Christianity is the most widespread and at the same time the most mysterious religion. In many other theological systems everything is clear, everything is explainable, but in Orthodoxy the central teaching of the Church about the Trinity is completely incomprehensible. What is the Holy Trinity? And how to understand that all three faces of the Deity are one, but do not merge into one person.
If you ask any Orthodox about this, he will shrug his shoulders: I don't know. And this ignorance is not shameful. A person cannot know and understand the mystery of the Trinity; this is not accessible to the human mind. The Holy Trinity is described in theological literature in a few words with the particle “not” at the beginning. Thus, the Trinity is "unmixed", but also "inseparable". She is not one Being, but also not three separate Beings, not three gods. Such a combination does not lend itself to a logical explanation, therefore, when speaking about the Trinity, analogies are often used. For example, the Trinity is often compared to the sun. The sun is light, heat and the sun itself. These concepts, substances are different, everyone can feel heat, but not see light, see light, but not feel heat (in winter), but still they are all inseparable from each other. It is, of course, impossible to understand what the Holy Trinity is, using such an example, but it givessome vague idea of this mystery.
Is it strange that millions of believers around the world are actively using a concept that is completely inaccessible to the mind? Prayer to the Trinity is included in the daily rule, the temple of the Holy Trinity is a traditional decoration of villages and cities, on the lectern lies the icon of the Holy Trinity. It seems that you have to disrespect yourself to talk about what you do not understand. In fact, believers perceive it somewhat differently. The mystery of the doctrine of the Trinity and some other dogmatic moments only says that the Christian faith is not invented by people, it is higher than human understanding, and therefore, of divine origin. You can invent and invent only something understandable and accessible, and not vice versa. Therefore, the mystery of the doctrine of God proves the origin of the Christian faith from above.
All shrines in Christianity can be depicted. If Christ was born and walked the earth, then he can be drawn. Angels appeared to the Mother of God and the Saints, which means that they are also accessible to the image. All saints, angels and even the Lord Himself are depicted on icons. There is only one exception: the Holy Trinity. Indeed, after all, no one has ever seen the Trinity, so it is impossible to portray. Moreover, if the third Person of the Trinity - the Holy Spirit - can still be imagined as a dove, then no one has ever seen God the Father. True, he is still drawn as an old man next to his young son, but such an image is completely non-canonical, that is, it is not recognized as correct.
There is, however, one canonical image of the Trinity. This is the Holy Trinity- Andrey Rublev's icon. Monk Andrei depicted three angels who came to Moses. It is believed that it was God who came in the form of these angels. But what is so ingenious about his icon?
Designed, of course, beautifully, but there are more impressive icons, but this one is known. The point here is not at all in the art of oil painting. The icon "Trinity" is famous for its content. Before the praying divine council in the bowels of the Holy Trinity even before the incarnation of Christ. God the Father is looking at the Son, and the Son is looking at a small bowl on the table. This is a conversation about the redemption of man, about future suffering, about communion. It is precisely this semantic fullness that the icon of the Trinity is known for.
