"Old Testament Trinity": description of the icon. About different icons of the Holy Trinity

The main dogma of Christianity consists in the doctrine of the three persons of one essentially God, who are the Holy Trinity. These three hypostases contained in Him - God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are not merged with each other and are inseparable. Each of them is a manifestation of one of its essences. The Holy Church teaches about the complete unity of the Trinity, which creates the world, provides for it and sanctifies it.

The decoration of the table also attracts attention. If in Rublev it is limited to only one bowl with the head of a calf, which is also full of symbolic meaning and directs the viewer’s thoughts to reflections on the expiatory sacrifice of the Son of God, then in this case the painter emphasized the rich table setting, combined with the exquisite painting of the chairs. Such an abundance of decorativeness is not typical for an icon.

Trinity of the New Testament

The plot of the icons described above is taken from the Old Testament, therefore they are called the Old Testament Trinity. But one cannot ignore the frequently encountered images of the New Testament Trinity - a different version of the image of the Divine Trinity. It is based on the words of Jesus Christ given in the Gospel of John: "I and the Father are one." In this plot, the three Divine hypostases are represented by images of God the Father in the form of a gray-haired old man, God the Son, that is, Christ, in the form of a middle-aged man and the Holy Spirit in

Variants of the image of the New Testament Trinity

This plot is known in several iconographic versions, differing from each other, mainly by the position of the figures depicted in it. The most common of them - "The Throne", represents the frontal image of God the Father and God the Son, seated on thrones or clouds, and the Dove hovering over Them - the Holy Spirit.

Another well-known plot is called "Fatherland". In it, God the Father is represented sitting on a throne with a baby sitting on his lap and holding a sphere in his hands in a blue radiance. Inside it is placed a symbolic image of the Holy Spirit in the form of a Dove.

Controversy over the possibility of portraying God the Father

There are other icon-painting variants of the New Testament Trinity, such as "Crucifixion in the bosom of the Father", "Eternal Light", "Sending Christ to earth" and a number of others. However, despite their wide distribution, disputes over the legitimacy of depicting such plots have not ceased among theologians for centuries.

Skeptics appeal to the fact that, according to the Gospel, no one has ever seen God the Father, and therefore it is impossible to portray him. In support of their opinion, they mention the Great Moscow Cathedral of 1666-1667, the 43rd paragraph of the decree forbids the image of God the Father, which at one time gave rise to the withdrawal of many icons from use.

Their opponents also base their claims on the gospel, citing the words of Christ: "He who has seen me has seen my Father." One way or another, but the New Testament Trinity, despite disputes, is firmly included in the plots of icons revered by the Orthodox Church. By the way, all of the listed variants of the New Testament Trinity appeared in Russian art relatively late. Until the 16th century they were unknown.

God is an invisible Spirit, but He appeared to holy people in a visible way. Therefore, on the icons we depict God in the form in which He appeared.

Holy Trinity we depict in the form of three angels sitting at the table. This is because in the form of three angels the Lord once appeared to Abraham. In order to visualize the spirituality of those who appeared to Abraham, we sometimes depict them with wings.

Images of the Holy Trinity

Each of the Persons of the Holy Trinity is separately depicted as follows: God the Father- as old man because He appeared to some of the prophets that way.

God the Son, is depicted in the form in which He was when He descended to earth for our salvation and became a man: a baby in the arms of the Mother of God; teaching the people and performing miracles; transforming; suffering on the cross; lying in a coffin; resurrected and ascended.

Baptism of Jesus Christ

God Holy Spirit shown as pigeon: so He revealed Himself during the baptism of the Savior in the Jordan from John the Baptist; and in the form fiery tongues: so He descended in a visible way on the holy apostles on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles

QUESTIONS: If God is an invisible Spirit, then why is He depicted on holy icons in a visible way? How do we depict the Most Holy Trinity on holy icons, and why do we depict it in this way? How do we depict God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit on the holy icon, and why do we depict it this way?

About the image of God the Father in the Orthodox Church

God is absolutely indescribable in His being, incomprehensible in His essence, and unknowable. As if dressed in the impregnable darkness of incomprehensibility. Not only are attempts to depict God in His essence unthinkable, but any definitions cannot encompass and express the essence of God, it is impregnable for human consciousness, it is an impregnable darkness of God's essence.

Theology itself can only be apophatic, that is, composed in negative terms: Incomprehensible, Unapproachable, Unknowable. Saint Gregory Palamas, in his defense of the Orthodox doctrine of the uncreated Tabor light, teaches to unmistakably distinguish between the divine, completely unknowable essence and the Divine in His action directed towards the created world, in His providential concern for every creation. Palamas teaches to distinguish between the being of God and His divine energy-forces, radiations of grace that holds the world.

