Page 4 - Revista Paisiana Nr 13 Martie 2025

The Icon of the Annunciation

he narrative of Annunciation of the Mary in lavish royal costumes sitting on a richly de-
Most Holy Theotokos has been present corated throne. Naturally, all these details were inclu-
in Christian iconography since the times ded in the depiction of the Annunciation.
of early Christianity, starting from the In the icon of the Annunciation, we see two fi-
catacomb frescoes of ancient Rome. gures, the angel Gabriel and the Holy Theotokos.
While the majority of the catacomb frescoes were al- Gabriel is standing with feet wide apart, giving a sense
legorical, depictions of the Annunciation were among of urgency, as if he is running to Mary to tell her the
the few examples of a more naturalistic style. good news. In some icons, his wing is bent toward
When the third ecumenical council established heaven as if he is still in the midst of his descent to
the title „Theotokos” to underline the dignity of the earth. In his left hand is a staff, symbolizing his aut-
Queen of Heaven, artists began to depict the Virgin hority and his messenger status. His right hand is ex-
tended with the fingers arranged in that of a blessing
with the unmistakable gesture of an ambassador on a
diplomatic mission as he tells her the good news.
Above Mary, we see furnishings and abstract
building structures. This is to indicate that this event
is happening inside and is portrayed this way so as to
avoid distracting the viewer from the event at hand.
There is often a red cloth draped between two structu-
res, which represents the reconnection of a cosmos di-
vided by sin, made possible by the Incarnation.
Virgin Mary is seated on an elevated seat, sho-
wing her elevated status as the Mother of God. In the
Divine Liturgy, celebrated in the Eastern rites, the
choir praises the Theotokos after the consecration as,
„more honorable than the Cherubim and beyond com-
pare more glorious than the Seraphim, who, a virgin,
gave birth to God the Word, you, truly the Mother of
God, we magnify.”
Byzantine painters took a fine approach to re-
present the royal dignity and simplicity of the Mother
of God. Their solution was to use the purple colour
that indicated the royal identity more than gold or dia-
monds.
There was also another detail where purple
played a major role. In icons, the Theotokos was often
shown with a spindle and wool. This detail did not ap-
pear out of nowhere. First, it was an allusion to the
apocryphal writings in which the Theotokos was wea-
ving a woollen curtain for the Jerusalem temple while
living in the house of Joseph. Another line of interpre-
tation came from church hymnography. For example,
the Great Canon of Repentance of Saint Andrew of
Crete has these lines dedicated to the Theotokos: „The
spiritual purple of Emmanuel was woven inside thy
womb as if from scarlet silk, O Most-pure Virgin.
Therefore we honour thee as truly Theotokos.”

4 Annunciation from Kirillo-Belozersky iconostasis PAISIANA nr. 3 / martie / 2025
(15th century, Russia)