Instead, the image conveys an iconography of political defeat, which was possible because the cult of the Virgin in Byzantium preceded imperial sponsorship, and could consequently transcend and outlast that sponsorship as well. Yet a vague concept of power does little to illuminate the original context of the first known Virgin of the Passion, which dates to 1192 on the island of Cyprus. “Power” has been a pervasive scholarly theme in the humanities in recent decades, and Byzantine art history is no exception. My first two chapters explore what the Virgin of the Passion is not. This dissertation pursues this question by exploring four themes related to the Virgin of the Passion in Byzantium: Power, painting, priesthood, and predestination. But despite an abundance of recent studies on the Virgin Mary in Byzantium, there has been little investigation into what first spurred this iconographical innovation.

Due to its enormous proliferation by papal command, it has been called perhaps the most popular religious icon of the twentieth century. Mary holds the Christ child in the traditional formula, but unexpectedly, angels appear above bearing not good news, but a cross, spear and sponge - tidings of Christ’s future torment. His work provides answers to several questions about Eastern Christian liturgical art, but nevertheless, at the forefront is his painting technique, which is similar to the medieval prototype. His icons are informed by on-going research in theology and iconography and meditation about the current condition of icon painting. Todor’s work has power it can be compared with catacomb frescoes that capture the essence of the early Christians’ reverence for the testimony of God. Todor’s images stand out from the fastidiously copied icons produced by the majority of contemporary iconographers. Although he has been dedicated to iconography since 2003, the connection between the artist and contemporary art has guided his research into iconography. Tradition is apparent in his icons not as a set of rules, but as a living testimony to God in contemporary language. Instead, found his own language without loosing the image’s power of expression. The remarkable quality about Todor’s work apparent at the St Petersburg Symposium in 2010 was that he refused to stylize his work to imitate an historical period. His work stood out: he refused to copy the prototype! Art critics and iconographers frequently discuss concepts such as copying, stylization and imitation that are tendencies among contemporary iconographers. Todor’s work was first shown in Russia at the Third Icon Painting Symposium in Saint Petersburg during 2010.

Iconographer christine hales