The Evolution of Trinity Images to the Medieval Period

ICOANA CREDINȚEI, 2023

The iconography of the Holy Trinity represents an extremely important issue, considering that the icon must fully express the truth of the Churchʼs faith, and current at the same time, since in church painting we can easily observe deviations from the canon of orthodoxy. That is precisely why, appealing to both the Orthodox and the Catholic bibliography, the present study aims to bring to the attention of theologians, clergy, iconographers and, why not, the laity alike, in a succinct presentation, the question of iconography and, implicitly, of the iconology of the Holy Trinity, to understand which representations are canonical and which are not, to correctly choose the icon of the Holy Trinity that can be painted and honored, in churches or in the home of every Christian.

Icoana Credinței, 2024

The II-III centuries represented the period of the birth of Christian sacred art through Christians imitating the custom of pagans, from whose ranks most of them came, to decorate their graves, sarcophagi or mausoleums with images and even by borrowing some pagan symbols and themes, to which they obviously gave a new, Christian meaning, to which, of course, exclusively Christian themes were added, most often of biblical origin, most of them having a narrative-historical character. In the 4th-5th centuries, under the careful supervision of the Church, a synthesis was made regarding the themes addressed, by abandoning some, by taking over others from the imperial imaginary, prevalence acquiring a dogmatic character, from the desire to express and through the mediation of figurative art, not only through the poetic, transposed into songs, the truths of faith formulated at the first four ecumenical synods, but also in terms of styles. In this second stage of the history of Christian sacred art, especially in the 5th century, as a result of the synthesis achieved in the capital of the empire between the two great artistic currents that manifested themselves in painting, the Hellenistic-Alexandrian and the Syro-Palestinian, was formed the Constantinopolitan painting school and the stylistic features specific to this school crystallized. The present study aims to point out the main characteristics and developments of Christian sacred art in the Byzantine Empire starting from the time of Emperor Justinian I until the outbreak of Byzantine iconoclasm.

https://www.edizioni-santantonio.com/catalogue/details/it/978-613-8-39420-4/via-pulchritudinis

Sacred images, both in the Western and Eastern traditions, distinguish Christianity in a preponderant way compared to all other religions, especially as regards the Orthodox. The images and symbols describe, in their artistic form, the divine word similar to a "color theology" representing a "window on infinity", as well as reflect "an image of the kingdom of God". Since its origins in Christianity, man has tried to integrate the evangelical announcement, oral and written, through images, for this reason Christian art has initially inherited some typical forms of the Greco-Roman styles, which soon took on their main character. Theological character that we know today as "sacred art", with its own rules and traditions. Sacred art is an integral part of the architecture of churches and places of worship, but not only that, it assumes its role of fundamental support in the liturgy. Art is designed, first, to be "read" and to deduce the theological and spiritual message contained therein; this happens by approaching images, figures, objects and colors, tending to decode the biblical-theological background underlying the expressive potential of visual language, essentially composed of a marked symbolism. Christian art, in its oriental iconographic form, is particularly charged with this symbolism; it represents the vocabulary, grammar and syntax that the iconographer has at his disposal to fit into the constant process of developing a real "living language", that of God. The essay approaches sacred art in an attempt to act as a bridge between West and East from different perspectives: historical, theological, liturgical and artistic; aims to make people familiar with the history of Christian art, and in general with oriental iconographic art, in order to learn the fundamental characteristics of the theology of images, and also to understand the main interpretations for the spiritual life. The essay unfolds on some main axes, at first it examines the characteristics of the history of Western art compared with Eastern iconographic art, including the origin of Christian art and the development of its fundamental characteristics; subsequently he approaches the theology of the icon, studied mainly through iconoclasm, with a particular emphasis on the patristic texts of John Damascene and the declarations of the VII Ecumenical Council (Nicaea, 787), as well as the triumph of Orthodoxy (843). Finally, it offers a possible interpretation of iconographic symbolism, with attention to the main types of icons of the Christ Pantocrator, the Acheropita and the Anastasis icon.

