'Ho Ôn' in Christ's halo

[Steven Bigham]

Good Morning Monachos.net Members,

I just signed up for this site and I hope we'll be able to help each other.

I have a question about the Ho Ôn in Christ's halo. We, in fact I, usually think the Ho Ôn is a regular part of the icon of Christ, and that it has always been a part of his icon. However, during a project on the development of the classic features, traits, elements, that are associated with the icon of Christ, I noticed that the Ho Ôn is in fact a very late addition. I have not found any images before the 12th century that have it, and the first ones that I know about are from the Balkans, Serbia.

Now since it is a fundamental principle of iconology that Orthodox iconography is a theological art, it cannot be an accident that such a dogmatically loaded sign, Ho Ôn, the one who is, the being one, etc., was put there just as a decoration. My theory is that the Church's art lags behind theological thinking and development. For example, with the dogmatic controversies about Christ's real humanity, it took some time before the Church filtered out the symbols for Christ, fish, loaves of bread, etc., as well as images of him in the Greek style, young, beardless, beautiful man, because these were too ambiguous and left the door open to doctrinal deviations. So the Jewish features, let's say, won out: long hair, ruddy features, adult man, not ugly but not "beautiful" either, etc. as we know Christ's icons today.

So then why was the Ho Ôn added to the halo and where and when? If my hypothesis holds any water, there should be a theological controversy dealing with Christ behind and before the Ho Ôn to manifest the Chruch's doctrine. My research so far shows that around the 12th century in Serbia, the Ho Ôn started to be painted in, and from there it spread to the whole Orthodox world so that now everybody thinks it has always been there, but no. So what was going on in the Balkans, Serbia, around the 12th century that could have provoked the addition of the sign. Well, there is a document written by a Bulgarian priest in about the 10th century aginst the Bogomiles, like the Albegensians in southern France during the Middle Ages. Among their doctrines was the in fact old idea, gnostic, that the God of the Old Testament was not the Father of Jesus. He was too bloodthirsty, warlike, mean, and liked bloody sacrifices etc., so there must be another, superior God who is the Father of Jesus. And on goes the doctrine. Now if the Bogomile controversy is in fact the theological background, it seems quite appropriate that someone, we don't know who, in the Balkans, Serbia, would make a dogmatic statement in icons by adding Ho Ôn to Christ's halo. "You no-good Bogomiles, you've got it all wrong. Jesus and he who spoke to Moses are one and the same. He has only one Father, and the Old Testament is ours." Therefore to show that Jesus and he who spoke to Moses are the same, the iconographer added Ho Ôn to Christ's icon.

That is my hypothesis.

Now for my question: What do any of you know about the history of Ho Ôn? Can you confirm or modify my hypothesis? Any and all information will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your help.

Fr. Steven Bigham
405, rue Saint-Eustache
Saint-Eustache, Québec
Canada J7R 2M7
stephane_bigham@yahoo.ca
450-472-6128

[Fr Raphael Vereshack]

Hello Father!

I don't know anything directly about this subject but in Jaroslav Pelikan's The Christian Tradition, Vol 2 The Spirit of Eastern Christendom, Evil & the God of Love ps 216-227 there is a good discussion about the Orthodox response to dualism, especially the Paulicians & Bogomils. There is in the book discussion of how this affected the development of the defense of iconography but nothing directly about Ho On.

You might want to especially look at pgs 218- 219 which goes into the more Trinitarian aspect of the argument. The Dualists- Paulicians & Bogomils- apparently held to a multiplicity of essential principles- archai- in the Trinity. In contradiction to the Orthodox understanding that in the Trinity there is one essential principle, the Father, from Whom the Son & Holy Spirit proceeded (Pelikan uses the word 'proceed' for both Son & Holy Spirit in a general sense probably in order to economize on words) the Dualists refer to contradictory principles within the Trinity.

Maybe Ho On was painted in icons in reaction to this but again Pelikan doesn't refer directly to this.

In Christ- Fr Raphael

[Paul Cowan]

If I might step back to a more rudimentary question about Christ's halo. I know they are Greek letters so forgive my english letters; as one looks at Christ I have seen the 3 letters in his halo from left to right written

'w' 'o' 'n' as well as
'o' 'w' 'n'.

