesus Christ, arguing that
through the Incarnation images of the Son of God and His saints are possible in
the Church.
As I said at the beginning of this talk, icons of Christ
Pantocrator go back to the one in Sinai. In fact, the oldest example of this
kind is the sixth century icon in the Monastery of St Catherine in the Sinai
desert. The well-known Icon of “Christ of Sinai” was probably written at
Constantinople, using the encaustic technique. This technique consisted in
mixing wax with pigment and applying the mixture on the wooden panel already
covered with gesso. The wax medium was replaced in later centuries by the yolk
of eggs, a technique seen in icons nowadays. This encaustic technique came
originally from Egypt. Examples can be seen in the portraits made for the
mummies. One may go to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford or the National Gallery
in London, and appreciate the images placed on top of the mammies with the
portrayals which represented the person inside the sarcophagus. The same
technique is used in the image of Christ Pantocrator at the museum of St
Catherine´s Monastery, Sinai.
The word Pantocrator comes from a composed word Panto-crator. The
word “panto” is the genitive of pantos (all), meaning “of all”, and “crator”
(power, rule) is the participle present of “cratos” which means ruler, the one
in power. It is also interpreted as the One who embraces the whole of humanity,
the One who maintains all things.
The Icon of Christ Pantocrator we see here at the Abbey Church
shows facial characteristics of the adult Jesus. It expresses the reality of
the Incarnation of the Son of God, the True Image of the Father that The Gospel
of John proclaims in the prologue. The image of God Invisible that become one
of us. St Ireneus said, “The Son of God become the Son of Man, so that man
might become son of God.” Jesus Christ is the Image of the Father revealed to
us for our salvation. Therefore, the Image of Christ Pantocrator is the image
per excellence that gives meaning to all images.
This icon, as with all the sacred icons, is embedded with theological
symbolism. As said before, the viewer can simply admire it at the basic level of
beauty that captures our attention. However, the symbolism of the icon goes
deeper than that for it brings into closer relationship the one who contemplates
it to the the person depicted, to Christ, Our Mother, and all the Saints. In
this way, the icon acts as a door rather than a window. We can look through a
window at those depicted but the relationship is, in a way, impersonal.
However, if the icon is seen as a door, that one can go through as well as the
saint can come to us, the relationship becomes more personal.
As we look at the icon we can see its powerful background which is of real gold. This
half-length image of Christ is enveloped in light represented by the gold.
Images of Christ in this form are founded in ninth century Psalters,
particularly placed near the words: “Shine on us, Lord, the light of your
face”. Moreover, one of the oldest Russian icons of this type (XII and XIII
century) called the Saviour with Golden Hair in the Cathedral of the Dormition
in Moscow, Christ is called King of Glory, as the inscription tells us.
Therefore, gold is not defined by a particular colour, but contains all the
colours as it acts by the reflection of the light. It recalls the divine light
that shines through the icon and tells us that we are encountering the divine.
The image that is surrounded by gold is simple and almost
symmetrical, the face is compact with a certain softness and appears brighter. Nevertheless,
the wide-open, asymmetrical eyes gaze beyond the confines of place and time.
Christ´s left eye is bigger than the other, and his left eyebrow is raised
higher that the other. It offers the identity of God: justice and mercy. They
are composed in a way that becomes harmonious, as the Psalm 85:10:
“righteousness and peace kiss each other.” In this imposing image of
Christ there is a close relationship with biblical reproaches and prophetic
exhortations addressed in the Church by means of preaching and teaching. We
hear God in the Scriptures: “Cease to do evil and learn to do good.” This
biblical severity and directness is represented in Jesus’ left-side face.
Christ is presented as King and Heavenly Judge. He indeed rules with justice.
In fact, the big, open eyes give a theological message, he who created the
world never sleeps, but rather watches over it and saves it. As the Psalm 12 says, the
Lord will keep your going and coming now and for ever.
Icons try to answer the question of who Jesus is. As it is seen in
the two sides of the face, Jesus Christ appears as the Revelation of God.
