J
Jofantioch
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Can anyone explain this icon to me please?
http://www.balamand.edu.lb/theology/iconJonthreehands.jpg
http://www.balamand.edu.lb/theology/iconJonthreehands.jpg
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D
Diak
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The third hand represents the severed and later healed hand of St. John of Damascus when he defended the holy icons against the Iconoclasts.
This icon (and reproductions of it) is a beloved devotional icon of the Mother of God and Christ but is also especially used in processions and services for the Sunday of Orthodoxy with the iconic reference to the triumph over the iconoclasts in the third hand.
As I recall the original is on Mt. Athos at Hilandar Monastery.
FDRLB
This icon (and reproductions of it) is a beloved devotional icon of the Mother of God and Christ but is also especially used in processions and services for the Sunday of Orthodoxy with the iconic reference to the triumph over the iconoclasts in the third hand.
As I recall the original is on Mt. Athos at Hilandar Monastery.
FDRLB
P
prodromos
Guest
The renowned writer and Church poet, Saint John Damascene, served at the court of the caliph in his youth and was the ruler of the city of Damascus. A native of Syria, he lived in the middle of the 8th century, when the iconoclastic heresy was raging in the Byzantine Empire: icons were being destroyed, and their venerators were being severely persecuted. Being a highly education man and a gifted writer, John very convincingly wrote in defense of the Orthodox veneration of icons.
The Greek Emperor Leo the Isaurian, a convinced iconoclast, became enraged at John for his compositions. He ordered his scribe to learn Saint John’s handwriting and to write a letter, as if in his name, addressed to the Byzantine Emperor, in which John supposedly offers his services to the Isaurian in overthrowing the caliph. The Isaurian Emperor sent this forged letter off to the caliph as proof of his friendship towards the caliph and the treason of John Damascene.
The eastern despot, without investigating the matter and not accepting John’s explanation, ordered that he be confined in prison and that his right hand, which had supposedly written the treasonous letter, be cut off. Having an icon of the Mother of God with him in the prison, Saint John placed his cutoff right hand before it and prayed long before the icon, pouring out his woe. The Immaculate Virgin appeared to the sufferer in his sleep, and gazing mercifully at him said: “Thy hand is now whole; sorrow no more”. John awoke and with joyful astonishment saw that the cutoff hand had adhered to its place and become whole, just as before. Only a narrow scar remained that reminded of the punishment. In an excess of joy and gratitude to the merciful Intercessor, John composed in his soul the hymn: “In thee, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoiceth”. This hymn is sung in Church till now at the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.
News of the miracle reached the caliph, and he, on summoning John, patiently investigated his case and became convinced of his innocence. Realizing that he was guilty before John, the caliph, in order to make amends for his unjustness, offered him a huge recompense and high honors. But John, having come to understand how fragile earthly goods and worldly glory are, refused everything. In gratitude to the Mother of God, he ordered a representation of his hand in silver and fastened it to the icon before which the miracle was performed. This icon received the name, “Three*handed”
balamand.edu.lb/theology/live_of_saint_john_of_damascus.htmhttp://www.balamand.edu.lb/theology/live_of_saint_john_of_damascus.htm
John
The Greek Emperor Leo the Isaurian, a convinced iconoclast, became enraged at John for his compositions. He ordered his scribe to learn Saint John’s handwriting and to write a letter, as if in his name, addressed to the Byzantine Emperor, in which John supposedly offers his services to the Isaurian in overthrowing the caliph. The Isaurian Emperor sent this forged letter off to the caliph as proof of his friendship towards the caliph and the treason of John Damascene.
The eastern despot, without investigating the matter and not accepting John’s explanation, ordered that he be confined in prison and that his right hand, which had supposedly written the treasonous letter, be cut off. Having an icon of the Mother of God with him in the prison, Saint John placed his cutoff right hand before it and prayed long before the icon, pouring out his woe. The Immaculate Virgin appeared to the sufferer in his sleep, and gazing mercifully at him said: “Thy hand is now whole; sorrow no more”. John awoke and with joyful astonishment saw that the cutoff hand had adhered to its place and become whole, just as before. Only a narrow scar remained that reminded of the punishment. In an excess of joy and gratitude to the merciful Intercessor, John composed in his soul the hymn: “In thee, O Full of Grace, all creation rejoiceth”. This hymn is sung in Church till now at the Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great.
News of the miracle reached the caliph, and he, on summoning John, patiently investigated his case and became convinced of his innocence. Realizing that he was guilty before John, the caliph, in order to make amends for his unjustness, offered him a huge recompense and high honors. But John, having come to understand how fragile earthly goods and worldly glory are, refused everything. In gratitude to the Mother of God, he ordered a representation of his hand in silver and fastened it to the icon before which the miracle was performed. This icon received the name, “Three*handed”
balamand.edu.lb/theology/live_of_saint_john_of_damascus.htmhttp://www.balamand.edu.lb/theology/live_of_saint_john_of_damascus.htm
John
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