Reprinted from Orthodox Life Vol. 1 Number 3 - May-June 1950

RELIGIOUS SONGS AND THE RUSSIAN ICON

Speaking about the Russian Icon I am not going to present here its artistical value, nor am I going stress its historical and archeological origin. My subject is the Religious Songs and the Russian Icon, in other words the illustration of songs in holy images.

Let me tell you in few words what an icon is, what an icon means for Russian believers and also briefly about the decoration of churches, which in Russia from the humblest one in a village to the most glorious cathedrals are richly decorated with wall paintings and icons.

The beauty of the church and the splendor of the Eastern rite is inseparable for Russians from their conception of God's dwelling. King David says: "Lord I loved the beauty of Thy house" and the Russian priest at the end of the Liturgy reads the prayer: Sinctify those who love the beauty of Thy house, glorify them and reward them with Thy divine might.

Speaking about the decoration of the church let me also tell you briefly about the symbolism of the Divine Liturgy, connected with the subject of icons which will be discussed.

You certainly all know that the icons are holy images of the Eastern Greek Orthodox Church to which the Russians belong. These icons are painted generally on wood panels of various sizes. But icons are not only images, - they are symbols, they are not portraits, but a "likeness" (podobi e) of what they represent. "The icon" - says St. John Damascene, "is an image of a mysterious and heavenly vision, a hymn of praise, a manifestation."

The perspective in icon is imaginary, the surroundings are conventional, bodies are abstract; faces are untouched by human joy or sorrow. Prayer, reyerence, silence, obedience, preaching, fear, blame, surprise, lamentation, are expressed by conventional atti tudes and positions of the hands and of the heads.

Nature and architecture are also used symbolically. For ins tance a roof with a cupola means semetimes a church, a single portal is an entire building, a building symbolizes a city; a dra pery hanging from one wall to another indicats the interior of a building; Silouhettes of fantastic mountains and trees stress the movement of figures; the. sky can be a triangle with a rainbow at its edge, or a scroll with stars and the heavenly bodies stretched or rolled up by two Angels. Every detail in the icon has its symbolic meaning based upon the . Holy Scriptures, the Teaching of the Fathers of the Church, pious legends or other theological sources.

Russians venerate icons as holy images. They rever the likeness of the divine features of the One they represent. Moreover every icon is blessed in the church and is placed on the altar during special prayers said by the priest. Therefore the icon is a holy image not only because of its subject, but as sanctified by the direct contact with the altar which is the Throne of God and where the greatest Sacrament, the Eucharist is celebrated.

Russians have the pious custom to have in their houses icons hanging. in the right corner of every room. They are assembled religiously and are blessed witnesses of all important events in the life of their owners. For instance at the birth of a child an icon is ordered with the Patron Saint of the newborn; the bethrothed are blessed with the image of Our Saviour and of the Holy Virgin; a son joining the army is blessed with image of a warrior saint such as St. George, St. Demetrius or St. Theodor of Tiro. Sick people receive the icon of St. Panteleimon, or S.S. Cosmas and Damian, who were physicians in their lifetime.

In private dwellings and in churches icons were decorated with fine embroideries and precious brocades. In humble houses they were replaced by embroidered towels. According to ancient Russian traditions women could not use paint and brushes, yet the exercised their skill in needlework and expressed their gratitude for a fulfilled prayer and their veneration of icons by fine embroideries.

In later times the icon were covered with gold and silver plaques, pearls and precious stones, which were also donations of gratitude, memoriam for deceased and token of veneration.

Icons, as well as paintings decorating the inside of the chur ches represent the Saviour, the Holy Virgin, the Holy Trinity, Saints events of the Old and the New Testaments, they illustrate the dogma, prayers and hymns. It should be remembered that the holy images belong to the ntual of the Church, as a part of the service, like hymns and prayers; icons are meant to inspire prayers. and some of them, as we shall see, illustrate them word for word.

Services are long in Russian churches. There are no banches and people stand for hours as people stood at the time of the Holy Apostles. No sounds of the organ resound during the service and singing is the only music. Beside hymns and canticles the exclamation of the priest and of the deacon are answered by the choir in the name of all present. Such are: Amen, Halleluia, "Grant us O Lord" (Podai Gospodi) and Lord have mercy (Gospodi pomilui).

The liturgical songs are prayers of repentence, hymns of glorification or mystical interpretations of the Divine Liturgy, which in the Eastern Church from its very beginning to its end symbolizes Christ's life, His Incarnation, His Nativity, His Teaching, Sacrifice, Resurrection and Ascencion.

Russians never use prayer-books during the services since they understand Slavonic, used in the Russian Church, and which is the ancient form of their own language. Beside the songs answering the exclamations of the celebrants hymns consist of words unused in every day speach. Even if translated into modern Russian their meaning would remain uncomprehensible for those who do not search for their significance: just as icons remain enigmatic with out the key to their symbolism.

