Hand Gestures in Iconography and Their Sacred Meaning

Everyone is well aware of the waist-length icon of the Lord Jesus Christ, in which He is depicted with an open Gospel in his left hand and with his right hand, the fingers of which are folded in a special way. The popular consciousness usually understands this as the Lord’s blessing of the person praying. Therefore, on the pictorial icons of the 19th and early 20th centuries, the fingers of the Savior’s right hand are depicted folded into the so-called priestly “name” blessing, when they depict the Greek letters IC XC. But if we look carefully at a traditional Old Russian or Byzantine icon, we will not find a name-word blessing there at all, but we will discover that Christ’s right hand has a slightly different gesture: the thumb is connected to the small middle finger, and the rest are extended. Turning to historical data, we are surprised to learn that this gesture does not symbolize a blessing, but the fact that the Savior is depicted in the process of delivering a speech, namely, he preaches the gospel of the Kingdom of God. [2, 492] Even pre-Christian portrait painters introduced this gesture to mark the moment of public speaking and was taken from the social practice of that time. Already the Assyrians, Egyptians and Indians had a custom, through the use of fingers, to convey that the faces depicted in the paintings should be understood by the speakers. [2, 492-1)] Later, the tradition of gesturing can be traced in the culture of the ancient Mediterranean: Greek and Roman speakers, ascending to the pulpit, invited listeners to silence and attention, raising their folded hand, and while delivering a speech, they gestured in a special way. [2, 493] In Quintillian one can find a detailed explanation of the most commonly used oratorical gestures of the Greco-Roman world. For example, the connection of the small middle finger with the thumb, in which the rest were extended - that is, the gesture with which the Savior is depicted on the icons - meant the beginning of speech, as well as the process of storytelling itself, sometimes - censure or accusation. Tucking the two middle fingers under the thumb and extending the rest implied an active start to speech. The bending of all fingers and the straightening of the index finger symbolized censure or, in fact, an instruction. According to the records of Quintillian and Apuleius, one can count about ten of the most common gestures among Greco-Roman speakers. [2, 493-1)] Lists of classical or pagan works decorated with miniatures in which speaking persons are depicted with raised folded hands have been preserved to this day. For example, the works of Homer in the Milan Ambrosian Library, Virgil's Aeneid in the Vatican Library, and the works of Dioscorides stored in the Vienna Library. In addition, the use of folding hands as a sign of conversation is also known in non-Christian sculptural works, in particular ancient Greek. [2, 494-495] As follows from historical monuments and sources, in Christian iconography, folded hands also symbolized the process of conversation. The Savior, prophets, apostles and saints are depicted with folded hands as a sign that they are persons preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God. This is confirmed by Paul the Silentiary, who lived in the 6th century, in his description of the Cathedral of St. built by Emperor Justinian. Sofia in Constantinople. Paul speaks of the image of Christ on one of the altar curtains: “He is depicted extending the fingers of his right hand - as a sign that He is speaking a divine verb, and in his left hand - holding a book that contains Divine verbs [i.e. gospel]". [2, 496] Important evidence is a fragment of the Pentateuch of Moses written in the 4th or 5th century, kept in the Vienna Library. It is decorated with 24 miniatures illustrating the text of the Pentateuch. In the miniatures, many faces are depicted with folded hands, and in situations where this gesture is completely impossible to understand in the sense of blessing or prayer - this would be not just incongruity, but sometimes even blasphemy. [2, 497] For example, Esau is depicted with such a gesture selling his birthright to Jacob; Joseph telling his dream to his brothers. In the miniature, in which Joseph is in prison with the baker and cupbearer, a guard and his wife are depicted in front of the prison: they are facing each other with folded hands - it is clear that they are talking. [2, 497-1] In the miniature illustrating the fall of Adam and Eve, a hand from the cloud is visible above them, meaning that God is telling them something, and it is clear that He does not bless them for the fall, but convicts them of it. The expulsion of Adam from paradise is written in the same way. [2, 497-2] Another evidence is a Greek manuscript of the 12th century, on the miniatures of which there is an image of speaking persons with the following arrangement of fingers: the large and large middle fingers are connected at the ends, the small middle one is pressed to the palm, and the index and little fingers are extended. [2, 497] The famous Russian church historian E. Golubinsky, from whom I obtained part of the factual material for this report, points out that the considered significance of the sign in iconography persisted until at least half of the 15th century. [2,500] Only from this time (and, perhaps, much earlier) in the Russian Church, an outstretched hand with the traditional two-fingered hand (the thumb, small middle finger and little finger are connected, the index and middle finger are bent) begins to symbolize exactly the two-fingered blessing on icons. [2, 500] Apologists for the Old Believers of the early 18th century, the Vygov brothers Denisov, in their famous book “Pomeranian Answers,” to substantiate the antiquity and authority of the double-fingered gesture, cite a large list of cases when the double-fingered gesture is depicted on ancient Russian icons as a blessing gesture. [1] With the above understanding of the symbolism of folded hands, a legitimate question arises: how, in this case, was the process of prayer depicted on ancient icons? – In accordance with the church practice of antiquity, the usual gesture in prayer was the raising (i.e., raising) of the hands. This gesture served as a symbol, or better yet, as a natural outward expression of ardent and sincere inner prayer. The Holy Apostle Paul, speaking about the organization of the church life of young Christian communities, writes in his 1st Epistle to Timothy: “I therefore desire that men say prayers in every place, lifting up clean hands without anger and doubting” (1 Tim. 2:8) . The most striking of the surviving and well-known icon painting types reflecting such a practice is the icon of the Mother of God “Oranta” or “The Sign”. In general, until about the 15th century, the raising of hands was used in prayer as the main gesture, and making the sign of the cross was only an accompanying action at the beginning or at the end of the raising of hands. [2, 500-501] So, for example, those praying are depicted in the Monthly Book of Emperor Basil. [2, 502-2)] The evidence presented suggests that the psychological symbolism of gestures is one of the integral expressive features of the special language of the Christian icon. Being based on the symbolism of gestures of the ancient world, it began to be used in the icon to fulfill its main task: to convey by graphic means not only the external side of the depicted event or the personality of the saint, but also the internal meaning of the first or the spiritual state of the second. Report read at the First Intercession pedagogical readings “Dialogue of domestic secular and church traditions” in the section “Psychology in the light of the Orthodox tradition” (Russian State Pedagogical University named after A.I. Herzen, St. Petersburg, October 13, 2000) Bibliography 1. [ Denisov brothers.] Pomeranian answers. Manuilovsky St. Nicholas Monastery, 1884. 2. Golubinsky E. History of the Russian Church. Volume II, 2nd half. volumes M., 1911, 616 p. 3. Nun Juliania (Sokolova). The work of an icon painter. Holy Trinity Sergius Lavra, 1995, 224 p. 4. Pease A. Body language. M., 1996. 5. Uspensky L. A. Theology of the icon of the Orthodox Church. B/m, Western-European Publishing House. Exarchate of Moscow Patriarchy, 1989, [rep.: M., 1998,] 476 pp., ill.

