«Trinity»

Sculpture Composition

Materials:

bronze, silver, rubies, diamonds, sapphire, agate, rhyolite.

The Holy Trinity reveals to us the three Divine Persons who share the one Godhead, the one divine nature and essence. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are co-equal, co-eternal and consubstantial, distinct but indivisible in one Being. The Divine Trinity is perfect unity.

Each of the Persons of the Trinity lives not for Himself, but wholly gives Himself to the other Persons, while remaining wholly open to their reciprocation, so that all three are in perfect communion with each other. The life of the Divine Persons is mutual indwelling, so that the life of one becomes the life of the other. Thus, the being of the Trinity is realized as love, in which one’s own being is identified with self-giving. For God is Love!

If we look up and turn back, in the vaults of the arches of the western part of the central nave, we will see the images of the Holy Trinity – the figure of Jesus Christ with raised hands – God the Son, towards whom the dove is heading – the symbol of the Holy Spirit, which is in the triangle – the symbol of God the Father. These scenes were depicted on the vaults of the arches in the eighteenth century, and then the wall painting was renewed in the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, the image of the Holy Trinity was present in St. Sophia Cathedral from the time of its construction. It is located in the northern choirs of the temple, represented by the plot of Abraham’s Hospitality, where three Angels are sitting at his table. As in the sculpture exhibited before us.

The sculpture is crafted out of precious metals based on a painting dated the first third of the 15th century, which depicts the Old Testament story of Abraham’s Hospitality narrated in the 18th chapter of the biblical Book of Genesis. It is symbolic that the upper part of the picture jasper, on which the sculptural composition rests, is shaped as a cross by artistic processing and cutting, and the words of the prayer to the Holy Trinity are engraved on a metal base. This composition is a sign of God’s mystery, surpassing human reason, as a sense of love for one’s neighbor, whose origin remains hidden and is simply perceived.