Page 54 - Studia Universitatis Hereditati, vol 12(2) (2024)

54

studia universitatis hereditati, letnik 12 (2024), številka 2 / volume 12 (2024), number 2

Figure 5: The Baptism of Christ, Dečani Monastery, Courtesy of BLAGO Fund, Inc
verses, the Spirit of God in the form of a dove are simultaneously present in a sensory unity,
descends upon Christ after emerges from the creating a unique scene where all three faces are
Jordan River, in the fresco of the Dečani Mon- united. We must not overlook the sensory, audi-
astery, we see a segment of heaven depicted as tory-visual moment as the Father addresses the
a semi-circle with open doors and the hand of Son (Mt 3:13–17), affirming his sonship by send-
the Father blessing Christ during the act of bap- ing the Holy Spirit. Although angels are never
tism. While the tactile aspect in the portrayal of depicted with wings in the Bible, they are mes-
John and Christ is evident when discussing the sengers with different iconographic positions.
senses, we again encounter an example of tran- The scene is enriched with motifs inspired by
scendental touch. The Father’s blessing is depict- poetic texts read during the feast of Theophany
ed in a sensory manner, emphasizing the third (Marković 1995, 109). These include the person-
person of the Trinity as an element embodied ifications of the Jordan River (as an older man)
in the form of a ray, representing the continu- and the sea (as a woman with exposed breasts),
ous spiritual connection between Father and painted in the water in the foreground. On the
Son, as well as the presence in the liturgical in- left is depicted the conversation between Christ
vocation of transforming the material into the and John before the baptism, a scene based on
spiritual, into the blood and body of Christ. The Matthew’s description of the event (Mt 3: 13–15).
one who performs the transubstantiation in the
liturgy transforms the material into the imma- The Transfiguration of Christ
terial. In this scene, not only is Christ baptized,
but it also fulfils Christian Trinitarian theolo- After six days, Jesus took with him Peter,
gy, where all three persons of the Holy Trinity James, and John the brother of James, and