Golden amulet "Trinity. Mother of God "The Sign"
Metal: red gold 585"
Average weight: 13.81 g
Height (with eye): 3.2 cm
Diameter: 2.3 cm
Ear dimensions: 0.6 x 0.5 cm
A cross connected to a circle can be seen among the most ancient, still pagan, Russian symbols, where it symbolized the sun. After the Baptism of Rus', the ancient symbol was filled with a new meaning, becoming the bearer of the image of the true Sun, the Sun of the Truth of Christ. The image of a pectoral cross with the image of the Old Testament Trinity on the front side and the icon of the Mother of God “The Sign” on the back is based on these traditions.
In the Old Testament, the book of Genesis tells of the appearance of God in the form of three angels to the righteous Abraham and his wife Sarah. God promised Abraham that a Messiah would be born among his descendants, who would save people from the Fall and hell and again open the gates of heaven for them. Since ancient times, the Church has interpreted this event as a prophecy about the birth of Christ. In a circular motion, endlessly reflected in each other, the angels create the image of the perfect Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Two angels on the icon bowed their heads before the third, blessing the cup. This is a symbolic image of the coming sacrifice of Christ, the Divine Son. By blessing the cup, the Lord seems to bless the sacrifice on the cross that lies ahead of Him, the cup of sorrow that He is given to drink for the sins of mankind.
“Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us,” believers ask both at home and in church, turning to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. This trisagion proclamation with a cross is written around the image of the Trinity on this cross.
The “Sign” icon of the Mother of God, placed on the back, is also prophetic. On the chest of the Mother of God, who raised her hand in prayer, stands the blessing of the Infant God. Outlined by a circle, a symbol of Heaven and eternity, He seems to only appear in the womb of the Mother, remaining the hypostatic image of the Divine Son, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. The iconography follows the vision of the prophet Isaiah: “So the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and give birth to a Son, and they will call His name Immanuel.” As the pinnacle of prophetic promises, the “Sign” icon became central in the prophetic series of the Russian iconostasis from the mid-14th century. It is located directly above the icon of the Trinity, standing in the center of the forefathers' row.
Moses prayed for the Jewish people given to him by God,leading him through the desert to the Promised Land, and the Most Holy Theotokos eternally stands before God and prays for all creation, leading him from the spiritual desert to the Kingdom of God. And while She prays, while Her hands are raised, the peoples of the earth will win in the invisible battle against the forces of hell.
Glorifying the Most Holy Theotokos, the Church venerates Her as “the most honorable cherub and the most glorious without comparison seraphim,” that is, standing closer to God than the cherubim and seraphim and all the ranks of angels. These words are written on the cross around the image of the Mother of God.
The four-pointed cross shows an image of the world extending to the four corners of the world and rising from earth to Heaven, with God at the center. In God all the ends of the earth and the earth are united with the circle of Heaven. “Just as the four ends of the cross are held and united by its center, so by the power of the Divine the height and depth, longitude and breadth, that is, the visible and invisible creation are held” (St. John of Damascus - 7th century).
* Attention. Product description can be obtained by machine translation.