What icon is "Holy Trinity" correct?

Orthodoxy is perhaps the only Christian confession in which icon-worship is very developed. And if Catholics respect the sacred images, then numerous Protestant churches unanimously accuse the Orthodox of almost idolatry.

In fact, an icon for a believer is not an idol, but a reminder of another world, of saints and God. The phrase "to bow to the icon" carries a somewhat different meaning than "to bow to God." The icon can be compared with a photograph of a loved one who is carefully stored in a family album or hung on a wall. Nobody thinks of a photo as an idol or a replacement for the original, even if it pays much attention.

In many religions there are no icons, and any images are forbidden for a very reasonable reason: no one has seen God and never, so how can you picture the unimaginable?

Orthodox icon painters also do not invent anything, and, according to the rules, only those that are material are depicted on the icons.

And what about the icon "Holy Trinity", because no one has ever seen God! This is not quite true. We saw our God in human form. Jesus Christ is God and man. So at least the second Person of the Holy Trinity can be fully depicted. The Holy Spirit also had some embodiment. He showed himself several times as a white dove. It was not a real pigeon, of course, but He can be written in this form.

So, the two Persons of the Trinity are depicted, but God's Father is missing for completeness. The icon "Holy Trinity" can not exist without the Father.

Icon painters have found several ways out of this situation - more or less successful. For example, there is an icon of the Holy Trinity, a photo or a reproduction of which is in every prayer corner. On it God the Son sits on the throne, above Him God the Holy Spirit, and God the Father is designated by some sign of poured out grace. There is another option, which is usually called Catholic, where God the Father is depicted arbitrarily - the elders, and God the Holy Spirit - a dove. Everyone admits that the icon is not canonical, that is, it does not correspond to the Orthodox rules of icon painting, but it was widely used in the 19th century.

The most famous icon is "The Holy Trinity" written by Rublev. Here is a moment from the Old Testament story, when three angels came to Abraham. According to the interpretation of the holy fathers, this was God, and maybe Andrei Rublev used only the image. In any case, the icon is a unique work of not only icon painting, but also theological thought. The icon "Holy Trinity" Rublev is not only that moment at the tabernacle of Abraham, but also the eternal advice. This thought brings the contents of the bowl to the table. In it (according to many interpreters) is the sacrament, that is, the Blood of Jesus Christ. This is the moment of a prophecy about the future, the incarnation of the Son of God and His suffering. It is this mysterious meeting that is called the eternal council.

The icon "Holy Trinity" is mysterious, it has a huge number of symbolic details, according to which it can be determined that Andrei Rublev each Angel designated a certain Person of the Holy Trinity. Discussions about it continue until now. This image is now kept in the temple at the Tretyakov Gallery. Here he is under protection, but you can join him, pray to God and put a candle.