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| Synaxis of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God (Feast Day - May 28) |
According to a Slavic tradition of unknown origin, the story associated with the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God dates back to the year 304 AD, when the city of Nicaea was under siege by an Arabic army under Amer. One of the soldiers of Amer, whose name was Constantine, saw an Icon of the Theotokos and threw a stone at it. Then he began to trample it underfoot. That night, the Mother of God appeared in a dream to the soldier who had perpetrated this sacrilege and said: "You have insulted me most grievously, and it shall lead to your death." The following day, during the battle, the impious soldier was struck in the head with a stone and fell down dead.
As we go on to read, this event was later mentioned by the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod that took place in Nicaea in 325, and they ordained that the following hymn, "Your womb became a Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God; from whom everyone who eats does not die, as the Nourisher of all things has said, O Birth-Giver of God," should be sung before the desecrated Icon of the Mother of God, which later became known as the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God.
Though this is the traditional story of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God, the fact of the matter is that it is not accurately told. This can be most easily determined by the fact that there was no Arab invasion of Niceae in the fourth century. Fortunately with a little research we can determine what the actual story behind the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is, at least for the most part.
As we go on to read, this event was later mentioned by the Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod that took place in Nicaea in 325, and they ordained that the following hymn, "Your womb became a Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God; from whom everyone who eats does not die, as the Nourisher of all things has said, O Birth-Giver of God," should be sung before the desecrated Icon of the Mother of God, which later became known as the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God.
Though this is the traditional story of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God, the fact of the matter is that it is not accurately told. This can be most easily determined by the fact that there was no Arab invasion of Niceae in the fourth century. Fortunately with a little research we can determine what the actual story behind the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is, at least for the most part.
According to the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, in the summer of 727 the Arabs invaded Nicaea. The invasion was led by someone named Amer in late July. The Byzantines/Romans, probably under the command of the Count of the Opsicians, Artabasdos, did not meet them in the field, but instead retreated behind the city's walls. The Arabs assaulted the city for forty days, employing siege engines which destroyed a part of the walls, but eventually failed to take it. In late August, they raised the siege and departed, taking many captives and much booty. The repulsion of the Arab assault on Nicaea was an important success for the Byzantine Romans. Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (r. 717–741) regarded the city's survival as a sign of divine favor towards his newly instituted iconoclastic policies, and was encouraged to drive them further.
Theophanes, however, informs us of a story which seems to be the real story behind the commemoration of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God. He write in his Chronicle:
In other words, the Synaxis of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God commemorates this event from the siege of Nicaea in the year 727, when a soldier desecrated an icon of the Theotokos in the Church of the Holy Fathers and received in return a just punishment for his impiety. Emperor Leo the Isaurian had already begun his war against the sacred icons, and when the Arabs failed to seize Nicaea he viewed it as God's good pleasure towards his endeavor to rid the Church of icons. The story of the strator named Constantine who threw the stone at the icon of the Theotokos took place in the Church of the Holy Fathers in Nicaea, which commemorated the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod and was adorned with icons of them, hence the confusion of why the story of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is traditionally associated with the fourth century and the gathering of the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea in 325. In fact the story of this icon from the event in 727 precedes the Seventh Ecumenical Synod, which also took place in Nicaea to address the issue of Iconoclasm, and indeed it is probably the case that the story from 727 was recounted at this Synod in 787 as proof of a divine miracle associated with an icon of the Mother of God.
"At the summer solstice of the same 10th indiction, after the unhappy defeat of our fellow-countrymen, a multitude of Saracens led by two emirs was drawn up against Nicaea in Bithynia: Amer with 15,000 scouts led the van and surrounded the town which he found unprepared, while Mauias followed with another 85,000 men. After a long siege and a partial destruction of the walls, they did not overpower the town thanks to the acceptable prayers addressed to God by the Holy Fathers who are honored there in a church (wherein their venerable images are set up to this very day and are honored by those who believe as they did).
A certain Constantine, however, who was the strator of Artabasdos, on seeing an image of the Theotokos that had been set up, picked up a stone and threw it at her. He broke the image and trampled upon it when it had fallen down. He then saw in a vision the Lady standing beside him and saying to him: 'See, what a brave thing you have done to me! Verily, upon your head have you done it.' The next day, when the Saracens attacked the walls and battle was joined, that wretched man rushed to the wall like the brave soldier he was and was struck by a stone discharged from a siege engine, and it broke his head and face, a just reward for his impiety.