The providential Divine action in the world is accessible to consciousness, cognizable, God turned to the world, God extending to the world His care, His love, His never-ending care. This is the wisdom that arranges everything, the light of the world that enlightens everything, the love of God that fills everything, this is the revelation of God - the manifestation of God to the world. And the world is arranged by God in such a way as to perceive, accommodate this divine action, to take on this royal seal, to become entirely royal property. The ultimate meaning and purpose of all created things is to become God's property.

The entire universe as a whole and each creation in its unique, unique features, hide in themselves, as it were, some mysterious story about the Creator.

Therefore, it is wrong to speak of God the Father as a hypostasis surrounded by complete darkness. From the very creation of the world, we see God the Father in His unceasing care for the world, in unceasing care for the human race and in unceasing communication with people, up to the appearance of Himself, visibly and tangibly, to Abraham and Sarah in the form of one of the three Angels.

The entire history of Israel in the Old Testament is filled with the care of God the Father for the chosen people. St. Gregory the Theologian says this about Israel's communion with God the Father: "Israel was primarily turned to God the Father." And this closeness of the Lord of hosts to his chosen people was, first of all, closeness to the prophets. God the Father, as it were, gave Himself to be contemplated, showed His image with possible clarity, and perhaps one of the most complete revelations was given to the prophet Daniel in the vision of the court, in which God the Father, as it were, spiritually traces His image, reveals His Fatherly Face. Here is the prophetic testimony of Daniel (VII, 9, 13, 14): “Finally, I saw that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down; His robe was white as snow, and the hair of His head was a pure wave; His throne - Like a flame of fire, His wheels are a blazing fire... I saw in my night visions, behold, with the clouds of heaven, it was as if the Son of Man was walking, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was brought to Him. all peoples, tribes and languages have served him, his dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will not be destroyed.” But only in the light of the Incarnation, and only in it, does the image of God the Father become possible.

In worship, in its pictorial part, we see a symbolic image of God the Father. At Great Vespers, while the clergy are singing "Bless the Lord, O my soul... Thou hast done all wisdom," from the altar, through the royal gates, the priest, preceded by the deacon, comes out for incense, and bypasses the temple. Here the priest marks God the Father, who creates the universe, and is, as it were, an icon of God the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth. But even in the pictorial part of the liturgy, similar to the incense on "Lord, I cried," we do not see a self-sufficient image of God the Father, but only in mutual relation to the other two hypostases or in providential care for the universe, and in this sense the negative attitude of the Church Fathers to the image God the Father remains in force and acts in the Church, despite such a wealth of patristic images.

There is a prophetic definition, not rejected by the Church, that at the end of the ages a temple dedicated to God the Father will be erected. Great and glorious in all nations, this temple will be the possible fullness of the revelation of God the Father in the Church. Such fullness of the manifestation of the Father precedes the Last Judgment, where the Father passes the Judgment to the Son, the Son judges the universe by the will of the Father.

Many times and under different circumstances, the question arose in the Church of how the first hypostasis, God the Father, should be depicted, and whether the icon of God the Father has a place at all in a number of church images. Judgments related to this issue were sometimes contradictory. And this inconsistency, it seems to us, is not accidental. Such apparent duality is inherent in the very life of the "Paternal" images.

The question of the image of God the Father took place already at the Seventh Ecumenical Council, although not in the order of a formal discussion. And the opinions expressed by St. John of Damascus and St. Theodore the Studite, the great defenders of the veneration of icons, reject the image of God the Father. One of the main reasons for the rejection of such an image is that God the Father, depicted in a human form, can create the impression or give rise to the idea of some of his eternal human likeness. St. John of Damascus says: "We do not portray the Lord the Father because we do not see Him, if we saw Him, we would portray."

From the words spoken at the Council in defense of icons, the Word of John of Thessaloniki attracts attention: “We make icons of those who were people and servants of God and wore flesh. icons of God, that is, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, then we depict Him as He was seen on earth, being among people.

In the further development of consciousness associated with the veneration of icons, such a kind of materialistic basis has undergone significant changes. The circle of images included not only those who were people and holy servants of God and wore flesh, but also images of the Angelic world, images of Angels, which, if they were visible, this phenomenon could not be called "wearing the flesh." Rather, it can be said that the Angels were clothed in a visible image as a symbol that speaks of their incorporeal nature. Icons also arose, which were not only pure evidence of the unconditionally visible, but rather filled with doctrinal and dogmatic content.

