Ο Θρίαμβος της Ορθοδοξίας στην εικόνα του Βρετανικού Μουσείου : Τα πρόσωπα και τα κείμενα
Part of : Δελτίον της Χριστιανικής Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας ; Vol.44, 2005, pages 345-352
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345-352
Parallel Title:
The Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy in the British Museum : Persons and Texts
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Articles
Abstract:
The icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy, in the BritishMuseum, is one of the most significant Byzantine portableicons to have come to the fore in recent years. The image isdivided into two horizontal zones and is structured aroundtwo icons, one in the centre of each zone; in the upper zonethe icon of the Virgin Hodegetria, set on a stand decoratedwith apodea, and in the lower an icon of Christ. Both iconsare surrounded by persons who either played an active rolein the struggle for iconolatry during Iconoclasm, or played acritical role in the Restoration of the Icons.The work is dated unanimously to around 1400. The singularity of the British Museum icon lies in the fact that it is thesole purely Byzantine work whose subject is the Restorationof the Icons and the Sunday of Orthodoxy (11 March 843).The problem of the identity of certain figures remains open,since most of the accompanying inscriptions have beeneffaced. Depicted in the upper zone and left of the Virgin isthe Emperor Michael III, a minor, and his mother EmpressTheodora. At the right edge is the first patriarch after theend of Iconoclasm, Methodios, beside whom stand a prelateand two monks; the inscriptions of all three have disappeared, but the first should probably be identified as theiconophile Bishop of Ephesos, Theophilos. The two figuresafter Methodios are perhaps Michael of Sinada and Euthymios of Sardis.The first figure bottom left is St Theodosia, but the threefigures that follow remain anonymous, although the third -fourth from the left - is possibly St Ioannikios. Theophanesthe Confessor and Theodore of Stoudios, at the centre, donot present a problem, nor do the Graptoi brothers, Theodore and Theophanes, who are next to Theodore of Stoudios. It is impossible to speculate on the identity of the hierarch shown next, while the last two figures in the icon areTheophylaktos of Nikomedeia and the monk Arsakios.To date, the question of the criteria governing the selectionof these specific figures from the iconophile domain has notbeen investigated. The choice was obviously not fortuitousand clearly a text or texts which echo the dispute over the veneration of icons were used. In my opinion, it is very possiblethat the work entitled De Theophili imperatoris absolutione(BHG, 1732-1734k), written probably in the tenth century, inposthumous praise of Emperor Theophilos, was used as ahistorical basis for the composition of the British Museumicon. The unknown author of the text names those ecclesiastical figures who prayed together with Patriarch Methodiosfor God's forgiveness of Theophilos; they were, in order,Ioannikios, Arsakios, Theodore of Stoudios, Theophanesthe Confessor, the Graptoi brothers, as well as other personsnot named. I do not think it is mere coincidence that virtuallyall the persons mentioned in the said work are depicted invirtually the same order in the British Museum icon.The reasons for the presence of St Theodosia in this iconremain to be examined. That the saint was particularly popular during the Palaiologan period is known from iconographie and other testimonies. It would be reasonable, therefore, to assume that St Theodosia was portrayed in theTriumph of Orthodoxy because of her renown in Constantinople and not because of her martyrdom in the first periodof Iconoclasm, which has in any case been persuasivelydoubted. It should be noted that St Theodosia was accredited with the cure of the Patriarch of Constantinople,Joseph II (1416-1439). The event is known from the relatedepigrams composed by Markos Eugenikos, from whomcomes a kanon as well as an akolouthia. It is possible that thepatriarch's cure, which is dated in 1436, contributed to theinclusion of St Theodosia in the British Museum icon. If thisline of thought is proved correct, then the icon of theTriumph of Orthodoxy should be dated to that same period,which preceded Joseph's departure with the Byzantinelegation for the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1437.
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