The Queenship of Mary

Mary’s queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “mother of my Lord.” As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus’ kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court. http://www.americancatholic.org/

The Annunciation by Andrea Rublev

Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.

I am inspired by the Annunciation Icon. At the moment I have on loan a 100-year-old icon of the Annunciation. What a privilege it is to have it in my home today on this the feast of the Queenship of Mary the Mother of God.

On Saturday Wendy and I gave a talk on Iconography. We had nine of our icons on display but the feature  was the Annunciation (the one that is 100-years-old) based on Rublev's and the one Wendy has just finished writing.

I am often amazed by the beauty of Rublev's icons. There are several other beautiful Icons written of the Annunciation but none as crafted as well. His Icon of the Trinity is also an amazingly gentle work. If you can find it, watch the film Andrei Rublev made by the late Russian film maker, Andrei Tarkovsky. You need a strong stomach as it is a very graphic movie depicting the harsh times of the 13-1400s. But Rublev wanted to show that God is a God of LOVE - not anger and retribution. The same can be said of the Icon of the Annunciation. The stunningly soft colours contrast with the dramatic moment in time of the announcement of the coming of the Lord.

One of the finest books on Iconography I have found is Guillem Ramos-Poqui's The Technique of Icon Painting - a must for the would be iconographer.