I know the letters represent words, but why the movement of the 'w' and 'o' from the left side to the top and vice versa? and what do they mean? Thanks

Paul

[Olga]

Hello Paul

The difference in the ordering of the three letters simply reflects two distinct iconographic traditions: The Slavs tend to use the first arrangement you mentioned, the Greeks the second. Where I've come across overlap between traditions is in some Balkan and Athonite icons, where one would expect a merging of Greek and Slavic influence. As for how or why this difference exists? I've yet to come across any reason for it. The main thing is that the letters spell out the name of God: O ΩN (He-who-is). The letter which looks like a rounded W is simply an earlier form of the Greek letter omega, a variant of which still exists in the old Slavonic alphabets, including Church Slavonic.

Hope this helps.

[Paul Cowan]

Thank you Olga,

I guess this is just as hard to translate as "The great I AM".

[Vassil]

"My research so far shows that around the 12th century in Serbia, the Ho Ôn started to be painted in, and from there it spread to the whole Orthodox world so that now everybody thinks it has always been there, but no. So what was going on in the Balkans, Serbia, around the 12th century that could have provoked the addition of the sign."

Dear Father Steven,
Your post provoked me to make a little research on the Ο ΩΝ in the Christ's halo. I agree with the logic of your hypothesis: something in the field of the theology must stand behind this new element in the Christ's iconography. Still I think that the Serbian connection is not correct. If your are right that the earliest examples of Ο ΩΝ are from 12th C AD it is hardly possible this new invention to be connected with Serbia. Even though in the late 12th C the Bulgarian tsardom was restored by Petar and Assen and Serbia started it's transformation into a significant and powerful state (from Stephan Nemanja on), Byzantium remained the leadar of the Orthodox world. In brief in 12th C AD the Slavonic Balkan countries and their local Churches were not authritative enough to introduse such an important new detail in the iconography. Frthermore if the Ο ΩΝ was introdused for the first time in a Slavonic country (let's say Serbia), it would have been in Slavonic: СЬІ, as the official language in Bulgaria and Serbia was not the Greek. But this is not the case in the medieval Balkan iconography. Even in our days the inscription in the halo of Christ is rarely tranlated. So we have to assum that the origins of Ο ΩΝ are not in the slavonic but in the byzantine tradition.

Unfortunately the question why they started to inscribe the halo with "He Who Is" still remains without answer. Of course we could make connection with the fight against the dualistic heresies. After all the execution of the heretic leader Basil took plase in Constantinople in 1111. Anyway we have to find more information.

[Timothy Mulligan]

Unfortunately the question why they started to inscribe the halo with "He Who Is" still remains without answer.

"Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." John 8:58.

[Olga]

Frthermore if the Ο ΩΝ was introdused for the first time in a Slavonic country (let's say Serbia), it would have been in Slavonic: СЬІ, as the official language in Bulgaria and Serbia was not the Greek.


There are many examples in Orthodoxy where certain things have always been expressed in Greek, irrespective of location. As well as the letters in Christ's halo, we have the "shorthand" inscriptions IC XC and MP ΘY on icons of Christ and the Mother of God; during the Divine Liturgy when a bishop is serving, the various invocations for him to blessed with a long life are always sung or chanted in Greek (Eis polla eti, Dhespota), and the bishop will always chant the Lord, Lord, look down upon this vineyard (Kyrie, Kyrie, epivlepson tin ampelon tautin) once in Greek, and twice in the local liturgical language (or, in places like Australia, once in Greek, once in the liturgical language of the parish (if this is not Greek), and once in English)

[Vassil]

Hi,


There are many examples in Orthodoxy where certain things have always been expressed in Greek, irrespective of location.
I had something else in mind.

