Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Burning Bush | Silver | 24768

Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Burning Bush | Silver | 24768.

The “non-burning bush” depicts the Virgin Mother of God enveloped by divine fire, untouched like her miraculous virgin birth. This complex depiction, prevalent in Russia from the 16th century, symbolizes Marian devotion: Mother of God holding Emmanuel in an eight-pointed star on a rosette.

Symbols of the four evangelists are in the lower star, while angels with Akathistos hymn attributes are in the rosette and upper points. This icon protected homes from lightning and fire.

The symbols of the four evangelists – the angel, eagle, lion, and bull – find their origins in the biblical visions of Ezekiel (Old Testament) and John (New Testament). In John’s Revelation of the open heaven (Rev 4:1-11), the evangelist beheld the Almighty’s throne encircled by four enigmatic creatures, each with six wings. This visual concept first materialized in Roman mosaics.

The 4th-century Church Father, Jerome, definitively assigned these symbols to the evangelists: Mark is represented by the lion, Luke by the bull, John by the eagle, and Matthew by the man (or angel). Additionally, Jerome established the sequence of the Gospels in the New Testament.

The Silver-Basma text includes depictions of Moses in front of the burning bush, Ezekiel before the closed temple gate, Seraf cleansing Isaiah’s lips, and Jacob’s ladder.

The central part of the icon is believed to be older than the rest.

The icon features a silver basma and a silver halo. It is hallmarked with Moscow 1837, and bears the initials AP and N.D (masters unknown).

Source: Orthodox icon | Mother of God of the Burning Bush | Silver | 24768 © Ikonen Mautner. Typing errors, other errors or changes reserved. For more information: “Das Synaxarion. Die Leben der Heiligen der Orthodoxen Kirche.” (http://www.prodromos-verlag.de/buecher.html) and Joachim Schäfer: Das Ökumenische Heiligenlexikon – https://www.heiligenlexikon.de