![]() The Biblical event is recorded in Acts 2 which relates how upon receiving the Holy Spirit, the Apostles began to speak in various languages, proclaiming the salvific message of Christ’s Resurrection to the world, drawing many into the Faith through Baptism and the life of the Church. Learn more about this icon.Īmong the images of the Christological cycle that will appear in the Shrine of Saint Nicholas is that of the Pentecost (ἡ Πεντηκοστή – meaning “fifty”) depicting the event of the Descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of Fiery Tongues upon the Apostles fifty days after Christ’s Resurrection. Architecture and iconography work together to create a unified entity. A Byzantine/Orthodox church is understood as complete when its interior surfaces are properly embellished. Father Loukas had already installed some of the icons for the Consecration, but the full complement of images will fill the dome and walls with a coherent iconographic program. The Church must be closed to the public during this time, as there will be an intricate scaffolding erected, to allow Father Loukas and his assistants to place the iconography in all of the appropriate spaces. Now that the Consecration of the Saint Nicholas National Shrine is complete, the Shrine will close to the public for a short while, while the installation of the Iconographic Program takes place. The Installation of the Iconographic Program His holy presence is immediately encountered by all faithful and visitors who enter this sacred space. The Holy Hierarch’s large image appropriately appears in the narthex as the patronal Saint of the Shrine. Upon entering the narthex of the Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero, one will find a large, full-length icon of Saint Nicholas to the right of the doors leading into the nave. The Titular Icon of Saint Nicholas in the Shrine at Ground Zero It emphasizes the divine institution of the sacrament of the Eucharist by Christ but presented within a liturgical context. The scene of the Communion of the Apostles has its roots in the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper (Matthew 26:17-29 Mark 14:12-26 Luke 22: 7-23 and John 13: 1-30). ![]() From this point onward, this image become a standard feature in sanctuary iconographic programs. Although images of the Communion of the Apostles can be found as early as the 6th century in manuscripts and on liturgical patens, scholars have shown that the scene does not appear in the central apse of Orthodox church sanctuaries until the 11th century, reflecting a period that witnessed a greater interest in depicting liturgical ceremonies. Learn more about this icon.Īmong the three sacred images found on the eastern wall of the sanctuary of the Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero is that of the Communion of the Apostles, identified here by its accompanying Greek inscription, ἡ Μετάληψις (the Partaking of the Elements of the Eucharist). The technical term Deesis (transliterated from the Greek word δέησις -meaning entreaty or intercession or intercessory prayer) has most often been applied to the sacred i mage of Christ flanked by His Mother (to His right) and Saint John the Baptist, the Forerunner or Prodromos (to His left), the most well-known example being that of the monumental 13 th -century mosaic in the south gallery of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. In the conch of the curved surface of the semihemisphere or quarter-sphere extending into the narthex from the nave of the Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero, there is the image of the Deesis : in this example co mposed of the central half-length image of Christ, flanked by half-length images of the Mother of God and Saint Nicholas, both of whom extend their hands towards Christ in a prayerful, reverential gesture. The Images of the Deesis in the Shrine of Saint Nicholas at Ground Zero
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