Icon of the life-giving trinity meaning. Icon of the Holy Trinity
The plot of the “Holy Trinity” icon is based on the biblical story (Old Testament, Genesis, Chapter 18) about the appearance of God to the righteous forefather Abraham in the form of three wanderers:
“And the Lord appeared to him at the oak grove of Mamre, as he sat at the entrance to [his] tent during the heat of the day. He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood against him. Seeing, he ran towards them from the entrance to [his] tent and bowed to the ground and said: Master! If I have found favor in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant; and they will bring some water and wash your feet; and rest under this tree, and I will bring bread, and you will strengthen your hearts; then go [on your way]; as you pass by your servant. They said: do as you say. And Abraham hastened<…>And he took the butter and the milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set it before them, while he stood beside them under the tree. And they ate."
After the meal, the wanderers predicted to the spouses that their dream would come true - they would have a son. Unable to believe this, the old people were confused, but heard the answer: “Is there anything difficult for the Lord?” A little later Abraham receives an explanation: “And the Lord said: Will I hide from Abraham [My servant] what I want to do? ! From Abraham will surely come a great and strong nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed, for I have chosen him so that he will command his sons and his household after him to walk in the way of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice.”
Many theologians were convinced that this place in the Old Testament speaks of a prototype of the Most Holy and Consubstantial Trinity. Blessed Augustine (“On the City of God,” book 26) writes: “Abraham meets three, worships one. Having seen the three, he understood the mystery of the Trinity, and having worshiped as if one, he confessed the One God in Three Persons.” Abraham, coming out to meet the three strangers, bows to Them and addresses Them with the word “Lord!” in the singular.
This is how the righteous Abraham and Sarah learned that God himself had visited them in the form of a single indivisible Trinity. The depiction of this plot in icon painting began to be called the Trinity of the Old Testament.
About the icon “Holy Trinity” by Andrei Rublev
The icon painter Yuri Kuznetsov took Rublev’s Trinity as the basis for creating his Trinity in the Kuznetsov school of writing. And how could it be otherwise - only this image, enclosed in a single circular composition, painted in light, floating, airy tones, like a light fabric, to this day personifies the idea of the unity of the trinitarian, indivisible God's Being, where God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit - the three hypostases of God, integral and indivisible, represent the whole meaning and beauty of Christianity.
The bright personality of the icon painter of the 21st century, who executed this Most Pure, Most Holy image in unique, brilliant colors, does not contradict the silvery radiance of Rublev’s writing, but continues the tradition of the spiritual and philosophical ideas of Andrei Rublev and his friend Daniil Cherny about light, about unity, about humility and peace within and outside of us...
The village of Radonezh is located near the town of Sergiev Posad, in the Soviet period - Zagorsk. Sergiev Posad grew up around the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, which, through the efforts of Nikon of Radonezh, a friend and faithful disciple of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the founder of the monastery, has now become one of the largest territorial shrines of the Russian land, attracting pilgrims and visitors not only to the contemplation and worship of its iconographic and architectural treasures from Russia, but also from all over the world.
And in the 14th–15th centuries, along the Pazha River, Radonezh arose - a small town in the inheritance of the Moscow princes. Now you can get to that place from the Semkhoz station of the Moscow Railway by bus or by bus from the Sergiev Posad station. In a chronicle source of the 17th century, sitrikas found information about “Andrei of Radonezh, an icon painter nicknamed Rublev,” who painted the “Trinity” icon by order of Elder Nikon of Radonezh, with whom Andrei Rublev lived as a novice monk, perhaps even during the last years of the life of Saint Sergius himself.
This icon glorified St. Sergius and became a starting point in the study of the entire legacy of Rublev and his friend Daniil Cherny, which was not limited to the “Trinity”. The paintings of the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir, the creation of the unique Zvenigorod tier of temple painting, the design of the Khitrovo Gospel - provide us with significant information about the Rublevsky heritage.
Saint Nikon, who inherited the management of the monastery founded by St. Sergius, passed away in 1427, but since the icon, by his command, was to be painted during his lifetime, the birth of the icon can be indicated by this time. The icon was painted for the Trinity Cathedral, built by Nikon in 1422 at the site of the discovery of the relics of St. Sergius. But the lands of those places were drained of blood by the invasion of Khan Edigei in 1408, and, to great sadness, the monasteries had meager funds. Under these conditions, Nikon of Radonezh called for the creation of the decoration of the Trinity Cathedral erected at his command - frescoes and icons - by icon painters Andrei Rublev and others, also, possibly, his friend Daniil Cherny, who were at that time in Moscow, in the Andronikov Monastery, although regarding the latter not known for sure.
