AN ODD EPIDEMIC AND A NEW TERM

You will recall the Russian icon term yavlenie, meaning “appearance.” And you will remember that in icon jargon, the yavlenie of an icon is when it supposedly first manifests itself in a way said to be miraculous. So the yavlenie of an icon is not when it is first finished as a painting — rather it is, in the case of so-called “miraculous” icons, when it first manifests itself in a manner considered to be “miraculous,” for example, making itself known as it “appears” with a burst of light in a tree, or telling of its location to someone in a dream, etc.

Today we will consider another term in icon jargon. It is обновление /obnovlenie, meaning “renewal.” The obnovlenie of an icon is an apparent brightening or freshening or clarification of the painted surface of an icon, supposedly taking place in a “miraculous” manner, and not through the efforts of humans to clean and/or restore the image. A previously dark icon will become light and clear again.

Now as you can imagine, in both the yavlenie and the obnovlenie of icons, there is great room for fantasy, imagination, misinterpretation, chicanery and all kinds of such excesses to which human nature is subject.

You already know, if you have read the previous posting here, about one case of obnovlenie — the story of the “With Coins” variant of the “Joy of/to All Who Suffer” type.

THE DIFFERENCE A FEW KOPEKS MAKE: THE “JOY OF ALL WHO SUFFER ‘WITH COINS’”

The story in brief is that an icon in a chapel near St. Petersburg was struck by lighting, and though the interior was charred, one icon was found fallen face down. Its surface — previously dark, had now become bright and clear, which people, on seeing it, considered to be a miracle. Additionally in this case, some coins from the shattered poor box had become stuck to the surface of the icon, thus the “With Coins” appellation.

Examined historically, obnovlenie is a rather recent phenomenon. It was previously quite rare, and I could find no examples earlier than the 1700s. But the real spread of the notion of obnovlenie began in the early 20th century. One could call it an epidemic of obnovlenie, because not only was it said in that period and later in the century of many icons, but also even of domes and other parts of church architecture.

In the case of icons, the accounts vary. An icon may be renewed gradually over a period of time, or it may happen suddenly, in popular belief. There may be a flash of light associated with it, or a fragrance in the air.

In any case, among the credulous, these stories are accepted as evidence of a miracle, though it may not seem particularly miraculous to us, particularly when only a part of an icon may be brightened.

There are a number of natural explanations for the renewal of icons, including not only effects of light and heat and washing with various substances, but also, of course, there is always the possibility of human misinterpretation or even deception.

All of that is a brief lead-in to the discussion of today’s icon — a variant of the “Not Made by Hands” type, showing the face of Jesus on a cloth. If your memory requires refreshing, here is the link to an earlier posting describing that type:

THE REAL ORIGIN OF THE EASTERN ORTHODOX ICON

The icon is an 18th century painting found in the Church of the Martyrs Borys and Hleb (Boris and Gleb) at the women’s monastery of Borys-Hleb in Kharkhiv diocese, Ukraine.  Here it is, with many votive offerings hanging before it:

It was said to have been “renewed” on July 20, 1998.  Supposedly a flash of light was seen, and there was a fragrance in the air. 

And here is the “renewed” icon (in both cases, it is in a frame):

Perhaps you will agree that as a “miracle,” this one is not particularly impressive.  It is not more than could have been done with a cleaning solvent in removing discolored varnish.  The image is still damaged, and areas of paint are still missing.  But people will often see what they want to see, particularly in times of stress.

As for the iconography, you will note the presence of two angels holding the cloth.  They are absent in many versions of the “Not Made by Hands” type, and even when present they are not often named, except just as “Angel of the Lord.”  In the case of this icon, title inscriptions identify them as the Archangel Michael at left, and Archangel Raphael at right.  The addition of two angels holding the cloth seems to have begun in the 15th century.  In some examples only one angel holds the cloth, in others there are three — one at the top and two at the sides.

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

A reader asked me to discuss the Soumeliotissa ( Σουμελιώτισσα) icon — “She of Soumeli” — or simply the “Soumeli” Marian icon type. It takes its name from the Soumela Monastery where it was kept before the closing.  The monastery in turn takes its name from the Greek εις του Μελά /eis tou Mela — “at the Black” but shortened to “σου Μελά” (sou Mela) in the local Pontic dialect.  “Black” here is the name of the mountain where the monastery is located.  If you happen to be afraid of heights or subject to vertigo, you would not like the place, as you can see from this photo:

Yes, that is the Soumela Monastery stuck high on the side of a cliff — though most of the visible buildings were added as a guesthouse.

As to the icon itself, no one really knows its origin.  It is one of those attributed incorrectly by tradition to have been painted by St. Luke, but that was just useful propaganda to impress the populace by giving an icon such importance.  And of course with that goes the tradition that such an icon can work miracles.

In any case the tradition of Eastern Orthodoxy is that when St. Luke died in the Greek city of Thebes/ Θήβα (not the Egyptian Thebes), his disciple Ananias took the icon to Athens, where it became noted as the Atheniotissa/Αθηνιώτισσα.  There it is said to have gained fame for working miracles, and remained for some 300 years.  Then it disappeared.