In Russia, at the Stoglav Cathedral (1551), the question of images of God the Father arose again. The council was presented for discussion with a letter drawn up by a certain clerk Viskovaty, in which this clerk questions the admissibility of images of God the Father. These doubts were caused, apparently, by painting, produced in the newly rebuilt palace of Tsar Ivan the Terrible by Novgorod icon painters. Dyak Viskovaty presented a list of icons containing the image of God the Father, and demanded their removal from church use. The petition of the clerk was considered separately, already after the meetings of the Council. Dyak Viskovaty was not recognized as right, and his petition was rejected. The decision was made in general terms, without considering each image individually. It seems that the providential significance of such a decision was that the Council, having accepted icons with very controversial iconography, preserved and adopted that icon, without which it is unthinkable to imagine the Church. This is an icon of the Holy Trinity - the Trinity of Abraham, as defined in the letter of the clerk Viskovaty. This icon was included in the list of those subject to seizure on the grounds that it contains an image of God the Father. Stoglav approved the image of the Trinity with special permission.

A few years later, the next discussion of the images of God the Father took place at the Great Moscow Council (1655). This Council, in contrast to Stoglav, completely rejects the image of God the Father, making an exception only for the images of the Apocalypse, where it considers the image of God the Father acceptable "for the sake of visions there." For the sake of the visions of God the Father in the form of the Elder, the Old Denmi, given in Revelation.

The prohibition of the Great Moscow Council has a warning character. The concern of the Council is determined by the fear that the human image of God the Father may inspire the idea of the human likeness of the first Person of the Holy Trinity. The Great Moscow Cathedral also points to the inadmissibility of the icon, which bore the name "Fatherland" and was widely used.

This icon is placed in the upper ancestral rank of the iconostasis, it seems to overshadow the entire temple, and, according to the iconographic plan, seeks to express the paternal nature of the first Person with the greatest fullness.

This icon is very ancient in origin - the first of the surviving images dates back to the beginning of the 11th century and is preserved in the Vatican Library. This is a miniature placed in the manuscript of John Klimach (from the book by Adelheim Geiman). Its iconography is fully developed and complete and differs little from the icons of the 16th and 17th centuries, which were placed on iconostases.

God the Father is depicted as an old man seated on a throne. The appearance of the elder is majestic and calm, both hands are raised in blessing. The face is bordered by a gray, rather long and somewhat forked beard. Strands of hair are also divided in two in the middle, as is usually depicted by the Savior, and fall over the shoulders. The facial features are solemnly blessed. The vestment consists of two clothes: a tunic that falls to the very ground, and a tunic - a robe similar to the one in which the Savior is depicted. All the folds of the robe of God the Father are pierced with thin golden rays, an asist, signifying the radiation of divine forces-energies. These rays cover the upper and lower garments of God the Father and the throne and the footstool. The head of God the Father is crowned, according to the church establishment, with a nimbus, usually inherent in the image of only God the Father or the Savior, where He is depicted in the glory of the Father - for example, on the icons the Angel of Silence, Old Denmi. The crown consists of two squares: one is fiery, testifying to the divinity of the Lord, the other is black-green (or blue-black), marking the darkness of the incomprehensibility of the Deity. Such a crown, but not in the form of a halo, covering the entire image, is found on some icons of the Mother of God, for example, the Burning Bush. On the knees of God the Father is depicted the Eternal Infant God the Son. His robes, just like the robes of the Father, are enlightened by golden rays - asist. The head is crowned with a crossed halo. The head of the Divine Infant rests upright, his facial features are imperious. The forehead is disproportionately large in commemoration of divine omniscience. The position of the body of the seated Divine Infant is as free and majestic as the position of the body of the Father. In the bowels of Emmanuel, the Holy Spirit is depicted in the form of a dove. The Holy Spirit is surrounded by a blue sphere pierced by the rays emanating from Him. The savior usually holds the sphere surrounding the dove with both hands. Sometimes the Savior is depicted with two blessing hands, like the Father.

If we return to the Fatherland icon and look at its construction, it becomes clear how this icon strives to become an icon of the Trinity and cannot completely become one. In its construction, it incorrectly matches the images of Persons. The main movement of this image is, as it were, a movement inward. God the Father in the image of an old man, as it were, completely absorbs the images of the Son and the Holy Spirit with His majestic outlines. And the Holy Spirit, depicted as a dove, is immeasurably small in relation to the first and second Persons. It turns out the image of the Trinity, aspiring, as it were, into Itself, in which the dignity of the Persons is consistently diminished. Just as, for example, the image of three Persons on the cross, in which the Lord of Hosts, placed at the top of the cross, blesses, and the Holy Spirit overshadows the crucified Lord with wings, does not completely and in its entirety represent the image of the Holy Trinity. The same can be said about the icon, often placed in the iconostasis, the "Seat at the right hand of the Father", or, as it is often called, the "New Testament Trinity".