This mystical form of speach corresponds to the mystery (Tainstv o) imposed by the Christian Church in regard to the Sacrament. For instance before the Holy Communion Russians still repeat the promise of the ancient days: "I shall not speak O Lord of Thy Mystery to Thy foe."

It is said by the Fathers of the Church that the dwelling of God, the Church, is Heaven on Earth, the world of invisible beings. Therefore every detail in the building itself, beginning with its plan as well as its inside decoration are of an ideal unity symbolocally connected with the Christian Credo: the Incarnation and the Redemption. For instance a square plan of a church symbolizes the Four Gospels; a cruciform plan means the Cross as foundation of the Chnstian Faith; a more complex plan as a circle in a square inserted into a Cross means (the circle) the Incarnation, the square - the Four gospels propagating Christ's teaching and the Cross the reign of Christ.

The helmet-like cupolas, or bulbous domes, (in Russian lukovits y) crowned with crosses, symbolize flames of candels, prayers of the faithful. The cupolas appear in the number of 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 13 and more. They symbolize Christ the Head of the Church, the Holy Trinity; Christ and four Evangelists, the seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost, the nine ranks of Angels, Christ and the twelve Apostles. For instance a church near Moscow, Zvenigorod, dedicated to the Nativity ot the Holy Virgin, built in the XV Century, has one cupola which symbolizes, as it was said, Christ the Head of the Church. The Dormition Cathedral (Uspenskii Sobor) of the Moscow Kremlin, also built in the XV Century, has five cupolas, they mean Christ and the Four Evangelists.

"The church," - says St. Simeon of Thessalonika, - "repre sents the whole Universe: its first part, the Sanctuary, is the Throne of God, the second part, the nave with its dome, is the visible heaven, the entrance is the Earth and all together they symbolize the Holy Trinity embracing the visible and invisible world."

The Sanctuary is always elevated by no less then one step and is separated from the worshippers by a screen with rows of icons,-the iconostasis, which as a high screen appeared in Russia in the XIV Century.

The iconostasis has three entrances: the central, the Northern and the Southern one. The central entrance, facing always East is the Royal Door (Tsarskie Vrat a), since the Blessed Sacrament is carried through it. It is decorated by four images of the Evangelists and the Annunciation. The Evangelists symbolize Christ's Teaching leading to Salvation, while the Annunciation is the Mystery which opens the Door to Paradise. Behind the Royal Door hangs a curtain, closed or open depending on the moment of the service. The Royal Door is reserved for the celebrants, but after the service nobody, but the bishop can open it. Through the side doors enter the priest, the deacon, the sacristain, exeptionally the laymen, but not women, who are not allowed into the Sanctuary. The Northern and the Southern doors are decorated with full length images of the S.S. deacons Stephan and Laurence or of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. Sometimes, as for instance in the Annunciation Cathedral of Moscow, on the Northern door, instead of the Archangel stands the Good Thief holding his cross. The Good Thief for Russians is the highest example of Christian humility, repentance and hope in Lord's mercy. Therefore in most important prayers Russians refer to him. For instance in approaching the Holy Communion the priest reads and the communicants repeat: "Like the Thief will I confess Thee: remember me O Lord in Thy kingdom." On Thursday at the night seryice of the Holy Week during the reading of the Twelve Gospels of the passion, the choir sings a canticle called the Wise Thief. It reads: "In the moment Thou gracefully vouchsafesth Paradise unto the Wise Thief, O Lord, illuminate me also by the Wood of Thy Cross and save me." (Razboinik blagorazumnyi).

Right and left of the Royal Door and forming the first row of iconostasis are the icons of Our Saviour and of the Holy Virgin, the Festival or the Saint to whom the church is dedicated. The second row is the Deisis which means in Greek "prayer" and is represented by Christ flanked by the Holy Virgin and St. John the Baptist. To them are added the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, the Apostles Peter and Paul and other saints aproaching Christ from both sides in a processional line and in an attitude of prayer. The number of figures depends on the size of the iconostasis. The third row has in its center the Last Supper and the Twelve Festivals, six on each side, or events of Christ's life The next row has the Holy Virgin with the Prophets correspondin in their number to the D e is is. The uppermost row, crowned by a cross, has the Holy Trinity and the Patriarchs. No definite regulation exists about the number of rows, the size depending on the building or on the architectural ensemble. The subdivision into zones symbolizes the heavenly spheres, while the entire screen decorated by floral and animal ornaments represent the legendary Paradise wall full of trees and flowers and fruit and birds reaching from earth to heaven. Thus the structure of the high iconostasis expresses, accdrding to ancient Russian legends, the union of both worlds.

