Reading the Icon of Trinity – Finding Yourself within Trinity

In the name of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, One True God. Amen

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus

The Christian doctrine from its very beginning has taught that God is one, but existing in three co-existential persons – the Father, the Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit – as one God in three Divine persons. There are three different persons in the Godhead but they all are of one essence, substance or nature. It has been very difficult to describe the Godhead of Trinitarian nature through common intellect, and theologians from ages past have been trying to decipher and understand the same. (But who are we, mere mortals, to describe and understand and limit the nature of God according to human intellect?)

Through the early years of the birth of Christianity, theologians have faced difficulty in articulating about the nature of Triune nature of the Godhead and the earliest schism in the Church was due to the difference of teaching regarding the nature of Christ Jesus Himself and the relation between Him and God, the Father. Later on there were difference of opinions on the nature and relation of the Holy Spirit with the Heavenly Father and the Son Jesus Christ. But meditating on the Trinity, I find that the very essence of holiness is found in the social and moral nature of God as Trinity. The essence of God is holy love shared between and among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. By divine revelation, we know the persons of the Trinitarian God to be co-equal in power and glory, and mutual in unity and love. Together, the three persons of the Trinity are a perfect circle of fellowship open to all humanity as we remain open to intimacy with God in unity and love.

This relation between the Trinity was written beautifully by a monk from the Russian Orthodox Church – Andrei Rublov in the 15th century. This icon is also regarded as the icon of icons. It is his most famous work and the most famous of the Russian icons, and it is also regarded as one of the greatest achievements of the Russian art. The icon, known as The Icon of Trinity is also known as the The Hospitality of Abraham. As the name suggests, the icon is inspired by the passage in Genesis 18 and depicts three angels, who came to visit Abraham and Sarah sitting at a table, sharing a meal with each other.

The passage in Genesis 18 says that the biblical Patriarch Abraham ‘was sitting at the door of his tent in the heat of the day‘ by the Oak of Mamre and saw three men standing in front of him, who in the next chapter were revealed as angels. ‘When he saw them, Abraham ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.’ Abraham ordered a servant-boy to prepare a choice calf, and set curds, milk and the calf before them, waiting on them, under a tree, as they ate (Genesis 18:1–8). One of the angels told Abraham that Sarah would soon give birth to a son.

Cast in the light of Christ’s revelation, this appearance of the Lord – called the “Hospitality of Abraham” – has always been understood as a manifestation of the Holy Trinity. The ineffable nature of God cannot be comprehended by man, yet God can reveal Himself – His triune nature – in ways which we can grasp, and record. What Scriptures recorded first, Christians recorded later, and the earliest images of the Hospitality of Abraham which survive are preserved in the catacombs of Italy (the 4th century).

Such a profound revelation of the Holy Trinity could not but move the Church, so it is unsurprising that over time, whilst the understanding of the Hospitality of Abraham remained the same, the imaging of it changed. It would be more correct to say that the image given to us by God was “purified”, showing forth the spiritual truth which lay behind the physical vision. In these Icons, dating from around 1000A.D onwards, the three “men” are explicitly shown as angels – with wings and halos. The focus is upon Them, seated around a table, their hands held up as in a blessing. The dwelling of Abraham is shown, as a tower (though it was, in reality, a tent), as is the oak of Mamre, with a rocky outcrop completing the scene. Abraham and Sarah are still shown, but smaller than the Trinity.

The most distinct icon of the Trinity was written by Andrei Rublov. In this icon, Abraham and Sarah are completely absent. The icon only depicts the three angels leaning towards each other in mutual love, their hands held in a blessing towards the center of the table. The table is now unmistakably an altar, with even a small recess shown in which traditionally relics are placed. The various fruits, breads and meat shown on other icons are replaced with just a single chalice, representing the Holy Eucharist. Take a little while to gaze and meditate on the icon below.

The simplicity of the Icon is the most captivating feature and any person who gaxes at the icon can find themselves losing their sense of time and being while trying to understand the Icon. While contemplating on the Icon of the Trinity, it is inevitable that some would question Who’s Who in the Icon? While just simply gazing at the icon, we can understand that all Three angels hold divine authority, for they are seated at an elevated position and their feet do not touch the ground.