Terms of Russian icon painting

Dictionary of iconographic terms

Adoration gesture (Latin adoratio - worship) - in iconography, an image of a prayerful pose with hands raised to the sky.

The Angel of the Great Council is a type of image of Jesus Christ in the form of a young man with angel wings and an eight-pointed halo. Also called “Saved the Good Silence.”

Assist, asist - an adhesive composition for applying gold or silver sheets to the surface of the icon. Also called gold cutting in the form of rays.

Basma (Turkish - imprint, imprint) - thin plates of silver, gold and other metals with an embossed pattern covering the surface of the icon.

The Great Bishop is a type of depiction of Jesus Christ in episcopal vestments as the head of the Church - earthly and heavenly.

Velum (Latin veloum - sail) - in iconography, a fabric, usually red, thrown from one chamber to another to indicate that the action is taking place inside the building.

Old denmi (Old Russian - ancient, full of days) is a type of depiction of Jesus Christ (in later iconography - Hosts) in the form of a gray-haired old man.

Vohrenie (Old Russian vohra - ocher), ocher is one of the stages of personal writing, consisting of layer-by-layer application of ocher.

Pantocrator or Pantocrator (Greek) is one of the main types of images of Jesus Christ with the blessing right hand (right hand) and the Gospel.

Gorka, ledge (ancient Russian - chipped, flat stone) is a landscape element on icons, depicted in the form of mountain ledges towards the sky as a symbol of spiritual ascent.

Countia (Greek - inscribed, written) - a drawing scratched on the gesso of an icon or on the plaster on a wall, which is then written in color.

The engines are an element of personal writing in the form of light thin lines that symbolize the uncreated, divine light.

Deesis, deisis (Greek - prayer) - a composition symbolizing the prayerful presence of the saints before Jesus Christ.

Preliminary writing is the stage of work on an icon: first everything is written except the faces and open parts of the body - the background, landscape, chambers, figures, halos, etc.

