Meditation on the Sibiu Icon by Luca Negro

The following sermon was preached by Revd. Luca Negro as a meditation on the Sibiu Icon from the Third European Ecumenical Assembly which took place in Sibiu last year.

You can find the order of service of which this mediation was part here and I'll also try and post the icon itself both here and on the main blog.

Luca is a pastor of the Waldensian Church in Italy so it's good to have his perspectives on an Orthodox icon. He currently works at the Conference of European Churches as their communications officer.

Bible text: John 1,5-14; 3,25-30

Reception into the Chapel of the Sibiu Icon ~ Geneva, Ecumenical Centre, 9 June 2008

Dear sisters, dear brothers,

“The light of Christ shines upon all – Hope for renewal and unity in Europe”: this was the theme of the 3rd European Ecumenical Assembly, which was held in Sibiu, Romania, from 4 to 9 September 2007. More than 2000 Christians from all over Europe participated in the Assembly, which was jointly convened by CEC and by the (Roman Catholic) Council of European Bishops’ Conferences (CCEE).
The Assembly theme was clearly inspired by the Gospel of John. The theme of light is present already in the Prologue of the fourth Gospel, as we heard: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”. The light is Jesus Christ himself – and in order to avoid confusion the Gospel specifies that John the Baptist, though a “man sent from God”, “he himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light”, the “true light which enlightens everyone”.
To testify to the light, to witness to the true light which enlightens everyone: this was the mission of John the Baptist, Jesus’ forerunner - but isn’t it also the mission of the church, of the disciples of Jesus? Actually, the fourth Gospel influenced the Sibiu theme not only through the reference to light, but also through John’s theological reflection on witness.
This “theology of witness” was made visible in Sibiu through the Assembly icon, the one we are receiving today into our Chapel. Painted on glass by the monks of the Orthodox Monastery of Sambata de Sus, not far from Sibiu, it is a special version of a very common icon, the so called “Deisis Icon” (the Greek word deisis meaning prayer, supplication).
This icon is present in every Orthodox Church, but our icon is special for two reasons: first of all because in the original version of this Sambata de Sus icon there is a different phrase written on the Gospel which Jesus holds in His left hand. The original has: “I am the door, the resurrection and the life”, a combination of John 10,7 and John 11,25, while the Assembly icon has another verse from John, which is more directly connected to the Assembly theme: “Eu sunt lumina lumii”, “I am the light of the world” (John 8,12).
The second detail is that, in the original, each of the four angels holds a long sword in his hand. After a discussion in the EEA3 Worship Committee, and in the spirit of the Decade to Overcome Violence, which challenges us to purify our spirituality from all forms of violence, we asked and were allowed to have four “non-violent” angels – as you can see, they are now carrying thuribles instead of swords.
But it is time to look more closely at the other characters of the icon. The main figure, of course, is Jesus Christ on his throne. But who are the two persons behind him? I have made a test, asking several Western European Christians, and the constant answer is: well, of course, they are Saint Mary and Saint Joseph. This is, of course, wrong, or at least half wrong. Indeed, the person on the left is Mary, but Mary’s counterpart is not Joseph but John the Baptist. Why this combination, quite unusual for us? Because – I was told by my Orthodox brothers and sisters – Mary and John the Baptist are at the same time the precursors, and the witnesses of Jesus. They are the last prophets, and at the same time the first representatives of the Church.
For a Protestant like me it was interesting to discover that Mary can be seen as a forerunner and a witness of Jesus Christ. She is indeed a precursor, in that she bore Him for nine months in her body. And she is a witness: during the wedding at Cana (the first miracle of Jesus in the Gospel of John), Mary is already acting as a witness of Jesus, when she invites the servants to confidently follow the instructions of Jesus: “Do whatever He tells you” (2,5).
It is interesting to note the position and attitude of these two witnesses in the icon. First of all, they are not at the forefront, but behind Jesus, and they are much smaller then Him. Their look is fixed on Jesus, and with their hands they point to Jesus – this is at the same time the attitude of prayer. They are not announcing themselves, they are witnessing to the true light. Doesn’t this remind us of John the Baptist’s attitude, who points Jesus to his disciples, saying: Behold, the Lamb of God (John 1,29)? Who says: He must increase, but I must decrease (3,30). Who says: He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie (John 1,27). Indeed, there is a clear reference to this last verse in the icon, because as you can see Jesus is wearing sandals.
Dear sisters and brothers, what does it mean, today, to be witnesses of the light of Christ? It means to learn from Mary and John: they are not in the foreground, and their role is basically to point to Jesus, whom they are themselves contemplating. The Assembly in Sibiu clearly suffered from the difficult ecumenical climate of these years. The Sibiu icon was there, in the Assembly tent, to remind us of the right attitude, of the humility of witnesses. It was and is a challenge for all of us to take a step back, whichever church we belong to; to decrease, so that Jesus Christ, the true light, will increase and His light will reach all human beings.
Amen.