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The icon which
hangs in the Seamen's Chapel of St. Nicholas was made by Sister Teresa
Margaret of the Convent of the Holy Name, Sarn-by-Pwllheli, Wales in
2003 and was given in memory of Alan Clayton a former churchwarden of
Christ Church. Christ stands in this world in front of a framed view
of the North Sea and a familiar lighthouse. The �proscenium arch� represents
the non-earthly, inhabited by Christ as God and man. Two angels carry
the Sun and the Moon, creators of the ever changing tides. The letters
in His halo read 'He Who Is' a translation of the three Greek letters
'ώ Ό Ν' found in old icons including
our 'Mother of God with three hands'. The whole symbol of the circle
quartered by the cross signifies 'the world' meaning all creation, being
signed by the cross, as the realm of Jesus. Anciently the sign of quartering
also meant the four elements of creation, earth, air, fire and water.
Look closely and you will see that the artist has included Christ's
cross of crucifixion behind the halo using varnish to give a subtle
different texture. In His left hand, as a monarch holds an orb, He cradles
the fragile planet Earth, encircled by the rainbow of hope for its future.
The artist being inspired by a line from Wesley's hymn 'Gaze we on those
glorious scars' shows Christ's. |
