The Song of Hagia Sophia

The  Song of Hagia Sophia 

(The lament of the Hellenic people, which is full of hope, after the Fall of Constantinople 1453)

God sounds out, the earth sounds out, the heavens sound out.

And the Hagia Sophia also sounds out, the great monastery,

With four hundred sounding-boards and sixty-two bells,

For each bell a priest, for each priest a deacon.

THE NATIVITY ICON IN BYZANTINE ART

 

THE NATIVITY ICON IN BYZANTINE ART

Orthodox Christians do not celebrate the birth of baby Jesus, we celebrate the Incarnation. What?, you say. What is the Incarnation? This is an important word as it means God becomes Man. This is what we celebrate. The birth of Jesus was that moment in history when God sent His only begotten Son to become like us, taking on human flesh for our healing. This miracle of miracles took place though the ascent of Mary whom we call the Theotokos, Birth-giver of God. God with His divine will became man, taking on a human will in human flesh so Man could unite his human will with God’s divine will. From the time of Adam and Eve, man was separated from God ,unable to follow God’s law. The Incarnation is the beginning of the transformation of mankind so we can be reunited with God.

Nativity Icon

Above you can see the icon of the Nativity. Let’s look at each element of this icon to learn what it communicates to us.

Byzantine Art (in slides)

Byzantine Art PowerPoint from smolinskiel