holy saturday - holy silence

On this day when we keep a special silence, while Jesus lies silent in the grave, this icon seems to speak profoundly. Details below. Please join us at 7pm for our "intentional agape meal" tonight, followed by the great vigil of easter, the service of the light. Tomorrow's one easter service is at 10:45am.
About Icon, written by W.H.McNichols: "The title of this icon is "Jesus Christ Redeemer Holy Silence." Icons of Holy Silence are found in Greece dating back to the 14th century, but interestingly, they seemed to begin appearing with more urgency in 19th century Russia- this itself is a clue to the importance of this icon, as a prayer for then and now.

Holy Silence ("Hagia Hesychia" in Greek) was commissioned  be a "picture of unconditional love." The first thing to notice about Holy Silence, with a pleasant sense of shock and surprise, is that it pictures a female angel with the letters "IC XC" on either side of the top of the image announcing this is Jesus Christ. Although some icons of Holy Silence are more obviously male, this one appears to me clearly female. This is not unusual, since icons portraying angelic wisdom or "Hagia Sophia" are found dating back also to the 14th century. In the Hebrew Scriptures wisdom is more often female. And in the New Testament, "The Divine Wisdom" (I Cor. 1: 30), became an appellation given to the Son of God by Byzantine theologians. Behind her lovely flowing hair, in the aureole or halo is an eight pointed star: six, points for the days of Creation, one for the day God rested, and the final point for the "Day of Eternity" to come. This type of icon, also known as "The Silence of God," is a symbolic depiction of Christ as an eternally youthful angel - or even, as in this example, a female angel. The image was developed in 18th and 19th century Russia, and is associated with the Prayer of the Heart (the Jesus Prayer = "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, sinner that I am").
Icon "written" by William Hart McNichols