What Is Serenity and How Can We Grow in It?

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 03-19-15 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[zot]

Thanks for the ping, the reminder, and the definition of Joy.

[Carthego delenda est]

Praying for you.

[Grateful2God]

Thanks so much for the beautiful post. God bless you and thank you for your prayers!

[Grateful2God]

Thank you, and God bless you for praying for me...

[2nd amendment mama]

Praying that you receive God’s abundant joy, peace and comfort for whatever situation you are finding yourself in. May God cover you with his hedge of protection and bring solace and serenity into your life. In Jesus’ name I pray.

[annalex]

Yes, you can say that. The general canonical beard is there, but indeed there seems to be not enough of it.

The oldest known Savior icon is this:

St. Catherine, Sinai, 6 c.

: This shows a full and rather thick beard, with characteristic tuft of hair right under the lower lip, giving way to a bear upper half of the chin.

This image, admittedly late-medieval (16c.) shows all elements of Christ's beard that prevail through the ages and, I believe came from eyewitness accounts.

Savior not made by hand

In addition to the bare upper chin on the St. Catherine image, we see long curls and the beard parting in two strands at the bottom.

These elements can be discerned, albeit with some difficulty, on the Shroud of Turin image:

[annalex]

Lord Jesus Christ, smile on Thy servant and bless him in his trial.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, amen.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I am sorry. I had to post this.

It was necessary!

[Tax-chick]

That’s very interesting, thanks! I hadn’t really given it much thought, but the beard placement in the picture in post 11 was eye-catching strange.

[Tax-chick]

I understand. Nice kitteh ...

[Carthego delenda est]

“oldest known Savior icon is this”

I’m not sure if you’ve seen what happens when that iconic image is split in half vertically, and mated with its mirror image. The results are quite interesting. I’ve never taught myself how to post images on FR, but here is a link to the image I described:

http://www.barnhardt.biz/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Composite_christ_pantocrator.png

[annalex]

"bear upper half"

LOL.

The #11 is also remarkable for very strident use of inverse perspective in treating human face. Observe how the front features of the face, -- eyes, mouth, and nose, -- seem small relative to the neck and chin. That is not an accident. In fact the thin red beard circumferencing the plump chin is there to further strengthen the potato head effect. Why?

Iconography is known for systematic use of inverse perspective: rather than capturing the rays of light directed at your eye, as in photography or realistic painting, inverse perspective depicts an object as if you walked around it. The object becomes the optical center around which your eye is forced to travel. It is tricky to do so unobtrusively, and this iconographer possibly overdid it. But some degree of inverse perspective is a necessary element of an icon. See, for example, in this Holy Trinity icon the furniture and the architectural elements all shown in inverse perspective, making the communion chalice the center.

Holy Trinity
(The Hospitality of Abraham)

Rublev, 15 C.

The theological aspect of this is now clear. Realistic, linear perspective makes the observer the psychological center because he is, due to the mechanics of it, the geometrical center. Inverse perspective makes the holy object the center and the observer is placed nowhere in particular around the object: psychologically, he is on the outside looking in. This makes the holy object the reality and the act of observing it accidental and relatively unimportant, teaching us the proper psychological posture when in the presence of God.

The sense of serenity, palpable in the Savior icon at #11, is the outcome of this iconographic technique: it reminds you that your life only matters in relation to Christ and while centered around Christ.

[Tax-chick]

Fascinating.

[Grateful2God]

That’s beautiful, thank you, and God bless you!

[Grateful2God]

Thank you so much, annalex, and God bless you!