Reading the Icon of the Bulgarian Assumptionist Martyrs

Icons in the Byzantine tradition have a distinct and highly symbolic visual vocabulary. An iconographer is very aware of this tradition and seeks to be faithful to it.

The three Bulgarians who gave their lives as witnesses for their faith in November of 1952 were priests and members of the Assumptionist community. The three are presented together in a single icon, in a fraternal conversation, but turning toward us, in the midst of the celestial liturgy, wearing the priestly vestments of the rites to which they belonged. Father Kamen wears the vestments of the Byzantine Rite. Gold is often used in the East for solemn feasts. Fathers Pavel and Josaphat wear the vestments familiar to Catholics of the Latin Rite. Red is the liturgical color used in the Latin rite for the feasts of martyrs. This juxtaposition of vestments of the East and West brings to mind the ecumenical dimension that the Assumptionits’ work in Eastern Europe has had since its beginnings in the late nineteenth century.

The three hold the Book of the Gospels with their covered left hand (a sign of respect for the Word of God). The covers of the Book bear the Cross and lam leaves, a reminder of their mission to preach the Good News, their faith in Christ, and their ultimate victory in giving their lives for Christ and their brothers and sisters in the faith. With their right hands, they point to the Gospels and also bless us. They continue their ministry to us from their place with God.

Their belonging to the Assumptionist congregation is signified discretely on the stoles worn by the martyrs. The Assumptoinist motto, given to us by our founder, Emmanuel d’Alzon, is “Adveniat Regnum Tuum” (Thy Kingdom Come). This phrase from the Lord’s Prayer is often abbreviated to the letters ART. The red stoles of Frs. Pavel and Josaphat have those letters woven into them. Fr. Kamen has the Cyrillic letters for the same motto in Slavonic on his stole: “Da Priidier Tsarstvie Tvoie.”

Although archival photos of the martyrs were provided to the iconographer, and that the martyrs should be somewhat recognizable, it must be remembered that an icon seeks to suggest the martyrs not as they were in this life, but as they are eternally basking in the light of the Divine Presence. For example, two of the martyrs wore eyeglasses in life. They now see things clearly in God’s light and have no need of these aides for sight. The icon shows them without glasses.

The gold of the halos and the clear golden color of the background also seek to suggest this Divine Presence. Highlights in the faces and the vestments seek to suggest light coming from within rather than reflected from an outside source. No shadows are cast.

The green lower background reminds us of Psalm 23 (22), verse 1-2. “The Lord is my shepherd…he makes me lie down in green pastures.