The Holy Trinity is the mystery of Christianity
Christianity is the most common and, together withthe most mysterious religion. In many other theological systems everything is understandable, everything is explicable, and in Orthodoxy the central teaching of the Church about the Trinity is completely incomprehensible. What is the Holy Trinity? And how to understand that all three persons of the Godhead are one, but do not merge into one person.
If you ask any Orthodox about this, heshrugs shoulders: I do not know. And this ignorance is not shameful. A person can not know and understand the mystery of the Trinity, it is not available to the human mind. The Holy Trinity is described in theological literature in several words with a particle of "not" at the beginning. So, the Trinity is "non-segregated", but also "inseparable". She and not one Being, but not three separate Beings, not three gods. Logical explanation of such a combination does not lend itself, therefore, when speaking of the Trinity, analogies are often used. For example, the Trinity is often compared to the sun. The sun is light, heat and the sun itself. These concepts, substances are different, everyone can feel the heat, but not see the light, see the light, but do not feel the heat (in winter), but still they are all inseparable from each other. To understand what the Holy Trinity is, in this example, of course, it is impossible, but it gives some vague idea of this mystery.
Is it strange that millions of believers around the worldactively use the concept that is completely inaccessible to the mind? The prayer of the Trinity is included in the daily rule, the temple of the Holy Trinity is a traditional decoration of villages and cities, the icon of the Blessed Trinity lies on the analo. It seems that one should not respect yourself to talk about things you do not understand. In fact, believers perceive this somewhat differently. The mystery of the doctrine of the Trinity and some other dogmatic moments speaks only of the fact that Christian faith is not invented by people, it is higher than human understanding, and hence of divine origin. To invent and invent can only be something understandable and accessible, and not vice versa. Therefore, the mystery of the doctrine of God proves the origin of the Christian faith from above.
All shrines in Christianity can be depicted. If Christ was born and walked the earth, then it can be painted. The angels were the Theotokos and the Saints, hence they are accessible to the image. All saints, angels and even the Lord Himself are portrayed in icons. There is only one exception: the Holy Trinity. Indeed, since no one has ever seen the Trinity, it means that you can not depict it. And if the third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - can still be imagined as a dove, then no one has ever seen God's Father. He, however, still draw in the form of an old man next to his young son, but this image is completely uncanonical, that is, does not recognize the right.
There is, however, one canonical representation of the Trinity. This Holy Trinity is the icon of Andrei Rublev. Monk Andrew painted three angels who came to Moses. It is believed that in the form of these angels, it was God who came. But what is such a genius in his icon?
Painted, of course, beautiful, but there are moreimpressive icons, and this particular one is known. The point here is not at all in the art of oil painting. The icon "Trinity" is famous for its content. Before the prayers, the divine council in the bowels of the Holy Trinity even before the incarnation of Christ. God the Father looks at the Son, and the Son looks at the small cup on the table. This is a conversation about the redemption of man, about future sufferings, about communion. It is precisely with this semantic fullness that the icon of the Trinity is known.
