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The iconostasis is quite a solid screen stretching from the northern to
the southern wall of a church, whereon icons are arranged in a predefined
order. This screen divides the Altar from the church's middle part. There
are three doors in the iconostasis. The central doors are called the Holy
(Royal) Doors. And a man who is not in a Holy order is not permitted to
enter them. On the right side there are the southern doors, they are sometimes
called Deacon's, and on the left side - the northern doors.
First there was no iconostasis in orthodox churches. During the first
centuries the altar was visible for all the praying people, it was divided
from them only with a lattice. Nowadays the Holy Doors are also often
latticed, and the iconostasis itself rarely comes up to the ceiling. It
is arranged in such a way to make the exclamations of a priest in the
Altar audible for everyone in the church.
When the icons themselves are looked at one notices that the iconostasis
is usually decorated with several rows of icons.
The lowest row.
There are some important moments, which make it easy to understand the
complex symbolism of the iconostasis. When you enter an unfamiliar church
it is worth paying attention to the images of the lowest row. The biggest
icons are placed here.
 Let's
approach the rightmost image. It is the icon of that church. It will always
prompt you in honor of what holyday or Saint was that church consecrated.
The same place on the left side is occupied by the "icon of the local
row". You can always define the Saint who is mostly honored in that
region.
Approaching the Holy Doors you'll see the small icons of the Annunciation
and of the four Evangelists: Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Above the Holy
Doors "The Mystical Supper" is placed, it is the symbol of the
mystery of the Holy Eucharist.
Right to the Holy Doors the large icon of the Savior is
placed, and left to it - the icon of the Mother of God with the Infant
in Her hands. On the northern and southern doors Archangels Gabriel and
Michael are painted.
The second row. Now we will look at the icons
of the next row. While the lowest row introduces us the basic moments
of the orthodox dogma and the particulars of local worship of Saints,
the second row (that is also often called The Deesis) is more complex:
there are more icons here and they are smaller. The whole row symbolizes
the praying of the Church to Christ, praying that happens now and will
finish at the Last Judgment. At the middle of the row (just above the
Holy Doors and the icon of "The Mystical Supper") the "Spas
in Powers" is placed. Christ sitting on the throne with a book in
His hand is painted against a background of a red square with elongated
endings (the Earth), a blue oval (the spiritual world), and a red rhomb
(the invisible world). This image represents Christ as a stern judge of
the whole universe. The icon of John the Forerunner, the God's Baptist,
is placed to the right and the icon of the Mother of God - to the left.
Her image is not occasionally "Patroness (Protectress)". The
Theotokos is painted in full-length looking to the left with a roll in
Her hand. Right and left from these icons we see the images of Archangels,
Prophets and the most well-known Saints, which present the Christ's Holy
Church.
The third row. That is so-called the "holiday
row". We can also call it historical: it introduces us the events
of the Evangelical history. The first icon here is the Nativity of the
Most-Holy Mother of God, then go the Presentation in the Temple, the Annunciation,
the Nativity of Christ (Christmas), the Meeting of the Lord, the Epiphany
(The Manifestation of God), the Transfiguration, the Entrance into Jerusalem,
the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, the Falling of the Holy
Spirit upon Apostles, and the Assumption.
 The
fourth row. While the icons of the third row are peculiar illustrations
to the New Testament, the fourth row introduces us the times of the Old
Testament Church. The Prophets who vaticinated the future - the Messiah
and the Virgin who would give birth to Christ - are painted here. The
icon of the Mother of God "Oranta", or "The praying",
which shows the Most-pure Virgin praying with Her hands lifted up to Heaven
with the Infant on Her bosom, is not accidentally placed in the center
of this row.
The fifth row. This row is called the "Forefathers'
row". Its icons send us back to even earlier times. The Forefathers
from Adam to Moses are painted here. The "Old Testament Trinity"
is placed in the center - it is the symbol of the Pre-eternal Council
of the Holy Trinity about the self-sacrifice of God the Word for the atonement
of the man's Fall.
The top of the iconostasis is crowned with the Holy Cross.
But not every church has such an arrangement of the iconostasis. In Old
Russia's churches the type of five-circle iconostasis was dominant but
the number of rows could be reduced even to only one with the necessary
icon of "The Mystical Supper" above the Holy Doors. |