Eleusa (Greek - merciful, merciful) - Tenderness - a type of image of the Mother of God caressing the Christ Child. The contact of the faces of the Infant God and the Mother of God symbolically conveys the idea of ​​the Incarnation as a union of the heavenly and earthly worlds.

A hagiographic icon is an icon in which the marks surrounding the centerpiece with the image of a saint reflect the events of his life (Old Russian - life) and his deeds.

Mirror (Old Russian - mirror) - in iconography, a round-shaped object (disk, sphere) with the image of a monogram of the name of Christ or the image of Emmanuel.

Sign (Old Russian - miracle, sign sent from above) - a type of image of the Mother of God with her hands raised in prayer (Oranta, from Lat. ogage - to pray), a medallion with the image of Emmanuel on the chest. Variant of the icon - Panagia.

An iconographic version is a variant of iconography within the canonical image.

Icon (Greek - image, image, display) is a sacred image of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Mother of God, angels, saints or events of Sacred and Church history, intended for prayer, written in accordance with the accepted canon and in accordance with the teachings of the Church.

Iconography - 1. Features of the image of a saint or sacred event, according to the canon. 2. Description and systematization of images established by the canon.

Iconostasis is a partition between the altar and the central part of the temple; icons are placed on it.

Iconographic canon (Greek - rule) - a set of rules, techniques, symbols adopted in iconography to depict a particular image.

The mark is a scene from the life of a saint on the field of a hagiographic icon.

Ark (ancient Russian - box, chest) is a recess in the icon board on which the image is written.

Levkas (Greek) is a white ground base for icon and wall painting.

Personal writing is the stage of work on an icon, when the faces and open parts of the body are painted.

The husk is a bevel between the field and the ark, serving as a conventional boundary between the world of the viewer and the world of the icon.

Mandorla (Italian mandorla - tonsil) is a symbolic image of the radiance of divine light around the figure of Christ, and occasionally the Virgin Mary.

Menaion (Greek) - a book or icon in which the Holidays and saints are arranged in the order of their celebration according to the calendar.

Image Not Made by Hands - Ubrus Not Made by Hands (ancient Russian board, towel) or the Savior in Greek. ) - a type of image of Jesus Christ, which is based on the legend of the miraculous (miraculous) imprint of the Savior's face on fabric.

Do not weep Mene Mati - a type of image of the Mother of God mourning the Savior before placing her in the grave after the Crucifixion.

Nimbus (Latin nimbus - cloud) - a radiance around the head of the Savior, the Mother of God, angels and saints depicted on icons.

Reverse perspective is a system for constructing space in an icon, according to which objects are located on a plane at equal distances and are visible to the viewer from not one, but from several points of view.

Hodegetria (Greek - Guidebook) - a type of image of the Mother of God with the Child in her arms. A characteristic feature is the position of the hand of the Mother of God pointing to the Infant Christ.

Oklad is an applied decorative decoration of an icon.

Drying oil (Latin oleum - oil) - vegetable oil, prepared in a special way, is used to create a protective layer in the icon.

Oranta - (Greek - Praying) - one of the main types of iconography of the Mother of God. A characteristic feature is the hands of the Mother of God raised in prayer and the image of the Child at the chest level of the Mother of God.

Pavoloka (ancient Russian shroud, cover) is a fabric glued to the front side of the icon board in order to protect the board from deformation and cracking.

Parsuna (Latin persona - personality, person), a distorted “person”, was the name given in Russia in the 16th-17th centuries. portraits.

The icon painting original is a practical guide for the icon painter with descriptions and samples (the so-called Facial Original) of images.

The lining is an icon that was painted immediately under the frame, that is, only those places that were not covered by the frame were painted.

Pozem (Old Russian) - image of the earth on icons.

The field (s) of the icon is the frame around the ark on the icon board.

Space, space - in long writing, the modeling of the light parts of the image symbolizes the touch of divine light.

Proris is a contour drawing of an icon image, used as a preparatory drawing for creating an icon.

Roskrysh (Old Russian) - the stage of work on an icon, during which the colors are evenly distributed, and paint is poured into the drawing inside the designated contours.

Sankir is the first layer in a personal letter on which the swirl is placed.

The symbols of the evangelists are images of four animals accompanying the appearance of God in glory. In iconography they are correlated with the evangelists: the angel is the symbol of Matthew, the calf is Luke, the lion is Mark, the eagle is John.

Sophia The Wisdom of God is a type of image of Jesus Christ in the form of an angel with an eight-pointed halo, seated on a throne. Symbolizes the Savior before His Incarnation.