Of course some of the icons are traditionally inscribed in Greek (ΙΣ ΧΣ , ΜΡ ΘΥ) with no matter of the local liturgical language. Nevertheless in all these cases the inscriptions are first introduced in the Byzantine Church and only latter copied without translation by the other Orthodox Churches (Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, etc.).
Now let’s consider a different case - in which some important theological ideas or iconographical details are introduced for the first time in one of the Non-Greek Orthodox Churches. Why for example the Serbian hierarchs and theologians would prefer to use the Greek and not the Old Slavonic (their official and liturgical language)?
We have to remember that for the Balkan Slavonic countries in the Middle Ages it was of huge importance to resist against the expanding cultural and political influence of Byzantium and this was even more difficult because of the common religion. In this respect introducing and defending the Old Slavonic as official and liturgical language was more than crucial for Bulgaria and Serbia.

Speaking about the translations I could not be entirely agree with Olga about the Greek phrases in the Non-Greek liturgies.


during the Divine Liturgy when a bishop is serving, the various invocations for him to blessed with a long life are always sung or chanted in Greek (Eis polla eti, Dhespota), and the bishop will always chant the Lord, Lord, look down upon this vineyard (Kyrie, Kyrie, epivlepson tin ampelon tautin) once in Greek, and twice in the local liturgical language (or, in places like Australia, once in Greek, once in the liturgical language of the parish (if this is not Greek), and once in English)


I don’t have information about every local Orthodox Church but at least in the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition the whole text of the liturgy and the other services is translated into Slavonic. May be the Olga’s example concerns only the Orth. Churches in the West and in Australia which are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate?

Anyway we are getting too deep in the “language” argument. Even if we forget about it in my opinion the great I AM could not originate in 12th Century Serbia. I am very curious to learn other theories?

Greetings! :)

Vassil

[Vassil]

"Jesus said to them, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." John 8:58.

OK, but these words had been well known long before the Middle Ages and the time when Ο ΩΝ appeared for the first time. As I understand the idea of this thread is to find out what stands behind this iconographical innovation.

[Olga]

I don’t have information about every local Orthodox Church but at least in the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition the whole text of the liturgy and the other services is translated into Slavonic. May be the Olga’s example concerns only the Orth. Churches in the West and in Australia which are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate?



Not at all, Vassil. The examples of the Greek used liturgically during services when a bishop is serving occur in all Orthodox churches anywhere in the world, no matter which jurisdiction they come under. It doesn't matter if the church is Russian, Serbian, Arabic, Romanian, or Georgian - what I described in post #8 is what happens, even in Bulgarian churches.

[Michael Stickles]

I don’t have information about every local Orthodox Church but at least in the Bulgarian Orthodox tradition the whole text of the liturgy and the other services is translated into Slavonic. May be the Olga’s example concerns only the Orth. Churches in the West and in Australia which are under the Ecumenical Patriarchate?

Just to corroborate Olga's statement, we sometimes visit a Serbian parish when visiting my parents. Their service book for the liturgy is parallel English/Slavonic (both languages are used in the service). On both sides, Eis polla eti Dhespota is noted for use in hierarchical liturgies, not the Slavonic equivalent (whatever that might be). I have never heard it in any other language than Greek, and none of the parishes I've attended when a bishop was present were under the EP.

[Olga]

Just to corroborate Olga's statement, we sometimes visit a Serbian parish when visiting my parents. Their service book for the liturgy is parallel English/Slavonic (both languages are used in the service). On both sides, Eis polla eti Dhespota is noted for use in hierarchical liturgies, not the Slavonic equivalent (whatever that might be). I have never heard it in any other language than Greek, and none of the parishes I've attended when a bishop was present were under the EP.

I can add to Michael's post: my experiences over several decades of Orthodox hierarchical services include Greek, Russian, Serbian, Antiochian, and fully-English-language services. What I said in earlier posts stands up to scrutiny. I welcome correction from any of the fathers on this forum.

[Vassil]

dear Olga and Michael,
I asked our priest about the Greek words in the Slavonic liturgy. In the Bulgarian tradition everything is translated:Eis polla eti Dhespota = Na mnogaya leta, Vladiko...I forgot the exact translation of the other example with the vineyard. The priest also told me that in deed in the Churches of Romania and Serbia and in some eparchies of the Russian Church they use Greek phrases.