And here begins another of those standard motifs connected with famous Marian icons:  the notion that an icon can travel on its own to where it wants to be.  It is said that when the icon disappeared from Athens, it had flown away to a place in the densely forested Pontic Mountains, now in Northern Anatolia, Turkey. 

The tale continues with two monks — Barnabas and Sophronios, who went searching for the missing icon.  When they arrived at Constantinople, Mary supposedly appeared to them, saying that the icon was in a cave on Black Mountain in the Pontus region and a church should be built there. So off the two went into the Pontic Alps to find the cave.  While searching on the mountain, they eventually saw a light shining from a cave — and that is a second motif associated with famous Marian icons — that they can emit light.  Entering the cave, they found the icon.  Supposedly that was in the year 386. 

In that place they first built a monastic cell, then later a church was added.  Once word got out that a miracle working icon painted by St. Luke was there, crowds began showing up to venerate the icon (anachronistically, I can’t help hearing the “ka-ching” of a cash register at this point).  And also a third motif found in several Marian icon origin stories is associated with the place.  The waters flowing from a spring inside the cave were said to have miraculous powers.

Because of the conflicts and territorial disputes after the new Turkish State was formed in 1923, the monastery was abandoned as the Greek populace fled to Greece. The icon was buried for protection at a nearby chapel, and it remained there for some 20 years, until finally it was taken to Greece, where it was first kept in the Byzantine Museum.  However, in 1951 a new Soumela Monastery was founded on Mt. Vernion, near the village of Kastania.  The icon was then kept there.

As you can see from this photo, not much remains of the paint on the original Soumeliotissa icon.  It is mostly gone.

On the Internet you will see images of the Soumeliotissa, such as the one below, that give no idea of the very poor condition of the original. 

WHAT’S IN YOUR HAND?

You should all easily recognize this 18th century image as representing St. “Friday-Friday” — Paraskeva Pyatnitsa.

She typically holds a cross in her right hand, and in her left a scroll with the beginning of the “Symbol of Faith.”  Sometimes, but not always, she wears a crown, as in this example.  You may recall this earlier posting about Paraskeva:

SAINT FRIDAY-FRIDAY AND THE GODDESS MAKOSH

Knowing all that, why am I writing about Paraskeva again?  Well, a reader asked about another icon type that looks very much like icons of Mary Magdalene.  In this type, the female figure holds a cross in her left hand, but in her right she holds not a scroll, but an alabastron — a myrrh vessel (sometimes in real life a perfume vessel).  Here is a 14th century example:

If you are accustomed to the common icon type of Paraskeva — the first one shown above, you might legitimately ask if there is some error here, given that the second icon clearly has the name inscription “The Holy Pyatnitsa.”

Well, the answer is that whatever its origin, this second type is intended to represent Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, not Mary Magdalene. It is just a far less common type.  The standard explanation for the alabastron in her left hand in this type is that it is a symbol of healing, not a sign that she is one of the “Myrrh-bearing women” like Mary Magdalene.

Now it is easy to understand why in spite of the name inscription, some might think the above image is Mary Magdalene.  Look at this icon with its name inscription for Mary Magdalene:

It is obvious that one could simply change the name inscription, and it would then be understood to be Paraskeva Pyatnitsa.  Or one could change the inscription on the second Pyatnitsa type above, and it would then be understood as Mary Magdalene.

I have said many times before that the features of saints in the majority of icons were just created from fantasy.  They are not actual images of historical people for the most part, though there are a few exceptions.  That is why name inscriptions are very important in identifying which saint is intended in an icon.  Of course even name inscriptions were sometimes wrong, because some icon painters were near or wholly illiterate.

So what do we do if we come across an icon, like the second or third example above, but with no surviving name inscription?  In such a case we might say that it is likely to be Mary Magdalene or Paraskeva Pyatnitsa, but we do not really know for certain, because these two are not the only female saints holding an alabastron.

To complicate matters further, some icons of Paraskeva Pyatnitsa depict her only with a cross in her right hand and nothing at all in the left:

That is a good reminder to not expect an icon of a given saint to always have exactly the same characteristics.  Some do, some do not.  Again, the name inscription is generally the determining factor in identification, except in those cases where the writer of the inscription has clearly misidentified a saint, which sometimes happens.

THE PROUSSOS ICON

Icon painters, when painting a Marian icon, did not always exactly follow the prototype. Today we will look at a Greek icon from 1825.

(Courtesy of Jacksonsauction.com)

We see in it the usual abbreviations Meter Theou (Mother of God) and Iesus Khristos (Jesus Christ). 

The title inscription is just below the angel on the left.  It reads:

Ἡ Ελεουσα
Προυσιωτισσα

The painter has omitted an σ, which I have added above.

Transliterated, it is:

He Eleousa Prousiotissa

It translates as:

“The Merciful Prousiotissa.” 

Perhaps by now you recognize that many Greek Marian icon titles have that feminine -tissa /-issa ending. 