After collecting many captives and much booty, the Arabs withdrew. In this manner God showed to the impious one that he had overcome his fellow-countrymen not on account of his piety, as he himself boasted, but for some divine cause and inscrutable judgement, whereby so great an Arab force was driven away from the city of the holy Fathers thanks to their intercession — on account of their most exact likenesses that are honoured therein — and this, too, in reproof and unanswerable condemnation of the tyrant and in vindication of the true believers. Not only was the impious man in error concerning the relative worship of the holy icons, but also concerning the intercession of the all-pure Theotokos and all the saints, and he abominated their relics like his mentors, the Arabs. From this time on he impudently harassed the blessed Germanos, Patriarch of Constantinople, blaming all the emperors, bishops, and Christian people who had lived before him for having committed idolatry in worshiping the holy and venerable icons, unable as he was to grasp the argument concerning relative veneration because of his lack of faith and crass ignorance."
In other words, the Synaxis of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God commemorates this event from the siege of Nicaea in the year 727, when a soldier desecrated an icon of the Theotokos in the Church of the Holy Fathers and received in return a just punishment for his impiety. Emperor Leo the Isaurian had already begun his war against the sacred icons, and when the Arabs failed to seize Nicaea he viewed it as God's good pleasure towards his endeavor to rid the Church of icons. The story of the strator named Constantine who threw the stone at the icon of the Theotokos took place in the Church of the Holy Fathers in Nicaea, which commemorated the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod and was adorned with icons of them, hence the confusion of why the story of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is traditionally associated with the fourth century and the gathering of the First Ecumenical Synod in Nicaea in 325. In fact the story of this icon from the event in 727 precedes the Seventh Ecumenical Synod, which also took place in Nicaea to address the issue of Iconoclasm, and indeed it is probably the case that the story from 727 was recounted at this Synod in 787 as proof of a divine miracle associated with an icon of the Mother of God.
As for the Theotokion hymn associated with the feast of the Synaxis of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God, we know it does not date to the First Ecumenical Synod. We also know that it was composed before the Seventh Ecumenical Synod. The Theotokion in fact comes from Andrew of Crete’s Canon for Mid-Pentecost (PG 97, col. 1425), and probably dates to the early 8th century. Later it was incorporated into the Byzantine Rite of the Elevation of the Panagia. In Russian the hymn is:
In Greek it is:
And it is translated in English as:
The association of this hymn with the event in 727 perhaps may have something to do with the fact that they date to around the same time. And by dating to around the same time, it gives a possible background story to the actual icon itself.
The Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is typically depicted as the Theotokos standing frontally in the ancient Orans (Prayer) posture, her hands uplifted in intercession. Before her breast, where her womb is located, there appears a Eucharistic chalice, within which stands the Christ Child, shown not as an infant but as the eternal Logos, blessing with His right hand and often holding a scroll in His left. The Mother of God gazes solemnly outward, while Christ rises visibly from the chalice as the Heavenly Bread and sacrificial offering. The icon vividly illustrates the hymn, “Your womb became the Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God,” presenting the Virgin as the living altar and vessel of the Incarnation. The composition is deeply Eucharistic: the chalice recalls the Divine Eucharist, Christ is the Bread of Life, and the Theotokos appears as the sanctified temple through whom salvation entered the world.
The earliest stage of the development of this icon is the Orans/Platytera type (6th–10th centuries), where the Theotokos stands with raised hands and Christ appears in a medallion before her breast, emphasizing the Incarnation: she bore within her womb the eternal Logos and therefore her womb was wider than the heavens. Some time around the 15th to the 17th centuries, this same image began depicting Christ within a Eucharistic chalice instead of a medallion, to show that like the Theotokos we also can carry within ourselves Christ through the partaking of the Eucharist. Such imagery became especially popular in the 18th and 19th centuries among the Old Believers. It is probably around this time that a story was sought to give background information to the icon. And eventually the fourth century story was formed, because of the confusion around the association of the story from 727 with the city of Nicaea and the icon being desecrated in the church honoring the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod.
"Бы́сть чре́во Твое́ Свята́я трапе́за, иму́щи Небе́снаго Хле́ба, Христа́ Бо́га на́шего, от Него́же вся́к яды́й не умира́ет, я́коже рече́ все́х, Богороди́тельнице, Пита́тель."
In Greek it is:
"Γέγονεν ἡ κοιλία σου ἁγία τράπεζα, ἔχουσα τὸν οὐράνιον ἄρτον, Χριστὸν τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν· ἐξ οὗ πᾶς ὁ τρώγων οὐ θνήσκει, ὡς ἔφη ὁ τῶν πάντων, Θεογεννήτορ, τροφεύς."
And it is translated in English as:
"Your womb became a Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God; from whom everyone who eats does not die, as the Nourisher of all things has said, O Birth-Giver of God."
The association of this hymn with the event in 727 perhaps may have something to do with the fact that they date to around the same time. And by dating to around the same time, it gives a possible background story to the actual icon itself.
