A late twelfth-century icon from The Holy Monastery of St Catherine, Sinai, Egypt. The physical landscape of the icon echoes that of St Catherine's monastery as it sits on a desert oasis within the seemingly limitless space of the Sinai desert.
Tempera and gold on a wooden panel measuring 63.1 cm x 42.2 cm x 3.2 cm. The icon bears the Greek inscription, O XAIPETICMOC (Annunciation).
The icon is in good condition despite an uneven varnish layer and later additions of orange and aqua overpaint on the top and bottom frame edges. The engaged frame shows signs of earlier gilding. Unusual aspects in its manufacture are that the dove has been painted directly over the ground layer rather than over a layer of bole and the background details lack subtlety with their heavy brown paint. The divine halos are incised and burnished as is the shaft of light.
The Byzantine viewer would have read the icon through the imagery and narrative of the Annunciation from Luke 1: 26-38 and the second century apocryphal Book of James, together with homilies, and the early Akathistos hymn to the Virgin. According to the apocryphal tradition of James, seven virgins were set to spin different colored wool and Mary span with Imperial purple. This was the wool for the Holy of Holies that would be split asunder at Christ's crucifixion. In this Annunciation icon, the Virgin sits on an imperial throne as befits the Mother of God (Theotokos).
The iconography expresses a tension of movement and restraint as the figures are held by the Divine presence. Gabriel has flown from heaven with his message, and his feet and wings are still in movement. The agitation and earthward rush of drapery swirled over his arm, reminiscent of reliefs of victories from Greek art, emphasizes the earthiness of the Incarnation to the Byzantine eye. So too the serpentine twisting of the Archangel's body mirrors the coastline below and contrasts powerfully with Mary's expression of otherworldly calm.
God's saving grace, revealed through the mystery of the Incarnation, is given form in the energy of the physical body of the Divine messenger whose blessing gesture and presence remind us that:
"My name is in Him . . . He will go before you and guard you" (Exodus 23: 20-23).
Christ is welcomed in the mystery of this icon of the Annunciation in the visual expression of calm and transcendence on the Virgin's face together with the grisaille mandorla, with an image of the Christ child, on her breast. Whilst the enclosed rooftop garden, together with the nesting storks, symbolize her unassailable purity of heart.
This Advent I am drawn to ask myself if I have the courage to welcome the Divine presence and whether this is my deepest desire. Whether my life is given to bear God for the world as Mary's was and other lives have been . . .
And I am encouraged by the community of saints who have gone before me:
"Oh God you came to meet me with your love, which has grown since my childhood: it's depths are beyond measure." Office of Readings for the Feast of St Therese of Lisieux.
I trust that God's angelic messengers embody the Divine name and that he has commanded them to support and care for all our needs and keep us in all our ways (Psalm 90). Taking heart in their coming to meet us as they bring Divine courage to begin anew and grow in attentiveness. Gazing on the strength and calm of the Archangel Gabriel we begin to receive his diamond-like clarity and perhaps the desire arises to listen harder for him . . .
The materials, narrative, style and medium of every icon are used in conveying the spiritual transformation that the icon effects, and this is always the birth of the Christ-child in me. Hence, in the Annunciation icon, Gabriel and Mary are filled with the presence of God for us and they wait for our response to enter into this Divine union with them.
This means the end of fear. So much of my life, conscious and unconscious, is driven by fear and yet the gift I am offered this Advent is that of perfect Love. The perfect Love that takes away all fear - as far as the East is from the West and more. There will be suffering, as shown by Mary knitting the temple veil that will be torn apart at her son's Crucifixion. However, the Archangel Gabriel's awesome power makes real the Divine strength that is always present to hold and encourage us.
The Divine energies pour through the gold of the icon, increasing with intensity where the gold leaf is incised and burnished or pure, as beneath the dove, and revealing the spiritual brightness of the Uncreated Light. This Advent icon mysteriously invites us to a fundamental trust in the Divine Unknown, and to risk beginning a journey with Christ that will most likely include some incising and burnishing of our hearts, whilst perhaps leading us to shine brighter for each other than we could ever imagine.
