Holy Icons and Their Theological Meaning The Icon of the Lord's Baptism
by Rev. Nicolas Antiba
Holy Icons and Their Theological Meaning The Icon of the Lord's Baptism
by Rev. Nicolas Antiba
1989
Educational Services Diocese of Newton West Newton, MA 02165
Holy Icons and Their Theological Meaning The Icon of the Lord's Baptism
In 843, the Council of Constantinople definitively re-established the veneration of icons and inaugurated the feast of Orthodoxy. The Eastern Churches of Byzantine Tradition continue to celebrate this feast of Orthodoxy on the First Sunday of Lent in recognition of the victory over iconoclasm.
The Fathers of the Seventh Ecumenical council convened at Nicaea (presently in Turkey) had already decided that "the sacred art of iconography was not at all invented by painters but, on the contrary, is an approved institution coming to us from the Fathers and a Tradition of the Catholic Church" (cf Manzi 13,252C).
Moreover, responding to the iconoclastic imperial edict of the persecutor Emperor Leo m (717-741), St. John of Damascus writes, "If you make images of Christ and not of the saints, it is obviously not the representation of saints you are prohibiting but their veneration... You do not fight against icons, but against saints" (cf. Patrologia Graeca, 94, 1249).
The icon is a mediator and a messenger, a way used by the Transcendent One to render present and comprehensible that God who is "incomprehensible, ineffable, inconceivable, invisible" (Anaphora of St. John Chrysostom). The icon forms an analogy with the incarnation. In fact, Christ is God and man. The icon expresses the mystery in an accessible manner, it makes it comprehensible to the "infants" that we are (cf 1 Cor 3:1). The icon will be the best catechism to give out to those "infants" who are growing in faith and the knowledge of God manifesting Himself through history. Let us sum up with L. Ouspenski, "... for the Church, therefore, the icon is not an art illustrating Holy Scripture; it is a language which corresponds to Scripture, to the very contents of Scripture, to its meaning, just as do the liturgical texts. This is why the icon plays the same role as Scripture in the Church; it has the same liturgical, dogmatic, educational meaning" (Theology of the Icon, SVS Press, 1978, p. 166).
3 Description of the Icon
The baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River is celebrated on January 6 by Eastern Churches of the Greek Tradition. This feast is known as the Epiphany of Our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ. The word Epiphany occurs in the troparion of the feast: At your baptism in the Jordan, O Lord, the worship of the Trinity was revealed; for the Father's voice bore witness to You by calling You His beloved Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove confirmed the truth of His word. O Christ God who have appeared (epephaneis) to us and enlightened the world: glory to You."
All icons of the feast are not painted the same way and present some differences. However all of them underscore the fact that Christ is the Son of God and that this sonship is assured and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. All of them reproduce the gospel narrative (Mt 3:13-17, Mk 1:9- 11, Lk 3:21-22, Jn 1:29-32), yet add several reminiscences taken from liturgical and patristic texts.
We notice at the top of the icon a half circle representing the heavens opened in order to hear the Father's voice, "This is my beloved Son, My favor rests on Him" (Mt 3:17). From that half circle rays of light go on to form another circle which contains a dove, the visible sign of the Holy Spirit. The descent of the Holy Spirit is the movement of the Father towards the Son. St. John of Damascus makes an analogy between the Holy Spirit and the dove as a sign of peace after the,flood (cf The Orthodox Faith, Book 4, chap. 9); and compares the life-creating descent of the Spirit upon the waters before the flood (cf. Gen. 1:2) with his descent upon the waters of the Jordan, bringing forth the birth of a new creation.
The Jordan River is depicted as strong waves cascading from a distance and canalized between two great cliffs: this is the Jordan Valley. Christ is represented in the waters half-nude (sometimes completely nude).This picture of Christ indicates that He descended from heaven to take flesh; He took off His glorious apparel and He put on human flesh. This is His kenosis (humiliation) and His synkatabasis (condescension). This nudity, which minimizes His heavenly glory, recalls that Christ will clothe
4 mankind with His own glory and free them from the slavery of the human sinful condition.
Christ's right hand blesses the waters. Thus He prepares them for our baptism and sanctifies them by His immersion. Water gains a new value: it becomes a life-giving fountain (Rev 21:6). Christ is standing and we notice the opening at His feet: He is walking through the waters. This is a sign to teach us that the faithful must follow Christ in their baptism, which will be in water and the Holy Spirit (cf. Jn 1:33).
Furthermore, Christ is standing on a pedestal which crushes the "heads of the enemy". The iconographer takes his idea from Psalm 74: "...You smashed the heads of the dragons in the waters. You crushed the heads of Leviathan..." (Ps 74:13-14). In a hymn of the feast a hymnographer puts a dialog between John and Christ who said: "Be in no doubt at all: for I am in haste to slay the enemy hidden in the waters, the prince of darkness, that I may now deliver the world from his snares, granting life eternal in my love for mankind" (Sixth Royal Hour, on the eve of the feast).
We can also detect two different attitudes in Christ. On one hand, the thoughtful expression on His face point to the importance and the greatness of His coming into the world. On the other hand, the body of Christ is painted with tightened muscles, reminiscent of His crucified body taken from the cross.
We notice that the whole body of Christ is immersed, wrapped about by the flowing waters. This is in prefiguration of His death and resurrection (cf. St Paul's parallel imagery of baptism and death in Romans 6). At this point, St. John Chrysostom would say, "the immersion and emersion are the image of the descent into hell and of the resurrection" (Patrologia Graeca, 61,34B).
We also see two little human figures in the water. The first one, carrying a jar, represents the Jordan River; the other one, holding a scepter, represents the Red Sea. These two figures recall Ps 114:3, "The sea beheld and fled; Jordan turned back". They are looking toward Christ, however, and they symbolize mankind's response to the cry of John ("Behold the Lamb of God..."). All humanity, near and far, longs to come in contact with Christ.
5 We see the Baptist at Christ's right side. He is presented to us as blessing with a ritual sign the Son of the Compassionate One as he baptizes Him. A hymn of the feast, repeating the words of the Gospel, echoes that idea: "Why do You command of me what lies beyond my power? For I have need to be baptized by You. O sinless Christ our God, glory to You!" (vespers sticheron) On the same side of the river we find an axe lying at the bottom of a tree trunk. This recalls to our mind a theme of John's preaching, "Even now the axe is laid to the root of the tree. Every tree that is not fruitful will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Mt 3:10)
On the other side of the river angels stand in an attitude of adoration with their hands covered by towels. This is a sign of reverence, for not even angels, pure spirit though they be, can fittingly touch the immaculate body of the Word of God. It is also a sign of the shroud (cf Jn 20: 6-7) and the white cloth which is the priestly, royal and nuptial sign of the risen Christ.
A final important aspect of this icon is that all the persons represented look at Christ: asking with repentance for the saving grace His incarnation brings. This action reminds us of the words in the Gospel of John when He Christ speaks of His crucifixion: "And I, once I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself' (Jn 12:32). This aspect of the icon is echoed by the following hymn, full of happiness because the world is saved:
Upon Galilee of the Gentiles, upon the land of Zebulon and the land of Nephthalim, as the prophet said, a great light has shone: even Christ. To those who sat in darkness a bright dawn has appeared as lightning from Bethlehem. The Lord, bom of Mary, the Sun of justice, sheds His rays upon the whole world. Come then, naked children of Adam, and let us clothe ourselves in Him that we may warm ourselves. You are a protection and veil to the naked, a light to those in darkeness; You came, You are made manifest: O unapproachable Light, (ikos at matins)
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