After the confusion of the apostles with the ascension of Christ, the Book of Acts tells us that they were gathered together in Jerusalem on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, when “suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house....Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues.” 

A Pentecost hymn declares, “When God distributed the tongues of fire, He called all to unity,” signaling the beginning of the Church and the future fullness of life in God. This gathering of the apostles came to be called the first “anointing of the Church with heavenly fire.” This fire baptism of the apostles corresponds with the liturgical sacrament of anointing all believers with holy chrism, sealing their baptism or new birth with the charisma of Life in the Spirit of God, further deepening the idea of Pentecost being the birth of the Church.

The twelve white rays extending from the blue Holy Trinity orb, the twelve small flames of baptismal spiritual fire above the apostles, and the twelve red “logoi seeds” on the white veil held by the Theotokos are iconographic symbols showing the birth of the Church. The fire vivifies Christ’s teaching, represented by the evangelical scrolls held by the apostles. Fired by the Holy Spirit, the scrolls become seeds of New Testament faith lived through the liturgical life of the Church. 

The ark-shaped veil that the Theotokos holds reminds the viewer that she was the new ark that held Christ. As she was the first to receive the seeds of the incarnation, so too is she the first to receive the seeds from the Holy Spirit. Cinnabar red is the symbol of transfigured fired clay. Notice, too, that the Theotokos is in the same position and stance as in the icon of the Ascension, yet here she holds the “logoi seeds.” The blueness of her pavilion connects with the blue orb in the bright red veil-shaped heavenly opening. The small icon in the orb depicts the same Old Testament Trinity that we saw at the beginning of the exhibit. The descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost signals a new age of God’s interaction with humanity. The Old Testament requirement of sacrifice was fulfilled by Christ’s crucifixion. Humanity’s transfiguration now occurs within the communal life of the Church, uniting all of mankind to God.

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