Icon - Old Testament Holy Trinity, Russian Hand Painted icon - Wood

Russian icon of the Holy Trinity with Abraham and Sarah.

Hand painted icon - Old Testament Holy Trinity - Ruble Trinity.

The "Old Testament Trinity" or "Hospitality of Abraham" icon, better known as the Ruble Trinity, is among the most common icons of the Holy Trinity in the Orthodox world.

The author of this icon is Rev. Andrei Rublev, a famous icon painter from the Moscow School, canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.

This is an icon of angels who came to the forefather of the Israelite family - Abraham.

The Bible story tells that before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of evil and sins, he sent angels to warn the righteous Abraham and Sarah. God promised the elderly Abram and Sarah that their long-awaited son would be born, and it happened. On the icon, the angels are depicted next to a small oak, known throughout the world as Abraham's oak.

Rublev's icon has as its main plot the story of the divine visit of three mysterious travelers (angels) to the home of Patriarch Abraham. This story is considered an exemplary discovery of the mystery of the Holy Trinity in the Old Testament: "Abraham met three, but worshiped the One."

In the icon, everything comes down to the silent communion between the three angels. They stand in a circle around the table. The reverse perspective, which erases notions of near-far, and the lack of active movement give the image a character of contemplation and a sense of eternity. From Abraham's tent, Rublev takes us to eternity and everything takes on a different meaning. Before us is the "Eternal Council" of God: the left angel depicts God the Father, who blesses the cup symbolizing Christ's sacrifice, in which a calf's head is placed; the middle angel represents the Son of God, bowing his head in consent to perform this sacrifice; and the right-hand angel depicts the Holy Spirit - who has completed the work of salvation. The whole image gives us a vivid sense of God's omnipresence and eternity. It is a kind of icon of God's love.