Though the painter has called it the Eleusa / Merciful, that title is usually reserved in icon jargon for icons in which the head of Mary inclines close to or touching the head of the Christ Child.  The form of this icon, with Mary’s head erect and her right hand gesturing toward the Child, would commonly be classified as a Hodegitria (“Way-shower”) type.

Prousiotissa loosely translated means “She of Prousa.”  That relates to the origin legend of the icon. 

Yes (yawn!), it is another of those completely falsely attributed to St. Luke.  It was said to have been taken from Prousa (thus the name), now Bursa, in Asia Minor in 828 c.e. to keep it from being burned.  It was in the care of a young noble who was bringing it to Greece.  But when he reached Gallipoli in Thrace, he lost the icon.  And here we get another one of those standard motifs associated with supposed “miracle-working” Marian icons:  the lost icon revealed itself by sending up a brilliant column of torch-like light, along with the sound of hymns being sung, which enabled its finding in a cave by a shepherd boy, who thus was known as Pyrsos/πῠρσός, meaning “torch.”  And then we get another of the standard motifs associated with such icons.  When the young noble from Prousa learned that the icon had been found, he reclaimed it and took it with him.  But when he stopped in his journey to rest, he put the icon inside a ruined church.  On waking from sleep, he discovered the icon was gone, and thought perhaps it had been stolen by shepherds, but the icon had gone on its own to the wilds of Eurytania/Evritania, in central Greece.  The young man heard a voice saying the icon preferred to be in the wild mountains rather than in a city, and added that if the young man went to stay with the icon in the wilds, it would be for his good.  So he freed his slaves and gave up his wealth, and with his servant went to the place the icon had chosen.  There they became monks under the names Dionysios and Timotheos.  A small church was built there.  Later it became the site of the Proussos Monastery. 

There is more to the legends associated with the icon, but that should suffice. 

Here is a photo of the present day Proussos Monastery:

If we compare the 1825 icon with the Prousiotissa kept in the monastery, we can see that the painter has placed an open scroll in the hand of the Christ Child, instead of the rolled scroll found in the monastery icon.

Here is the text:

It reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted ….” (Luke 4:18)

Another inscription by the painter is at lower left:

 

“Remember, Lady, your servant Demetrios.”

At right is a date inscription reading:
“1825  October 14”

The additional four saints at the base of the icon have been added to this Prousiotissa type.  They are easily recognized even without name inscriptions as St. George, St. Nicholas, St. Kharalampos/Haralambos, and St. Demetrios — all very popular and well-known saints in Greece.

THE “NICENE” ICON

This Marian icon type was mentioned briefly in a previous posting, but today I want to discuss it in more detail.

(Courtesy of Jacksonsauction.com)

Let’s look at the title, which is written on the top left and right sides:

It reads:
БЫСТЬ ЧРЕВО ТВОЕ
BUIST CHREVO TVOE

СВЯТАЯ ТРАПЕЗА
SVYATAYA TRAPEZA

So all together it is:

BUIST CHREVO TVOE SVYATAYA TRAPEZA
“YOUR WOMB BECOMES THE HOLY TABLE”

That is the title of today’s icon type.  It is also sometimes called Никейская / Nikeyskaya — the “of Nicea” or “Nicene” Mother of God.

As you can see, it depicts Mary in an Orante pose, with Emmanuel in a chalice before her, representing the Eucharist on the altar table.  The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove is descending upon her at upper left, so this is also seen as an icon of the incarnation.  The dove is not found in all examples.

Some icons, such as this 18th century example from the State Museum of the History of Religion in St. Petersburg, show a scroll in the hand of Emmanuel. 

In this icon the scroll reads:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. “

That is taken from John 6:51.  Then the scroll continues with the liturgical

“Take, eat, this is my body of the new covenant, which is broken for you for the remission of sins.”

The origin story of this icon is so confused that obviously no one is certain how it originated.  Supposedly there was a battle in Nicea in 304, and a soldier named Constantine is said to have thrown a stone at an icon of Mary, and then trampled on the fallen image.  The tale continues that Mary was so irritated by this that she appeared to him in a dream that night, telling him he was to be punished.   In the next day’s battle, the Constantine was killed by a stone that struck his head. 

Some shift the date of the origin centuries later, to an Arab siege of Nicea in 726, in which a soldier threw a stone at an apparently sculpted icon of Mary, breaking her leg.  Then the next day the soldier was killed by a thrown stone in battling the Arabs. 

In any case, most icons of this type one is likely to encounter come from the 18th and 19th centuries, and tend to be found more among the Old Believers. 

The tropation, tone 4 to this icon is:

Бысть чрево Твое святая трапеза, имущая небеснаго Хлеба, Христа Бога нашего, от Негоже всяк ядый не умирает, якоже рече всех, Богородительнице, Питатель.

Buist’ chrevo tvoe svyatay trapeza, imushchaya nebesnago khleba, Khrista Boga nashego, ot negozhe vsyak yaduiy ne umiraet, yakozhe reche vsekh, Bogoroditel’nitse, Pitatel’.

“Your womb became the holy table, having the heavenly bread, Christ, from which no one who eats ever dies, as said the Mother of God, nourisher of all.”