These were the years when Andrei Rublev was already in his old age. The great icon painter of Holy Rus' was born around 1360, died in 1430, but his creative powers, by the grace of God, were so great that before he reposed, he, together with his longtime friend Daniel, had the opportunity to visit the Trinity-Sergius Church after the Trinity Council Lavra to create the iconographic decoration of the Spassky Cathedral in the Andronikov Monastery.
Where did he get such unique images, such tones, such compositions? Certainly - from the Primary Source, from the Holy Spirit, who guides the hand of any true icon painter, the creator of otherworldly images of the heavenly world, the face of which illuminates and sanctifies our life in the world below? The Venerable Joseph of Volokolamsk (September 9/22) testifies in his descriptions that Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny on Easter and other days, free from work, often stood for a long time before the icons in admiration and reverence, filled with the light that the saints constantly exude on us faces. This quiet prayer gave them strength and was an endless source of inspiration.
Rublev's style, which distinguishes his writing from all others, became the basis of the Zvenigorod rite. It bears the signs of Byzantine art, originating in the Greek style of Christian iconography and religious literary monuments of Byzantium, thanks to which the current Orthodox worship took shape. Combining with the worldview of the Old Russian Slavic tradition, it gave a unique fusion from which all Russian iconography grew, and in it is the Rublev school, which has no equal.
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Time passed, and most of Rublev's creations were recorded in later iconography, but the glory of his name still bloomed. The famous restorer V.P. Guryanov was the first to open Trinity, freeing it from later recordings. It was kept in a frame that almost completely covered the image, and when it was removed, and then three layers of layers were removed, the last of which turned out to be the usual Palekh painting of the 18th century, a true revelation of Russian iconographic art was revealed that amazed everyone.
The icon was finally freed from renovation only in 1919. Then Andrei Rublev’s “Trinity” appeared in its initial appearance. Based on its artistic and iconographic characteristics, the Moscow icon-painting school was henceforth defined, where the original Slavic tradition of Rus' united with the Christian culture of Byzantium, whose origins originate in the ancient Hellenic traditions associated with all the ancient art of the Ecumene. “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev is kept in the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.
Features of the iconography and symbolism of Andrei Rublev’s “Trinity”
Rev. Andrei Rublev in his icon “Holy Trinity” managed to achieve the highest degree of revelation of the spiritual essence of the Most Holy Trinity, to embody the main dogma of Christianity. According to the theological tradition, the Trinity expresses the idea of God, whose essence is one, but being is a personal relationship of three hypostases. In Orthodox teaching, the Trinity is called Consubstantial, Indivisible, Life-Giving and Holy.
Previously, in Trinity icons depicting the famous Old Testament story from the book of Genesis, icon painters, as a rule, depicted only an everyday scene: three angels visiting Abraham and Sarah, sitting at a set table in the shade of a large oak tree. The icons depicted the figures of Abraham and Sarah, a youth slaughtering a calf, and all kinds of attributes of a meal. This depiction of this event gave rise to the name “Hospitality of Abraham.”
Unlike them, Andrei Rublev abandoned details, and everything momentary disappeared from the icon, giving way to the eternal. The figures of Abraham and Sarah disappeared, the rich table setting was replaced by a single bowl - a symbol of sacrifice. This is no longer a meal - the sacrament of an atoning sacrifice is performed in front of people. Of all the details in the upper part of the “Trinity”, there remained the house of Abraham in the form of a structure decorated with columns, a stocky Mamre oak tree similar to a branch and an overhanging rock - a designation of the desert from where the wanderers came.
The main part of the space of the icon is occupied by three angels sitting at the table. The consubstantiality in Rublev’s icon is conveyed by the fact that the figures of the angels are painted completely of the same type, and they are all endowed with equal dignity. Each of the angels holds a rod in his hand - in commemoration of Divine power. But at the same time, the angels are not the same: they have different poses, different attire.
The question quite naturally arises: which Person of the Holy Trinity should be identified with which angel? The opinions expressed are very different. Here I would like to quote the words of a deep expert on icon painting, academician Boris Rauschenbach: “There is no doubt, however, that the problem of identifying angels and Persons is of a secondary nature. After all, no matter how the question of correspondence between angels and Persons is resolved, the Trinity continues to remain only the Trinity. Only the interpretation of the gestures changes, but not the cardinal quality of the icon, which is naturally considered to be the complete expression of the dogmatic teaching about the Trinity.”
