04.04.2019
A Window to Prayer – Icons of Seven Archangels Presented to Christ Church Cathedral
“Icons are a prayer. They are not an end in themselves, not a collectable, not a decoration although they are decorative, but they are a ultimately a way into prayer.” So said the Revd Olive Donohoe, Rector of the Athy, Kilberry and Kilkea, when she presented her icons of the Seven Archangels to Christ Church Cathedral recently.
The icons, which depict the Seven Archangels, are mounted in the south ambulatory at the east end of Christ Church. A helpful booklet has been produced giving the background to each icon and offering themes for prayer.
Olive began writing icons having decided to attend a retreat with the ‘Red Nuns’ – the Redemptoristine Sisters – in Drumcondra. The teacher on the retreat is renowned Romanian iconographer Michai Cucu, who wrote the icon for the Catholic Church’s Year of the Family.
The process of writing an icon is complicated and symbolic and done in an atmosphere of prayer and contemplation, Olive explained. Michai brings the ‘gessoed’ boards and gold leaf from Romania and the writing technique, a medium called tempera, involves using eggwash and mineral paints to give a glowing lasting colour.
Olive chose the Seven Archangels having seen an icon of the Archangel Michael in the Carmelite Convent in Delgany. “I saw an icon of Michael and really liked it and as I was doing it, Michai began to talk about the Seven Archangels and I didn’t even know that there were seven, I thought of four, at a push, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and I heard somewhere of Uriel. That was it. And as the week went by I became more and more interested and was inspired I think, to say that I wouldn’t mind doing all seven, you know. Of course I wasn’t thinking straight because when you consider it, what on earth do you do with Seven Archangels in the house? So five years later here we are,” Olive said.
During that first retreat Michai explained the place of Archangels in Orthodox tradition, that each has a role and a place in the hierarchy in Heaven. The Archangels in the Orthodox tradition are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Uriel, Selaphiel, Jegudiel and Barachiel. Michael is traditionally known as the defender of the Faith, Gabriel is the messenger of God, Raphael provides healing to the earth and its inhabitants, Uriel is the light or fire of God, Selaphiel is the patron saint of prayer and worship, Jegudiel is depicted holding a crown and whip symbolizing reward from God for the righteous and punishment for the sinners, and Barrachiel entreats the mercy of God for people.
“Orthodox Christians use icons of saints to focus their minds on meditation or prayer; they believe the icons are filled with the spirit of the person they represent,” said Olive. “The theological significance of the icon is that it speaks in the language of art and the visual of deeper spiritual truths. Icons also lift up our minds from earthly things to the heavenly.”