This article is primarily concerned with the question of understanding of notions and phenomena such are idolatry, iconolatry, and image in the framework of religious culture in European and Levant history from classic – antique age until late modern times. Since the topic is broad, the article is composed as a short discussion about main ideas and problems connected to the understanding and the interpretations of the notion of idolatry and images that were and are presented in public and scholar discourse. Theoretical basics for his article were taken from the work of several prominent post-modern scholars and researchers of scientific and academic fields of visual culture and art history such as Hans Belting, Michael Baxandall, David Freedberg, Peter Burke. In addition to this, the semiotic approach, as well as theory of media and communication was also engaged in the analysis conducted in the article. Keywords: Images, Christianity, cult, object, icons, visual

Toward The Throne of Grace: The Theology Behind the Vertical Representation of the Trinity, 2019

There are some who see art as a supplement to our lives; art is considered the activity of the wealthy. History, however, shows the contrary: it shows that since the time of the first primitive cultures, humans needed art–especially visual art–even before they developed a written language. Human needs to see in order to understand, and they want their senses to witness all the ideas in their minds. The divinity has never been far from these attempts; all cultures try to picture the god that they believe in; even Moses wanted to see the God who talks to him. Christianity did not deactivate this desire in human beings but rather used it in a brilliant way to aid the faithful to worship the unseen God. In his “Letter to Artists,” his holiness Pope John Paul II says that the Church needs art, and art needs the Church: art makes the invisible world of God visible through the attractiveness of beauty.2 During the rise of Christianity, early Christians tried to present their faith by writing and through signs and symbols, as exemplified by the art of the catacombs. First, this paper will briefly discuss the early attempts to represent the Trinity with all their theological successes and failures: from the symbolic representation to the anthropomorphic representation, which may be separated into the vertical and the horizontal and which was highly developed through the centuries. Finally, the vertical representation of the Throne of Grace will be discussed from a theological viewpoint in order to show that it may be theologically considered as the most accurate representation of the Trinity.

Eclecticism at the Edges: Medieval Art and Architecture at the Crossroads of the Latin, Greek, and Slavic Cultural Spheres (c.1300-c.1550), ed. Alice Isabella Sullivan and Maria Alessia Rossi, Berlin, Boston: Walter DeGruyter, 2021. 157-178., 2021

This essay outlines and classifies the earliest occurrences of the Trinitarian Synthronoi iconography in the Byzantine cultural sphere: the image of the human figures of the Father and the Son, seated on a shared throne and accompanied by the dove of the Holy Spirit. The Synthronoi became a popular image in Western art after the twelfth century to vividly convey the Latin teaching about the procession of the Holy Spirit from both the Father and the Son, the so-called filioque. However, the Eastern appearance of this iconography in the fourteenth century is much less self-evident, given that the Orthodox questioned the filioque formula in the Western Creed, since according to their position, the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father only. By exploring the underlying motives of appropriating a Western Trinitarian iconography in Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, this study reconsiders the question of the transmission of Trinitarian iconography between the Christian West and the East in light of their disagreement about the Holy Trinity. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110695618-008/html

This paper examines the evolution of the Greek letter Chi (X) as a symbol of Christ and its connection to Christian and pre-Christian traditions, with a focus on its integration into the development of the cross as the central Christian emblem. Beginning with Chi’s pre-Christian significance in ancient Greek philosophy, particularly in Plato’s Timaeus, where it represents the cosmic intersection of the celestial equator and ecliptic, the study explores how early Christians adopted this symbol to articulate theological truths. The Chi, often combined with Rho to form the Christogram Chi-Rho (☧), became a cornerstone of early Christian iconography, symbolizing Christ’s name and cosmic sovereignty. The paper further traces the transition from abstract Christograms to the physical cross as a symbol of atonement and redemption, emphasizing Constantine’s pivotal role in popularizing the Chi-Rho after the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Variants of the cross, including T-shaped and X-shaped designs, are explored alongside their theological and cultural significance. Modern interpretations of Chi, such as its use in abbreviations like “Xmas” and “Xtian,” reflect its enduring relevance while highlighting misconceptions and cultural shifts. This study also critiques the veneration of icons while advocating for the preservation of art and symbol as cultural heritage. By tracing the journey of Chi (X) and the cross from antiquity to the present, the paper underscores their theological importance and their role in bridging historical, cultural, and denominational divides, offering insights into the adaptability and enduring significance of Christian symbols in a pluralistic world.

Studies in Iconography, 36, 2015, 99-134.

The survey discusses wall- and vault mosaics (Centcelles, Rotunda Thessaloniki), floor mosaics (Aquileia, Madaba, Petra), paintings, textiles, sculpture, sumptuary arts (silver, ivory), iconographical themes (martyrs, Christ, baptism, crucifixion), etc.