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Hello all. I have a question which I have just begun to look into and wondered if anyone here knew anything about it off hand.
I recently purchased an icon, done in Greece, and afterward (why afterward I do not know; I think I merely hadn't thought of it at the time) noted that there was an image of God the Father there in the form of an old man with a grey/white beard and hair, etc.
Now, I am an iconodule through and through, let me first state this outright. However, I must confess that I am not entirely comfortable with an image of God the Father. Christ, of course, since He was incarnate in the flesh, and thus we may have an image of Him. The Holy Spirit was revealed in the form/symbol of a dove, thus, it would seem appropriate that we might use that same symoblism to represent the Holy Spirit. But of God the Father, it seems to my own unlearned theology, that this may be somewhat inappropriate, at least in this "old man" form.
But, the point is I do not know. Clearly there seems to be a division on this issue. Some Orthodox and Catholics have such images -- hence they must approve of them -- whereas as some authors I have read (such as Leonid Ouspensky, etc.) would point to this as improper and a corruption.
I have seen an image of the Trinity where all three look the same as Christ, and with this I haven't as much of an objection since I can understand how we could use the same incarnate figure of Christ to represent the Father being as He is the image of the invisible God. But as an old man, I am not sure.
Thoughts?
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As always in iconography, it depends!
It depends on what aspect of the Reality is being depicted, and how one presumes to read the icon.
If one considers the "old man" to represent change due to time, to corruption of the flesh due to sin, then the icon is apocryphal.
If however, the Son is the image of the Father, if the Son Proceeds from the Father (i.e. the Father comes before the Son), and if the Old Man represents Wisdom and not corruption, then the icon is Orthodox.
Rublev used "The Hospitality of Abraham" as the source for his depiction of the Trinity as three identical angels and then discriminated them by their relation to the others.
My suspicion is that the font for the "Old Man" Trinity icons is the Creed. In my opinion, it is an authentic depiction of the faith.
I prefer the Rublev depiction because he better demonstrates the Unity that exists in the three persons. This is not quite so apparent in the "old Man" icons.
Then again, no icon is sufficient to portray the faith. Each requires all of the others to convey a unified whole. This is similar to our conception of Scripture. No quotation can be interpreted outside of the entire Scripture. To do so would destroy the fundamental Unity that is the Word that is the Scripture that is the Icon that is the manifestation of Jesus Christ.
For what its worth.
John
[ 05-18-2002: Message edited by: Petrus ]
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 SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU! SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU! There are a number of old Russian ikons from the 16th century that depict God the Father. One of the most popular is called The NEW TESTAMENT TRINITY. It usually depicts the Father seated on a throne with the Son to His left and then the Holy Spirit in between them both. Usually there is the world with them and it is topped with a 3-bar cross. They are all surround by all the choirs of angels. This particular style of ikon is very popular among the Old Believers. You can see "cartoons" for this style of ikon in the book THE ICON HANDBOOK by David Coomler. the least servant of the servants of God the ikon-writer mark
the ikon writer
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Dear SR,
It is true that the canons of Orthodox iconography do not permit the depiction of God the Father, except as in the Old Testament Trinity.
There are only four official icons of the Trinity accepted by the East: Old Testament Trinity, Baptism of Christ, Pentecost and the Transfiguration.
The depiction of God the Father as an "Old Man" is also found and this depiction is meant to convey Daniel's anthropomorphic idea of the "Ancient of Days."
Alex
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The icon I have is the tree of life where it depicts the apostles on the branches and the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
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An Interesting thought! Has it entered anyones mind about Rublevs Icon of the Holy Trinity?
Just a thought that popped into my mind, since Jesus Christ is the express image of the Father, could he too not be represented to the senses, now that the incarnation has taken place?
Stephanos I
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Dear All-Holiness Stephanos,
Yes, it is because Christ is the Incarnate Son of God that He CAN be depicted in Icons.
St Andrei Rubleev also indicated a prophecy about the Incarnation in his Old Testament Trinity.
The middle Angel is the Son of God, wearing the traditional robes of Christ, red underneath for His Divinity and blue, symbolizing Humanity, that is wrapped around Him, as He "wrapped Himself" in our Humanity.
He also bears the High Priestly ribband and is blessing the cup on the table with His Hand shaped in the Christogram, with middle finger bent and joined to the index finger, that He "bent the Heavens" and came down to earth etc.
The cup itself is a prophecy concerning the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Alex
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Dear All-Holiness Stephanos,
Yes, it is because Christ is the Incarnate Son of God that He CAN be depicted in Icons.
St Andrei Rubleev also indicated a prophecy about the Incarnation in his Old Testament Trinity.
The middle Angel is the Son of God, wearing the traditional robes of Christ, red underneath for His Divinity and blue, symbolizing Humanity, that is wrapped around Him, as He "wrapped Himself" in our Humanity.
He also bears the High Priestly ribband and is blessing the cup on the table with His Hand shaped in the Christogram, with middle finger bent and joined to the index finger, that He "bent the Heavens" and came down to earth etc.
The cup itself is a prophecy concerning the Mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ.
Alex
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 SLAVA ISUSU CHRISTU! SLAVA NA VIKI BOHU! XPUCTOCb BOCKPEC! Hi Alex Are you refering to the vertical strip that is on the shoulder? This is called the clavium and is a symbol from Ancient Rome and Byzantium. It's an ancient symbol of the aristorcracy and is also a symbol of cleanliness and perfection of the human nature of Christ. Hope this helps.... the least servant of the servant of God the ikon-writer mark
the ikon writer
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