DOI Artikel:
Sulikowska, Aleksandra: The Old-Believers' Images of God as the Father: Theology and Cult
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18949#0121
-Dyonisius’s texts.43 Another factor was an increase in numbers and
significance of symbolic-dogmatic icons, including those which depicted the
Old Testament revelations.44 But did the 16th century reflections on icon
influence in any way the painting and craftsmanship of the Old-Believers’
workshops? As late as in the 20rh century two types of God the Father’s
images have been dominant. He was presented either as one of the persons
of the New Testament Trinity or as an independent figurę. While the former
was popular among the majority of the 01d-Believers’ groups,43 the latter is
characteristic mainly for the Palekh painting and rather rare in the art of the
Pomorie region Popovcy and Fedoseevcy. Depictions of Paternitas, which
were superseded by the New Testament image of the Holy Trinity sińce the
second half of the 16th century, are absent in the 01d-Believers’ art.4'1
Whiteness of robes prescribed for the representation of God Sabaoth and
derived from DaniePs vision (Dn 7:9) spoken of by Makarij at the council
of 1553-1554, in many icons from the National Museum collections was
replaced by gold, a colour symbolising light and functioning of Divine
energies.47 * An eight-armed halo surrounding God’s head consists of two
sąuares: a dark red one, symbolising Divine fire and a navy-blue one suggesting
Divinity’s inconceivable naturę. This attribute is God the Father’s distińguishing
feature, just as Christ is traditionally presented in a cross halo.4s The sphere
(world sphere) held by the Lord of Hosts signifies his rule over the world and
brings back the world’s creation. Ali these attributes, based on apophatic
theology, describe the figurę of God the Father. It should be stressed, however,
that in the 18th and 19th centuries their naturę was not fixed and so one can
assume that the recipients themselves did not perceived these attributes
as a necessary complementation of the canon, neither did they issue from
painters’ independence. Of course the 01d-Believer icon painters used patterns,
podlinniki (iconographical manuals), dating back presumably to the 17th
century. Ali the above versions of iconography of the Lord of Hosts derive
from those known from Stroganou and Siyskiy podlinnik.49
43 Cf. G.P. Fedotov, The Russian Religious Mind, vol. II, Cambridge 1965, pp. 29-30;
“Rozysk o bogokhulnykh strokakh...”, op. cit., p. 19. Popularisation of Pseudo-Dyonisius’s
teachings was probably related to their inclusion to metropolitan Makariy’s Menologion. In the
17* century Pseudo-Dyonisius was ąuoted and called upon even by Awakum, a man of ardent
faith but poorly educated. Pamyatniki literatury..., op. cit., Kniga vtoraya, pp. 351-354, 639.
44 G.K. Vagner, Kanon i stil v dreunerusskom iskusstve, Moscow 1987, pp. 230-231.
45 Retkovskaya, op. cit., pp. 257-258; Russkaya emal. XVII - nachala XX veka, Moscow 1994,
ill. 228, 238, 239.
46 Cf. Retkovskaya, op. cit., pp. 257-262.
47 Vagner, op. cit., p. 59.
4S There are no representations of God the Father with a cross halo in the 01d-Believers’
tradition although they do appear in Byzantine (J. Lowden, The Octateuchs. A Study in
Byzantine Manuscripts Illustration, Pennsylvania 1992, ill. 12; Weitzmann, op. cit., cat. 16),
Russian (Lazarev, op. cit., ill. 31) as well as Post-Byzantine art (Byzantine and Post-Byzantine
Art, Athens 1986, cat. 158, 196).
44 Pokrovskiy, op. cit., p. 439ff, ill. 190, 202, 211, 214.
119
significance of symbolic-dogmatic icons, including those which depicted the
Old Testament revelations.44 But did the 16th century reflections on icon
influence in any way the painting and craftsmanship of the Old-Believers’
workshops? As late as in the 20rh century two types of God the Father’s
images have been dominant. He was presented either as one of the persons
of the New Testament Trinity or as an independent figurę. While the former
was popular among the majority of the 01d-Believers’ groups,43 the latter is
characteristic mainly for the Palekh painting and rather rare in the art of the
Pomorie region Popovcy and Fedoseevcy. Depictions of Paternitas, which
were superseded by the New Testament image of the Holy Trinity sińce the
second half of the 16th century, are absent in the 01d-Believers’ art.4'1
Whiteness of robes prescribed for the representation of God Sabaoth and
derived from DaniePs vision (Dn 7:9) spoken of by Makarij at the council
of 1553-1554, in many icons from the National Museum collections was
replaced by gold, a colour symbolising light and functioning of Divine
energies.47 * An eight-armed halo surrounding God’s head consists of two
sąuares: a dark red one, symbolising Divine fire and a navy-blue one suggesting
Divinity’s inconceivable naturę. This attribute is God the Father’s distińguishing
feature, just as Christ is traditionally presented in a cross halo.4s The sphere
(world sphere) held by the Lord of Hosts signifies his rule over the world and
brings back the world’s creation. Ali these attributes, based on apophatic
theology, describe the figurę of God the Father. It should be stressed, however,
that in the 18th and 19th centuries their naturę was not fixed and so one can
assume that the recipients themselves did not perceived these attributes
as a necessary complementation of the canon, neither did they issue from
painters’ independence. Of course the 01d-Believer icon painters used patterns,
podlinniki (iconographical manuals), dating back presumably to the 17th
century. Ali the above versions of iconography of the Lord of Hosts derive
from those known from Stroganou and Siyskiy podlinnik.49
43 Cf. G.P. Fedotov, The Russian Religious Mind, vol. II, Cambridge 1965, pp. 29-30;
“Rozysk o bogokhulnykh strokakh...”, op. cit., p. 19. Popularisation of Pseudo-Dyonisius’s
teachings was probably related to their inclusion to metropolitan Makariy’s Menologion. In the
17* century Pseudo-Dyonisius was ąuoted and called upon even by Awakum, a man of ardent
faith but poorly educated. Pamyatniki literatury..., op. cit., Kniga vtoraya, pp. 351-354, 639.
44 G.K. Vagner, Kanon i stil v dreunerusskom iskusstve, Moscow 1987, pp. 230-231.
45 Retkovskaya, op. cit., pp. 257-258; Russkaya emal. XVII - nachala XX veka, Moscow 1994,
ill. 228, 238, 239.
46 Cf. Retkovskaya, op. cit., pp. 257-262.
47 Vagner, op. cit., p. 59.
4S There are no representations of God the Father with a cross halo in the 01d-Believers’
tradition although they do appear in Byzantine (J. Lowden, The Octateuchs. A Study in
Byzantine Manuscripts Illustration, Pennsylvania 1992, ill. 12; Weitzmann, op. cit., cat. 16),
Russian (Lazarev, op. cit., ill. 31) as well as Post-Byzantine art (Byzantine and Post-Byzantine
Art, Athens 1986, cat. 158, 196).
44 Pokrovskiy, op. cit., p. 439ff, ill. 190, 202, 211, 214.
119