Savior in power is a type of image of Jesus Christ on the throne against the background of a red quadrangle surrounded by heavenly powers, symbols of the evangelists.

The middle part is the middle part of a hagiographic icon.

Tablet (French tableau - picture) - a name adopted in the 20th century. for icons painted on primed canvas on both sides.

Egg tempera is the main technique of icon painting: mineral pigments ground by hand; Chicken yolk is used as a binder.

Fresco (Italian fresco - fresh, raw) - painting on wet plaster.

Fryazhskaya letter (Old Russian. Fryazin - Italian) is a style of icon painting that was formed in Russia in the 17th-18th centuries. influenced by Western European painting.

King by king is a type of depiction of Jesus Christ in royal vestments.

Tsata (ancient Russian - coin, decoration) - pendant to an icon in the form of a crescent.

Rank (Old Russian - order) is the same as a row in an iconostasis.

A dowel is a wooden block nailed or inserted into a groove on the back side of the icon, which serves to prevent deformation of the icon board.

Emmanuel (Greek from Hebrew - God is with us) - a type of image of Jesus Christ in an infant or adolescent form.

Encaustic (Greek - I burn) is a wax painting technique.

Etymasia (Greek - prepared) is an image of the heavenly throne prepared for the Second Coming of the King of Kings - Jesus Christ, coming in glory. Depicted with the Gospel and the Cross lying on it, as well as a dove descending on it.

Material created: 10/28/2015

Throne in an Orthodox church

35 brilliant and laconic quotes from Chekhov

Local history. Abstracts. Tourism

Judaism and the Old Testament exclude images and sculpture from their rituals. " Do not make yourself an idol ". But among Catholics and Orthodox Christians we see many images with certain gestures. And some of them very clearly resemble ancient images of the Vedic and Buddhist culture of India.

In the history of Crimea, the period of struggle between icon-worshippers and iconoclasts in Byzantium is of particular importance. It is generally accepted that in the Crimean Mountains and on the coast in the 8th century, many icon-worshipping monks from rich monasteries devastated by the Byzantine emperors found shelter. Meanwhile, medieval cave churches have been preserved even without the sign of the cross. The descriptions of travelers noted the widespread prevalence of Monophysite heresies (belief in one God, denial of the Trinity - the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit) among the Crimean Alans.

Another interesting fact for Crimean tourism is the direct veneration of Buddha, the Indian prince Gautama, as Saint Joasaph. Josaphat Valley is located in the vicinity of Bakhchisarai, next to the Jewish cave city of Chufut-kale and the Orthodox cave Monastery of the Holy Dormition.

Buddhism originated in the middle of the first millennium BC in northern India as a movement in opposition to Brahmanism, which was dominant at that time. In the middle of the 6th century. BC. Indian society was experiencing a socio-economic and cultural crisis. The clan organization and traditional ties were disintegrating, and class relations were emerging. At this time, there were a large number of wandering ascetics in India, they offered their vision of the world. Their opposition to the existing order aroused the sympathy of the people. Among the teachings of this kind was Buddhism, which acquired the greatest influence in society. Most researchers believe that the founder of Buddhism was a real person. He was the son of the head of the Shakya tribe, born in 560. BC. in northeast India. Legend has it that the Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama, after a carefree and happy youth, acutely felt the frailty and hopelessness of life, the horror of the idea of ​​​​an endless series of reincarnations. He left home in order to communicate with the sages to find the answer to the question: how can a person be freed from suffering. The prince traveled for seven years and one day, while he was sitting under the Bodhi tree, an insight descended on him. He found the answer to his question. The name Buddha means "enlightened one." Shocked by his discovery, he sat under this tree for several days, and then went down to the valley, to the people to whom he began to preach a new teaching. Vedic culture as a whole has about 5 thousand years of development and is associated with the Brahmans - the priestly caste of the Aryans. Buddhism, denying the caste organization of society and the inequality of people, in terms of aesthetics, fine arts and physical culture is not something revolutionary and destructive. In fact, iconography (cult graphics of ancient India), to the same extent as ritual and even the most ordinary festive dances, contains a large number of gestures. The interlacing of the fingers of one hand or the fingers of both hands always accurately denotes something very important.

When did the first Christian icons appear ? Researchers write that the first icons appeared in the 5th-6th centuries of the new era, that is, not among the first Christians. There is not a single mention of icons or sculptures of saints either in the Gospels or in the descriptions of the acts of the apostles. Christian theologians explain this fact by the persecution of the first Christians and the need to hide their faith.

