"Let us glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Whom is our Salvation, Life and Resurrection!" (Gal 6:14; Entrance Antiphon, Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper)
Because we are entering into the most solemn week of the Church's liturgical year, Holy Week, I decided to add a blog on my Icon of the Crucifixion.
You will notice that in this icon the top bar of the Cross serves as the title, proclaiming Christ as King of Glory. The cross is the symbol of the great victory and power of Christ’s sacrifice through which death is overcome and salvation becomes possible for us. Jesus is not shown wearing a crown of thorns, but instead a halo of glory. Although He is not shown in agony and suffering, but peacefully reposed, the physical reality of His sacrifice cannot be ignored, therefore the Icon of Christ’s Crucifixion shows this event both in the earthly and heavenly realms.
Next you see Christ’s hands, palms facing upwards, his arms in an embrace, echoing the numerous prayers of the Church, one of which is: Jesus, Who stretchest out Thy hands from the Cross to all, draw me to Thyself, for I too have gone astray! (Akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ)
Above Jesus’ hands inscribed in abbreviation is His name: IC XC (Jesus Christ). Below His hands, inscribed in Greek, the word “NIKA”, which means “conquer”. Therefore the full inscription reads: “Jesus Christ Conquers”
To either side of Jesus stand the grieving Saint Mary, Mother of Jesus, and Saint John the Apostle, their sorrow etched into their faces. Above Saint Mary is inscribed in Greek in abbreviation, her title, Theotokus, translated as “God Bearer”.
Tradition relates that Christ’s place of execution, Golgotha (meaning the place of the skull) was the site of Adam’s tomb. Therefore, below the feet of Christ is an abstract depiction of a skull. We are at once reminded that the loss of Paradise through Adam our forefather, by eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree, is now won by Christ, the New Adam, who brings us Salvation and Paradise through the tree of the Cross.
On a personal note, I would like to add that this icon was the most emotionally and spiritually challenging of all the icons I have completed thus far. In my fourth year of study I was invited to attend a workshop where the crucifixion was being taught. At that time I felt that I was not ready to work on this subject. Then two years later this icon was again being taught at a workshop in Canada. This time I felt I was practiced enough in egg tempera to make the attempt. Never could I have predicted that the technical skills needed in writing this icon would pale in comparison to the emotional and spiritual demands of the subject. By the end of the workshop I found myself physically and mentally drained. I cannot look upon the Crucifixion without a deep sense of shame at what He suffered for my sins. Yet Jesus Himself said that His Passion and death was necessary for our salvation, and so I hold this in my heart as my consolation when I look upon this icon.
For further mediation you may wish to read: Leo the Great's homily on the Passion of Christ
Because we are entering into the most solemn week of the Church's liturgical year, Holy Week, I decided to add a blog on my Icon of the Crucifixion.
You will notice that in this icon the top bar of the Cross serves as the title, proclaiming Christ as King of Glory. The cross is the symbol of the great victory and power of Christ’s sacrifice through which death is overcome and salvation becomes possible for us. Jesus is not shown wearing a crown of thorns, but instead a halo of glory. Although He is not shown in agony and suffering, but peacefully reposed, the physical reality of His sacrifice cannot be ignored, therefore the Icon of Christ’s Crucifixion shows this event both in the earthly and heavenly realms.
Next you see Christ’s hands, palms facing upwards, his arms in an embrace, echoing the numerous prayers of the Church, one of which is: Jesus, Who stretchest out Thy hands from the Cross to all, draw me to Thyself, for I too have gone astray! (Akathist to the Divine Passion of Christ)
Above Jesus’ hands inscribed in abbreviation is His name: IC XC (Jesus Christ). Below His hands, inscribed in Greek, the word “NIKA”, which means “conquer”. Therefore the full inscription reads: “Jesus Christ Conquers”
To either side of Jesus stand the grieving Saint Mary, Mother of Jesus, and Saint John the Apostle, their sorrow etched into their faces. Above Saint Mary is inscribed in Greek in abbreviation, her title, Theotokus, translated as “God Bearer”.
Tradition relates that Christ’s place of execution, Golgotha (meaning the place of the skull) was the site of Adam’s tomb. Therefore, below the feet of Christ is an abstract depiction of a skull. We are at once reminded that the loss of Paradise through Adam our forefather, by eating of the forbidden fruit of the tree, is now won by Christ, the New Adam, who brings us Salvation and Paradise through the tree of the Cross.
On a personal note, I would like to add that this icon was the most emotionally and spiritually challenging of all the icons I have completed thus far. In my fourth year of study I was invited to attend a workshop where the crucifixion was being taught. At that time I felt that I was not ready to work on this subject. Then two years later this icon was again being taught at a workshop in Canada. This time I felt I was practiced enough in egg tempera to make the attempt. Never could I have predicted that the technical skills needed in writing this icon would pale in comparison to the emotional and spiritual demands of the subject. By the end of the workshop I found myself physically and mentally drained. I cannot look upon the Crucifixion without a deep sense of shame at what He suffered for my sins. Yet Jesus Himself said that His Passion and death was necessary for our salvation, and so I hold this in my heart as my consolation when I look upon this icon.
For further mediation you may wish to read: Leo the Great's homily on the Passion of Christ
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