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According to the first opinion, the central figure is identified with God the Father, at His right hand, at the right hand (for us on the left), God the Son is placed (“And so the Lord, after talking with them, ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16 :19)). Accordingly, the figure of the right angel is God the Holy Spirit. This interpretation shows the hierarchy of personal relationships within the Holy Trinity. From God the Father, from all eternity, God the Son is born and God the Holy Spirit proceeds. The central place on the icon (conditionally the main one) is thus given to God the Father - “My Father is greater than I” (John 14:28).
The second opinion is based on the fact that God the Son occupies a central place in the salvation of the human race. The religion and each of its representatives are named after him. Accordingly, in this case, the Face of God the Son is assigned to the Face of the middle angel. Proponents of this opinion support their reasoning by interpreting the details depicted on the icon. Among them are the color and details of the clothing of the central angel, indicating that he is a messenger for the salvation of the world, the symbolic “Tree of Life” behind his back, the repetition of the contours of the sacrificial bowl formed by the silhouettes of the side angels, inside of which is the middle angel, that is, God the Son - Jesus Christ. This interpretation was so widespread that some icon painters began to put the inscription above the head of the middle angel: IC XC (Jesus Christ) and a cross-shaped halo, which only the Savior could have.
God the Father, according to this point of view, is depicted on the left, in his appearance one can read paternal authority. His head is not bowed, his gaze is turned to other angels. The other two angels bowed their heads towards him in silent respect. His direct gesture blessing the cup is distinguished by authority, while the “reverse”, accepting gesture of the middle angel expresses submission to the will of God the Father and readiness to sacrifice himself in the name of love for people. Above the head of God the Father are depicted chambers - a symbol of the universe built by the “Creator of heaven and earth.” The third angel is depicted in a smoky green outer garment, emphasizing the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit, called the Life-Giving One. Since ancient times, church tradition has assigned the green color to the third hypostasis of the Holy Trinity. This color in iconographic symbolism means eternal life, it is the color of hope, blossoming, spiritual awakening. The mountain depicted above the third angel is a symbol of holiness, a symbol of the heavenly world. Adherents of this view say that the angels are located on the icon in order according to the Creed: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
The general meaning of the third point of view can be expressed by the decision of the Stoglavy Council that the icons of the Holy Trinity should be painted according to the old Greek models and according to the model of Rublev, that is, without distinguishing between hypostases, signing only “Holy Trinity”.
At the Seventh Ecumenical Council, the right to depict the Savior Jesus Christ as God incarnate on icons was approved, and consequently, the rule was approved about the impossibility of depicting God the Father as not incarnate and still invisible and indescribable. The Fathers of the Stoglavy Cathedral, prohibiting the marking of various hypostases on the icon of the Holy Trinity, wanted the icon of the Holy Trinity to be read as a single, common symbol of the entire Holy Trinity, restraining icon painters from violating the canon (the image of God the Father, who cannot be depicted).
The composition of the icon by Andrei Rublev indicates a desire for the Eucharistic cup, symbolizing the Great Sacrifice - the readiness of one of the three Persons of the Divine to sacrifice himself for the salvation of the human race; this movement expresses the inseparability of the Holy Trinity. The bowl is the semantic center of the icon. The three angels seem to be in an intimate silent conversation about the fate of the human race. Andrei Rublev does not indicate the persons of the Divine Trinity, there are no inscriptions on the icon, there is no crosshair on the halo of Christ, which creates the image of an inextricable union that warms and saves lives.
All the lines in the “Holy Trinity” icon - the outlines of the figures, halos, wings - are inscribed in a smooth circular movement, creating a feeling of completeness and peace. A circle is a figure in which, since ancient times, people have seen the personification of the idea of the Universe, peace, highest harmony, and unity.
Meaning of the icon
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In addition to many prayers created in different centuries for the glory of the Most Holy Trinity, the main dogma of the Holy Trinity is reflected in the most important creation - the Creed, compiled at the First (Council of Nicaea) in 325 and finally approved as a single document at the Council of Constantinople in 381.
Now in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Symbol, which is read during all services and sacraments, lies the idea of the Christian dogma of the Most Holy Trinity, Consubstantial and Indivisible. It is embedded everywhere in the verses of the Creed, but its main postulates sound most firmly in verses 1, 2 and 8.
1. I believe in one God, the Father, Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, visible to all and invisible.
2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten, who was born of the Father before all ages; Light from Light, true God from true God, born, uncreated, consubstantial with the Father, to Whom all things were.
