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Iconostasis: (Gr. eikonostasion, eidonostasis, picture screen, from eikon, image, picture, and histemi, place), the chief and most distinctive feature in all Greek churches, whether Catholic or Orthodox. It may be said to differentiate the Greek church completely from the Roman in its interior arrangement. It consists of a great screen or partition running from side to side of the apse or across the entire end of the church, which divides the sanctuary from the body of the church, and is built of solid materials such as stone, metal, or wood, and which reaches often (as in Russia) to the very ceiling of the church, thus completely shutting off the altar and the sanctuary from the worshipper. It has three doors: the great royal door in the middle (so called because it leads directly to the altar upon which the King of kings is sacrificed), the deacon's door to the right, and the door of the proskomide (preparation for Liturgy) upon the left, when viewing the structure from the standpoint of a worshipper in the body of the church. See Rood and Veil. |
Israel: Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, (Gen.32:28) ... There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel. (Gen.33:20).... your name will be Israel. So he named him Israel.(Gen.35:10) Israel - although this is controversial - is a word with no other root than from the mouth of God. According to Abarim Publications' Biblical Name Vault the name Israel means God Strives, or God Persisteth, God Persevereth. And although God renames Jacob to Israel, by all views Israel is a nation of people, presumably Jewish people (again that is arguable.) You need only draw the Israeli flag and your symbol is complete because the presence, power and position of this nation had everyone's attention even for the thousands of years it was not even a country. But when looked at from strictly a Christian eye, Israel denotes a suspicious love-hate relationship between the two cultures. And it started out very early. It is a bit ignorant to say that it all began at the crucifixion because the followers of Christ were in fact Jewish. And as such did not view the doctrines of Jesus as anything other than the latest Rabbi's truths. But as Gentiles joined the ranks crazy talk about Jews being "Christ-Killers" started a divide, and when you push a Jew, they don't turn no cheeks. In Acts 28:20 the Jewish faithful hammer away at Paul: , "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.) But, as in Acts 13:16 Paul tries to create a bond between the cultures: Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!" And things have been rough ever since. |
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Key: The natural symbol for having access to something which is behind or out of reach of others without such permission. "Woe to the lawyers! (the literalists is who Jesus spoke of - who are also lawyers) for you have taken away the key of knowledge." (Luke 11:52) Among the Saints the key is an attribute of St. Peter following the recognition by Jesus as his representative on earth: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be lossed in heaven." (Matt. 16:15-20) See also: Door. |
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LABYRINTH |
Labyrinth: Labyrinths
are not mazes. The difference is in the construction. Depict a
labyrinth as different from a maze by building it of natural
materials. Design the maze with artifical constructs and less
multicursal. A maze as a symbol has undergone a major shift in
Christianty. Once a sign of the bondage (entanglement) of man's
spirit in the material realm. Because of the difficulty to
transverse any maze, a labyrinth depicts this entanglement as
tortuous. By the 14th century the maze became a symbol of the "path"
to God's truth. The labyrinth represents the traveller guided by
divine instinct - such as when Theseus was guided by a golden thread
through his labyrinth to go and kill the evil Minotaur. They are also
traditionally regarded as symbolic substitutes for pilgrimage. |
MAZE |
Lamp: The Divine Light. Depicts Wisdom and Knowledge - a lamp is the ancient light bulb; and what do our best cartoonist use for a 'bright idea?' It is also a symbol of Christ, though seldom employed: 'And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb.' (Rev. 21:23) See also: Eye and Light. |
Mary, Mother of God.
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Mandorla: See Vesica piscis and Fish. It is the very symbol you see on the left. Common during the Middle Ages and is one of the sacred geometric symbols. |
Milk: "like newborn babies, long for the spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation." (1 Peter 2:2) That speaks for itself -and is a mouthful |
Mill / Millstone: When you're put through the mill (or stomped in the winepress - see Winepress) you are experiencing the wrath of God. Which by all accounts is far worse than the wrath of woman - and that's no fun; period. |
Mountain: A symbol of spiritual elevation. Unless you incorporate it with say, the Ten Commandments, or Jacob's sacrifice, there just is no other meaning; save BIG. |
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Net: When you're not scanning images, downloading from MyDrawingBoard.com and yelling at your computer screen, you might enjoy the sport of fishing or trapping. Fun, right? Not before the Industrial Revolution it wasn't. How often I've seen cute images in all those catechisms of a spanky-clean fisherman casting his net into the crystal waters filled with fish just waiting to be drawn into God's heavenly arms. Stop by any fishing waft and put your hands on a real fishing net. Or rig up one to capture a wild animal. Trust me, I'd rather repair all of my 18 servers with a butter knife than sit in a brush waiting for a pheasant to find my net (especially if the prey is silently watching me all along!) The Net is an ambivalent symbol representing both the binding and snares of the earth and the dubious net of salvation. Think about what's being said between the lines when Proverbs 1:17-18 says: 'For in vain is a net spread in the sight of any bird; but these men lie in wait for their own blood, they set an ambush for their own lives.' Having said all this, I have often wondered what to think of the Apostles; to admire or to disdain them when Jesus said to them: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:19-20) And, presumably we have to admire them, then fall aghast when Matthew says, 'The kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind.' (Matt. 13:47) Oh, man, does that mean I have to sit at God's right side along with all my ex-wives too?!?!? Also see Fish, Veil and Woven. |
Nimbus: Is the symbol of God but employed as 'annointed by God.' It's use is popular to point out the saint in a crowded painting. It is a circular halo such as you see around St. Pete's head on the left. Having St. Pete enclosed in a circular niche holds dual symbolism. In fine art the Nimbus is usually a full body aura. Also see Circle.
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