The basis of this icon was the desire to portray the Lord Jesus Christ after the ascension of His seated Father at the right hand. God the Father is usually depicted on the right side of the icon in the image of an Elder sitting on a throne, in royal robes, enlightened by the rays, in a royal crown. In his left hand, the Father holds an orb. The head of God the Father is surrounded by an eight-pointed nimbus inscribed in a round nimbus. With his right hand, God the Father usually blesses Christ, whose image is placed on the left side of the icon. The Savior, like God the Father, has a royal crown on his head, and His head is surrounded by the baptismal nimbus usual for the Savior. The clothes of Christ are like the clothes of the Father. The face of Christ is turned to the Father and, as it were, receives a blessing from Him. At the top is placed a dove enclosed in a triangle or in a rounded sphere - the Holy Spirit.

In this icon, we see how, due to some inner need, the icon "Seating at the right hand of the Father" turned into the icon "Trinity", and just like the icon "Fatherland", did not fully express the image of the Trinity. Looking at the main outlines of this icon, you see how diminished, how inferior the place occupied by the image of the Holy Spirit, which is the link between the images of the first and second Persons and is devoid of a completely hypostatic image. And God the Father is depicted with the same material power as Christ, and such materiality of the image, according to many Church Fathers, can cause a false idea of His nature. And here we see the same impossibility to create an immutable and completely perfect image expressing an event.

In the same way, or even more controversially, the Persons of the Holy Trinity are depicted on the star and in many other cases, for example, on the antimension. The Holy Trinity, although represented by a direct or often symbolic image of three Persons, does not find its absolutely unconditional image.

Looking at the icon "Fatherland", you see what insoluble, what painful difficulties arise in the Church in connection with the image of God the Father, and especially with this image. The image of God the Father, the emergence of which was born from a certain need to have such an image, as it were, does not find the right place for itself. If the images of the first Person were presented as independent images, that measure of abstinence regarding the image of God the Father, which the Church adheres to, would be violated. And indeed, in the Church there was not and is not such a self-sufficient icon of God the Father, as there is no dedication of the temple to God the Father, or a holiday in which the celebration would refer directly to the Father. And by virtue of such a dispensation, the very image of God the Father gives rise to the need not to be isolated, but to be depicted with the second and third Persons of the Holy Trinity, with the Son and the Holy Spirit ...

The need to think of God the Father is not in any way false, it is the very life of the Church and will never dry up. But the need that creates the image of the Trinity, proceeding from the image of God the Father, does not find a completely correct solution. Such an image of the Holy Trinity is not clothed in heavenly glory, does not shine with equal unity, becomes a mountain that does not have a snow-white peak. Here we see some, as it seems to us, insurmountable incompleteness, which lies in the fact that the equality of the Persons of the Holy Trinity does not find its expression. In all these constructions, the third hypostasis - the hypostasis of the Holy Spirit - is not depicted personally, it does not have the fullness of hypostatic dignity. In all these icons, the Holy Spirit is invariably depicted as a dove, and this image cannot be equal to the image of the Father and the Son, for the images of which the image of a man is taken. And therefore, all the icons of the Trinity so conceived, which are not devoid of meaning in themselves, cannot become that immutable full-fledged icon, that holy seal that fully imprints the dogmatic religion of the Trinity.

The opinions of the fathers regarding the images of God the Father on icons, adopted by the Seventh Ecumenical Council, are negative. The Council recognizes it inappropriate to portray the Father, whom, according to the Savior, no one has seen. In the judgment of the fathers, the image of God the Father is not recognized as appropriate and even admissible. And at the same time, the Church is full of images of the Lord of hosts. We see the images of God the Father in the temple painting, in the dome of the temple, on the iconostasis in the rank of the forefathers, in many icons, such as "Theophany", "Fatherland", "Trinity", "God of hosts in glory, Sitting on the Cherubim." These icons are found everywhere where the Orthodox Church is, and belong to different times. There are Byzantine images of the 11th and 12th centuries and later, many Russian icons from different times. Especially iconographically rich time, in relation to the image of God the Father, are, apparently, the 16th and 17th centuries.

How to explain this seemingly irreconcilable contradiction? Are all these images heretical, false, completely alien to the Church and, therefore, subject to withdrawal and complete destruction, or is the prohibition of images of God the Father not unconditional? One must think that the prohibitions to portray God the Father are not ontological in nature, they are not prohibitions that, in their very essence and completely, deny the possibility of depicting God the Father, but are restrictive, ascetic measures, with the goal of imposing fasting on the images of God the Father. .