The Seventh Ecumenical Council , held in 787 , ended the era of iconoclasm. This date is directly connected with the history of Crimea, as the time of the uprising of Bishop John of Goth against the power of the Khazars. We are talking specifically about the time when the entire ruling Turkic elite of the Khazar Kaganate converted to Judaism and began to consider the veneration of icons as idol worship, paganism, and the denial of a single god.

The veneration of holy icons has become one of the dogmas of Christianity, common to both Orthodoxy and Catholicism. Today there are many different sacred images: painted on wood or metal, icons made of stone, measured icons, but what did the original sources look like? Church traditions tell us many legends, but, in fact, there is not a word about icons in the Old and New Testaments. This is despite the fact that the Old Testament very carefully describes the structure of temples, their sizes and the necessary materials for construction.

Gestures from Vedic culture and Christian icons

A certain relative arrangement of the fingers, which has one or another meaning and carries a certain energy potential, is called mudra .

– Prithvi Mudra or Earth mudra – is performed by closing the thumb and ring fingers into a ring, which helps to significantly reduce any physical disabilities. It is this mudra that is found in images of Jesus Christ and in statues of Buddha.

– Prana Mudra or Life Mudra – is performed by touching the tips of the ring and little fingers to the upper phalanx of the thumb. This mudra activates the body, makes people stronger both mentally and physically, improves immunity and helps fight illnesses. This is probably why this particular gesture is found in images of Nicholas the Wonderworker and Jesus Christ .

– Arda Pataka Mudra – promotes the opening of chakras and is used when depicting Indian yogis. At the same time, the creators of the video offer an image of Jesus Christ, whose fingers are placed in the position corresponding to the Arda Pataka mudra, and also depicted with such a gesture Baphomet - a deity who belongs to the pagan Phoenician pantheon.

From the discussion: Ivan Vikulov Weak. The same nonsense as in “The Spirit of the Burden.” Designed for half-educated students who picked up something in esoteric books. 1) In this video only two figures are similar. First and last. In Christianity they mean: - Letters: i, c, x (index, middle and ring with little finger). icx = Jesus Christ. The icon of St. Nicholas in the video shows the same thing. - Two fingers (index and middle together): two natures - divine and human united into one. 2) Christianity has never been afraid to use forms that existed in the pre-Christian world, if they were filled with Christian content and did not contradict the essence of the teaching. They have been adapted as symbols, metaphors, moral truths. In general terms, the principle can be seen in the 22nd conversation of Basil the Great, “To young men on how to benefit from pagan writings.” 3) In addition, as anyone from a philosophy course knows, the coincidence of events, like their sequence, does not necessarily indicate a connection between these events. The fact that we pick our teeth with a toothpick does not mean that we learned it from the Australian aborigines, who did it thousands of years before us. It's just convenient. 4) There are dozens of mudras in Hinduism. If there was a borrowing, it would not be isolated and would contain a similar meaning. In Christianity, these gestures are not static, but dynamic . They depict a cross, blessing others , and are not simply performed statically for their own energetic purposes or symbol (and only bishops and priests, and you will not find them on icons of the Virgin Mary). Therefore, I suggest renaming the video. Instead of “Wisdom in Christian Icons,” call it “Foolishness in Esoteric Heads.” 21 Feb 2013

Application: ... in the Bible, the Word of God, it is directly and categorically prohibited in the Second Commandment of the Creator: “ You shall not make for yourself an idol or any image of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth below, or that is in the water below the earth. Do not worship them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God .” (Ex.20:4,5; Deut.5:6-10). The prophet Isaiah writes: “Is there a God besides Me? There is no other stronghold, I don’t know any. Those who make idols are all worthless, and those who desire them most do not bring any benefit, and they are witnesses of this to themselves. They do not see and do not understand, and therefore they will be put to shame. Who made a god and cast an idol that brings no benefit? All those participating in this will be ashamed, for artists themselves are human; let them all gather and stand; they will be afraid, and everyone will be ashamed...

