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Tasmanian Anglican

August 2004

 

 

 

 


'Representing the Trinity, a 'community of love' - the famous icon by medieval Russian iconographer Andrei Rublev has a special place at All Saints, South Hobart.

 

Mystery and Trinity - Celebration at All Saints

by René Knaap

 

 

In today’s world the word ‘mystery’ is a bit of a throwaway term but is treated with some nervousness in some parts of the Church. It is important to remember then, that the Church’s beliefs and celebrations all begin and end in mystery.

To appreciate the fullness of God’s love and grace a sense of the mysterious needs to be maintained.

After 50 days the Easter Season ends with the Feast of Pentecost the first in a trio of great festival days - Pentecost, Trinity and Corpus Christi. They illustrate some of the most profound, beautiful and wonderful mysteries of our faith. Many of us have become uncomfortable with the mysterious dimensions of our faith and so celebrations which recall them for us now tend to be neglected.

Puzzle

Trinity Sunday remains firmly on our calendar but what can we say or do when faced with the magnitude of this mystery? Trinity is not just a piece in the puzzle of our faith. It is the frame which contains it, if not the whole puzzle itself!

An ancient image for the Trinity of God is as a ‘community being’ or a ‘community of love’. The medieval Russian iconographer Andrei Rublev captured something of this in his famous icon of the Trinity (which has become a prototype of all iconographic representations of the Trinity ever since.) Henri Nouwen, reflecting on the Rublev icon spoke of ‘circle of love’ and indicated the place at table for all to join and so enter the community of God.

God invites us to share

The church of All Saints, South Hobart has adopted the Rublev icon and dedicated a shrine to the Trinity. For Trinity Sunday this year the shrine was decorated to reflect the idea of the prayers of the people being drawn into the ‘circle of love’. God invites us to share in the divine beauty and light. During the intercessions a procession moved to the shrine where prayers were offered for the church and the world.

We reflect in action what we believe in faith.