The first and main reason for such a restriction, I think, was the need to firmly establish the foundation on which the veneration of icons rests. The foundation approved by the Seventh Ecumenical Council is the dogma of the Incarnation. Here is the basis and affirmation of the sacred images: God, not describable as Deity, became describable as flesh, and since the invisible Deity became visible and tangible flesh, it can be depicted and describable. The image of Christ - the imprinted hypostasis - unites two natures together, and this incarnation of God is for us the basis of the icon, as it were the icon of icons. Just as a stone placed at the head of a corner brings together the two walls of a building, Christ, the incarnate Word, unites in Himself two unmerged hypostases: the indescribable Deity and the described humanity. And in this sense, the veneration of icons became possible only by Christ and through Christ, and there can be no other basis. The image of the God-Man Christ became a sign of church victory and the foundation that the Savior Himself gave to the Church by imprinting His image on the ubrus. And the Fathers of the Church, who defended the veneration of icons, invariably establish this unshakable foundation with their labors. The icon of God the Father is conceivable in the light of the icon of Christ. In the minds of believers, a kind of bifurcation could occur, the image of Christ, as it were, was doubled by the image of God the Father. The prohibition to depict God the Father is reminiscent of the prohibition of the Old Testament to create sacred images. Here and there, this prohibition does not deny the possibility of the image itself, but imposes a ban on sacred images, similar to the prohibitions of fasting in relation to food. Fasting does not essentially cancel the eating of food, but for the time being it withholds from them. And just as in the Old Testament the depiction of the Cherubim in the tabernacle of the Testament was an exhaustion of the prohibition of sacred images, so in the New Testament Church, the custom, which has firmly entered church life, to place images of God the Father on icons has already deprived the prohibition of an immutable character, made it, as it were, clarified, not at all impenetrable. These decrees began to resemble a veil that does not allow light to penetrate in full force, but is not a source of complete darkness.

We see the same thing in the liturgical system. The Church does not know holidays dedicated exclusively to God the Father, but celebrates the Father, "worshipped in the Trinity" on the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, on Theophany, and especially on Pentecost - the Descent of the Holy Spirit, a holiday that introduces us to the fullness of the knowledge of God: Trinity - the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit - is celebrated in worship by the position of two icons on the lectern: the icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and the icon of the Holy Trinity. This latter can be considered as the basis for the icons depicting God the Father.

From the book Sect Studies author Dvorkin Alexander Leonidovich

Appendix 2. Excerpts from the Definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church “On Certain Issues of the Internal Life and External Activities of the Church” (February 1997)

From the book Living Ear author John of Kronstadt

I. On Faith and the Orthodox Church. Enemies of the Faith and the Church Know Christianity in all its spirit, the plan of God, in its whole idea, the majestic breadth, goodness, wisdom and truth of God, marvel at the greatness of the work of God, the work of saving the human race, humbly and faithfully

From the book of the Rules of the Holy Orthodox Church with interpretations author Milos Bishop Nikodim

On the Rules of the Orthodox Church Rules (???????) are those written definitions that the legislative power of the Church has issued over the course of several centuries and which are still in force in the Orthodox Church, as positive and generally binding laws for

From the book History of the Local Orthodox Churches author Skurat Konstantin Efimovich

11. Ties of the Greek Orthodox Church with the Russian Orthodox Church in the past and present Between the Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches there have long been fraternal ties. During the Turkish domination, the champions of the liberation movement laid their

From the book Where did it all come from? author Rogozin Pavel Iosifovich

6. The position of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the conflict between the Synod of the Albanian Orthodox Church and Constantinople

From the book Documents of the Bishops' Council of the Russian Orthodox Church, 2011 of the author

9. Relations between the Orthodox Church in America and the Russian Orthodox Church The proclamation of the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church in America initiated the development of good relations between it and the Moscow Patriarchate. Yes, April 21, 1970. in the funeral of the deceased Holy

From the book Explanatory Bible. Volume 10 author Lopukhin Alexander

Infallibility of the Orthodox Church I know your deeds; you bear the name, as if alive, but you are dead ... I do not find that your deeds were perfect ... From. 3, 1-2 Not recognizing and even condemning the dogma of the infallibility of the pope, the Orthodox Church established a different kind of authority: "unity,

From the book Do they give the seal of the Antichrist today? author Kuraev Andrey Vyacheslavovich

The attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards intentional public blasphemy and slander against the Church

From the book Orthodox Teaching on Church Hierarchy: An Anthology of Patristic Texts author Zadornov Alexander

45. It is written in the prophets: and all will be taught by God. Everyone who has heard from the Father and learned comes to Me. 46. It is not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He saw the Father. The Lord just said that God Himself draws people to faith in Christ. Now he

From the book Apologetics author Zenkovsky Vasily Vasilievich

41. You do the work of your father. To this they said to Him: We are not born of fornication; we have one Father, God. 42. Jesus said to them: If God were your Father, then you would love me, because I came from God and came; for I did not come of myself, but he sent me. 43. Why don't you understand

From the book of St. Tikhon. Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia author Markova Anna A.

