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  1. 3 Ikonotheka

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  1. 1 Janocha M.

  2. 1 Mierzejewska B.

  3. 1 Paprocki H.

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  1. 3 2008

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1

THE EXALTATION OF THE CROSS IN BYZANTINE ICONOGRAPHY (Podwyzszenie Krzyza Swietego w ikonografii bizantynskiej)

100%
Janocha M.
Ikonotheka
|
2008
|
vol. 21
81-102
EN
The present text continues the topic begun by the author in an article published in the 'Series Byzantina' vol. V (2007) entitled 'Miniature of the Exaltation of the Cross in the Menologion of Basil II'. The oldest representations of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross date from the mid- and late-Byzantine period. At the present moment, nine miniatures of this scene are known: seven in Greek manuscripts, one in a Georgian and one in an Old-Russian manuscript and two representations in the Sinai icon menologies. In the present article, the author provides a presentation and systematisation of those images on the basis of the present state of research, and an attempt at classification, pointing to formal models common to many liturgical scenes in the mid-Byzantine era and to the liturgical context of the ceremony in question. The scene of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross focuses on the key moment of the entire ceremony. An analogous phenomenon can be observed in the medieval Western iconography with regard to liturgical representations of the Holy Mass, which from the 14th century onward focus on the scene of the Raising of the Host. The existing formal similarity between these two topics goes much deeper, although direct inspirations are impossible to find. With respect to the idea, there is indeed a similarity between the once-yearly, ceremonial gesture of the Exaltation of the Cross in the Byzantine liturgy and the daily ritual of the gesture of the Raising of the Host, preformed during every mass in the Roman liturgy. The Exaltation of the Cross is a display for public adoration of the instrument of martyrdom and death of Christ that became the symbol of salvation. The Raising of the consecrated Host after the transubstantiation is a display for public adoration of the Body of Christ, understood, according to the allegorical interpretation of the Holy Mass, as the raising of Christ upon the cross. The Exaltation of the Cross and the Raising of the consecrated Host are both a revelation of the 'paradoxi Crucis'.
2

THE FIGURES OF FOUNDERS HOLDING THE TWIGS ON THE WALL PAINTINGS IN NUBIA (Postacie fundatorów trzymajacych galazki na malowidlach sciennych w Nubii)

100%
Mierzejewska B.
Ikonotheka
|
2008
|
vol. 21
33-53
EN
The visual language of the Nubian Christians on the walls of their churches has left some images of a great value. To the most interesting belong the portraits of Nubian founders shown in the presence of their saint patrons. They can be seen on the walls of almost every religious establishment which preserved its pictorial decoration. The two murals found in a monastery at Old Dongola show the dark skinned founders in the presence of Christ or an Archangel. They stand frontally with bunches of leaved twigs or palm fronds in hands. Similar portraits of believers with twigs were also found on the walls of other churches in Nubia. The twigs seem to allude to Rev. 7,9 where a great multitude in white robes and palm branches in hands is mentioned standing before the throne of the Lamb. The fragment in Rev. hints at the Jewish feast of Sukkoth (the Tabernacles) and to the custom of bringing the bunches of twigs (lulav) to the temple altar to be checked by the archpriest. This agrarian feast mentioned in the Book of Exodus took on the eschatological meaning and was connected with messianic expectations of the Jews. For the Christian authors commenting on Exodus the events described in this book were the symbols of eschatological realities. The Sukkoth was a type of messianic kingship at the end of times, the huts built by Jews the type of resurrected bodies and the twigs the symbol of purity, virtue or, more generally, of good deeds which should be presented to God at the Last Judgment by the resurrected mortals. By representing themselves with the twigs in hands the Nubian donors wanted to express their hopes for being encountered among the elected worthy to see God face to face and to inherit the Kingdom of Heavens. By ordering the portrait to be painted near the effigy of the Archangel Michael, they were seeking a better possibility of turning to him with a personal appeal for intercession in the day of the Last Judgement.
3

THE ART OF THE ICON IN THE FACE OF EVIL (Sztuka ikony wobec zla)

86%
Paprocki H.
Ikonotheka
|
2008
|
vol. 21
69-80
EN
Among basic issues facing Christianity was the question of the existence of evil in the universe. The usual answers were given from the point of view of Christian philosophy and theology. It is, however, worth investigating whether the problem of evil found its reflection also in the Christian iconography linked with the art of the icon. An icon, as it attempts to combat limitations connected with the material, sensual perception, presents the reality of the Kingdom of God to human eyes. Its existence is based on the principle that in every human being there is an image of and similarity to God. An icon presents the reality of the restored divine image in a human being and therefore refers to the eschatological completeness. By showing the reality of salvation an icon creatively breaks down the evil and destruction brought about by sin. The art of the icon imparts an impression of how the human body shall look after resurrection.Therefore, it is not directed backwards towards the earthly Paradise or history - it is directed forward, to the future, to the Kingdom of God. The entire interior decoration of an Orthodox church is to present transcendent reality, and the iconographic program of the temple is subordinate to this principle. Thus, by looking at a human image in an icon, the viewer is supposed to see God in whose image Man was created. An icon, therefore, has no independent existence, but only leads to the beings in themselves - it attests to the existence of a certain form of the Second Coming in the world of today. The image of Christ, who deigned to take human body, leads to the image of the infinite God. Saint Maximus the Confessor (ca. 580-662) maintained that the liturgy is a step towards deification. This view can refer to the icon as well. An icon is directed towards its Archetype: God, who is the beginning and fulfilment of creation and motion, and it shows God's intention, which was revealed to us by Christ in his earthly existence and which is the ultimate goal of all creation.
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