Across the Old Testament, there are various encounters with God of an unusual sort. Moses speaks with God-as-fire in the burning bush. Jacob wrestles with God as an angel/man throughout the night. Abraham entertains God by the oaks of Mamre. Isaiah sees God, “high and lifted up,” and heard the angels singing the thrice-holy hymn. Ezekiel saw the Lord in the midst of the wheels. Daniel has visions of the Lord. Occasionally, the language in these encounters can be quite striking. After Jacob’s wrestling match, we read:
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
This, of course, is something of a puzzle in that the Scriptures say, “No one can see My face and live.” (Ex. 33:20)
These encounters, properly termed, “Theophanies” (appearances of God), were taken up in the early Fathers as revelations of the eternal Logos [Son] of the Father.1 This is particularly mysterious in the pages of the Old Testament. The Incarnation of the Word has yet to take place, and, yet, there are these encounters.
And easy way to get around the conundrum is to say that the encounters are with angels, not God. Perhaps it is an angel who serves as a “stand-in” for God. Another work-around is to suggest that what is being seen (or wrestled with) is some sort of “created effect,” something God has made for the moment to serve as a device of encounter or teaching. Both of these work-arounds would later come to be the standard treatment by Western theologians (particularly from St. Augustine forward). However, it never caught on in the understanding of the Eastern Church.
Instead, what we find among the Eastern Fathers is a consistent understanding that it is Christ Himself who is encountered and seen in these theophanies. He is the “form” of God, the “image” of God, the “Word” of God, the “glory” of God. In all of these ways that God makes Himself known, it is in and through His Logos. As St. John says in his gospel:
“No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known.” (Jn 1:18)
This understanding of the Bibilical theophanies can be seen in icons of those events. Quite commonly, we see the central figure of the manifestation identified as Christ. There will be a “nimbus” (halo), with the Cross inscribed within it, and the abbreviations for the name of Christ: IC XC. Additionally, and of greatest importance, we often see the additional letters: O WN. These are the Greek letters for the Divine Name: יהוה In the Greek translation (LXX) of the Old Testament, when God reveals His name to Moses, He says,“Εγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν” (I am that I am – or I am He who is). In icons of Christ, the O WN (He who is), is generally included, indicating that Christ is identical with that revelation. “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” (Jn. 14:9)
Theophany permeates Orthodox Tradition throughout, informing dogmatic theology and its liturgy. That Jesus, Mary’s son, is the very One who appeared to Moses and the prophets – this is the consistent witness of the ante-Nicene Fathers, and remains foundational throughout the fourth century Trinitarian controversies and the later Christological disputes.
– Archbishop Alexander Golitzin
I have written all of the above to bring us to an abiding “theophany” that is present in the life of the Church. The Divine Liturgy is rightly understood as a theophany – an appearance of God (Christ) in our midst. We stand in the place of Moses, and wrestle in the place of Jacob. We gaze with Ezekiel and the fiery wheels with the Son of Man in their midst. We stand with St. John the Theologian and the vast crowds of heaven before the Lamb-slain-from-the-foundation upon the altar with the four beasts and angels surrounding Him.
The Liturgy presents us with a living icon on the one hand, but also with the sacramental reality as well. We not only see the icon of what has been shown to the prophets, but also do what they did not: we eat the flesh of the Son of God and drink His blood. He dwells in us and we in Him.
This is profoundly significant. Our culture has trained people to become an audience. A theater performance, a concert, and a Church service are all of a piece. Worse than this, we are trained to be an audience that expects to be entertained. In the Evangelical world and its missionary theories, a major point of a Church service is “outreach.” Since the point of the gospel (in that understanding) is to make a decision for Christ, everything in the service revolves around that decision. It is possible, of course, to structure the service around some other salutary purpose, including eucharistic gatherings. However, there is something quite unique in the Eastern Church.
One way to think of this is by considering the place of Christ’s face in Orthodox worship. The icon of Christ, either of His face (the Holy Napkin), or as Pantokrator (Teacher with an open gospel), is always in the position of greatest honor on the Iconostasis, just to the right of the Holy Doors. In many Churches, the Pantocrator is seen in the dome, holding a prominent place that overlooks the whole of the Church. The icons do with color what St. Paul expresses in words:
“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6)
“But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
These are not given to us as mere tools of meditation. They are transfiguring images – as we behold Christ [who is the glory of God] we ourselves are transformed into that image…”from glory to glory.”
A significant element of this experience goes to the heart of what is termed an “Orthodox mind.” It is said in the Fathers (St. Basil, for example) that “an icon makes present that which it represents.” To “see” an icon is to behold the presence. This is not an objective encounter, in that the icon is no mere object. Rather, it is “seen” in veneration of the One who is depicted.
The whole of the Liturgy works in this manner. Its prayers speak to God as well as to our hearts. The hymns soften our hearts and direct them towards the theophany that is before us. At the conclusion of the Liturgy, after the priest blesses the people, we sing:
“We have seen the true light; we have received the heavenly Spirit; we have found the true faith, worshiping the undivided Trinity Who has saved us!”
Earlier in the Liturgy, as the communion vessels are being cleared from the altar, the Deacon (or Priest) prays:
Having beheld the Resurrection of Christ, let us worship the holy Lord Jesus, the only sinless one. Your Cross, O Christ, we venerate, and Your holy Resurrection we praise and glorify. For You are our God; apart from You we know no other; we call upon Your name. Come, all faithful, let us venerate the holy Resurrection of Christ; for behold, through the Cross, joy has come to the whole world. Ever blessing the Lord, let us praise His Resurrection; for having endured the Cross for us, He destroyed death by death.
Both the hymn and the prayer begin with the recognition that Something has been seen – a theophany has taken place.
Perhaps the greatest theophanic description in the Scriptures is found in the Revelation of St. John. The whole of his vision (which is described in very great detail) takes place in heaven, before the throne of God. It is the Liturgy. In keeping with the theophanic revelation of God, St. John has this in his final scene:
“And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev. 22:3-5)
Sounds like Church to me.
Footnotes for this article
- I am deeply indebted to Fr. Bogdan Bucur, Assoc. Professor of Patristics at St. Vladimir’s Seminary, for his work in this area, as well as that of Archbishop Alexander Golitzin.
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