www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology Statues As Part Of The Tabernacle ?

This is from Dormition Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Moscow, so I'm a bit confused as to how common this is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zion_history_museum_moscow.jpg

Lawrence:

Christ is in our midst!!

What is your question? Tabernacles have often been ornate places to house Christ's Holy Body and Most Precious Blood. Artist's and metalworker's visions have always been welcomed in the Church. Sometimes they may seem to be a bit overdone by the visions of another age, but that doesn't take away from the vision of the earlier age.

It looks like you have the Holy Apostles guarding the Holy Mysteries, something like the visions of the Seraphim in Heaven keeping direct gaze off the Holy Trinity enthroned on the Cherubim. Reminds me of the Cherubic Hymn: "Let us who mystically represent the Cherubim . . ." Or think of it as the charge given to the priest at his ordination to guard the Holy Mysteries and not to fear even the civil power because he will have to answer on the Day of Judgment for his stewardship.

The tabernacle in my parish church is an artist's representation of the burning bush that Moses saw: a round vessel whose surface is made to represent tree bark with flames covering parts of that bark at random.

In Christ,
Bob

Oner more thought. I'd much rather have a tabernacle looke like this one than some of the plain little boxes that modern churches have in them. So many look like the urns I sell for cremation.

Bob

My understanding was that the Orthodox don't have statues in their churches, yet these are obviously 3 dimensional.

Lawrence,

Bas-relief iconography, although among the less common forms, is not unknown nor new. In fact, it is probably most often found among the Russians. And, other than that there are humans depicted here, is it so different than dove tabernacles or tabernacles that depict temples, as is so very common in our churches.

Many years,

Neil

I put another example here [flickr.com].

Wonder what the other one--partially obscured--looks like.

Question:

I've seen many of these tabernacles covered with a glass dome. Is there some reason for that? Is it to prevent tarnish of the plating? Or does it have to do with keeping the Holy Gifts protected?

Bob

In my old parish, the priest told us that it was to keep it "clean."

Thanks. I learn something every day.

Bob