“There is nothing unintentional about icons”

The Day’s correspondents recently visited Lutsk, where Lesia Ukrainka State University of Volyn recently hosted an exhibit of photographs from The Day’s photo contest and a presentation of books from The Day’s Library Series. This visit also gave us a chance to go to the city’s historical center, where we visited Ukraine’s only museum of Volhynian icons. Visiting dignitaries, including both Ukrainian and foreign government officials and parliamentarians, are always invited to come and browse.

The museum collection comprises over 500 icons dating from the 14th- 18th centuries. Enjoying pride of place is an ancient and rare wonder-working icon of the Kholm Mother of God, which dates back to the second half of the 11th century. Most of the icons were collected on the territory of Volyn between 1981 and 1985, during an expedition headed by the famous Ukrainian researcher Pavlo Zholtovsky. According to our guide Oksana Remeniaka, an art historian and lecturer at the Cultural Studies Department of Volyn University, the museum’s collection reflects the major stages in the development of icon painting in Volyn and Ukraine.

From our first minutes in the museum we knew that we were in a place of special concentrated energy whose epicenter was impossible to determine — we felt it everywhere. Our guide directed our attention to two 14th- century icons called The Savior in Glory. She noted that such icons were always placed at the center of the iconostasis, as it was believed that they most fully convey the idea of the grandeur of Jesus Christ as lord of the universe. One of the icons is executed in the folk painting style and portrays Jesus as a stern judge, the embodiment of austerity and asceticism.

The other icon is an example of professional, aristocratic painting, which shows in the warm, soft tones and integrity of the composition. According to Remeniaka, who defended a dissertation on Ukrainian icon painting in the Kholm lands during the 16th-18th centuries, during this period Volhynian towns and villages boasted many folk and professional icon painting centers.

“The icon The Savior in Glory by a professional icon painter is interesting in that it has a so-called ‘ark,’ i.e., a frame that was typical of this period,” says Remeniaka. “Here are traces left by a welding apparatus. It was found at a construction site: cement had been mixed on the reverse side. The fact that the chalk ground survived is proof of the artist’s mastery and excellent technique.”

We were fascinated by the holy faces of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Nicholas, Archangel Michael, and St. George the Dragon-Slayer, and noticed that in some works the main Biblical story is complemented by depictions of daily life. Such icons can even be mistaken for paintings. “Our land is located at the crossroads of cultures whose interpenetration is obvious,” says Remeniaka.

“The introduction of secular motifs, when, for example, the Biblical figures Anna and Mary are portrayed in dresses that were worn in Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries was, of course, borrowed from the West. In reality, there is nothing unintentional in any icon. Local icon painters used secular elements with the sole purpose of highlighting the sacred so as to give it special meaning. Although Volyn was never on the sidelines in terms of new styles and trends in European painting, it remained conservative in defending its national interests, in particular the interests of Ukrainian Orthodoxy.”

The technique used by these icon painters is essentially Ukrainian. The icons consistently feature certain harmonious color spectrums: grey-coral or green-red colors. Shades and half-shades, tones and halftones also play an important role. This is why the light from burning candles makes the saints’ faces even more spiritual. These icons are similar to the ones I saw in a church in the town of Berezhany, Ternopil oblast, where my great- grandmother lived.

Some of the icons by unknown painters, such as Christ the Vine Grower, are unique masterpieces with clearly defined metaphorical content. The blood of Jesus symbolizes repentance and remission of sins. Incidentally, this unique 18th-century icon was used as an illustration in the book Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha from The Day’s Library Series. A separate room is dedicated to the works of Yov Kondzelevych, a prior of the Monastery of Bilostok (now Bialystok, Poland — Ed.) a distinguished representative of Ukrainian baroque.

“What does this mean?” we asked our guide, after seeing an iconostasis featuring an apostle with horns. “This is none other than a crown,” she explained. “The first icons, or signs of power, were in the shape of horns. In this particular case they symbolize apostolic power. Interestingly enough, inscriptions on icons were always written in confirmatory language, for example, The Savior in Grace, Save and Protect, i.e., they were beyond time. Consider the icon Prayers with the inscription “deisis,” which is translated from the Greek as prayers. Another meaning of this word is “a testimony that does not require an explanation,” i.e., you either have to believe or not.”

The highlight of the museum is the miracle-working icon of the Kholm Mother of God, which is now being restored. We had an opportunity to visit the workshop of restorer Anatoliy Kvasiuk, who has been working on the icon for many years. This is a unique icon dating to the second half of the 11th century, when the Christian church was not yet divided into the Catholic and Orthodox faiths.

According to Oksana Remeniaka, over 75 percent of the icon’s original layer of paint has been preserved. Meanwhile, only 5 percent of the original paint has been preserved on the famous icon of the Volodymyr Mother of God, which is the most similar to the Kholm Mother of God.

The Kholm Mother of God is also called a miraculous icon. It is responsible for over 600 miracles that were recorded in a book by Yakiv Susha, a 17th-century Uniate priest. Bowing to this icon, I remembered that at different times this icon heard prayers from Prince Danylo of Halych, Polish King Jan Kazimierz (who even took it to the battlefield during the Battle of Berestechko, in which the Poles defeated the Cossacks), and Metropolitan Ilarion, or Ivan Ohienko. Words cannot describe my impressions from what I saw and heard. A visit to the Museum of Volhynian Icons is a must. While you are here, don’t miss out on seeing the fascinating city of Lutsk, which The Day’s correspondents have gotten to know firsthand.