3. For our sake, man and our salvation came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became human.
4. She was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried.
5. And he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures.
6. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
7. And again the coming one will be judged with glory by the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end.
8. And in the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giving Lord, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who spoke the prophets.
9. Into one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
10. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins.
11. I hope for the resurrection of the dead.
12. And the life of the next century. Amen.
However, even in an impulse of prayer, the human mind cannot grasp the great meaning of the Trinity, and man is given to know only a part of Divine existence. To clarify the mystery of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Fathers pointed to the human soul, which is the image of God. “Our mind is the image of the Father; our word (we usually call the unspoken word a thought) is the image of the Son; spirit is the image of the Holy Spirit, teaches Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov. – Just as in the Trinity-God the three Persons unfused and inseparably constitute one Divine Being, so in the Trinity-Man the three Persons constitute one being, without mixing with each other, without merging into one person, without dividing into three beings. Our mind has given birth to and does not cease to give birth to a thought; a thought, having been born, does not cease to be born again and at the same time remains born, hidden in the mind. The mind cannot exist without thought, and thought cannot exist without the mind. The beginning of one is certainly the beginning of the other; the existence of the mind is necessarily the existence of thought. In the same way, our spirit comes from the mind and contributes to thought. That is why every thought has its own spirit, every way of thinking has its own separate spirit, every book has its own spirit. Thought cannot exist without spirit; the existence of one is certainly accompanied by the existence of the other. In the existence of both is the existence of the mind.”
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In the work of St. Andrei Rublev, in addition to the highest theological truths, people also saw a call for spiritual unity, mutual love, and the unification of the country. Art critic, deeply religious person I.K. Yazykova in her book “Theology of the Icon” writes: “The image of the Holy Trinity is, first of all, an image of unity - an image given for us to heal us (“heal” - from the word “whole”). The Savior prayed on the eve of His Passion: “... that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that You have sent Me” (John 17.21 ). And so be it.
The icon "Old Testament Trinity" was painted by the great Russian icon painter, the venerable one. It depicts three angels who, according to the biblical book of Genesis, appeared to the forefather Abraham, taking the form of wanderers. This was the first revelation to believers about the unity of God in three persons.
Unlike earlier icon painters, Rublev did not depict Abraham’s meeting of tired travelers near his home, as described in the Bible. His icon is “theology in color,” revealing the meaning of the Orthodox teaching about the Trinity. We see only three angels at a meal; on the table there is a single cup symbolizing Holy Communion. The basis of the composition is a circle in which the figures of angels seem to be inscribed; this gives the image the character of grace-filled peace in which God dwells. The poses and faces of the angels reflect the perfect love that binds the faces of the Holy Trinity.
Before the October Revolution, the icon was in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, then it came into the possession of the Commission for the Discovery of Ancient Painting and was restored in 1918-1919. Since 1929 in the State Tretyakov Gallery.
Interesting facts about the Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev
The angels on Rublev’s icon represent the persons of the Holy Trinity. The house in the background, located behind the figure of the left angel, indicates God the Father - the creator of heaven and earth. The middle angel is dressed in a cherry tunic and a blue cloak, in which Christ is traditionally depicted. The right angel is painted against the background of a mountain, symbolizing spiritual ascent and enlightenment by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Rublev's Trinity, soon after its writing, began to be considered a model for other icon painters. At the Stoglavy Cathedral, an order was adopted to paint the Holy Trinity “as the Greek icon painters wrote and as Andrei Rublev wrote,” without introducing anything of his own.
Under Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, the icon was decorated with a gold frame with precious stones, which hid it almost completely: only the hands and faces remained open. The world saw the “Trinity” without the chasuble only in 1904, when it was taken out of its frame for another restoration and photographed. But after that they were placed on salary again - until 1918. Under the frame, the icon quickly darkened and lost the pure and light colors of the original, which were completely restored only during the restoration of 1918.
Until 1918, the icon was renewed several times: under Boris Godunov, in 1635, in 1777, twice in the 19th century and in 1904. The icon was covered with drying oil, and the contours were painted on top, neglecting the details, sometimes even in a different iconographic manner. In order to restore the “Trinity” to its original form, craftsmen under the leadership of the famous restorer Igor Grabar had to remove many layers of drying oil and paint.