In the interpretation of the Divine Liturgy the Fathers of the Church teach: "When the priest begins the Service an Angel flies down from heaven. During the Songs of Cherubim do stand with fear since at that time Angels and Archgangels, Seraphim and Cherubim are invisibly present." The Fathers of the Church also teach that the Angels celebrate the Divine Liturgy not only attending the services in churches but also in Heaven. A Greek painter represents in an icon this Angelic service with Christ acting as a bishop. The chosen moment is the Great Entrance (Velikii Vkho d) when the Gifts are transported from the Prophesis to the Altar. Before the Great Entrance the deacon kneels and the priest places over his head the Paten, taking him self the Chalice. The Royal Door opens. People bow. The priest and the deacon, preceeded by the sacristain, carry the prepared but yet not consacrated Gifts. The procession moves slowly through the Northern door and, reaching the Royal Door both the priest. and the deacon, facing the worshippers read prayers. The Great Entrance symbolizes the Road to Calvary, the Entombment of Christ and His Victory over Death. During the Great Entrance the choir sings in a slow and solemn melody the SONG OF CHERUBIM, which ends by a joyful and victorious Halelluia.

The Heavenly Liturgy in the icon of a Greek painter shows in the center Our Saviour in a brocaded sakkos wearing over His shoulder the stole, which symbolizes the lost sheep carried by the Good Shepherd. God the Father gives His blessing and the Holy Ghost, hovering between the Father and the Son, completes the image of the Lifegiving Trinity chanted in the Song of Cherubim. At the bottom of the icon a man and woman are prostrated with their arms crossed like approaching the Holy Communion. Celebrants are the nine ranks of Angels moving in a procession around the Holy Trinity. At the top of the image Angels bow under the weigth of the Shroud (Plashchenitsa), with theChalice, the Spoon, the Spear and followed by others holding candles and liturgical fans (ripid y). An Angel kneels before Christ hol ding the Paten over his head in the same manner as the deacon does it during the service. This Angelic Liturgy is a v ision, which worshippers should evidently have during the Song of Cherubim.

We see its confirmation in the words of St. Gregory the Great who says that during the Sacrament Heaven opens, both Earth and Hieaven unite and the invisible becomes visible.

A Russian icon of the XVI-XVII Century shows at the same time the visible and invisible celebration of the Great Entrance and of the Eucharist. The building of a church in the background indi4ates that in this case the Divine Liturgy is celebrated on Earth and not in Heaven, although Angels and Saints take part in it Rows of Prophets, Patriarchs, Apostles, Holy Women, Hermits Martyrs, Just; blessed Children with St. John the Baptist in the center standing on an elevation, form a living screen behind which moves the procession of the Great Entrance carrying the Gifts from the Prothesis to the Altar. The deacon, assisted by two Angels, carries over his head the Paten with Emmanuel the Lamb of Sacrifice. The deacon is preceeded by the sacristain and by two Angels is with liturgical fans (ripidy). The officiating priest with the chalice follows the deacon while two other priests carry the Crossand the Holy Napkin with the image of Christ. High up, in the pace of the dome, enthroned in full glory on wings of Cherubim, Christ Emmanuel, the Lamb of Sacrifice, enters the Sanctuary. He is carried by nebulous spheres which represent the Celestial Hierarchy. Two Angels in vestments of deacons hold Christ Emmanuel, the Lamb of Sacrifice, over the Paten, while the Holy Ghost descends in a ray of light proceeding from the Father. Angels of the rank of Thrones in vestments of bishops, wearing the mitras on their heads, stand by the Sacrifice as do the composers of the Eastern Liturgy: St. John Chrysostom, St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory the Theologian. The hymn which is illustrated in this icon is chanted at Lent during the Great Entrance in the Liturgy ot St. Basil the Great. It reads: "Let all mortal flesh hold in peace and stand with fear and trembling and meditate nothing earthly for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords cometh to be slain."

The same procession of the Great Entrance, but of the Presanctified Liturgy is illustrated in a Russian icon of the XVI Century. During the Six Weeks of Lent preceeding Easter on Wednesdays and Fridays and during the Holy Week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Gifts are not consacrated during the Liturgy, but reserved Holy Sacraments are used. Therefore these Liturgies are called Presanctified. All prayers during Lent are chanted in sorrowfull melodies expressing grief. The procession of the Great Entrance at the Presanctified Liturgy moves in complete and impressive silence; usual prayers are not read and the priest alone holds high over his head the "all accomplished mystical Sacrifice as chanted in the song. Two rows of saints, headed by St. John Baptist and the apostle Peter separate the Sanctuary from the worshippers. The Good Thief and Mary Magdalen, the greatest examples of sintliness though repentence stand dalen, the greatest examples of sintliness though repentance stand - in prayer; the Patriarch and the Tsar stand on both sides of it; the priest moves toward the Altar preceeded by the deacon with the censer and the sacristain holding a burning candle. A second priest carries also over his head the Veil (Pokro v). At the Altar, under the ciborium, stand the composers of the Liturgy. And in the spade of the dome, the Powers of Heaven move like dark shadows of Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim invisibly ministering.

The choir sings at the Presanctified Liturgy a - hymn replacing the Song of Cherubim: "Now the Powers of Heaven invisibly with us minister. Behold the mystical Sacrtflce all accomplished is ushered in."

Nathalie Scheffer

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