Annunciation Icon, Ohrid, 14th Century Let us examine the icon for a moment. Some of the facts that I gave in previous analyses of the Angel and the Holy Mother will be approached today in a better manner. First of all, the Angel is announcing an event. Given that he is announcing an event and is in motion, his legs as we can see in the icon are wide apart. This denotes the presence of movement. In other instances, we shall see angels who are not likewise in motion, and whose legs are static. Whatever we know about angels, we owe it to the Holy Bible. According to Scriptural standards, they are functional spirits, sent forth to minister. In other words, they have two things. Firstly, they are functional spirits, they minister to God, and secondly, they are sent forth to minister. They have a mission. God sends them forth, to do something in the world. That is their role. For the other heavenly hosts we do not have much information. Most of the things that we know are about angels and archangels. While we do know that the other hosts are called principalities, thrones, powers, virtues, etc., nevertheless, we do not know what their functional roles are. We know very little about the Cherubim and the Seraphim, which appeared in the space of the Old Testament. But we do have more - and more frequent - appearances by angels and especially archangels. You should remember, that Michael of the Archangels appears in the Old Testament and Gabriel of the Archangels appears in the New Testament. Thus, when you see an Archangel in the space of the New Testament - and even if you dont know his name - it is the Archangel Gabriel. The Archangel Michael usually - but not necessarily exclusively - appears in the Old Testament. Of course in events that mar our Churchs history, we have a few variations. We have the miracle at Chonais, which we commemorate in September and was performed by the Archangel Michael. But anyway, this is a general view of things. That is why you should also know that from a liturgical point of view, the order in which icons are placed in the Sanctum, the Royal Gate has two doors. The one to the right - as we see it - and another to the left. You may have noticed that the door to the left is the only one that is used during the Divine Liturgy. Whereas in all the services, the deacon exits through the left door and re-enters the Sanctum through the right door, when the Divine Liturgy begins, the right door ceases to be used altogether. Only the left door is used, through which the Priests pass, holding the Precious Gifts. This signifies that this door which is liturgical use during the moment of the New Testament, is the door of the New Testament. Whereas the other door - which is constantly in liturgical use and is abandoned, and no longer used during the Divine Liturgy - is, symbolically speaking, the door of the Old Testament. That is why the face of the Old Testament door - to the right, as we see it - is always adorned with an icon of the Archangel Michael, who is the Archangel of the Old Testament, and on the other door, the icon of the Archangel Gabriel is always depicted....More.. tokandylaki.blogspot.ca/2014/03/analysis-of-icon-of-annunciation-of.html
Posted on: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:48:31 +0000
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