The iconography of the Blessed Silence is thematically connected with icons of Sophia the Wisdom of God – in which Christ is represented as an angel - and became popular in Russian icon-painting from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries especially with the Old Believers and monastic circles because of its focus on silence and prayer. It is based on a passage in Isaiah, where the prophet refers to ‘The Messenger [or angel] of Great Counsel’ (9:6). Other references from Isaiah are relevant: 42:2 ‘He shall not...cause his voice to be heard in the streets’; 53:7 ‘He was afflicted yet opened not his mouth’. Psalm 141 is also appropriate: ‘Set a watch, O Lord, over my mouth; keep the door of my lips’ (141:3). According to Coomler in The Icon Handbook, (Springfield Illinois, 1995)[1], the iconography is ‘associated with the Creation and the Plan of Salvation, ordained from Eternity’. For a detailed study of this ‘deeply mystical and complex’ iconography see Dr Alexander Grishin’s article in Morrison et al., EIKON, Icons of the Orthodox Christian World, Art Gallery of Ballarat, 2014, pp. 114-117.

The subject is known in Russia from the sixteenth century though early examples are rare. Our version, typically from the 19th century, follows the original iconography with some later developments. Christ is shown half-length as an angel. He is wearing classical Byzantine royal vestments. In a variant from the usual crossed arms, the hands are raised with the fingertips touching. The viewer’s attention is held in the Saviour’s steady gaze. He wears a liturgical jewel-encrusted crown, behind it a halo containing an eight-pointed star, symbolising eternity. The multi-layered feathers of the wings are depicted in gold. The sticharion (liturgical outer garment) is depicted with jewellery and decorative details typical of Palekh or Mstera.

[1] https://russianicons.wordpress.com/tag/icon-blessed-silence/