The carpenter [having chosen a tree], draws a line along it, makes an outline on it with a pointed tool, then trims it with a chisel and rounds it, and makes out of it the image of a beautiful-looking person to put in the house. He cuts down cedars for himself, takes pine and oak, which he chooses from among the trees in the forest, plants ash, and the rain grows it. And this serves as fuel for a person, and he uses part of this to keep him warm, and makes a fire, and bakes bread. And from the same he makes a god, and worships him, makes an idol, and prostrates himself before him. He burns part of the wood in the fire, with the other part he cooks meat for food, fries the roast and eats to his fill, and also warms himself and says: “Okay, I’m warmed up; I felt the fire." And from the remnants of that he makes a god, his idol, worships him, prostrates himself before him and prays to him, and says: “Save me, for you are my god.” They neither know nor understand: He closed their eyes so that they would not see, and their hearts so that they would not understand. And he will not take this to his heart, and he does not have enough knowledge and sense to say: “I burned half of it in the fire and baked bread on its coals, fried the meat and ate it; and from the remnant of it shall I make an abomination? Shall I worship a piece of wood? He chases dust; his deceived heart has led him astray, and he cannot free his soul and say: “Is there not deceit in my right hand?” (Isa.44:8-20)

Both the Old and New Testaments, all Scripture says unequivocally that the worship of images (in Greek: “iconos”) is a terrible sin against God. He Himself says: “I am the Lord, this is My name, and I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images” (in this case, icons and statues as idols) (Is. 42:8). After all, “the spirit that lives in us loves to the point of jealousy.” (James 4:5) For the first two hundred to three hundred years of its existence, Christianity was clean of all icons and statues. At the turn of the 3rd-4th centuries, the sects of ancient heretics “Gnostic Christians” in the east began to use some picturesque images.

Saint Irenaeus of Lyons (202) wrote that the heretics - Gnostics are “Carpocratians”, i.e. followers of the third century false teacher Carpocrates, images of Jesus were already appearing. Along with portraits of Jesus, these heretics used, exhibiting at their services, portraits and busts of Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle and other pagan thinkers. The Gnostics not only began to depict Jesus, but also to invent all sorts of ridiculous legends, which later formed the basis of the superstitious religious traditions of the Orthodox Catholic Church. For example, those same Carpocrats taught that Pontius Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea, was the first to paint a portrait of Jesus. Subsequently, these heretics said that supposedly the first “icon painter” was the Apostle and Evangelist Luke?!?

“There is also a legend about the king of Edessa Abgar, as if Christ sent him a towel with a “miraculous” imprint of his face and as if icon painters then painted icons from this imprint. This is also a rather unlikely version, since in this case, obviously, all the painted icons, having a common “ancestor” - the imprint on Abgar’s towel, would show us more or less similar images of Christ. But, as already mentioned, the images of Christ on the icons are very, very different, which indicates that they were invented and fantasized. In ancient church writers, for example, in such an authoritative one as Eusebius of Caesarea, we can indeed find the so-called “Epistle of Abgar” and Christ’s response letter to Abgar. But, interestingly, there is not a word about this towel or so-called. "image not made by hands."

In the “Epistle of Abgar,” the king of Edessa offers Jesus Christ his hospitality and asks to heal him of his illness. In response, Jesus promises to send his disciple to him, who will fulfill this request. Not a word about the towel with the imprint. If in fact this student brought a towel with the imprint of Christ’s face, then why is such an important event from a church point of view not mentioned by such a scrupulous church historian as Eusebius of Caesarea? Most likely, because at the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th centuries, when he lived, there were simply no icons, and therefore there was no problem of icon worship.

“Icons appeared later, in the 5th century, perhaps precisely because someone invented a legend that Christ gave Abgar a towel with an imprint of His face, and artists painting the Christ they imagined began to claim that their paintings were these are copies of the same print.” (D. Praveen)

In the second half of the 4th century, some Christian bishops, under the influence of Gnosticism, began to take a condescending attitude towards this innovation, as a good means of attracting pagans to Christianity. Many philosophers had previously brought forward atheism as the main accusation against Christians, because they had absolutely no images to worship. Any religion of the Roman Empire knew this, but the first Christians were true Orthodox, because... worshiped the Almighty Lord God “in spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) Orthodoxy means correctly praising God! This is exactly the meaning that the Byzantine Emperor Theodosius put into this word, who uttered it for the first time at the end of the 4th century.

In 300-306, a council of clergy from churches from different regions of the Roman Empire was held in Elvira, and at it it was unequivocally decided that henceforth there would be no painting or icons in churches. After all, newly converted pagans often began to worship icons little by little. The Byzantine historian Eusebius (4th century), Epiphanius of Cyprus (5th century) and many other fathers of the early church also categorically opposed images of Jesus appearing in the east, and even more so the worship of these icons.