The Nicene Icon of the Mother of God is typically depicted as the Theotokos standing frontally in the ancient Orans (Prayer) posture, her hands uplifted in intercession. Before her breast, where her womb is located, there appears a Eucharistic chalice, within which stands the Christ Child, shown not as an infant but as the eternal Logos, blessing with His right hand and often holding a scroll in His left. The Mother of God gazes solemnly outward, while Christ rises visibly from the chalice as the Heavenly Bread and sacrificial offering. The icon vividly illustrates the hymn, “Your womb became the Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God,” presenting the Virgin as the living altar and vessel of the Incarnation. The composition is deeply Eucharistic: the chalice recalls the Divine Eucharist, Christ is the Bread of Life, and the Theotokos appears as the sanctified temple through whom salvation entered the world.
The earliest stage of the development of this icon is the Orans/Platytera type (6th–10th centuries), where the Theotokos stands with raised hands and Christ appears in a medallion before her breast, emphasizing the Incarnation: she bore within her womb the eternal Logos and therefore her womb was wider than the heavens. Some time around the 15th to the 17th centuries, this same image began depicting Christ within a Eucharistic chalice instead of a medallion, to show that like the Theotokos we also can carry within ourselves Christ through the partaking of the Eucharist. Such imagery became especially popular in the 18th and 19th centuries among the Old Believers. It is probably around this time that a story was sought to give background information to the icon. And eventually the fourth century story was formed, because of the confusion around the association of the story from 727 with the city of Nicaea and the icon being desecrated in the church honoring the Holy Fathers of the First Ecumenical Synod.
Thus on May 28th when we commemorate the Synaxis of the Nicene Icon of the Mother of God, we actually commemorate two things instead of one: 1) The miracle of the now lost desecrated icon of the Theotokos in the Church of the Holy Fathers in Nicaea from the year 727, and 2) The iconographic style where the Byzantine platytera merges with a uniquely Slavic image that depicts the Christ Child not within a traditional medallion but emerging out a Eucharistic chalice on a Holy Table to depict what is chanted in the hymn composed by Saint Andrew of Crete.
Troparion, Tone 4
Your womb became a Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God; from whom everyone who eats does not die, as the Nourisher of all things has said, O Birth-Giver of God.
Another Troparion, Same Tone
To your city a great protection, and to the people a joyful consolation, has been given your wondrous icon, O Virgin Theotokos. For through you the gates of death are shattered, and incurable diseases are healed. Through you we utterly cast down the pride of the enemy, and with faith we cry to your Son: O Christ God, give us to drink from the cup of salvation, and raise us up in strength against visible and invisible enemies, through the prayers of your Most Pure Mother, for You are All-powerful.
Another Troparion, Same Tone
With the cup of true joy and gladness, through the wisdom of your Christ, give drink to the thirsty people, O Mother of God, that we may now celebrate your feast with brightness; and, burning with heavenly love, may honor by good works Him who was born of you. May He raise us up in strength against every temptation and grievous sin, through your help and intercession, for He is All-powerful.
Kontakion, Tone 8
To the wondrous Protectress of the Christian race, the unfailing hope of the whole world, the land of Rus' now falls down with tears, and, asking mercy from you, cries out: Save my sons and daughters from the flame of destructive passions, from forgetfulness and spiritual darkness, from the madness of drunkenness, from the burning of fornication, from rebellion, murder, and hatred of brethren. For I have no other hope but you; in you I trust to the end; from generation to generation I glorify your beloved name: Rejoice, O blessed Mary! Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
Your womb became a Holy Table, bearing the Heavenly Bread, Christ our God; from whom everyone who eats does not die, as the Nourisher of all things has said, O Birth-Giver of God.
Another Troparion, Same Tone
To your city a great protection, and to the people a joyful consolation, has been given your wondrous icon, O Virgin Theotokos. For through you the gates of death are shattered, and incurable diseases are healed. Through you we utterly cast down the pride of the enemy, and with faith we cry to your Son: O Christ God, give us to drink from the cup of salvation, and raise us up in strength against visible and invisible enemies, through the prayers of your Most Pure Mother, for You are All-powerful.
Another Troparion, Same Tone
With the cup of true joy and gladness, through the wisdom of your Christ, give drink to the thirsty people, O Mother of God, that we may now celebrate your feast with brightness; and, burning with heavenly love, may honor by good works Him who was born of you. May He raise us up in strength against every temptation and grievous sin, through your help and intercession, for He is All-powerful.
Kontakion, Tone 8
To the wondrous Protectress of the Christian race, the unfailing hope of the whole world, the land of Rus' now falls down with tears, and, asking mercy from you, cries out: Save my sons and daughters from the flame of destructive passions, from forgetfulness and spiritual darkness, from the madness of drunkenness, from the burning of fornication, from rebellion, murder, and hatred of brethren. For I have no other hope but you; in you I trust to the end; from generation to generation I glorify your beloved name: Rejoice, O blessed Mary! Rejoice, O Bride unwedded!
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