All the three angels depicted bear the same features and are similar in appearance, the most distinctive feature is the colour of the robes they are depicted in and so certain minds will naturally seek to read meaning into their colours and Who they represent. The icon of Andrei Rublov depicts the angels in three primary colors. They illustrate the essence of the one God in three persons. Let us try to distinguish them from each other.

On our left is seated an angel wearing golden robes – gold signifying perfection, fullness and the source of life. This is the garb of the Heavenly Father. The garments seem to shimmer reflecting Heavenly glory. The Father is seated beneath Abraham’s “tent” as described in the Genesis account; yet in the Icon the tent is shown as a magnificent castle: the open-doored House of the Father, the goal of our journey, a palace where many rooms have been set ready for us.

To our right is seated an angel clothed in robes of green and blue tones – the colors of the earth. The color green signifies fertility, fecundity, blossom and bloom, divine and eternal life. The color of the of the Holy Spirit signifies life, as He “…is everywhere present and fills all things…” according to the Orthodox prayer.The Holy Spirit is seated beneath a mountain, which represents the spiritual ascent all believers must experience.

And finally, coming to the final angel seated in the centre, we can comprehend that he signifies the Son of God, the Word of God. He is clothes in typical bright red cloaked in blue, often seen on Icons of Jesus Christ, representing the two natures of Christ – Divine (red) and human (blue) natures. His hand is holding our two fingers representing both spiritual and divine nature of Himself. Over his right shoulder there is a band of gold; as Isaiah prophesied: the Government shall be upon his shoulder. Towering above Him is the oak of Mamre, yet within this icon is revealed as a foreshadowing of the Cross, or tree, from which Jesus would be hung.

When we look at the Icon, we can see that the Icon is not depicting three different individuals of the Holy Trinity, but it is telling us about the relationship between them. Of the Three, the Father on the left of the picture is the only figure to be unbowed, displaying a fatherly authority over the other Two. The Holy Spirit and the Son together bow to the Father, so that we can clearly see the Father to be the fountainhead of the other Two: from the Father comes both the Word (the Son) and the Breath (Spirit) of God. 

The Icon also depicts that the Holy Spirit is no way inferior to the Father and the Son, nor does He bow before the Son,  nor is He depicted as the love which flows between the Father and Son but He is a person in His own right, in a relationship with the other Two. The Son of God is shown as though in conversation with the Father, which is what is revealed to us in the Gospels, where Jesus frequently prays to the Heavenly Father. Despite the authority of the Father, all Members of the Holy Trinity are shown equal in size, and the reverence of the Son and Spirit to the Father appears voluntary; it is done out of love, not fear.

Their positioning in the Icon is also important. They are depicted as encircling a shared space around a small table, a table with space still available to place a fourth person among their midst. When we read the passage where the three angels visit Abraham, we find that Abraham chooses to stand far off from their midst and does not join them at the table, as is customary for the host while arranging the feast. It seems as if he is afraid to be in the presence of these divine guests, Whom he found by his doorstep. If we are to place ourselves in the feet of our patriarch Abraham, it would seem as if God were inviting us to dine with Him.

Looking at the icon, we find that there is a small, empty rectangle. Art historians mention the finding of glue residue on the original icon suggesting that at one time there may have been a mirror glued to the front of the table. This mirror, though unusual in an icon, depicts that God is not a distant and static monarch, Who wants to only feast at our table. But this Icon depicts the three persons in divine fellowship and inviting a fourth individual among their midst – an individual who has been created in their own image and likeness. The mirror represents our seeing ourselves in the communion with God at the table of divine fellowship.

The icon is an invitation to enter socially and spiritually into the divine, intimate ecology of holiness. The mirror represents seeing ourselves restored to the image of God, present at the banquet table, and participants in the divine nature. The table is not reserved for the Three, nor is the circle closed, but open to all. The Icon of Trinity occasions reflection on the divine, inclusive, perfect love of God expressed in the intimate, social nature of the Trinity, opened in all its fullness as a dance, a banquet table, a social ecology of holiness, and the eternal company we may keep.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, as we celebrate the Fast of the Apostles where we remember the Apostles of Jesus Christ, who were with Him during His life and was with Him in Spirit, we too are called to be in the presence of this fellowship of mutual respect and love.

Your brother in Christ Jesus

Jobin George

Source:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(Andrei_Rublev)
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity
3. The Divine Dance by Father Richard Rohr