There are dozens of options that will capture one significant event with paints on boards - the meeting of three wanderers. The history of the shrine is described in chapter 18 of the Book of Genesis and transferred to icons with symbolic meaning, either depicting scenes with Abraham and his wife, wanderers, or depicting the plot of the appearance of three angels before Abraham.
However, the most famous among all the icons is the icon of the Holy Trinity, representing the Trinity of God, painted by Andrei Rublev.
History of the icon
According to historical research, the first mention of the Holy Trinity icon, painted by Andrei Rublev, dates back to 1551, when it was mentioned in an order in the Stoglav Cathedral. There they were talking about a certain shrine of the Trinity (the members of the zemstvo church knew about it), which was fully consistent with the canons and could be taken as an example. In addition, information about the shrine is contained in another source, namely in “The Tale of the Holy Icon Painters,” which speaks of the request of Nikon of Radonezh, the second abbot of the Trinity Monastery, to paint an icon of the Trinity in praise of Father Sergei, however, this version raises some doubts, although and is considered generally accepted. In general, the icon of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit has only two possible dates of creation: 1411 and 1425-1427. The first date refers to the construction of a wooden church after a fire, and the second - to the construction of the Trinity Church made of stone. Both numbers are based on the construction of cathedrals, so the question of the exact year of creation of the icon remains open today.
Where there are no inaccuracies is with the author of the Holy Trinity icon. It is definitely Andrei Rublev. Although once, after the cleansing of the icon, some researchers doubted the authorship of the Russian icon painter, seeing Italian motifs in the shrine, but this assumption was soon debunked, and the Italian motifs turned out to be the influence of Byzantine painting.
The meaning of the Holy Trinity icon
As mentioned earlier, the icon of the Holy Trinity has many symbolic images that form a general idea of the event, and also through details reveal the power and significance of the shrine for believers.
The central subject of the composition is the bowl. It reflects the suffering and torment of Jesus Christ, through which He is ready to go through in the name of atonement for human sins. The red liquid that will be poured into the vessel symbolizes God's blood collected after the crucifixion of Jesus on the cross. But even while the cup is not empty, now it contains the head of a calf - the main symbol of sacrifice.
Three angels sit at the table in complete silence, holding a scepter in their hands, denoting power. Their heads are slightly tilted towards each other, and the contours of the figures resemble the key image. Each of them has its own symbol. God the Father in a purple robe in the center blesses, bending two fingers over the bowl. Behind Him grows the Mamre Oak, which in Andrei Rublev takes on the meaning of the Edenic Tree of Life. On the right side of God the Father sits the Holy Spirit, and behind Him is the Christian church, the so-called house of the Holy Spirit. With a gesture of his hand, He blesses and at the same time, in an imperative form, directs the Son through suffering. God the Son sits opposite. His head is humbly lowered, and his gaze, full of readiness, is directed at the bowl. Behind Christ’s back rises a mountain - a symbol of redemption, which He will definitely climb.
What does the icon of the Holy Trinity help with?
As for help, the icon of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit is powerful in guiding a person on the righteous path and in cleansing him from sin. The shrine helps those praying during difficult times and inspires hope when it is necessary to overcome difficult life trials. The image of the three Saints supports during times of great excitement and anxiety, and also helps when making important decisions.
Prayer to the icon
Likewise, the celebration of the icon of the Three Angels falls on “Pentecost” (the 50th day after the Resurrection of Christ), but believers can read the prayer every day.
No one turns to the Saints unless necessary, and it’s also not worth blessing them because it’s necessary. The image of the Trinity will protect and help everyone who truly asks, you just have to say the words of prayer from a pure heart in front of the icon of the Holy Trinity:
To the Most Holy Trinity, the Consubstantial Power, all the good Wines that we will reward You for everything that You have rewarded us sinners and unworthy before, before you came into the world, for everything that You have rewarded us every day, and that You have prepared for all of us in the world to come ! It is fitting, then, for so much good deeds and generosity, to thank Thee not just in words, but more than in deeds, for keeping and fulfilling Thy commandments: but we, having grown up with our evil customs, have cast ourselves into countless sins and iniquities from our youth. For this reason, as unclean and defiled, do not just appear before Your Trisholy face without coldness, but below Your Most Holy Name, utter what is sufficient for us, even if You Yourself had not deigned, for our joy, to proclaim that we love the pure and righteous, and repentant sinners are merciful and please accept me kindly. Look down, O Divine Trinity, from the height of Your Holy Glory upon us, many sinners, and accept our good will, instead of good deeds; and give us the spirit of true repentance, so that, having hated every sin, in purity and truth, we may live until the end of our days, doing Your most holy will and glorifying Your sweetest and most magnificent name with pure thoughts and good deeds. Amen.
