The Deacon

When entering a Byzantine church, everyone is overwhelmed by the number of icons. There are icons on the walls, icons on the ceiling, icons on tapestries, icons all over the place. Among them are many icons of Christ — the Last Supper, the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, all sorts of things. But there are two that are particularly important for our purposes here, the two primary icons of Christ: the Pantocrator and the one that adorns the iconostasis.

The Pantocrator is the icon of Christ at the highest point in the church, often at the top of the tallest dome, where Christ is overseeing everything and blessing creation. The word Pantocrator translates to “Almighty,” and the icon shows Christ as the almighty God who oversees both the world and the Church. The distance of this icon, far from the people, shows that God is unapproachable, that he is unable to be touched or fully understood.

The other icon of Christ is on the “wall of icons” known as the iconostasis, which separates the sanctuary from the rest of the church. This icon is of Christ close to the people, facing them and approaching them. Christ is approachable, and we are able to be near him; in other words, God is with us. This side of Christ is just as true as the Pantocrator, because Christ is both.

In this way, God is not fully knowable, God is not approachable, yet he is also approachable and able to be in relationship with us all. A great paradox to be sure, and one that is built into the very placement of the icons of Christ in a Byzantine church.

This makes me think about the pastoral implications of this double-sided nature of Christ. How often have I had people discuss with me the ways in which Christ feels unapproachable? What is my response? To try to get them connected with a spiritual director? To get them sorted with a new prayer rule? Or maybe I need to just help them sit in the uncomfortable nature of God as distant and unapproachable. Even Christ felt that when he cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46).

How Do I Respond When Christ Is Present in People’s Lives?

But at the same time, how do I respond when Christ is present in people’s lives? Am I able to help them see Christ there, too, moving in the world? The same Christ who is present and knows the number of hairs on their head?

Both aspects are true, and both require a level of awareness that God can be both, even at the same time.

Oftentimes someone gravitates toward one of these two icons more than the other. I am sure there is some sort of psychoanalytic reason why some people view God as present or distant more than others, but it is not a bad idea to remember that this might be deeper than simply a preference or a passing fancy. There is a great deal of work in the psychological literature on the importance of someone’s image of God. In the East we sometimes fall into the trap of only being able to see God in the image of an icon, but the reality is that God is both present in an icon and present in the world around us. As we pray at the beginning of the Divine Liturgy, God is “everywhere present and filling all things.” Maybe it is worth discussing with people how they view God and how they relate to him.

I hope that these images of the two natures of Christ might be helpful in your ministries.

Christ is among us!

FATHER DEACON BASIL RYAN BALKE is a Byzantine deacon, licensed professional counselor; director of Mount Tabor Counseling, mounttaborcounseling.com; and director of custom solutions for the Center for InMinistry Development, inministrydevelopment.com. He serves as a deacon of the Eparchy of Phoenix.