Christ is seen as the merciful face of the Father. Christ said, “He that sees
me, sees Him who sent me” (John 12:45). Jesus Pantocrator expresses the strength
and authority of God. Christ the Judge is tempered by the Saviour’s merciful
face. “You are the fairest of the children of men” (Psalm 45). In Christ,
justice and mercy, truth and peace, are reconciled. This is the relation of a
divine humanity. Christ
is at once Lord of the universe and the prototype of a transfigured humanity.
The iconographic type of Christ-Pantocrator expresses under the human features
of the Incarnate Son, the Divine Majesty of the Creator and Redeemer, who
presides over the destiny of the world.
That strength and majesty is also seen in the nose and neck. The
long, narrow and straight nose underscores a firmness of mind and will. The
small, closed mouth stands for silence and inner strength. The thick neck
expresses the fullness of the breath of the Holy Spirit. The beard is a fine
filigree shading the face. The well-marked lines of the eyebrows and moustache
express a strong sense of pity and loving judgement of the world. It shows the
transfigured flesh of Him who suffered for us. The thick, gathered hair frames
the face, then falls in loose braids onto the left shoulder, suggesting a
slight turn of the shoulders. His hair also recalls the tree strands which
place in its centre the face of our Lord. As a tree
it suggests paradise, and symbolises Jesus as the Tree of Life and the New
Adam. The large detailed eyes, turned towards the onlooker, have an attentive
and saddened look which seems to penetrate the depths of consciences. Christ is
come into the world not to condemn, but to save it (John 3). The flesh tones,
like in the Icon of Sinai, is a result of a perfect balance between naturalism
and mystical transfiguration; it is, the richness of His humanity and
divinity.
The halo bears the mark of the cross and the letters O, Ω, N
(omicron, omega and nu) stand for the holy name revealed to Moses on Mount
Sinai; “I am that I am”, “The Being”, “The One that is. Christ is God that
comes to meet his people. Moreover, on the same gold the name of Jesus Christ
abbreviated is place in Greek. The abridged name of Jesus Christ IC XC (above,
on our icon) designates the person of the Incarnate Son. A name in an icon
makes it a proper icon; it gives its identity. Therefore, it is
obligatory for inscriptions of the name to appear on all icons of Christ, of
the Mother of God, and all the saints.
Christ Pantocrator is shown holding the Gospel Book in his left
hand. The Book of the Gospel symbolises the new law given to humankind, as well
as the “Book of Life” mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev 4). It is adorned with
precious blue and red stones. Christ´s right hand is in a position of blessing
the world. The fingers of the hand are gathered to symbolise Christ’s two
natures. The
ring finger and thumb are united to symbolize the two natures of Jesus Christ,
which only Him has obtained. Jesus is truly human and truly divine, the
heavenly world has met the human world in Jesus.
He wears a green cloak and a red tunic, aspects of Christ´s two
natures, human and divine. As Pope Leo the great states in his text about God’s
humanity and divinity: “If you want to know who you are, look not to what you
have been, but to the image that God had I creating you. In Him there is all
His godliness, and all our humanity.”
As we can see, the theme of Jesus´s identity goes through the
whole icon and teaches the faithful about Jesus Christ, Son of God. Thus, the
icon becomes first of all a door where God and His saints encounter His people
by the beauty it offers and by the teaching about Divine Mystery. If we
approach to icons with faith a bit of that mystery will be revealed to the one
who contemplates it, in order approach to God, not simply with the mind and the
theological teaching it offer, but more profoundly with the eye of the heart
that transports the viewer into God Himself.
Finally, I want to thank for the expressions of charity and care
given by those who contributed to this icons. I know many people gave a lot of
gold leaves and other materials to finish the work that began time ago, from
the drafts Fr Dyfrig had. It was very sad to see him depart from us bodily by his
sudden death two years ago. We know now that he is very pleased by the acts of
love everybody have shown to the point that today this icon has been blest. Now
this icon of Christ Pantocrator of Belmont together with the other icon of Our
Lady of Tenderness will be used to our prayer and a place of encounter with our
Lord and God and all His Saints.
