The Ancha Icon of the Savior, known in
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
as Anchiskhati ( ka, ანჩისხატი), is a medieval Georgian
encaustic icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...
, traditionally considered to be the ''Keramidion'', a "holy tile" imprinted with the face of
Jesus Christ
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
miraculously transferred by contact with the
Image of Edessa (''Mandylion''). Dated to the 6th-7th century, it was covered with a
chased silver
riza
:
A riza ( Russian: риза, "vestment," "robe"; Ukrainian: шати, ''shaty'', "vestments") or oklad (оклад, "cover"), sometimes called a "revetment" in English, is a thin metal cover protecting an icon. It is usually made of gilt or s ...
and partly repainted in the following centuries. The icon derives its name from the Georgian
monastery of Ancha in what is now
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, whence it was brought to
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...
in 1664. The icon is now kept at the
National Art Museum of Georgia in Tbilisi.
[Анчийский Спас]
(''The Savior of Ancha''), «Православная энциклопедия» (2001), Т. 3, С. 16-17 (''Orthodox Encyclopedia'', 2001, Vol. 3, pp. 16-17) nline version/ref>
History
Medieval Georgian sources identify the Ancha icon with the ''Keramidion'', a "holy tile" imprinted with the face of Christ miraculously transferred by contact with the ''Mandylion
According to Christian tradition, the Image of Edessa was a holy relic consisting of a square or rectangle of cloth upon which a miraculous image of the face of Jesus Christ had been imprinted—the first icon (). The image is also known as the ...
''. According to the Georgian hymnist Ioann, bishop of Ancha (fl. 1195), the icon was brought in Georgia by Apostle Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( ; ; ; ) was an apostle of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles chosen by Jesus.
The title First-Called () used by the Eastern Orthodox Church stems from the Gospel of Jo ...
from Hierapolis
Hierapolis (; , lit. "Holy City") was a Hellenistic Greek city built on the site of a Phrygian cult center of the Anatolian mother goddess Cybele, in Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia, Turkey. It was famous for its hot springs, its high qualit ...
. An 18th-century inscription on the icon covering associates the Anchiskhati with the Image of Edessa, an " icon not made by hand", brought to the cathedral of Ancha in the Georgian princedom of Klarjeti
Klarjeti ( ka, კლარჯეთი ) was a province of ancient and medieval Georgia, which is now part of Turkey's Artvin Province. Klarjeti, the neighboring province of Tao and several other smaller districts, constituted a larger region ...
to preserve it from the iconoclastic
Iconoclasm ()From . ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a back-formation from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''. is the social belie ...
campaign by the Byzantine emperor Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian (; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was the first List of Byzantine emperors, Byzantine emperor of the Isaurian dynasty from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years' Anarchy, a period o ...
.Principality of Samtskhe
The Samtskhe-Saatabago or Samtskhe Atabegate ( ka, სამცხე-საათაბაგო), also called the Principality of Samtskhe (სამცხის სამთავრო), was a Georgian feudal principality in Zemo Kartli, rul ...
, of which Klarjeti was part, in the 16th century, Christianity went in decline in the area. In 1664, the merchant Amirjan Ievangulishvili brought the icon of Ancha to Tbilisi, where it was acquired by the Georgian catholicos Domenti III for 2,000 silver coins for the newly refurbished church of the Nativity of the Theotokos in Tbilisi, henceforth known as the Anchiskhati church.[Chichinadze, Nino (2008)]
"Precious metal revetments on Georgian medieval painted icons: some observations on a devotional practice"
in: ''Caucasus Journal of Social Sciences'', vol. 1, issue 1: pp. 261–262 The icon remained one of the most venerated relics of Georgian Christianity until after the Soviet takeover of Georgia it was moved to the National Art Museum of Georgia in the 1920s. The Anchiskhati church was closed down and would only be reopened in the last years of the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Since then, there have been repeated calls from the Orthodox Christians to return the icon to the church’s property.
Description
Ancha Icon of the Savior is an encaustic icon dated to the 6th-7th century as it was identified by the detailed analysis by art historian Shalva Amiranashvili in the 1920s. By the end of the 12th century the icon was covered with gilded chasing by the Georgian master Beka Opizari at the behest of the bishop of Ancha, Ioann Rkinaeli, and the queen Tamar of Georgia
Tamar the Great ( ka, თამარ მეფე, tr , ; 1160 – 18 January 1213) queen regnant, reigned as the List of monarchs of Georgia#Kings of unified Georgia (1008–1490), Queen of Kingdom of Georgia, Georgia from 1184 to 1213, ...
.[ Djobadze, Wachtang Z. (1992), ''Early Medieval Georgian Monasteries in Historic Tao, Klarjet'i, and Šavšet'i'', p. 18. F. Steiner, ] In the early 14th century, the icon was converted into a triptych
A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...
at the expense of the Jaqeli princes of Samtskhe. The chasing was amended several times and embellished with various inscriptions that date to the 12th, 14th, 16th, and 18th centuries. The 14th and 17th-century chasing of the lateral leaves depicts 12 scenes from the New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, from the Annunciation
The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...
to the Ascension of Jesus
The Ascension of Jesus (anglicized from the Vulgate ) is the Christianity, Christian and Islamic belief that Jesus entering heaven alive, ascended to Heaven. Christian doctrine, as reflected in the major Christian creeds and confessional stateme ...
.Christ Pantocrator
In Christian iconography, Christ Pantocrator (, ) is a specific depiction of Christ. or , literally 'ruler of all', but usually translated as 'almighty' or 'all-powerful', is derived from one of many names of God in Judaism.
The Pantokrator i ...
, while the original encaustic painting shows the bust of Jesus. The frame of the central panel is adorned with Beka Opizari's work, a high point of the medieval Georgian art. The two symmetrically located standing figures of John the Baptist
John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...
and Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religion
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...
, combined with the icon of Jesus, creates the scene of ''deesis
In Byzantine art, and in later Eastern Orthodox iconography generally, the Deësis or Deisis (, ; , "prayer" or "supplication") is a traditional iconic representation of Christ in Majesty or Christ Pantocrator: enthroned, carrying a book, and ...
''. The archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the Catholic hierarchy of angels, based on and put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the 5th or 6th century in his book ''De Coelesti Hierarchia'' (''On the Celestial Hierarchy'') ...
s Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* he He ..., a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name
* Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...
and Gabriel
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...
and the apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
and John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
can be seen in the corners of the frame.
References
{{Reflist
Paintings of Jesus
Art of Georgia (country)
Eastern Orthodox icons
Triptychs