Message of the Holy Synod of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to the clergy, monastics and all faithful children of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church November 5, 1998 Beloved in the Lord fathers, brothers and sisters! Today we are all concerned about the critical situation that has developed in our

From the book Voices from Russia. Essays on the history of the collection and transmission abroad of information about the situation of the Church in the USSR. 1920s - early 1930s author Kosik Olga Vladimirovna

Greetings from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus' Beloved children of the Holy Russian Orthodox Church in the Lord! Prepared by the Publishing Council and the Educational Committee of the Russian Orthodox Church, the collection "Orthodox Teaching on the Church

From the book The First Book of an Orthodox Believer author Mikhalitsyn Pavel Evgenievich

The teaching of the Orthodox Church. The Orthodox Church does not know the doctrine of "purgatory", but firmly teaches that the soul lives after death. In the order of burial we find abundant material about this. In one of the prayers, the Church prays: “The soul of Your servant, Savior, rest in peace, keeping it in blessed

From the author's book

2 Excerpt from a letter from A. D. Samarin to leaders of the Church Abroad, outlining the events in the Russian Orthodox Church COPY May 1924

From the author's book

Sacraments of the Orthodox Church For the assimilation of salvation given through the Church (and for the manifestation of faith on the part of a person), the Lord established special visible mediations, sacred actions, called sacraments. The power of Divine Grace working through these sacraments

At last I saw that thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days sat down; His raiment was as white as snow, and the hair of His head was like a pure wave; His throne is like a flame of fire, His wheels are a blazing fire. The fiery river went out and passed before Him; thousands upon thousands served Him, and so many darknesses stood before Him; the judges sat down, and the books were opened (vv. 9, 10). Let us heighten our attention, beloved, for this is not about unimportant subjects. The thrones, he says, are set, and the Ancient of Days sits down. Who is he? Just as when you heard about a bear, you didn’t mean a bear, and when you heard about a lion, you didn’t mean him, but kingdoms, and when you heard about the sea, you didn’t mean the sea, but the universe, and so on, so now. Who is this Ancient of Days? He was like an old man. God assumes forms according to the requirements of the circumstances in which He appears, and (here) shows that judgment should be entrusted to the elders. When you hear about the throne, you will not understand the seat; how can one understand an ordinary person by sitting, when in one place He appears armed (Wis. 5:18), in another - covered in blood (Is. 63:3)? Here the prophet wants to express that the time of judgment (has come). His garment was as white as snow. Why? Because the time has come not only for judgment, but also for retribution; because all need to stand before Him; because my judgment, as the prophet says, is like an ascending light (Hos. 6:5). Then the thrones were placed. Are not those thrones about which Christ says: You will also sit on twelve thrones (Matt. 19:28)? And the hair of His head is like a pure wave. The fire did not destroy anything, it was harmless. Do you see here the image of the state and the people? The throne was terrible because it had a lot of fire, and not just fire, but like a flame of fire. Lest you think that it is used for comparison, the prophet also indicated its action, saying that it was not just fire, but like a flame of fire. The fiery river went out and passed before Him; Thousands of thousands served Him, and so many darknesses stood before Him, the judges sat down, that is, He came to judge. And the books were opened. What are you saying? Does God need books, who knows everything before his existence (Dan. 13:42), created their hearts one by one and examines all their deeds (Ps. 32:15)? No, this is said in relation to the custom of the chiefs, just as records are used among us. Just as we read records not only for the chief to know the case, but so that the justice of the court can be seen, so here too: although the righteous Judge knows, he opens the books. For what? What do you want to say? And why doesn't he talk about honors? He said: Thrones were set up, as a sign that God had ordained honors; but because we disobeyed, He appointed punishment and torment. Isn't that the same appeal made to us by Christ? From that time, says the evangelist, Jesus began to preach and say: Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand (Matthew 4:17). Do not understand here, beloved, anything corporeal, and do not think that the infinite God is encircled by the throne. If all the ends of the earth are in His hand (Ps. 94:4), if He weighed the mountains on the scales, if the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are counted like a speck of dust on the scales, as He Himself says (Is. 40:12,15) , then what place can embrace Him all? No, He was not covered by the throne. But if He had clothes, how did the fire not consume them? What is the name of the Ancient of Days He Who exists before all ages? How can He be old? And You, says the Psalmist, are the same (Ps. 101:28). How can He be old? And Your years, they say, will not fail (Ps. 101:28). How could the Boundless and the Incorporeal have clothes? And His greatness, says the Psalmist, has no end (Ps. 145:3); and again: if I ascend to heaven - You are there, if I go down to hell - You remain there (Ps. 139: 8). How then was He clothed in human clothes and the fire did not consume it? However, the prophet could see much more. How did the hair not burn in the fire? Therefore the prophet added: His throne is like a flame of fire. And the books were opened, so that whoever is condemned is condemned through his own fault. I saw then that for speaking the arrogant words that the horn spoke, the beast was slain before my eyes, and his body was crushed (v. 11) for arrogance, although Alexander bowed to God. And committed to burning fire. And the power of the rest of the beasts was taken away, and the continuation of life was given to them only for a time and for a period (v. 12). Although their power ended, but life remained. The beast was slain before my eyes, and his body was crushed and given over to the burning fire. This expresses perfect destruction. I saw in night visions, behold, it was as if the Son of man was walking with the clouds of heaven (v. 13). Who doesn't know this? Who can't see this? Isn't that what Peter or Paul says, O Jew? He came to the Ancient of Days and was brought to Him. This shows that they have equal honor. He was brought up to him (v. 18). So that when you see that the kingdom is given to Him, you do not understand the word: it is given according to human beings, the prophet says: with the clouds of heaven. Clouds Scripture usually designate the sky. And unto him was given dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all nations, tribes, and tongues should serve him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom will not be destroyed (v. 14). What, tell me, could be clearer than this? All peoples, he says, tribes and languages served Him. See how the prophet embraced all the peoples of the world. See how (the Son of Man) also received the power of judgment. And lest you think that this is only for a time, he says: His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom will not be destroyed, but stands and abides. If you do not believe this, then be convinced by your deeds. Do you see His equality with the Father? Since He appeared after the Father, the prophet says that He came with the clouds. And that He was before, this is evident from the fact that He comes with the clouds. And He was given power, i.e. the one he had. That all peoples, tribes and languages serve Him. He had power before, and then he accepted the very one that he had. In what sense do you understand the hair of the Father and so on, understand this also. Hearing: given, and the like, do not think of the Son of anything human, or low. Just as when you see the Ancient of Days, you do not understand the elder, so understand the rest. Do not look for clarity in prophecies, where there are shadows and fortune-telling, just as you do not look for permanent light in lightning, but are content with the fact that it only flashes. My spirit trembled in me, Daniel, in my body, and the visions of my head troubled me (v. 15). Of course, he was embarrassed by what he contemplated. He was the first and alone to see the Father and the Son, as if in a vision. What can the Jews say to this? Since the forthcoming coming of the Son was already near, it is right that wonderful visions appear.
(John Chrysostom (volume 6 book 2 interpretation on the prophet Daniel chapter 7)

