• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

6th-Century Icon: God of Mercy and Justice

Fr. David Friel · October 15, 2017

ACRED ARTS have the power to communicate strong messages about both God and man. This is true of music, painting, and architecture, as well as many other arts. Recently, a beautiful icon from the first millennium (pictured at right), accompanied by a scholarly interpretation, caught my attention.

My encounter with this icon derived from studies I have been doing on the effect of liturgy upon self-understanding. Anthropologists have grown more and more interested over recent decades in analyzing this important role of religious ritual: the formation of the “liturgical self,” if you will.

In a 2014 book entitled Liturgical Subjects: Christian Ritual, Biblical Narrative, and the Formation of the Self in Byzantium, Derek Krueger explores the self-understanding that was encouraged among participants in Byzantine liturgy from the sixth century to the turn of the eleventh. One of his most central theses is that Byzantine liturgy of this time period produced a strongly introspective conscience, resulting in a lively conception of the self as sinful, yet still able to be saved. This assertion challenges the common narrative that Augustine and the subsequent Christian West were chiefly (or exclusively) responsible for forming a pervasive, penitential self-understanding among Christians.

The Byzantine liturgical subject, according to Krueger, was formed in the tension between two gazes. The first gaze is the subject’s inward vision of his or her own self. The second gaze is that of the all-seeing God. This divine gaze is characterized both by judgment and compassion, reflecting both the virtue of justice and the virtue of mercy.

In this context, Krueger presents a thoughtful reflection on the symbolism of this striking, sixth-century icon at the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai, Egypt. The author presents this reading of the Christ Pantocrator icon:

His right hand blesses the viewer, while his left holds a jeweled Gospel Book. His body is at once in motion and at rest. The slope and angle of his shoulders suggest that Christ has just shifted his attention toward the viewer. His face looks directly out. On the left side of Christ’s face—the viewer’s right—the brow knits as the eye narrows and the face darkens in shadow; the corner of the lip turns down in a scowl. The God of judgment looks out in wrath. But on the right side of his face, Christ’s expression lightens and his mouth relaxes. His eye wells up with a compassionate tear. Intimately, the image presents Christ as God of justice and mercy, both scolding and comforting the viewer. It forms viewers as subjects of the divine gaze. (Krueger, Liturgical Subjects, 26-28)

N MODERN times, the notion of God as merciful has grown much more popular than the notion of God as just. Both aspects of the divine countenance, however, are essential for a correct understanding of God, of ourselves, and of our relationship to Him. Perhaps this icon could serve to renew appreciation for God’s justice and mercy in the world today.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Byzantine Liturgy, Traditional Catholic Artwork Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at Saint Anselm Church in Northeast Philly before earning a doctorate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America. He presently serves as Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and teaches liturgy at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.—(Read full biography).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

[Let there be:] “The Latin, the whole Latin, and nothing but the Latin.”

— Cardinal McIntyre (one of the Vatican II fathers)

Recent Posts

  • Apply Right Now! • Sacred Music Symposium
  • Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
  • PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)
  • Don’t You Agree About These?
  • Choral Vowels? Yes? No?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.