The Authors of the Holy Scriptures

 

The Authors of the Holy Scriptures, 18x22" Egg tempera on panel. Commissioned for Legacy Icons

This new icon of the Authors of the Holy Scriptures is the first of its kind. To our knowledge, no synaxis icon has ever brought together all of the authors of the Sacred Scriptures. This icon was commissioned by Legacy Icons for exclusive distribution as high quality printed reproductions mounted on wood for faithful Christians desiring to encounter these wonderful saints.

This icon begins with the Divine Logos, Jesus Christ, the Son and Word of God, blessing and inspiring the authors of the Sacred Scriptures. First and foremost, the authors of the New Testament are in the forefront, as they most clearly beheld firsthand as eyewitnesses to the incarnation of the Word of God, Jesus Christ, of whom the Holy Prophets only beheld as shadows of the future promise. Central are the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul. As in many icons, they hold a representation of the Holy Church. The Sacred Scriptures proceed from and originate within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church; the Church does originate from the Scriptures, as some erroneously teach. Next are the authors of the four Holy Gospels, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, who bore eyewitness testimony to the life and saving teachings of Jesus Christ, followed by Saints James and Jude, the step-brothers of the Lord, who left us epistles. 

In front of these Apostles is a depiction of the Etimasia, the Throne prepared for Christ's imminent return. The Lord's throne is a common motif in sacred iconography. It holds a book, here, opened to the first verse of both Genesis and John's Gospel, which reads "In the beginning...was the Word" in Hebrew and Greek, illustrating the seamless cohesion of the sacred scriptures. The throne also holds the instruments of Our Lord's Passion: the Cross, the nails, the spear, the sponge, the reed.

Behind the Holy Apostles are the Prophets who wrote the books of the Old Testament. Central is Moses, who authored the Torah, the foundation of the entire Bible. Above him is David, whose Psalms are prayed daily in every service. Around them are the rest of the Prophets who recorded both the history of God's people and who saw the coming of God incarnate, Jesus Christ. Behind them are the countless anonymous authors, editors, scribes, and copyists whose names are known only to God, through whom we have received these Scriptures. The sky is a gentle gradient of the dawn of the Eighth Day, the Day of the Lord.

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