Icon of the Holy Trinity - what is depicted on it? We will talk about this by examining the issue using the example of the ten most famous icons depicting the Holy Trinity.
The Holy Trinity
One of the founding fathers of ancient philosophy, and with it the entire European civilization, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle said: “Philosophy begins with wonder.” The same can be said about Christian dogma - it cannot but cause surprise. The worlds of Tolkien, Ende and Lewis with all their fabulous mysteries do not even touch the shadow of the mysterious and paradoxical world of Christian theology.
Christianity begins with the great mystery of the Most Holy Trinity - the mystery of God's Love, revealed in this one incomprehensible unity. V. Lossky wrote that in the Trinity we see the unity in which the Church abides. Just as the Persons of the Trinity remain unmerged, but constitute One, we are all gathered into the single Body of Christ - and this is not a metaphor, not a symbol, but the same reality as the reality of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
How to depict a mystery? Only through another secret. The joyful mystery of the Incarnation made it possible to depict the Indescribable. The icon is a symbolic text about God and holiness, revealed in time and space and abiding in eternity, just as the fairy-tale forest from Michael Ende’s “The NeverEnding Story”, created in the imagination of the protagonist, begins to exist without end and beginning.
We can comprehend this eternity thanks to one more mystery, far from the last in the world of Christian theology: God Himself enlightens every Christian, following the Apostles, by bestowing Himself - the Holy Spirit. We receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and He permeates the whole world, thanks to which this world exists.
So, the Holy Spirit reveals to us the mystery of the Trinity. And that is why we call the day of Pentecost - the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles - “The Day of the Holy Trinity”.
Trinity and “Hospitality of Abraham” - the plot of the icon of the Life-Giving Trinity
The indescribable can be depicted only to the extent that it has been revealed to us. On this basis, the Church does not allow the depiction of God the Father. And the most correct image of the Trinity is the iconographic canon “Hospitality of Abraham,” which sends the viewer to distant Old Testament times:
And the Lord appeared to him at the oak grove of Mamre, when he was sitting at the entrance to [his] tent, during the heat of the day.
He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood against him. Seeing, he ran towards them from the entrance to [his] tent and bowed to the ground and said: Master! If I have found favor in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant; and they will bring some water and wash your feet; and rest under this tree, and I will bring bread, and you will strengthen your hearts; then go [on your way]; as you pass by your servant. They said: do as you say.
And Abraham hurried to Sarah’s tent and said to [her], “quickly knead three sati of fine flour and make unleavened bread.”
And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the lad, and he hastened to prepare it.
And he took the butter and the milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set it before them, while he stood beside them under the tree. And they ate.
The story of a hospitable old man who recognized God in three men is in itself touching and instructive for any believer: if you serve your neighbor, you serve the Lord. We meet the image of this event very early.
Mosaic on the triumphal arch of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome created in the 5th century. The image is visually divided into two parts. At the top, Abraham runs out to meet three men (one of them is surrounded by radiance, symbolizing the glory of the Divine). In the lower part, the guests are already sitting at the set table, and Abraham is serving them. Sarah stands behind Abraham. The artist conveys the movement by depicting the old man twice: here he is giving instructions to his wife, and here he turns around to bring a new dish to the table.
By the 14th century, the canon “Hospitality of Abraham” was already fully formed. Icon "Trinity of Zyryansk", which, according to legend, belonged to the brush of St. Stefan of Perm is a slightly modified version of it. Three angels are seated at a table, a calf lies under it, and Abraham and Sarah stand at the bottom left. In the background there is a building with a turret (the house of Abraham) and a tree (the Oak of Mamre).
The images may change, but the set of symbols and characters remains the same: three angels, a couple serving them, below - a calf (sometimes with a youth slaughtering it), an oak tree, the chambers of Abraham. 1580, icon " Holy Trinity in existence”, surrounded by stamps depicting events associated with the apparitions of the Trinity. An interesting detail: Abraham and Sarah here not only serve at the table, but also sit at it. The icon is located in the Solvychegodsk Historical and Art Museum:
More typical, for example, is a 16th-century icon from the Trinity-Gerasimov Church in Vologda. Angels are in the center of the composition, followed by Abraham and Sarah.