Is it possible to portray God the Father?

Recently, more and more often one hears the opinion about the incompetence of this image. Since a fallen person by himself cannot understand this or that ecclesiastical issue, then, according to the advice of the sacred scripture: “Put everything to the test; keep good" to Fessan, chapter 5, article 21, we will try to understand this issue.

For the Orthodox Christian, there are three divine sources that are indisputable authority: this

1) Holy Bible

2) sacred tradition

3) patristic heritage

In order, let's first turn to the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 1, article 18, it says “No one has ever seen God. Only God, the only Son who is near the Father, has revealed Him to us.”

The Lord Jesus Christ Himself testifies: “Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to Me. It doesn't mean that anyone saw Father. Only He who came from God, He alone saw the Father.” Ev. from John ch.6 st.45-46.

At the request of the Apostle Philip to show the Father, the Lord reproaches him: “I have been with you for so long, and you do not know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father. How do you say, “Show us the Father? John ch. 14. v. 8-9 i.e. if you want to see the Father, then look at Me. Therefore, those who want to see the Father, let them look at the icon of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul in his epistle to (Colos 1.15.) says: “Christ is the image invisible god. In the epistle to (Timothy 1.17.) he says: “The King of eternity, the immortal , invisible, to the only God honor and glory forever and ever! Amen." (to Tim. 6.16.); "He lives in an impregnable light - His nobody saw of people and can not see. To him honor and eternal power. Amen."

And so the Holy Scripture of the New Testament speaks of the indescribability of God the Father.

Let us turn to the second source, to the Holy Tradition of the Church.

“Why do we not describe the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because we haven't seen Him. And if we saw and knew Him, as well as His Son, then we would try to describe and picturesquely depict Him (the Father) ... ”(Acts VII Ecumenical Council, Act 4) - say the fathers of this Council.

