By Father Garabed Kochakian
Painted sacred art called Icons are important as they include many details that could often be unnoticed. In the painted Holy Icons, of the birth of the Savior on that Holy Night we are accustomed to see Jesus with his mother and St. Joseph in a cave dwelling and surrounded by the Shepherds.
In addition, there are painted little Icons of only the Wisemen that are found in many painted Illuminated manuscripts. There are even some images which tell of this biblical account show all of them gathered together at the same time. However, these historical events are mentioned separately in the Holy Gospels narratives of Luke and Matthew each with differing facts.
What’s more, Icons from all religious traditions conflate the story of Christ’s birth as recounted in the scriptures. One is of the Shepherds paying homage to the newly born infant and the other about the Wisemen sent by Herod and coming from the east.
Uniquely in the sacred art tradition of the Armenian Church, the iconography of concerning the Visitation of the Magi, it is made clear that they encountered the Lord, not in a cave but in a house to honor the newly born Messiah and ostensibly sometime after his birth. Some writing of early Church Fathers, such as Eusebius and Epiphanius, place the coming of the Magi nearly two years after His birth.
Though the Shepherds were the first to visit Jesus as recorded in the narrative from the Gospel of Luke, interestingly, there is no mention of the visitation by the three Magi. It is the Gospel of St. Matthew (2:11) that makes it very clear; their visit was to a different location.
The Evangelist states… And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
In the sacred art tradition of the Armenian Church’s iconography of the Nativity the three Magi/ Wisemen sometimes are not included to be present on the ‘Birth Night’ of our Lord, as Luke’s narrative describes. They are missing; and we might ask why not?
It is presumed, as the writings of the Church Fathers and their scholarly study claim, that Christ was two years old. When the Wisemen arrived, the Gospel refers to Jesus as the “Young Child [from the Greek word paidi/ παιδίand in Armenian, manoog / մանուկ]. Whereas in Luke, Jesus on the night of his birth, was born in a cave dwelling and is described as an "infant” [from the Greek word brephos/ βρέφος meaning "newborn child" and in Armenian, noradzin / Նորածին.
Here in this miniature Icon -a painted copy – from an original 17th manuscript, the artist has depicted the Lord as an older child seated on the lap of St. Mary his mother and notably St. Joseph is not in the picture.
Christ the child is reaching for the gifts brought by the Magi. Two of them holding the gifts; presumably flasks of incense and myrrh. Their identity as learned men is indicated as they are wearing headpieces portraying their special status.
Behind all the figures we see the architecture of buildings which Matthew describes as a house where the Savior was found and where the Magi had encountered him as written in Matthew’s narrative.
The Virgin and Christ Child are shown each with a halo but differing in style. Unlike halos of light which represent ‘holiness, used in all Icons, the Lord’s is different. Behind the head of Jesus’ halo appears an inscribed cross foreshadowing his suffering and eventual death upon the Cross. This is unique marking of Christ’s halo whenever He is portrayed throughout his life.
As the scripture declares “Today, salvation has come to this house"- a quote from the Luke 19:9, when Jesus is brought to Zacharia in the Temple, this Icon of the Wisemen and their visit portends the Lord’s Presentation forty days after His birth. The Lord bears His Cross as an infant to His Cross to the hill of Golgotha where His victory is realized as Christ said, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (a quote from Luke 23:43) to Dismas the penitent thief crucified to His right; that same Salvation brings us to Heaven through the Resurrection.
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