Forty
days after Christ’s resurrection, He was taken up into the Heavens before the
disciples, and so forty days after Easter, is the Feast of the Ascension. The
icon for this feast shows the events as described in the Book of Acts, though
as with all Holy Icons there is more revealed than just a straight retelling of
the story in pictures.
Based on
the accounts written by St Luke in his Gospel (Luke 24:36-53) and the Book of
Acts (Acts 1:1-12), the icon of the Ascension is correspondingly ancient. One
of the earliest surviving images of the Ascension, a full-page illustration
from the 6th century Rabbula Gospels, is remarkably similar to all subsequent
icons, with precious few variations. Icons from St Catherine’s monastery in
Sinai, for example, show little change between images of the Ascension made in
the 6th century with those painted almost 600 years later. Regardless of age or
location, the Icon of the Ascension seems to have been “canonized” early on in
the Church’s history.
The image
itself is characterized by colour: the robes of the Apostles, the Mother of
God, the Angels, and Christ Himself surrounded by light; all this is suitable
for the Feast itself, which is one of the Twelve Great Feasts and a joyous
celebration.
The icon
contains both confusion and peace: the former is borne of worldly reasoning,
whilst the latter comes from divine, heavenly, order.
In the
Scriptures, Jesus is described as being merely “taken up” into the skies and
disappearing from sight behind a cloud. Seemingly contrary to this, the icon of
the event shows Christ in glory: surrounded by a mandorla (or circle) of light,
flanked by angels, and arrayed in brilliant golden robes. Indeed, the
similarity between the appearance of Christ at His Ascension, and the
appearance of Christ at His Second Coming are striking:
The image
of Christ in glory, seated upon a “rainbow”, comes directly from the Book of
Revelation, regarding the Last Judgment and Second Coming of Jesus Christ:
Immediately
I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the
throne. And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in
appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an
emerald. (Rev 4:2-3)
The reason
Christ ascending into Heaven is depicted the same as Christ’s Second Coming is
because of the words of the angels present at the Ascension:
“Men of
Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken
up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into
heaven.” (Acts 1:11)
And so
the Icon depicts Jesus’ Ascension and Second Coming “in like manner”. Not that
the disciples below Christ fully understand these words yet.
The
distinction between heavenly peace and worldly confusion is most apparent upon
the Mount of Olives. The Apostles look up in a combination of fear and wonder,
their arms waving like the olive trees on the mount. In the centre, the two
angels “in white apparel” exhort the men to cease their gazing into heaven and
return to Jerusalem to receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Between
the two angels stands Mary the Mother of God, hands raised in prayer, not
staring up, but peacefully toward us. Already overshadowed by the Holy Spirit
since Christ’s conception, Mary appears to understand the deep mysteries of her
Son’s birth, death, resurrection and ascension, already hoping on Christ’s return.
This hope brings her the divine peace shared by Jesus Christ and the angels:
they all have halos signifying the grace and glory of God, whereas the
disordered Apostles do not.
An Icon of the Church Before Pentecost
The
Ascension, as well as showing the historical event of Christ’s ascension, also
symbolically depicts the Church. This is most evident by the Apostle Paul being
present in the icon, despite the Ascension occurring before Paul’s conversion
(recounted later in the Book of Acts).
This
ahistoric depiction is not uncommon in holy icons: the icon of Pentecost also
shows Paul, as it too is an icon of the Church. The differences and
similarities between the two festal icons (the feasts only being separated by
10 days) are deliberate. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit the Church is put
into a certain amount of confusion by the physical absence of Christ. At
Pentecost – by the power of the Holy Spirit – the Church, again represented by
the Apostles, is shown in order. And the Apostles get their halos.
But amid
the confusion of the Church before Pentecost there is the Mother of God,
prayerfully and peacefully entreating God, and hoping upon His promised return.
Gazing out, she exhorts us, whilst still amid the confusion and disorder of the
world, to do the same: spiritually gazing to the heavens in prayer, awaiting
the return of Our Lord.
Abandoning on earth the things of earth,
leaving to the dust the things of ash, now, let us come to our senses and raise
on high our eyes and minds.
Mortals, let us make our sight together with
our senses fly to heaven’s gates.
Let us imagine we are standing on the Mount
of Olives and that we bend our gaze on the Redeemer, as he rides up on a cloud.
For, from where the Lord has hastened back to
heaven, there too the One who loves to give has distributed his gifts to his
Apostles,
Cherishing them as a father and confirming
them, guiding them as sons and saying to them,
‘I am not parting from you. I am with you,
and there is no one against you.’
(Hymn by St Romanos the Melodist for the
Ascension Feast)
Source: https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/ascension-icon-why-stand-ye-gazing-up-into-heaven/
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