Icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles" and its religious significance

There is a holiday that came to us from the first yearsChristianity. It is called the Day of the Holy Trinity. Sometimes it is called Pentecost. The icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles" represents an event in whose memory it was established.

Execution of prophecies

The icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit" visually transmitsto us the fulfillment of both Old Testament and New Testament prophecies about the appearance of the Holy Spirit and its purifying baptism. This great moment, when the grace of God promised to them descended upon the closest disciples and followers of Jesus, is described in the 2nd chapter of the book The Acts of the Apostles.

It talks about how the apostles, performingthe command of Christ, given to them on the Mount of Olives, did not leave Jerusalem, but daily gathered in the Zion chamber, waiting for the promised to them comforter - the Holy Spirit. With them the Blessed Virgin Mary also stayed. The book describes how, on the tenth day of waiting, in the morning, everyone suddenly heard a noise filling the upper room. It was like the sound of a wind rushing in frantic gusts.

The miracle sent to the apostles

Then there was the fact that the icon "The Descent of the HolySpirit for the Apostles "shows us in all its details. Unexpectedly, the eyes of the assembled gathered with flames, which, swam above them, rested on each of the disciples of Christ. From now on, everyone, filled with the Holy Spirit, received the grace of God. This gift endowed the apostles with many qualities that were not previously inherent in them. He opened their minds, previously confined to the terrestrial, created world, to comprehend Divine truths.

But not only the ability to fully understandthe word of God was acquired at that moment by the apostles. The Holy Spirit endowed them with all the necessary mental and physical qualities for preaching this word among people. They had to convert many nations to the light of truth, and to communicate with them the apostles were able to preach in foreign languages, which led to confusion among the witnesses who were nearby.

Conclusion of the New Testament

Icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles"depicts the great moment that was the birth of the Universal Church of Christ. What happened in the Zion chamber, signified the conclusion of the New Testament, which came to replace the Old, whose laws were carved on the stone tablets received by Moses on Mount Sinai. In this connection, the symbolism laid down in the fifty days that have passed from the resurrection of Christ to the event, in memory of which the icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit" is written, becomes clear.

How the Sinai law was received by the Jews onthe fiftieth day after their departure from Egypt, where they were in a state of spiritual death, so Christ gave the new law of Christ to the people on the fiftieth day after his death from the grave, where they were trampled by the death that had dominated the world since the first fall. For this reason Pentecost is often called the descent of the Holy Spirit to the apostles. The icon depicting this event is also sometimes called this name.

Information about the early icons of this type

As mentioned above, the holiday, established inThe memory of this day was celebrated at the dawn of Christianity. When, however, the light of true faith shone in Russia, then our ancestors and the tradition of celebrating special days marked in the church calendar inherited with him. These holidays are widely reflected in icon painting. It is known that the icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles" appeared very early, but over the centuries its iconographic type underwent significant changes.

You can trace this process using the extantbefore us images or historical documents of that time evidencing them. What was the earliest known icon of the "Descent of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles"? The description of it says that according to its type it was close to the icon "Ascension of the Lord". This is explained very simply: in ancient times, both these holidays were combined into one.

Changes made by Byzantine masters

However, in time, Byzantine masters madeher writing changes, which later became the compositional scheme that was followed in all subsequent centuries. Thus, for example, in later canonical images the figure of the Virgin is often missing. This is explained by the fact that she has a completely different, important role - the bodily birth of the Savior, whereas the attention of the audience should be focused on the Holy Spirit and his intervention in the economy.

For the same reason Byzantine masters refusedand from the figure of Christ. In general, in search of an optimal compositional solution, they turned to the scheme widespread in the images of Ancient Greece and Rome - the teacher and the pupils. She was a figure of a teacher and students sitting in a semicircle and listening to him.

The final version of the icon

On this basis, and they painted the image "DescentHoly Spirit on the Apostles. " The icon represented the apostles sitting with the oval, over whose heads the tongues of fire were designated. The central place of the teacher remained on the icons free, because it implied the presence of the Holy Spirit. Among the features of the image, it should be noted the presence in his composition of the figures of the apostles Peter and Paul, who, according to the text of the Scripture, were not present at the moment in the Zion room, but because of their merits they were depicted along with the other disciples of Christ.

In conclusion, we should mention the figure of the Elder inThe crown depicted in the lower part of the icon. It symbolizes the nations that have received the light of God-knowledge from the Holy Spirit. The composition described here can be considered the most common, whereas it is often necessary to see other variants of it. One of them is the Chinese icon "The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles". Her photo is presented in the article.

For many centuries, this icon wasan integral part of the churches in Russia and the West. The plot, embedded in its foundation, gave inspiration to many generations of icon painters and artists, representatives of a wide variety of painting styles. This is not surprising, since this theme, filled with humanism, has always been and will be close to people, no matter in what historical era they were born.