HUSAR Jan - Acta Patristica, volume 8, issue 17/2017
THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - FEAST OF PENTECOST
/ZOSTÚPENIE SVÄTÉHO DUCHA - SVIATOK PÄŤDESIATNICE/
Jan HUSAR
lecturer, Faculty of Orthodox Theology, University of Presov in Presov, Masarykova 15, 080 01 Presov, Slovakia, jan.husar@unipo.sk, 00421517724729
Abstract
In this article we are approaching the orthodox iconographic view of the feast of the Descent of the Holy Spirit – Pentecost. The feast of Pentecost - Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles is an event which links the Old Testament and the New Testament. It is an event, which marks the beginning of the missionary activity of the Church of Christ. Some call this event as the day of the “birth” of the Church of Christ. The Church however does not have a beginning, it exists in God as a community of Persons of the Holy Trinity, that is, it is a community to which we have been invited through the redemptory activity of Jesus Christ the Son of God.
Keywords
Jesus Christ, Descent, Pentecost, Iconography, symbolism
SUMMARY
The event of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles is described by saint Lukas in the Acts of the Apostles. Already in the sixth century, the event of Pentecost served as an occasion to write an icon, the main purpose of which was to commemorate this feast, that is the Descent of the Holy Spirit. The icon of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the first instance should bring the human person towards the unity of the one Church of Christ. This can be seen in the composition of the twelve apostles, which are placed into an oval form and who face each other. In the bottom part of the icon in the middle we can find a symbolical figure of an elderly person, on a dark (usually black) background, who is dressed in a red royal robe and he has a crown on his head. He represents the “cosmos” that is the entire world. On the earliest forms of the icon, in accordance with the Acts of the Apostles, there are depicted in this area many people, who gathered together with the apostles. In the upper part of the icon, part of a circle is depicted, which symbolises heaven from which twelve rays appear. These symbolise the baptism in the Holy Spirit and in fire.
(Language: english)