The icon is considered the pinnacle of Russian icon painting Trinity, written by Rev. Andrei Rublev. Minimum symbols: three angels (Trinity), a cup (Atoning sacrifice), a table (the Lord's Table, the Eucharist), a reverse perspective - “expanding” from the viewer (the space of the icon, describing the heavenly world, is immeasurably larger than the world below). Among the recognizable realities - an oak tree (Mamre), a mountain (here is the sacrifice of Isaac, and Golgotha) and a building (Abraham's house? Church?..).
This image will become a classic image for the Russian icon, although some discrepancies in details are possible. For example, sometimes the middle angel has a cross on his halo - this is how Christ is depicted on icons.
Icon of the Holy Trinity, 17th century
Another example: Simon Ushakov depicts the meal in more detail.
The canon “Hospitality of Abraham” is optimal for depicting the Holy Trinity: it emphasizes the unity of essence (three angels) and the difference of hypostases (angels are present in the space of the icon “autonomously” from each other).
Therefore, a similar canon is used when depicting the appearance of the Trinity to saints. One of the most famous images is Appearance of the Holy Trinity to Saint Alexander of Svirsky:
Non-canonical images
However, there have been attempts to portray God in the Trinity in other ways.
It is extremely rare in Western European and Russian temple painting to come across an image used in the iconography of the Renaissance, where three faces are combined in one body. It did not take root in church painting because of its obvious heresy (mixing of Hypostases), and in secular painting because it was unaesthetic.
The image is by Hieronymus Cocido, Spain, Navarre
But the image " Trinity New Testament"occurs often, although it contains the other extreme - the division of the Essence of the Divine.
The most famous icon of this canon is “ Fatherland» Novgorod school (XIV century). The Father sits on the throne in the form of a gray-haired old man, on his knees is the Youth Jesus, holding a circle with the image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. Around the throne are seraphim and cherubim, closer to the frame are saints.
No less common is the image of the New Testament Trinity in the form of the Elder-Father, on the right hand - Christ the King (or Christ holding the Cross), and in the middle - the Holy Spirit, also in the form of a dove.
XVII century, Museum of Ancient Russian Art named after. Andrey Rublev
How did the canon of the “New Testament Trinity” appear if the image of God the Father, Whom no one has seen, is prohibited by the council? The answer is simple: by mistake. The book of the prophet Daniel mentions the Old Denmi - God:
The Ancient of Days sat down; His robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. (Dan.7:9).
It was believed that Daniel saw the Father. In fact, the Apostle John saw Christ in exactly the same way:
I turned to see whose voice was speaking to me; and turning, he saw seven golden lampstands and, in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man, clothed in a robe and girded around the chest with a golden belt: His head and hair were as white as white wool, like snow...
(Rev.1:12-14).
The image of the “Old Day” exists on its own, but is an image of the Savior, not the Trinity. For example, on the fresco of Dionysius in the Ferapontov Monastery, a halo with a Cross, with which the Savior is always depicted, is clearly visible.
Two more interesting images of the “New Testament Trinity” came from the Catholic Church. They are rarely used, but also deserve attention.
"Adoration of the Holy Trinity" by Albrecht Durer(the painting is kept in the Vienna Museum of Art History): at the top of the composition is the Father, below Him is Christ on the Cross, and above them is the Spirit as a dove. The Trinity is worshiped by the Heavenly Church (angels and all saints with the Mother of God) and the Earthly Church - the bearers of secular (emperor) and ecclesiastical (pope) power, priests and laity.
Image " Coronation of the Mother of God“is associated with the Mother of God dogmas of the Catholic Church, but due to the deep veneration of the Most Pure Virgin by all Christians, it also became widespread in Orthodoxy.
The Virgin Mary on images of the Trinity, Prado, Madrid
In the center of the composition is the Virgin Mary, the Father and the Son holding a crown over Her head, and a dove depicting the Holy Spirit hovers above them.
Icon of the Holy Trinity
In Orthodoxy, the Day of the Holy Trinity is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter - the Resurrection of Christ. On this day, the descent of the Holy Spirit took place on the apostles in the Upper Room of Zion, which gave the disciples of Christ many abilities, including the ability to understand and speak all the languages of the world.