The Stoglavy Cathedral, convened in Moscow in 1551, giving an order to icon painters, defined in its 43rd canon the fundamental indescribability of the Deity. This was also confirmed by the Great Moscow Cathedral, which met in 1666-1667. In the 43rd chapter of the Acts of this Council, which is called “On icon painters and Sabaoth,” a quite clear decision was given: “From now on, the image of the Lord of Hosts should not be written in ridiculous and indecent visions, for no one of Hosts has seen in the flesh, as it is painted, that is, depicted according to the flesh, and not according to the Godhead. The Lord of Sabaoth with the gray hair and the Only Begotten Son in His womb to write on icons and a dove between Them, it is very absurd and indecent to eat.

So, the anthropomorphic image of God the Father of St. the fathers always rejected, and they considered it ignorant to portray such images. Moreover, the icon performs doctrinal functions, so a falsely understood image is dangerous, because it carries distorted information and becomes heretical.

The fathers of the Great Moscow Cathedral, who gave an unequivocal order to remove images from churches and chapels that do not correspond to Orthodox teaching.

The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church in 1776 issued the following decision: “It was decided by a council that this alleged icon of the Holy Trinity is an innovation, alien and not accepted by the Apostolic, Catholic, Orthodox Church. It penetrated into the Orthodox Church from the Latins.”

On I th Ecumenical Council in Nicaea in 325, the heretic Arius told the fathers of the Council that since He is the Father, it means that He is older than the Son, therefore there is no fullness of divinity in the Son. The Holy Fathers of the Ecumenical Council answered him that in humanity the father is older than the son, and in divinity they are co-eternal. There is no ambiguous conclusion that the icon of God the Father in the form of an old man preaches the Arian heresy, which was cursed on I th Ecumenical Council, distorts the feeling of the heart, informs the heart of the fruit of our imagination, fills a person with a Catholic mentality.

Unfortunately, even in the Law of God it is said that His, i.e. The Old Testament prophets saw the Father in this form. What is the answer to this...?! It only remains to turn to the liturgical texts, which, according to Hieromartyr Hilarion (Troitsky), are the source of the uncomplicated, purest theology of the Catholic Orthodox Church.

“Ancient in days, Even the law of old in Sinai gave to Moses, today the Child is seen and according to the law, as the Creator of the law, fulfilling the law, is brought to the temple, and is given to the elder ...” a stichera on the Litium of the Presentation. “Today, Simeon lifts up the glory of the Lord into the hands of Him, even under the darkness, the first Moses saw, on Mount Sinaistey giving the tablets to Him. This is, He who speaks in the prophets and the creator of the law ... ”stichera on the litia of the Germanic Candlemas.

“The Ancient of Days, having been in infancy in the flesh, the Mother of the Virgin brings His law to the church, fulfilling the promise ...” Stichera on the litia of the Presentation on and now. And here is the irmos of the 5th song of the canon for the Candlemas, I cite in Russian translation, so that it would be clearer. “When Isaiah saw in the type of God exalted on the throne, surrounded solemnly by the angels of glory, he exclaimed: O me, wretched ! I foresaw the future to come true God endowed with unstoppable light and peace."

“You were seen in the prophets, as if powerfully by Jesus, You can see in ancient times, but now, God’s Word, the flesh of the whole world appeared to you by the will of the Virgin Mary, Christ, your salvation to all beings from Adam showed you, like a Lover of mankind.” Verse on the verse of the Presentation.

« God cannot be seen by man but the officials of the angels do not dare to look at Him; By you, the All-Pure One, appearing as a man, the Word is embodied, His majestic, with heavenly howls, we appease Thee. irmos 9 canon songs

I think these texts are quite enough to make sure that all the divine visions of the Old Testament prophets related to the Second Hypostasis of the All-Holy Trinity, i.e. to our Lord Jesus Christ.

And the name "Sabaoth" means "God of hosts" or "God of armies", refers to the entire Trinity, and not to any one person (hypostasis), for it is said: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of Hosts ..."

Now let us turn to the third source, to the holy fathers of the Church of St. John of Damascus teaches that God is depicted in the flesh only in the face of Jesus Christ, who was born of the Ever-Virgin Mary. Only in this case "the indescribable deity is described according to humanity." St. Cyril of Alexandria writes about it this way: “What does it mean “reached the Ancient of Days” - is it spatial? This would be ignorance, because the Divine is not in space, but fulfills everything. What does it mean to “reach the Ancient of Days?” It means that the Son has reached the glory of the Father.”

Maxim the Greek rejected this icon, because he had never seen anything like it “in any land” and believed that the icon painters had composed this image from themselves.

St. Basil the Great taught. “God has no outline. He is simple. Do not fantasize about His structure. Do not lock God into your bodily ideas, do not limit Him to the measure of your mind.

And so we see that the icon of the "New Testament Trinity" and in particular the image of God the Father in the form of an old man is heretical and does not contribute to salvation, but removes from it, because it is said that heretics do not inherit the Kingdom of God.

sexton Dimitri