M.E. Posnov, professor of Church History at the Kyiv Theological Academy, writes in his work “History of the Christian Church” that a letter from the church historian, St. Eusebius “to Empress Constance, sister of Constantine the Great, widow of Emperor Licinius, has been preserved. It shows that Constance asked Eusebius to send her an icon of the Savior. Eusebius finds her desire reprehensible: “since you wrote about some supposed icon of Christ and wanted me to send you such an icon, then what kind of icon do you mean, which you call Christ’s? Is it true and unchangeable and contains within itself the essence of the Divinity, or does it represent His nature, which He assumed for our sake, putting on flesh, as if with the clothing of a slave? Who is able to depict with dead and soulless colors and shadows the One who emits radiance and emits brilliant rays, the brilliance of His glory and dignity? … Even His chosen disciples could not look at Him on the mountain. Of course, you are looking for an icon depicting Him in the form of a servant and in the flesh that He put on for our sake; but we are taught that it (the flesh) is also dissolved in the glory of the Divine, and mortal things are swallowed up in life.”

But the Byzantine emperors gradually introduced painting into churches. For what? Politicians did not need biblical, living Christianity, but a state dead, controlled religious-mafia, corrupt structure led by slave owners - bishops and puppet reigning, but not ruling patriarchs. This system of ritual Christianity is often called Caesaropapism. This is a system of relationships between church and state, when the church turns from the Bride of Jesus into the prostitute of various political structures, emperors, kings, general secretaries, dictators and presidents. It doesn’t matter who stood on top: the church is a harlot “she disgraced her beauty and spread out her legs for everyone who passed by, and multiplied her fornications” (Ezek. 16:25)

From the 4th to the 8th centuries, theological disputes did not stop in both the east and the west about whether icons were needed in the church or not, although for almost all of these 500 years both opinions were considered acceptable. Some churches had painting, but many, especially in the West, clearly rejected it. In the 6th century, an ardent supporter of icons was Leontius, Bishop of Naples, who believed that even the veneration of icons was permissible for the sake of those whose images were on them. But Saint Philoxenus, Bishop of Hierapolis, categorically opposed this heresy, who even ordered the destruction of those paintings and sculptures that were in some churches subordinate to him.

At the end of the 6th and beginning of the 7th century, St. Gregory I the Great Pope also advocated the use of icons, condemning the actions of Serenus, Bishop of Marseille, who destroyed all the icons in Marseille. Pope Gregory stated that “icons are the Bible for the illiterate” and they are acceptable as illustrations, but not required in churches.

In the 7th and 8th centuries, the dispute over icons reached its climax, mainly due to the spread of the religion of Islam..

Let us recall that at this time Islam was already peacefully winning over the Alans, the Christian peoples of the North Caucasus, to its side. And in the Volga region at this time the Khazar Khaganate, a rival of both Christian Byzantium and the Muslim Arab Caliphate, dominated. Thus, the dispute about icons is a question of Byzantine identity: icons and iconostases clearly and visibly showed the illiterate population the hierarchy in heaven and on earth, the divine essence of the power of emperors, feudal lords, and officials.

This issue has become a matter of political importance. The main accusation of Islamic theologians against Eastern Christians was the accusation of the sin of icon veneration - idolatry. By the eighth century, the monks began to spread new traditions, developing the legends and false teachings of the Gnostics of the third century. John of Damascus, the former first vizier of the Damascus caliph Abdulmelech, wrote a lot in defense of icon veneration and he referred to the absurd tradition that Jesus Himself was the first to make His icon. This is the legend “about the miraculous image.”

Allegedly, Jesus dipped His face in the cloth and gave it to the artists... In the West, this legend is told differently. Allegedly, “Saint Veronica” gave Jesus a towel to wipe his face when He walked to Golgotha, carrying the cross to the place of execution and His icon, “an image not made by hands” was imprinted on it...

By the way, it was John of Damascus, later even canonized by the Orthodox Church, who composed the chant on SIX notes!?! The seventh note "B" was anathema in the Orthodox East for almost a thousand years, beginning in the eighth century. Only the All-Russian Emperor Peter I brought the note “B” from the West and ordered to sing in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kyiv churches and monasteries on SEVEN notes. Before this, those people who sang six notes were burned at the stake by Orthodox monks. Now almost only Orthodox Old Believers sing on six notes.

Even at that distant time, monks acted as the authors and continuers of many heresies. This happened mainly due to the fact that they began to neglect the Word of God - the Bible and began to be guided in their lives and teachings by all kinds of dreams and visions, writings and traditions of the ancient Gnostics and philosophers.