Icon of the Holy Trinity literally retells the plot taken from the Old Testament, it is not for nothing that the second name of this image is "Abraham's Hospitality" or "Abraham's Hospitality". As described in the book of Genesis, one hot day, not far from his home near the oak grove of Mamre near Hebron, Abraham saw three travelers standing on a dusty road. Hospitable Abraham ran out of his tent and ran up to the travelers. Recognizing the Lord God in the three travelers, Abraham bowed to the ground and exclaimed: “Lord! If I have found favor in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant...And they will bring you water and wash your feet...rest under this tree, and I will bring bread to strengthen your hearts!” Having seated the Trinity under the shade of the Mamre oak, Abraham hurried to his wife Sarah so that she could prepare unleavened bread, and he himself ordered the servants to slaughter and prepare the calf. A table with bread, butter, milk and calf meat was placed in front of the three travelers. After dinner, the travelers called Abraham to them and asked him: "Abraham, where is Sarah your wife!?" Having learned that she was in the tent, one of the travelers said: “I will be with you in a year, and in a year your wife Sarah will have a son.” To Sarah's grin and disbelief, one of the Trinity replied: "Is there anything difficult for God?"(Many centuries later, with this same phrase, the Archangel Gabriel will sweep away all the doubts of the Virgin Mary regarding her question about the possibility of conceiving from the Holy Spirit without knowing her husband - this case is mentioned in the description of the icon of the Annunciation.)
Two of the travelers got up and went to Sodom and Gomorrah to carry out God’s judgment there on the sinful wicked, the third of them stayed to negotiate with Abraham. He told the elder about what would happen from Abraham "a great and strong nation, and in it all the nations of the earth will be blessed" but for this both Abraham and all his descendants will have to "to walk in the way of the Lord, doing righteousness and justice." As is known from the Old Testament, Abraham had a son, Isaac, from Sarah, and one of the descendants was the legendary biblical king David, whose descendant was the Mother of God herself and John the Baptist, the baptizer of Jesus Christ.
As in other especially revered icons, the literal retelling of the plot of the Bible is intertwined with the deep symbolism of the image of the Holy Trinity. On the icon of the Holy Trinity, it is customary to depict the Oak of Mamre (this tree is still alive, it is about 5000 years old, it is located in Hebron), the Temple Mount - Mount Moriah (the place where Abraham, many years later, had to sacrifice his adult son Isaac at the behest of the Lord God, who decided to test the humility and faith of the biblical elder) and the house of Abraham itself. Travelers - the Holy Trinity are represented in the form of three angels (as they are named in the nineteenth chapter of the first book of Genesis), holding royal staffs in their hands as symbols of their omnipotence:
- The Left Angel is God the Father. Above His head is the house of Abraham. Just as Abraham built his house, so God the Father built the world in six days. This technique emphasizes the creative essence of this hypostasis of God, His merit as the founder of the world, the world organizer and the owner of the world. His clothes are red - truly a royal color.
- The Central Angel is God the Son. Above His head is the Mamre Oak as a symbol of the heavenly Tree of Life. Having tasted a piece of the fruit of this Tree, a person gained immortality. A person who believed in Christ saved his soul and gave it heavenly immortality. The movement of the hand with the cup of God the Father towards God the Son also seems full of symbolism. "Let this cup pass from Me", - the Savior prayed, knowing about his impending torment in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, - “However, let it be as You said.” And he drank this cup to the dregs. God the Son is dressed in a red tunic with a sewn clave - the earthly robe of Jesus Christ.
- The Right Angel is God the Holy Spirit. Above His head is Mount Moriah as a symbol of the aspiration of the righteous human soul, saved by Christ, to heavenly heights. The mountain as a symbol of close proximity to God is mentioned many times in the Bible: on Mount Sinai the prophet Moses receives the Ten Commandments from God, on Mount Tabor the closest disciples and apostles of Christ Simon Peter, James and John see the Transfiguration of the Lord - the revelation of all persons of the Holy Trinity, from the top of the mountain The Ascension of Christ took place on Olivet. The life-giving Holy Spirit is dressed in green robes - a symbol of renewal, the unification of man and God.
On the icon of the Holy Trinity, the figures of angels form a circle - an endless and most beautiful harmonious figure, having neither beginning nor end. The reverse perspective of the image of three angels captures the imagination of a person looking at the icon of the Holy Trinity, inviting him to join as a spectator in the Old Testament plot and join the Divine.
Believers look with gratitude at the image of the Holy Trinity: even from a distance, it once again reminds of the saving sacrifice of Christ: the figures of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit form the silhouette of a sacrificial bowl in which God the Son is placed, who gave his earthly life for the salvation of humanity from the firstborn sin of the first parents Adam and Eve, and who gave us hope for salvation.
Before the icon of the Holy Trinity they pray for forgiveness of sins, they pray about the most important events in our lives, before the image of the Holy Trinity they confess, before it they give praise to the Lord.
