Christ the Bridegroom

Christ the Bridegroom

               To use a hackneyed phrase, "due to circumstances beyond my control", this post  comes a week late.  After many hours of patience on the part of several licensed computer gurus, it has been found that my browser and the blog site are not on the same wave length.   The blog appears today in God's own time, which is not always ours.   

               I finished this icon just in time for the beginning of Orthodox Holy Week.  Unlike most icons of Christ the Bridegroom, it only shows the Face of Christ, caught in the moments of His suffering as He goes to the Cross.  The black background of the Cross and the silver embellishments seem to give it the somber quality of mourning that is appropriate.

            The icon, most often in full or 3/4 length, depicts Christ as He is dressed according to the Gospel's description of the mockery of the Roman guards just before His Crucifixion:      He stands before the mob with suffering head bowed in humility as He accepts the fact of His death on the Cross.  His hands are roughly tied; He has a cape that is supposed to represent his "kingship", thrown over his shoulders by the  soldiers; He wears a crown of thorns that have cut deeply into His head, and He carries a reed as a mocking "scepter".  Having been scourged and whipped, bearing the marks of His suffering, He is yet preparing the way for a marriage feast in His Kingdom.

The crown of thorns - a symbol of His marriage to the Church

The rope - a symbol of bondage to sin, death and corruption which was loosed with Christ's death on the Cross.

The reed - a symbol of His humility; God rules His Kingdom with humility

            The meaning of the icon of Christ the Bridegroom is found in the Tropar for the Bridegroom Matins, which is taken from Matthew 1:1-13, the parable of the Ten Virgins:

            "Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the middle of the night, and blessed is the servant He shall find vigilant; but unworthy is he whom he shall find neglectful. Beware therefore, O my soul, lest you be weighed down by sleep, lest you be given over to death and be closed out from the kingdom; but rise up crying out: "Holy! Holy! Holy are You our God; through the intercessions of the Theotokos, have mercy on us."

            In the Orthodox church, Bridegroom Matins is a service specific to the first four evenings of Holy Week, and it commemorates the last days in the earthly life of our Lord.  The theme of the first three days of Holy Week is Christ's last teachings to His disciples. 

            During the first service on Palm Sunday evening, the priest carries the icon of Christ the Bridegroom into the front of the church, where it will remain until Holy Thursday .  The troparion is sung during this procession.

Troparion:

Behold, the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night,

and blessed is the servant whom He shall find vigilant;

and unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless.

Beware, therefore, O my soul,

that you will not be overcome by sleep,

lest you be given up to death,

and be shut out from the Kingdom.

Wherefore, rouse yourself, crying out:

Holy, Holy, Holy are You, our God,

through the protection of the Heavenly Hosts, save us.

     

                On Holy Monday evening, the Blessed Joseph, son of Jacob the Patriarch, is commemorated because he is seen as a prototype of Christ.  As Joseph was betrayed  by his brothers and sold into slavery by them, the Lord was betrayed by his own and sold into the slavery of death.  Jesus Christ offers Himself as a sacrifice and forgives all who come to Him in faith.  The Gospel reading for the  day is the Barren Fig Tree, which Christ cursed because it bore no fruit, just as those who hear God's Word and fail to bear the fruits of faith.  It is a warning to all people, in all times, of the importance of not only hearing the Word, but putting it into action.

             The Parable of the Ten Virgins is read on Holy Tuesday evening.  It tells the story of the five virgins who filled their lamps in preparation to receive the bridegroom, while the other five allowed their lamps to go out and hence were shut out of the marriage feast.  This parable is a warning that Christians must always be prepared to receive the Lord when He comes again.  Also commemorated this evening is St. Kassiani, a great woman hymnographer of the 9th century.

            The mood of these services is one of sorrow as we feel Christ's voluntary submission to the evil that is about to take place against Him and to highlight the purpose behind it.  We are in mourning for these events and for our own sins as well as the Fall of Adam and Eve, the depths of Hell, the loss of Paradise and the absence of God.  The vestments of the Priest and the altar cloths are black or deep purple to remind us of our mourning and our sins. 

            The main emphasis of the Bridegroom service is repentance and watchfulness.