Orthodox theologians and bishops convened the VII Ecumenical Council specifically to discuss this problem in 754 in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) with the permission of the holy and blessed Emperor Constantine V and Pope Zechariah. To resolve the dispute, it was decided to turn exclusively to the authority of Holy Scripture - the Bible! Orthodox bishops and patriarchs at the Council stated that “icon veneration was introduced by Satan in order to distract people from the worship of the True God.” (I canon of the VII Ecumenical Council)

The truth of God's Word triumphed, but, unfortunately, not for long. Having dealt with her son, the legal heir to the throne Constantine VI, Irina became the empress, who is still revered as a saint by many Orthodox Christians, and in many churches and monasteries in Ukraine there are images of her, they light candles and pray to her, but few people know that she was for a woman. In cruelty, fornication, and deceit, she surpassed many Byzantine rulers of those centuries. At her court, gays and lesbians enjoyed special honor. The "holy" empress herself was overthrown by the finance minister Nikephoros and died in exile on the island of Lesbos in 803. Subsequently, the word “lesbianism” came from the name of this island. It was Irina who in 787 convened a new “VII Ecumenical” Council in Nicaea , declaring that the canonical VII Ecumenical Council of 754 was supposedly false. She declared that icon veneration is a dogma of faith.

“What was characteristic of the struggle between iconoclasts and iconoclasts was that on the side of the former there were, as a rule, the higher clergy, the intelligentsia and, in general, more educated people who knew the Scriptures; while on the side of the latter, the illiterate crowd, the lower clergy and monasticism usually acted - that is, people who purely nominally consider themselves Christians, but in fact are not. Purely politically, the icon worshipers won this fight; at that “second Nicene” Council they were the majority. They, let’s say, turned out to be “Bolsheviks” at this cathedral. And if we consider the criterion of truth not the opinion of God (which on any issue can always be learned from the Bible), but the opinion of the majority of those present at any meeting (congress, council, etc.), then why do we scold the Bolshevik communists ? Yes, the heresy of icon veneration triumphed in the Byzantine church. But, since Christianity in Byzantium was the state religion, this heresy eventually spread unhindered and made a significant contribution to leading people away from the true biblical God, which, in turn, subsequently led to the political death of the Byzantine Empire as a state. Any state perishes when the number of errors, heresies and erroneous opinions in the heads of its citizens becomes too great and begins to exceed a certain “critical” value. We would venture to assume that the victorious heresy of icon veneration became the drop that “killed” Byzantium,” wrote D. Pravin . “For every tree is known by its fruit.” (Luke 6:44)

The work of the “holy” Empress Irina was completed in the 9th century by the no less “holy” Empress Theodora, executing over 100 thousand people who refused to venerate icons in 842 and ordering it to be celebrated as the holiday of the “Triumph of Orthodoxy.” (March 11, 843) Sergei Zhuravlev. My path to the living God .

Hand Gestures in Iconography and Their Sacred Meaning

August 11, 2021
All those who study religious icons or pray in front of them know that every detail was not just painted by the icon painter, but has a symbolic meaning. The position of the hands of the saints, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ is no exception. It hides a secret, sacred meaning that all icon lovers should know. Read on to learn about the different hand gestures in iconography and what they symbolize.

Hand gestures in iconography and their sacred meaning

Blessing Hand

The blessing gesture (see photo) can be seen on many icons of saints and Jesus Christ. In this gesture, the fingers of the right hand are folded like the Latin letters I and X or collected into three fingers. This is how icon painters usually depict religious figures who blessed people during their lifetime and had a sacred rank. For example, this includes St. John Chrysostom and St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, among others.

Open palm

Popular symbolic hand gestures in iconography also include the open palm or palm of the righteous. This is how they depict a saint whose thoughts are pure and whose soul is open to the world. The palm facing people seems to signal that the person depicted is a man of faith and truth. Such, for example, were Saints Boris and Gleb. On Orthodox icons they are often depicted with open palms.

Two palms open on the chest

This position of the hands means turning to God and accepting His grace. This is how Saint Anna, the martyr Anastasia and many other saints are depicted in iconography.

Hand near the heart

Saints who hold their hand near their hearts are those righteous people who spent a lot of time in sincere and heartfelt prayer to God. So, for example, they sometimes write St. Seraphim of Sarov, one of the most famous and revered saints in the history of the Russian church.

Crossed arms on chest

This gesture is similar to how believers fold their hands at Communion. In iconography, it symbolizes the saint’s belonging to Christ and a reference to His sacrifice on the cross. The Venerable Mary of Egypt is usually depicted with this gesture. Shortly before her death, she accepted the Sacrament of Christ in order to peacefully enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Hand gestures in iconography are secret symbols that further reveal the essence of Christian teaching. Each element has its own meaning and purpose. We hope you found this article helpful. Stay with us to be the first to learn interesting facts from the world of religious icons.